General Help with my first Project

[LuciferVisuals]

...aren't you overcomplicating things?

Thinking out loud. Know you will put up with it. Out of my ramblings comes the odd good idea
My head is all over the place atm, but that isn't necessarily bad, its playing with several unrelated issues, as it often does, and IT knows that somewhere there is something really good, if they are somehow interconnected, but not sure what yet, it will come as a flash of inspiration (which could be that's a bad idea, but could equally be a WOW moment).

But generally its beginning to clarify. The remote control I built was originally intended to control a star gate, just for fun.
Then I made it double sided to double its capacity, serious overkill for what I wanted, but who knows what someone else will do with it.
Apart from making a smaller version so as not to use up so much screen when on, even though it can minimize to the icon, I thought I would make both a landscape (people being more familiar with old game controllers) and portrait version. That's all easy just time consuming.

But having sooo much spare capacity, I thought one side for all the practical stuff, the other side for Star Gates and other fun ideas.... still easy.
I have been using the stuff I have been doing with you as a learning exercise, but have many other ideas and ways I can use the same code.

I always knew that @include existed... but deliberately didn't play with it till yesterday. But always had an idea in the back of my mind. Being:

For each self contained project of skin, I would put some stuff in an inc file, Which would automatically install the necessary into my remote controller if the users has it, if not it wouldn't be a problem and they could use either it stand alone., also as you know some of my animations are not small, so again was thinking of grouping them as optional special effects, initially for my star gates (but using the same principle for others). Again go if downloaded they automatically install in the correct place and work form the fun side of the remote, IF not no problem.

Hence some of the overthinking, in that I now know in principle how to do all the above, bound to be a few issues (I managed to break Rainmeter 5 times yesterday, with experiments .... But resolved all the problems ... )

In short I'm thinking of re-coding the reverse of the remote (and revising the front) but building in @include on every button, obvilously create a basically empty .inc file for it. as each following project is released it will have an .inc file that will over write the original, so everything will automatically work from the fun side of the remote.

Was also thinking of a GUI for users to program the buttons to do what they want, using in part the same method.

Anyway that's the root of the overthinking, there was a reason for it.

Keith

[Yincognito]

For each self contained project of skin, I would put some stuff in an inc file, Which would automatically install the necessary into my remote controller if the users has it, if not it wouldn't be a problem and they could use either it stand alone., also as you know some of my animations are not small, so again was thinking of grouping them as optional special effects, initially for my star gates (but using the same principle for others). Again go if downloaded they automatically install in the correct place and work form the fun side of the remote, IF not no problem.

Anyway that's the root of the overthinking, there was a reason for it.

I see, something like using various "modules" of your skin depending on their existence in the package. Well, that's why I said overthinking, because this happens automatically (with or without errors, depending on context). I mean, if you have some Image meter but the used image file is missing, the said "effect" won't be visible anyway. If you have an .inc that you use and it's not there, the things going on in that .inc (variables, measures, meters, whatever) won't be present either. Same with skins from a suite that you activate on demand or if a condition is met. Both can be "inserted" at any point in a "main skin", e.g. you could have an .inc having the woosh measures, another having the woosh meters, another having the entire credits, and so on, and place the @includes at the proper location in the "main skin" just as you'd do with the equivalent code. Then, IF either the .inc or the activated skin contains everything related to it (i.e. the "main skin" won't deal with those apart from inclusion / activation), you won't get any error besides those related to a missing .inc or a skin that couldn't be activated.

So, basically, the "issue" is reduced to ways to avoid those (few) errors, IF you want to. A trick one could, in theory, use to avoid that could be to have (dynamic) variables by default set to an already present empty .inc, then modify whatever such variable if the "actual" .inc exists, but unfortunately, in practice, the variables used to refer to an .inc can't be dynamic (so the skin will include the default .inc no matter what), and if they would be dynamic, to use it would require a skin refresh, something usually undesirable. There might be other, more convoluted ways to do it without errors, but personally, I would rather test various ways and make sure it's what I need before checking what could be done to avoid the errors (and if they are so critical to even bother with it).

