MeterzPak update for b67+

[plover]

MeterzPak - version 0.8.4-b67

The main new feature in this release is support for including MeterzPak configurations in skin files. The pop-up menu now includes a 'Use skin configuration' item which checks the ini file for the current skin (and mode) for a configuration. To always load an available skin configuration on skin or mode change, check the "Default to skin" box on the configure dialog. If a skin with no configuration is loaded, MeterzPak will restore the most recently used ordinary configuration.

There is also a new link to the configure dialog in the pop-up menu.

I packaged this as a regular zip file rather than an installer so that people's MeterzPak.ini files (where changes made using the configuration dialog are stored) won't get overwritten. MeterzPak.ini is located in the QCD Plugins directory. If you don't care about the previous version of MeterzPak.ini being overwritten, the MeterzPak archive can be unzipped to your QCD Plugins directory. Otherwise unzip elsewhere, and move MeterzPak.dll to the QCD Plugins directory. If necessary, configurations from the new MeterzPak.ini can be added to your current version of the file using a text editor.

New configurations by ace2701 and t_journeyman are included.

Including a configuration with a skin:
Add a section [MeterzPak] to the SkinKid.ini or SkinFamily.ini file. For kid skins, this section should have one item with the key 'kid'; for family skins, there should be one item for each mode with the key 'modeN' where N is the mode number. The value in either case should be a MeterzPak configuration string like those in MeterzPak.ini (though the final field of the configuration string (the module name) is ignored.)

There is currently no short cut for specifying a single configuration for all the modes of a family skin.

For family skins packaged as intact kid skins, the configurations must still be in the SkinFamily.ini not in the .qsk archives of the kids.

Uncompressed skins in their own directory should work just as well as .qsf and .qsk packages.

While the plugin itself is dependent on features in b67, adding MeterzPak configurations to a skin does not affect the usual parsing of the skin ini file, and so does not turn a skin into a 'beta' release.

Example SkinFamily.ini file:
(The spaces between 'modeN' and '=' are there to correct a formatting error in the web site and are not meaningful)
[Settings]
name=MyUberSkin
notes=The most awesome QCD skin ever! (You better believe it!)

[MeterzPak]
mode1 =:1:1:13:4:E6F800:E6F800:6D6D36:000000:1:3:75:-
mode2 =:1:1:13:1:726C50:0B0510:B7F0A6:B7F0A6:1:9:90:-

[Mode1]
name=Gigantic
path=here
.
.
.

[Mode2]
name=Microscopic
path=there
.
.
.

[Young Twig]

Totally sweet dude... Just need the transparent background and we'll be good... For now at least.

[ace2701]

Just want to say thank you for including my first endevour. Makes me feel real proud :) .

[plover]

I've been having a problem where, if I've been running MeterzPak, I get an error window when shutting down QCD. Is this happening to anyone using this update version? (If not I can assume that I've introduced the problem since the release...)

[ace2701]

I've been having a problem where, if I've been running MeterzPak, I get an error window when shutting down QCD. Is this happening to anyone using this update version? (If not I can assume that I've introduced the problem since the release...)Not happening to me (B67 W98SE at home). Will try it here at work (B67 NT4) and let you know.


Installed it, tried it , exited QCD with no problems. Sorry.

By the way, the colors for inverted are just right for Phazyme. However, could you (or I)add a second one, flipped right side up and call it Phazyme? :)

[ace2701]

OK Plover.. I GIVE UP!! I checked the .ini file (Inversion Layer), and cannot figure out what you did to flip the vis.:confused:

[plover]

ace2701:
The error I was asking about occurs for me starting with b68, so it's good to get independent confirmation that everything works fine with b67.

There's no specific command for inverting the vis. The color indicating a "lit" LED is set to black, while the "unlit" color is lighter. In other words, the music is controlling black bars on a light background instead of vice versa.

Also, are you aware that there's a configuration window for MeterzPak (so you don't need to edit MeterzPak.ini by hand)? (My apologies if I'm misinterpreting the phrasing of your post.) The easiest way to bring it up in the current version is via the "Configure..." item in the menu you get from left clicking the vis area.

And I am, of course, still accepting configurations that people contribute.

(BTW, if you haven't seen the MeterzPak "About" box, there are credits there for contributed configurations... Go to Preferences->Plug-ins->Visuals, click on MeterzPak, then click the "About" button.)

[ace2701]

ace2701:
The error I was asking about occurs for me starting with b68, so it's good to get independent confirmation that everything works fine with b67.

There's no specific command for inverting the vis. The color indicating a "lit" LED is set to black, while the "unlit" color is lighter. In other words, the music is controlling black bars on a light background instead of vice versa.

Also, are you aware that there's a configuration window for MeterzPak (so you don't need to edit MeterzPak.ini by hand)? (My apologies if I'm misinterpreting the phrasing of your post.) The easiest way to bring it up in the current version is via the "Configure..." item in the menu you get from left clicking the vis area.

And I am, of course, still accepting configurations that people contribute.

(BTW, if you haven't seen the MeterzPak "About" box, there are credits there for contributed configurations... Go to Preferences->Plug-ins->Visuals, click on MeterzPak, then click the "About" button.)
Thanks for the info. Yes, I am using the configure item i the menu, I have a program that gives you the hex value by just mousing over a particular color of the skin, but I can't find it in my machines right now :( . However, the config dialogue works just as good. I'll play with the color variations and see what comes out.

[ace2701]

WHOAH!! Plover, I just discovered the color-picking tool in the config box. That's EXACTLY what I need :D . Now I can match skin colors perfectly. Great job on this version of meterzPak.

By the way, here's my .ini contribution for Lich's Phaseless v2.0 (beta).

:4:2:13:5:ADF813:BOF816:000000:000000:1:10:133:Pha seless_b1

[Inthewoods]

Hi Plover and thanks for the great plugin! I like having a nice user interface for making changes. I am experiencing a minor problem however. When I use a larger number of bars (say for instance 14-18) I get a "missing teeth" look, that is, certain bars do not respond to the music at all. The pattern is symmetric from side to side. I apologize in advance if this is a known issue, I did a search and didn't see anything. I'm using QCD build 70 and your
vis-MeterzPak-0-8-4-b67.zip file. I's no biggie really but I thought you'd like to know.

Cheers

[plover]

When I use a larger number of bars (say for instance 14-18) I get a "missing teeth" look, that is, certain bars do not respond to the music at all. The pattern is symmetric from side to side. I apologize in advance if this is a known issue... This is a known issue; unfortunately, it is an issue with the QCD spectrum data that is fed to vis plugins. Paul looked for this once, and I think determined that fixing it would require major work. The way that MeterzPak is written already works around one instance of this problem, but it is just recently that I became aware that the problem also appears in the form you mention. I'll probably try messing around with the spectrum, and see if I can come up with a specification that works for the problem settings.

Are 14-18 all troublesome? It would help if I could get any information that people have on which numbers of meters have this problem.

I'll try to get an update version out soon with the "number of meters" control re-enabled in the configuration window. That should make testing this easier.