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Pin2Dmd Editor


lucky1

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6 hours ago, NetzZWerg said:

I would love to have the option to select a mask and see which scenes are currently using it. This would be a huge help, because we would be able to change some masks later to make them fit for more scenes to trigger. Do you think this could be possible @lucky1

Should be no Problem but I have to wait for Steve to have some time to take care of it. Best option is to add your wishes to the issue list on github like I do it here

https://github.com/sker65/go-dmd-clock/issues

It would also be great if pin2dmd editor professionals like @slippifishi , @NetzZWerg and @cb3could make suggestions how to improve the layout and usability of the editor 

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1 hour ago, NetzZWerg said:

@slippifishi Thanks for all the info, this could really help me although it will be still much work to do. Could your tool help me somehow to get an overview about all tables scene to find out the possibilities when beginning a new project? 

@NetzZWerg Try the attached to help with your current problem; wish I'd written it sooner, it's very interesting to see trigger and palette counts on my projects :) TNG was 1100+ triggers! Probably not perfect but let me know if you run into any issues.

@lucky1 As for ideas/suggestions for the editor, I definitely have a few I that in my opinion would help save masses of time - I will add some comments to github in the near future.

NetzZWerg mentioned a tool I had sent to him  that is ultimately nothing more than a dump browser, but it lets you see a list of hashes up front and do some analysis and planning outside of the editor with crucial keyboard navigation! For the record, there is a copy available below. I don't know how useful NetzZ has found it, but it's definitely helped me save some time when it comes to repeating scenes and working out efficient triggering. It's not without its faults and quirks, but it does the job I created it for, happy to share the C# sources if required, though there is nothing ground breaking here...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14EfpaVO5oAkja6wFe79BG-R0rc2Gtqcl?usp=sharing

I did look into some "auto-analysis" type methods that are under discussion elsewhere on the internet for a rival product ;) but in my opinion there were just too many variables to make it that viable. It would be easy to auto detect non-dynamic sequences, but without defining masks upfront and really restricting the number of frames to be analysed there was too big a chance of the wrong stuff being detected. By the time you've worked out the mask and restricted the frame sequence, you have already done all the hard work and the fun part of colouring it by hand can begin...

p2dprojectinfo.zip

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@slippifishi Thank you, I will try. Honestly I only had a quick look at the tool since I already was in the middle of the colorization process, but wanted to work with it on my next project. I think it would be great to add the functions of your tool to the editor, I will check it again. Maybe it could also help me to with my current problem. Great work, thank you for sharing! 

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On 8/4/2019 at 1:43 PM, slippifishi said:

@NetzZWerg Try the attached to help with your current problem; wish I'd written it sooner, it's very interesting to see trigger and palette counts on my projects :) TNG was 1100+ triggers! Probably not perfect but let me know if you run into any issues.

@lucky1 As for ideas/suggestions for the editor, I definitely have a few I that in my opinion would help save masses of time - I will add some comments to github in the near future.

NetzZWerg mentioned a tool I had sent to him  that is ultimately nothing more than a dump browser, but it lets you see a list of hashes up front and do some analysis and planning outside of the editor with crucial keyboard navigation! For the record, there is a copy available below. I don't know how useful NetzZ has found it, but it's definitely helped me save some time when it comes to repeating scenes and working out efficient triggering. It's not without its faults and quirks, but it does the job I created it for, happy to share the C# sources if required, though there is nothing ground breaking here...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14EfpaVO5oAkja6wFe79BG-R0rc2Gtqcl?usp=sharing

I did look into some "auto-analysis" type methods that are under discussion elsewhere on the internet for a rival product ;) but in my opinion there were just too many variables to make it that viable. It would be easy to auto detect non-dynamic sequences, but without defining masks upfront and really restricting the number of frames to be analysed there was too big a chance of the wrong stuff being detected. By the time you've worked out the mask and restricted the frame sequence, you have already done all the hard work and the fun part of colouring it by hand can begin...

p2dprojectinfo.zip 15.73 kB · 3 downloads

This is pretty useful slippi, I track all of this info in a spreadsheet to keep myself organized, it works well for me however is almost as time consuming as the actual coloring.  Could you make your tool be able to export into google sheets or excel?  Then you could manipulate and sort as needed for any modifications or condensing you'd like to make e.g. palettes or masks for size efficiencies?

