Contraption Groups / Macros

+1

Would make complex patches easier to read if you could put contraptions into a group and save it...

Sounds good. It's on the list.

This would be awesome!

I remember a similar discussion on the mulch list a few years back but it was more about a container for mulch contraptions that you could drop in or use this container to build more complex patches or something like.

I think this should be the essence of audiomulch. Just drag and drop things, and play.

I was thinking on the weekend that something like this would be great, especially for easily adding things like a wet/dry control to contraptions that don't have them, eg: phaser.

The main trouble I see with this is how you would get to the interfaces for the contraptions inside the group. Would be nice to just be able to double click on the group and up would come 1 single window with the controls in it but I imagine that would be difficult.

Ross, you might want to look at the product 'mental mill' by mental images (disclaimer: they're my employer) for some inspiration on this concept. http://www.mentalimages.com/products/mental-mill.html. The phenomena in the mill are basically identical to to what is being asked for in audiomulch. Be able to select a number of contraptions and group them into one virtual contraption. FYI: mental mill is basically audiomuch for 3d surface shader design.

"The main trouble I see with this is how you would get to the interfaces for the contraptions inside the group."

I had the impression that this request was for dropping in a pre-configured set of contraptions rather than a containerized group of contraptions. So the interfaces would be the same as ever.

Yes, it started as a discussion on just dropping a set of contraptions in but someone also brought up the concept of a container as well. Am just seeing if we can extend the idea into something even more useful.

I wouldn't see much point in just being able to drop a set of contraptions in. You would also want to have them connected together as they were when you saved the set. Whether the contraptions are containerized is not that important and would likely involve some significant changes to the UI design. The basics of what I would like to see is to be able to select a number of nodes in a network, save them out as a connected set and be able to bring that connected set back in to any other network.

OOOH Yeah! +1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...to save "chains" of contraptions and fx so as to quickly drop in and out is a MUST!
Ross, respect to u man,your program is awesome and this FR is a great idea and really should be implemented.
It would certainly keep with the ethos and vibe of AudioMulch being a LIVE application/instrument...

what 'bendy' is talking about above is spot on . All contraptions need to appear patched as they were with all settings,parameters etc intact...could this also work with 3rd party VSTs? cos thats the slant im on.
This would revolutionise 'Mulch yet not veer from the original vision in the slightest.

Go for it Ross!

peace

This features would help building complex patches.
You can do it in Max, you can do it in Isadora, you can do it in Bidule....
sure hope we can someday do it in Mulch!!!
In fact, i'm trying Mulch these days and i'm already at the point where i would need it.

The only feature this container contraption would need is the ability to define the number of audio ins/outs and midi ins/outs.

Actually, 'containerized' contraptions/macros would be fantastic - would save me so much time when it comes to pre-setting levels/fx. At the moment, I have a very, very cluttered bin of contraptions that I leave disconected until I want them...

Can't wait to see what Mr B comes up with.

having controller configurations and curves saved too would be *awesome*

The way I see it, there are at least 3 related concepts here:

1. The ability to save part of a patch and recall it later (this is kind of like cut-and-paste with multiple persistent buffers.

2. The ability to group contraptions together so you can drag them around the patcher as a unit (and possibly collapse them to save space, a bit like a folder).

3. The ability to create custom "aggregate contraptions" which are new contraptions made out of existing contraptions, with their own inputs and outputs. This is like the max/msp abstraction concept, and with it comes issues like.. if you have multiple instances of a contraption and you modify one of them, it modifies all of them, or not. This is most useful if you have low level building-block contraptions like oscillators and filters that you can use to build up larger things (like you can do in bidule and maxmsp but which isn't the focus of AM).

I have done a bit of work on (1) and (2), deciding that (3) is not so important for AM, but I'd be interested in what other people think.

-- Ross

The 2 nd would be nice. But how will it appear in the patching view , like one block or with all the contraptions ? Anyway it would be cool.

In bidule, you can make "groups" and choose wich controls you'd like to see on the GUI, I like this very much.

(2) would appear in the patching view as an outline around the grouped contraptions. There wouldn't be any special aggregate contraption editor.

1, 2 and definitely 3.
Possibly an option that when editing one it does/doesnt edit the others(?)
To be able to amass aggregate contraptions, collapse in a folder, give it a cool name, like ur own instrument/effect, and have it ready at the go so you could open multiple instances of it. Tweak each one diffrent, spread them across metasurface.... :)!
Big awesomeness.
Tread down the Bidule/ MSP path, without becoming them and youll be fine.

good luck

1 and 2 definitely. The 3rd one might be overkill. I think it would take away work being done on the performance side of AM but that's just me and I'd rather use something like Reaktor inside AM.

overkill? hmmm...Reaktor is overkill :)