[LuciferVisuals]

I see, something like using various "modules" of your skin depending on their existence in the package.

Yes i'm still thinking this out, and may be re-inventing the wheel, I'm not quite there with my thought process yet.

BUT..... Today watching TVfor a change, I had recorded SG1, (as star gate time is looming, thought it would be worth watching a few again). Anyway, you wont believe it..... But a perfect Open and close Iris, no actors or other stuff in the way and more or less perfect perspective..... An I had recorded it. SO some considerable amount of, making things do what they don't want to do, I now have a new animation for open or close the iris.

Well literally just finished it, seconds ago. Then when testing it in the skin we were playing with before, I realized.

IF the actual code to play an animation was on an @Inc... and I made a new better one then if someone downloaded the improved animation (with it's inc file) then put it in the skin, the new inc would over write the old one, so wouldn't matter about number of frames ETC ETC. but one refresh, and the new animation would play with no code work needed from the user.

Literally just unpack it..... job done.....

Keith

Just going to take poor dog out for walk will read and consider you post properly, when I get back.

PS I have put a post about copyright in the forum, cant remember where atm, but its well worth watching the clip I started it with to get the ball rolling. You prob know how to find it but in case that's not easy, this is the link to the video..... Its both funny and educational. WELL WORTH A WATCH, especially if you like Disney cartoons, as opposed to the company

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igtwv1067oM

[LuciferVisuals]

Could even put an .inc in a skin for an animation I haven't even made, but am thinking of doing. Same principle, user downloads it (with its inc file) IF and When its done, and it automatically installs and works, like a graphic plugin for want of a better word.

K

[Yincognito]

Anyway, you wont believe it..... But a perfect Open and close Iris, no actors or other stuff in the way and more or less perfect perspective..... An I had recorded it.

Yeah, at one point I was thinking of suggesting that, nice to know you found an alternative solution. You can experiment with .incs and such till you are satisfied with how it works. Yep, saw the cartoon post, not exactly my style (used to watch all Tom & Jerry stuff when much younger for the LMAOs) and since it wasn't about specific skin help, I quietly moved on.

[LuciferVisuals]

Yeah, at one point I was thinking of suggesting that, nice to know you found an alternative solution. You can experiment with .incs and such till you are satisfied with how it works. Yep, saw the cartoon post, not exactly my style (used to watch all Tom & Jerry stuff when much younger for the LMAOs) and since it wasn't about specific skin help, I quietly moved on.

I knew about the copyright video from my visual artist days, we used to do it all analog but the whole industry went digital, but you would be surprised what can be done analogue. But was good news for home film makers, as you could pick up analogue mixing desk (decks) that originally cost as much as £10,000 for under £200, because everyone was selling them, and there was no secondhand market in the business market. Anyway I wanted to took something up as I'm using some actual film footage, so re watched it. Then thought some other people "might" be interested, so posted it. I didn't expect much if any response to it, but I did think a few people would watch it, and possibly benefit from it.

Coming back to the .inc files, still thinking about how to uses them. Latest thought was I like high quality animations, really would like to do even bigger better ones, but I'm sure there would be a demand for less resource hungry ones, so another ability of the .inc would be to choose your size and resolution graphics, without the need for the end user to know how to alter the code.Though in this forum, practically everyone is into doing their own thing, which is really great. However with anything like this, there is usually a potential audience at least ten times that size, of people who want the effect and end result, but do not really want to have to know how its done. Everyone drives cars, not everyone wants to know how they work, most people want to just get in them and get from "A" to "B", this forum is the equivalent of "Hot Roding" and "Customizing", what you look at on your computer screen.

Take actual star gates there is the SC1 type, the, Pegasus Atlantis type, the SGU type the Tollan type, so the same base code could "Pick your Gate Type", Pick Size and choose resolution. (Example in point) the wormhole Vortex effect, and where it ends up. Still not thought about that much, but could include a .inc plugin, for IF and When its done. I'm still playing with the possibilities in my mind. Yesterday I heard they are making a New Star Gate Film (Cinema release), with possibly a new TV series to follow it. Obviously this approach would also add a degree of future proofing, If new material became available, literally just add new graphics that "Plugin" to thew existing code.

