posted 23 March 2008 15:24            

EightGlobalControllers.kym

PenTiltX normally goes from about -1.4 to +1.4, using a single SoundToGlobalController.

In this Sound, if I hide the pen controls and display only the generated events, the range for XTilt (the generated event in this example) is about -0.2 to +1.2. If I show any of the pen controls, then the range changes to -1.4 to +1.4 as expected.

Hiding the controls and re-saving the Sound returns it to the altered range.

Can you explain why this is happening?

posted 23 March 2008 19:34            

I have no idea why it does that, though (I never noticed it before). If you expand the sound you'll see there's nothing unusual in the code - it's just 8 SoundToGlobalControllers going into a mixer.

posted 24 March 2008 14:05            

quote:

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Originally posted by SSC:
If you unlock the VCS, is the range of that widget something other than (0,1)? What is the name of the control? Some of the hot value names (e.g. Frequency, Angle) have different ranges by default.

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It doesn't seem to be related to these things. It seems like deleting the !PenTiltX from the VCS changes the range of the global controller which is linked to it (it goes from a slightly larger than -1 to 1 range, to slightly larger than 0 to 1). The change happens only after recompiling the sound - if you don't recompile but just delete the control it works okay until you recompile.

quote:

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BTW, another quick way to remap a pen control is to option-click on the target controller in the VCS and to select the name of the pen control from the pop up list. (The Wiimote controls are also in this list).

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The problem with this is that you can only map one controller to one destination. If you want to control several parameters with a wii roll control, for example, you have to use a global controller or code the !WiiRoll directly into the parameter fields (in which case you lose the visual feedback on the VCS).

Would it be possible to have a preference that allows an incoming controller to control multiple widgets?

thanks,
Phil

posted 24 March 2008 15:55            

Say I want to control the playback rate and panning of a sample with !PenX. I could do this in several ways:

1. I could write "!PenX" into the pan field and "default*!PenX" into the sample's frequency field. In this case I wouldn't have visual feedback in the VCS.

2. I could use two global controllers, both with !PenX in the value field, but with generated values of !PlaybackRate for one and !Pan for the other. I can then use these generated values in the pan and sample sounds. Here I have visual feedback in the VCS for both.

3. I could create a hot value called !RateAndPan (or something generic like !X), and put it in both fields. I could then assign it to the PenX controller in the VCS via control clicking as you pointed out, or by clicking on the little pen icon in the bar. I then get visual feedback this way, but with only one control that has a somewhat vague name/function.

Another problem with this third option is that if I assign !PenX to a widget in the VCS, it renders any !PenX that I've written into any other field inoperable. So I couldn't have "default*!PenX" in the Sample sound and then later decide to assign the Pan widget in the VCS to the !PenX as well. So I tend not to assign controllers in the VCS, because I might mess up something I've previously written in one of the fields.

Of these three options I've outlined, I think the second is probably the best when I want visual feedback, but it involves more CPU overhead. And of course, more SoundToGlobal objects.

Also, using the global controllers allows you to separate the assignments from the objects. It's better to use "!Pan" in a pan field than !PenX, because the next time I use the sound I've written I might not want the pen controlling the pan, but I will still want a pan control. So in that case I just delete the global controller and I can control it with the already existing clearly labeled hot value.

best,
Phil

posted 26 March 2008 00:49            

quote:

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Originally posted by SSC:
Regarding PenTilt, it may be related to the fact that PenTilt range is larger than (-1,1); this was to enable you to hit the maximum without having to lay the pen flat on the surface.

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I think that solution makes sense (having it go to maximum without going all the way to the surface). But in this case it goes from slightly larger than -1 to 1 (something like -1.4 to 1.4) to slightly larger than 0 to 1 (-0.2 to 1.2).