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On 8/4/2019 at 9:21 AM, lucky1 said:

Should be no Problem but I have to wait for Steve to have some time to take care of it. Best option is to add your wishes to the issue list on github like I do it here

https://github.com/sker65/go-dmd-clock/issues

It would also be great if pin2dmd editor professionals like @slippifishi , @NetzZWerg and @cb3could make suggestions how to improve the layout and usability of the editor 

 

here is a few suggestions

can we get 2 more cut buttons 

1. normal button

2. cut and create pallet -- you can't enable this in the options given that you don't always need a new pallet for each scene.

3.  cut and create  keyframe -->  you can't go into the options and enable this given that many keyframes need a mask

this button will only be used for scenes that don't require a mask.

at the very least I like to have a check box next to the cut button to enable 2 or 3   or both at the same time.

 

I like to have the ability to select multiple scenes  to apply the same pallet.

or "Lock" the pallet so that all the scenes I cut use the pallet selected.

 

I like a second tab for both for scenes and keyframes

I don't like scrolling trough hundreds of scenes and keyframes,  and would like the ability to "MOVE" (not display) 

 scenes or keyframes that are working correctly  to a "Finished Scenes (keyframe)  Tab".  

 

export a list of all hash numbers  in use  or have the editor show me that the has tag is in use

similar to how the editor shows you that Mask# is in use,  I would like the editor to show me

if a hashtag is in use as I scroll trough my recording.  I sometimes get recordings that skip frames.

and I have to get a second recording to add that missing frame,  I don't like to blindly scroll trough the new recording to find my missing frame.

 

 

give me the ability to modify a mask in use

Given that we have a limited amount of mask to use,   I reuse the same mask on multiple scenes.

in some cases you can add more scenes to a mask that is in use by slightly modifying the mask.

Only way you can do that is if you delete all the keyframes that are using that mask.

 

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You should post your feature requests to the github link lucky posted - https://github.com/sker65/go-dmd-clock/issues. Some kind of "folder" hierarchy view for managing scenes and triggers would be useful, I agree, that would help achieve what you describe for "finished scenes".

14 minutes ago, Pinballuser said:

give me the ability to modify a mask in use

Given that we have a limited amount of mask to use,   I reuse the same mask on multiple scenes.

in some cases you can add more scenes to a mask that is in use by slightly modifying the mask.

Only way you can do that is if you delete all the keyframes that are using that mask.

 

I don't think this is practically possible though :( the triggers you created with the mask are tied to the hash generated by that mask. If you changed the mask shape, you (potentially) change the generated hash, and none of your previously set triggers would fire anymore. There might be cases where the new shaped mask doesn't change the trigger hash, but for the cases where it does, you would have to go back and retrigger everything and this might actually be more work than deleting the mask and starting fresh.

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this is a question about the editor not a request

I saw all of Steves YouTube videos,  and in Chapter 3  he explains Color Mask Sequence (on a very old editor version)

nobody has coveted this method on any of their tutorials (none that I have seen),  and I have yet to download a project that has this method implemented.

1.  Each Scene that implements a Color Mask Sequence is going to need a unique Mask.  Do I have to dedicated a mask for each scene that is set to Color Mask Sequence. 

If I have 20  Color Mask Sequence scenes in a project do I need to use 20 masks?

1. I tried to use this method but I can't modify the mask  the pen, bucket and square  are inaccessible. Steve does a Past Over (Shift+Ctrl+V)  to copy and past his mask to a different scene.

when I do this I copy the colors  and not the mask (again I can't modify the mask).

 

 

can we please get a chapter 4 video explaining what the difference is  and how to use the following methods of masking methods

Replace Sequence

Color Mask Layered

Replace Masked

Color Mask Sequence  

I have seen  Scenes that transition from a scene with dynamic content to another scene with more dynamic content (mainly the main score display that fills the majority of the DMD screen)

the way I would do those scenes is by cutting the entire scene into individual frames and then use existing masks.  Aside from not being the most efficient way of doing it; this creates problems

as some masks are applied to wrong scenes.  This is because I have to use very small masks as the main score display takes up a large portion of the screen.

  I would think that it would be faster and better to use Color Mask Sequences for this type of scenes  but I"m still not 100% certain on how to use this method of masking.

