DiyLightAnimation

Software => Nutcracker: RGB Effects Builder => Topic started by: smeighan on February 26, 2013,

Title: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: smeighan on February 26, 2013,
I am now releasing Nutcracker 3.0.

Nutcracker 1.0 was released Feb 2012.
Nutcracker 2.0 was released summer of 2012. It included local installs , more effects and projects.
Nutcracker 3.0 is being released Feb 2013.

Nutcracker 3.0 is the complete rewrite of Nutcracker 2.0 into C++. Nutcracker is now merged with Matt Brown's xLights. Matt Brown took on this conversion project last DEcember. xLights version 2012e merged with Nutcracker. I am calling this new version Nutcracker 3.0.0.

Why the rewrite?
Answer: I wanted Nutcracker to be more interactive and faster. C++ allows the easier implementation of things like movies and other hardware specific features/.

Answer: I wanted to make the installation of Nutcracker easier. With the release of Nutcracker 3.0, you will no longer need XAMPP or WAMP. This will save 1 gbyte of disk space from your local drive.

Answer: I wanted the generation of effects to be quicker. For example old Snowstorm effect generation 400 seconds, new Nutcracker 3.0 time = 10 secs.


What is different?
Answer: The user interface is entirely different. Hopefully you will find it easier to use.
Answer: We dont have projects yet in Nutcracker 3.0.

What is the same?
Answer: All the effects have the same prompts. The concept of create an effect before you pick the sequencer is the name. Exporting for your sequencer is the same.
Answer: Same target models, megatrees, matrixes.

Where is new code?
Answer: http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/releases/
This web page also shows the current differences between Nutcracker 2 and Nutcracker 3

I will be talking about this new release in this weeks Tutorial, Thursday Feb 28th at 7pm MST. I will create a vimeo video introduction.

For those developers who might want to see the source code, https://github.com/smeighan/nutcracker_c

thanks
sean
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: RJ on February 26, 2013,
Cool, you guys rule!!!!
this means even dumb old me should be able to use it. (I just never get time to read up on stuff.)

Good job!  <res.

RJ
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: rrowan on February 26, 2013,
Very Cool

I just DL the 3.0.1 version - Install was quick and easy

I guess a option for a desktop icon in a future release would be nice

Thank You

Rick R.
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: remoteutah on February 26, 2013,
running now - looking good!
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: rdebolt on February 26, 2013,
Down loaded and playing!!!  >.d9
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: JerryPlak on February 26, 2013,
Sean and Matt merged with into xLights
very Cool !  and thanks
Title: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: taybrynn on February 26, 2013,
Thanks so much for all you do ... This is awesome news !!
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: Gary on February 26, 2013,
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Cool, you guys rule!!!!
this means even dumb old me should be able to use it.

Um... I disagree, you're pretty smart too!
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: plaberge on February 26, 2013,
Great work! Not only is the interactive nature of the interface much more intuitive, the layering really expands the effects that can be created. Looking forward to future releases.
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: smeighan on February 27, 2013,
I have written an beginners tutorial on setting up xLights/Nutcracker. This process will get you to an exported file for whatever sequencer you are using

http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/tutorials/intro.pdf


Now the tutorials i made a few months ago would make sense.

xLights and Nutcracker introduction:                                    https://vimeo.com/57960516
Creating a text effect:                                                        https://vimeo.com/57960775
Creating two Nuctracker effects and layering between them: https://vimeo.com/57961300
Exporting a xLights/Nutcracker sequence into LOR lms:         https://vimeo.com/57960884


thanks
sean
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: SteveMaris on February 27, 2013,
I just tried it for the first time. Easy to figure out with the tutorial.
In a word: Brilliant.
Thank you Sean.  8)
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: zwiller on February 27, 2013,
Thank you Sean.  Looks I need to sit down and learn it now.  I admit the previous interface scared me off...  The new one looks great and very user friendly.  Not entirely sure how the export/import will work with LSP but I'm confident it will soon. 
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: smeighan on February 27, 2013,
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Thank you Sean.  Looks I need to sit down and learn it now.  I admit the previous interface scared me off...  The new one looks great and very user friendly.  Not entirely sure how the export/import will work with LSP but I'm confident it will soon.

The big thank you is to matt brown who did the entire rewrite on Nutcracker last DEcember (thousands of lines of C++). Now that he has it working, i have been modifying it. I added the *.vir, *.lcb and *.hlsnc output files to the export button this last week.

It should be easier to get LSP msq and asq now that it is in C++. For example, there are direct calls to the 7zip dll available.

LSP msq and asq are the holy grail for output files. I tried last year but it was too complicated and there was no documentation.

I am writing the LSP UserPatterns.xml routine right now. I hope to have it finished by this weekend. This will get the xLights/Nutcracker 3.0 code equal to the capabilities in todays nutcracker.



thanks
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: RJ on February 27, 2013,
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LSP msq and asq are the holy grail for output files. I tried last year but it was too complicated and there was no documentation.

I happen to know a couple of people that may be able to help you two with this. Let me see what I can do. I just need to explain the benifit it is to them to help you two. It is likely it is not clear there is a big benifit to them.

RJ
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: twooly on February 27, 2013,
Directly into LSP would be awesome.  For some reason the userpatterns only worked part of the time for me so I gave up with it.

Thanks for your hard work!
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: maffeirw on February 28, 2013,
Just wanted to thank you and Matt for adding Nutcracker to xlights.  I had used it successfully to add megatree effects to 6 of my unfinished sequences in December and now that you have fixed the picture and snowstorm effects it will be that much better.  Although I have been using the Nutcracker effects since, pretty much, the beginning I have found the xlights interface much easier and much faster.  Thanks again to both of you for a job well done. I think I might have raved about it when Matt first added your effects generation to his program, but it bears repeating over ... and over ... and over ...and over ... and over Thanks
Title: Re: Nutcracker 3.0 Released
Post by: smeighan on February 28, 2013,
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Just wanted to thank you and Matt for adding Nutcracker to xlights.  I had used it successfully to add megatree effects to 6 of my unfinished sequences in December and now that you have fixed the picture and snowstorm effects it will be that much better.  Although I have been using the Nutcracker effects since, pretty much, the beginning I have found the xlights interface much easier and much faster.  Thanks again to both of you for a job well done. I think I might have raved about it when Matt first added your effects generation to his program, but it bears repeating over ... and over ... and over ...and over ... and over Thanks

Matt fixed pictures and snowstorm in January. I still am blown away with what Matt did.

All of xlights today is 20K lines of code. About 3500 lines of that is for Nutcracker. In those lines he implemented the real time display of the effects. Nutcracker 2.0 today is  about 35K lines of code. It has database calls, gallery, projects, single strand segments that are not yet in Nutcracker 3. Having said that, for each effect Matt ported , he made it faster and he used 2-3 times less lines of code.

We are lucky he was willing to do the Nutcracker port.

thanks
sean