Quote:
Originally Posted by grandfougue
I discovered with your work that a plugin that we want to use sounds better thank you for everything Zeno
|
I'm glad that the strips offer you an added value.
I take your request as an opportunity to give the users of my strips some insights into the work process and to provide an explanation for the delay of the releases.
First of all the obvious: the work on the strips happens in my free time.
There are always particularly busy periods when I don't spend a single minute thinking about strip designs. There have already been suggestions to monetize the strips or to include them in donation plans so that i can focus more on strip designing.
I am happy about every donated coffee (by the way: I love good coffee
) and there are some generous offers, but first of all the demand is not high enough to cover any living expenses from possible proceeds, so monetizing would have no influence on the release rate and secondly this contradicts my claim to make these strips freely available to everyone.
But high workload in my job is not the only reason for delays.
Well, but why is it taking so long?
On the one hand, I want to offer users a visually pleasing experience and at the same time design the graphical interface in such a way that it supports workflow.
There are some basic and individual questions that come up before I even make a single mouse click. A lot of work goes into planning a GUI first:
How does a GUI have to be designed so that it integrates well visually in the context of the various Reaper themes most commonly used? After a lot of experimentation, I came to the conclusion that an 80s neon style works quite well with most themes, if implemented correctly.
Another question is how do parameter graphics need to be designed to suit their individual purpose and how do they need to be arranged to ensure a tidy look and good workflow ergonomics?
And another question is, how can I give each strip an individual look and vibe while keeping the total number of graphics needed to a minimum to save disk space and ram load?
And finally the question is, what is feasible and how can I implement it. Because there are technical limitations. Limitations that demand creative solutions.
Once the basic concept is in place, it's time for the real work: the graphic design.
So far, I've done most of the work in Knobman and Gimp. But when it comes to designing more complex control graphics, it becomes a real challenge. Especially creating three-dimensional, skeuomorphic graphics in 2D software is a lot of work. Including render time, rework, and post-processing, many graphics require a total of 3 to 12 hours of work - or even more. And whether the control graphics end up integrating well visually into the strip interface and whether everything harmonizes with each other, I can only see when I finally put the strip together in LBX Stripper.
I have decided that the amount of work is too high for the end result. I have experimented with Knobman 3D for the VU meter strip for instance, but am dissatisfied with the possibilities and the results. Since the community has also expressed a desire for high-resolution strips, I decided to break new ground, switch to Blender, and design the strip backgrounds and control graphics 100% in 3D software.
This means that I can design the whole interface in one piece and in a much higher visual and artistic quality, with much less work. Some graphics that were difficult to do before, or took hours of work, can now be done in a matter of minutes. It also shortens the previous planning phase, because the change to a 3D engine allows more experiments and adjustments can be made more easily. But it also means much higher render times. Sometimes it takes the whole night to render a single graphic in high resolution.
What does that mean in concrete terms for the future? Very simple. I have already created a lot of assets, the strips from the last update as well as the JS comps teased in 2D and some more JS, like some limiters are now already created in 3D. I am currently working on meters, surface structures and lighting and still have a lot to learn and read. So it will take some time until an update will come.
I also decided to offer the strips in 2 resolutions in the future and to monetize the high resolution strips. I haven't thought about the exact pricing and method yet. But who has supported me through donations so far, will of course get access to the high-resolution strips.
That means, if you can live with the problem of blurry graphics and staircasing, you don't have to pay anything in the future, if you are broke. I think that's fair
Some may be confused by the back and forth, things are announced and then not published. And I'm sorry about that. I want to deliver a good product and sometimes it's necessary to rethink things in the short term rather than continue down a hopeless path.
greetings
Zeno
I don't have the time capacity to do that at the moment.
Linear Mode