 

 

 

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23 hours ago, Pinballuser said:

can we please get a chapter 4 video explaining what the difference is  and how to use the following methods of masking methods

Replace Sequence

Color Mask Layered

Replace Masked

Color Mask Sequence  

Those modes have been introduced with V3.0 of the firmware and are currently untested. Some changes needed to use these modes are still missing in the editor.

Here is a short description

Replace Sequence is a sequence of replacement frames. Every frame of the sequence has a hash assigned which needs to be triggered to display the next frame.

Color Mask Layered is meant for video modes It is a group of colormasks triggering on sprites or parts of the frame seperately. Every colormask with a matching trigger gets applied

Replace Mask is only replacing a part of the screen. Meant for split screen display like used by some Stern machines.

Color Mask Sequence is like Replace Sequence but for Colormasks.

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On 8/17/2019 at 1:20 PM, lucky1 said:

Those modes have been introduced with V3.0 of the firmware and are currently untested. Some changes needed to use these modes are still missing in the editor.

Here is a short description

Replace Sequence is a sequence of replacement frames. Every frame of the sequence has a hash assigned which needs to be triggered to display the next frame.

Color Mask Layered is meant for video modes It is a group of colormasks triggering on sprites or parts of the frame seperately. Every colormask with a matching trigger gets applied

Replace Mask is only replacing a part of the screen. Meant for split screen display like used by some Stern machines.

Color Mask Sequence is like Replace Sequence but for Colormasks.

 

is it best not to use this options?

I seen that SAM Split screen  before,  and noticed that because of that screen allot and I mean allot of scenes would need to share the same pallet in order for that split screen to be colored

If I did that I would end up limiting my color selection to 16, I rather have an uncolored split screen then to have a very generic looking color profile.

does the Replace Mask option let you apply  2 color pallets to the split screen. One color pellet to each side of the screen.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Given that Aaron Spelling Pinball is a re-skin of LW3   I thought I download Malenkos LW3 project and learn how to use the editor.

Big Mistake as I was just duplicating his work without knowing what I was doing.   I eventually figured out what I was doing and re did the project.

their are  at least 4 missing scenes,  I just can't seem  to capture

14 Million
fight krystal loses

Video Mode (generate at random)
Target Left - cow
Target Right - OLD Man

 

I  highly doubt anyone will want this project,  but if anyone is willing to fix and make a tutorial/video  for the Scenes I don't know how to do

Scenes that require the Color Mask Sequence

and more importantly  the Scene on Fullplay4

Down the Drain01 - 60   -->   one of the Color Mask Sequence scenes that will more then likely need a unique mask for triggering and coloring.

 

you will need to place this project at

C:\Pin2DMD\Pin2DMD Projects\Aaron_Spelling

in order for the editor to find and load the recordings 

or 

update the XML to your preferred locations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Pinballuser said:

is it best not to use this options?

I seen that SAM Split screen  before,  and noticed that because of that screen allot and I mean allot of scenes would need to share the same pallet in order for that split screen to be colored

If I did that I would end up limiting my color selection to 16, I rather have an uncolored split screen then to have a very generic looking color profile.

does the Replace Mask option let you apply  2 color pallets to the split screen. One color pellet to each side of the screen.

 

I recommend to use them if you are fully comfortable with the "old" coloring options.

The number of palettes is still limited to 16.

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  • 4 months later...
  • lucky1 pinned this topic

So here is a little summary of >some< of the new tools because I want to make sure everyone appreciates how useful and time saving these are. There will be a few images in this post, but if you are serious about your colouring and you haven't tried out the new editor lucky posted above, then it is worth your time...

Global frame +/- shortcut
This has been in the editor sources for a few months but only since lucky posted did I remember, and I don't think the change was publicly announced at the time! :) You can now use arrow left and arrow right to frame forward and back - this will work globally, especially even after you have clicked the main DMD display, so you can now leave the mouse in one place, click to fill an area, then move to the next or previous frame without moving the mouse, so you can quickly fill the same area across multiple frames, even if the area is very small.