Do you think this sounds like a good idea, or am I off the wall even considering with this approach?

Keith

[LuciferVisuals]

Yeah, at one point I was thinking of suggesting that, nice to know you found an alternative solution. You can experiment with .incs and such till you are satisfied with how it works.

Also the general RM users could then find it easy to add my animations to their own skins, all they would need to do is add the @include to their code. So I could even build in a variable to resize it for them. I honestly don't know if I really am overthinking all of this, or whether it could turn into ..... "the way to go" ? So I'll keep pondering on the matter.

With the remote control, for example, (firstly I could decimate the code) but also offer different Skins" for it, anything from "MY little Pony or telly tubbies at the one end, to a Sci-Fi hologram version at the other end. and optional POP Up screens.

Keith

[LuciferVisuals]

I think I have reached the point where I need to look at what other people are doing, to date, I have only seen about five other peoples work, a couple, the Transformation Matrix and that "wonderful" lock, I did spend quite a bit of time learning how they worked, and re-using them, but the others, I looked at and thought either that's cool or not, and then never gave them another thought. Don't want to be a victim of tunnel vision.

So clearly, I should have a poke around and look at some more, see how others do things, and whether I should use less buttons, though I think their use is right in the remote control, (Ooooooh, a steam Punk skin for that would be cool ), but Ill look to see how others do it as I can see it might not be the best approach elsewhere....

Making a button was the first thing I learnt how to do, (a month ago it was the only thing I could do )... So I gave it a good work out LOL.

keith

[Yincognito]

Do you think this sounds like a good idea, or am I off the wall even considering with this approach?

Well, it has some potential, but it depends on how it's done to be helpful to as many as possible. Take a look at how various "tricks" / "tutorials" are made in the Tips & Tricks section of the forum (especially the community ones) for some ideas that you can use. Some of them are tutorial-like, some are skin-like, some are script-like, so I guess one could make an .inc-like approach (and even distribute it, if feasible). Thing is, many times all the parameters or expectations from these animations are significantly different from user to user, so it won't be that easy to make a "template" that many would follow in that regard. But then, why not? It's your decision, after all; whether it is useful or not, that would be the readers' decision, of course. Probably won't hurt to try though.

[LuciferVisuals]

Probably won't hurt to try though.

Ill look into your suggestion, I wanted to broaden my idea base anyway, I know I have just scratched the Surface.

I'm still very much mulling this over, but had a simple Idea to kind of test it out. Rather than start re-coding anything. Until I'm 100 percent behind the idea. I thought that as the last thing I wanted to do before reorganizing my chaotic collection of code (which unfortunately will need all the paths in the code to be revised, still that's life, and has to be done), but the last excuse I had not to immediately start on that, was to build an actual working Star Gate, which would not have taken very long IF I had simply done it the way I have previously been working.

But If I were to do that using this new approach, it would firstly take it to a practical level, no longer just a theory, and thus work out all the bugs, I would build it in what will be my new directory structure. Then transfer other stuff to it updating it as I move it (also less likely to loose something important LOL.... Really it's that bad atm). But it would be a practical test of the idea, and then probably get some feedback as to whether people like the idea, The secret being don't ask..... Wait and see if it gets a "wow".... or a "Really"....

Anyway that's the way I'm leaning


Keith

OH quick question, I said I did a new iris animation, optically much better, I wanted it to run a bit faster, its o.k. but would look better if it ran faster. I got the update down to Update=25, Unless I'm doing it wrong, inserting an UpdateDivider just slows it down, I tried decimal like UpdateDivider=.1 , and .01 but that did not appear to make any difference, and from my understanding any Negative number will stop it updating. Anything I can do to speed it up a bit?

Thanks for all your ongoing help and encouragement.