Tool size
This one is magic. This has a couple of effects on different tools. First lets look at the paint bucket. 
Consider this scene (set to colour mask mode) and palette - the the rest of the palette doesn't matter, I have coloured it badly so it's easy to discuss:

image.png.97b30a09eb314f97b3191a438113eccf.png

image.png.54db5a6ec399b656c3b907e8d0708d12.png

Pretend we want to replace red with yellow. Using the fill tool on the specified dot:

image.png.da86eb1821a43510c98cd737bafdcd86.png

With a tool size of 1, the fill tool works like you expect. Dots with a matching colour to the one you clicked which are immediately above/below or left/right of the selected dot are filled.

image.png.2ba0d48a7674cb38b641dda329d22fbf.png

With a tool size of 2, the fill tool will fill matching dots above/below, left/right and diagonally from the one you clicked.

image.png.6d6e9abdca977608ccfa9bb8d20c36de.png

With a tool size of 3 (and above) the entire scene is filled - it replaces all instances of red with yellow, regardless of if they are touching or not.

image.png.24f9e30de94b5b55a2c387e51062d935.png

Remember you can safely switch between modes while you are using the editor to colour, so you can really use the above to your advantage in colour mask mode.

And lets look at how the tool size affects the line tool; this is my favourite change because prior to this I was doing this by hand, dot by dot, line by line, but it is arguably one of the best effects on these LED panels. First, an example of what this is good for. Imagine the following colour mask scene:

image.png.2e87e947def86c3debb52af3023a6a64.png

Pretty nice right? Now look at what happens when we add some dithering (I have adjusted the background colour and zoomed so you can see more clearly the pattern that has been drawn) and adjust the palette slightly

image.thumb.png.745edd4fb626ee4454e164b3557d7e03.png

This leads to the following, which looks OK on a monitor, but on an LED panel, this is just the nicest thing to look at - your own eyes create the gradient between the colours and it is so smooth. I honestly think this is the single best thing I discovered in terms of making my colour projects look good, and I thoroughly recommend you try it out on any scenes you can spare the colours, it really shines.

image.png.8974ff290ebc70cfb198f0709c38a8c1.png

In terms of the line tool; when the tool size is set to 1, then it behaves in the normal fashion. When set to 2 or higher, it will draw a line of alternating dots using the selected colour - this is how I will now achieve the above effect. The higher the tool size, the bigger the gap produced. It is hard to describe, but the tool always starts by drawing the blank part of the line when you first click. With practice you will get used to it. It means colouring the above mask takes 15 seconds compared to the several minutes you would need to do it by hand using the pencil or old line tool.

If you are starting a new project then definitely worth upgrading first, and even if you are mid project, I would suggest trying it out anyway. I was able to open and save projects between this version and the previous with no problems, though admittedly it was only a small project/just started so I wasn't worried if it broke - always keep backups, save early, save often.

Hope this helps, if anyone has any questions then write them here.
 

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Thanks! Great program!!! Using it on mac os (the version in google drive two posts up)

Some feedback:)

-The arrow buttons doesn't work

-Cant find tool-size

-The tool that selects part of the image is still twitchy, when you copy, it copies the whole image mask regardless of what you highlighted (maybe i misunderstood what i should use it for?). After you (tried to) use it once the mouse stays like a cross and tries to rename every other scene/keyframe you leftclick on until you restart the program.

-What you see on my screenshot is what fits on my screen. I have to move the program-window around to get to "Mask". My native resolution is 1280x800.

I get a feeling that the mac-version is not updated, am i right?

Thank you again for a superb program!968284685_Skarmavbild2020-01-17kl_12_16_44.thumb.png.cad42e4db9c1e39f4a91f6d3030c759b.png

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2 hours ago, karlandreasa said:

I get a feeling that the mac-version is not updated, am i right?

Actually I build the code on a Mac but you have a old version. Please download again and doublecheck that you start the version you downloaded.

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59 minutes ago, metwurcht said:

hello 

 

i think there is a save problem !

if you modify  a "scene" ( color, drawing, etc....;) and if you save immediaetly and quit ,your job is lost . we need to clic an another scene ,before save and quit, for a good saving .

 

should be fixed in the latest version

On 1/20/2020 at 2:50 PM, lucky1 said:
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  • 2 weeks later...
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I uploaded a new version :

- improve loading of old projects with dump files located in different folders.
It copies the dumps to the project folder automatically, which is the default location. 

- fixes the delete function of recordings.

- fixes pin2dmd device dialog

- some fixes in USB routines

https://drive.google.com/open?id=18wNl_JbPW4XbvLkJQbT_s_DhHZqwq9CI

 

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