Nutcracker: Poll, are you using Nutcracker?

[smeighan]

I get very few questions from users about Nutcracker.

I would like to get an idea about how many people are using Nutcracker this year.

I would also like to know if you tried it, but just cant get it to work.

Thanks
sean

[chrisatpsu]

little bit of a learning curve. but getting there.

[jnealand]

I've been generating effects, but have not put them in a sequence yet.  With a mix of DMX and pixels I will have to use vixen routines, but will not start that until the show is up and running with out my pixel tree.  I'm still getting lights out of storage.  LOL

[frankr]

I have been using it.  I have a lot of python scripts that I use to manipulate the nutcraker generated sequences ( I use different strand start positions than nutcracker allows.  It is great for generating really cool effects for integrating into my sequences.  My problems are more with the other software (LSP And LOR) not being able to handle all the data that I generate...

Frank

[lonewolf41]

Well now I don't know how to feel.  Since I seem to have lots of questions, maybe I am to stupid to use it.      But seriously, I have used it extensively and will continue to do so as I complete my last 2 sequences.  It has made my show 1000 times better than it would have been.  I don't use the projects portion as I have a quick and easy way of getting what I need using timing marks in Vixen and the individual effects in nutcracker.  Maybe that will change in the future but old dog, new tricks you know.  The only things that I have had trouble with I have tried to post about.  The biggest thing for me right now is pictures that don't seem to work for me. 

One thing that I was curious about, I noticed that you had a bug tracker @ github.  Would you prefer that we use that or just make a posting in the nutcracker section about issues we find?

Thanks again for the use of your awesome software,
-Keith

[tallan]

I have not had as much time to learn it as I wanted however I did create the coolest little RGB effect for a smart string star that really came out nice and only took a few minutes to create and under a 1/2 hour to implement. I did that just before setup and have it running in a sequence now.

The star has a tail with 8 full smart string flex strips ( like a mega tree I guess ) that I hope to add some better effects to this week, in fact I am kind of excited to try! I am going to try a picture and maybe some scrolling text. My spacing is closer the the gifs it creates so I know the text will be readable.

Anyway, thanks again for the time you put into this sean I am looking forward to watching nutcracker grow!


Ted

[smeighan]

Well now I don't know how to feel.  Since I seem to have lots of questions, maybe I am to stupid to use it.      But seriously, I have used it extensively and will continue to do so as I complete my last 2 sequences.  It has made my show 1000 times better than it would have been.  I don't use the projects portion as I have a quick and easy way of getting what I need using timing marks in Vixen and the individual effects in nutcracker.  Maybe that will change in the future but old dog, new tricks you know.  The only things that I have had trouble with I have tried to post about.  The biggest thing for me right now is pictures that don't seem to work for me. 

One thing that I was curious about, I noticed that you had a bug tracker @ github.  Would you prefer that we use that or just make a posting in the nutcracker section about issues we find?

Thanks again for the use of your awesome software,
-Keith

" Since I seem to have lots of questions, maybe I am to stupid to use it. ".

I have always had a philosophy in software, if the user gets confused then it is my fault.

i hate software that requires you to learn an entire , foreign language to use it. Almost all software fails at this. The challenge is as we make it more complicated, how do we make it easy to use.

I would give the Nutcracker interface a C grade. It is not very intuitive. Much better would be slider bars with immediate feedback so you can try lots of things.

Some of best software has been designed for the game industry. Many games do not even need tutorials or manuals.

Next year, i will be looking to improve the user interface and make Nutcracker easier and faster.

Let me give you an example of bad Nutcracker.

I am new to sequencing, animated lights and all. When i looked at the frames that i generate, i called the frame duration "frame delay". This made sense to me. It has been confusing to users.

Notice the change:

Enter Your Frame Delay?

or

Enter Your Frame Timing?

I was wondering why people were entering in zeroes for this value when they should be putting in 50 or 100ms. It took someone else to remind me (you), that the word delay normally means to delay the start of something.

My only excuse for a not perfect Nutcracker is that i dont have a QA team, tech writers,
 multiple programmers (although we got Kurt Gustafson who made Gallery and Projects really work!), more time.

I will work on making it better next year.

Again, it is not you

thanks
sean

[twooly]

I wanted to try to use Nutcracker, but trying to get data into LSP was more work than I was hoping.  The restarting the application over and over got old.

[sjb]

As this is my first year, I have not tried it. But plan on looking at it and learning it next year.

[crazybob]

I have tried it, but it does seem to have more of a learning curve than I am ready for this year. Maybe next year. I cannot afford to set time aside to figure it out this year.

[bajadahl]

First year user here also so I had to make choices this year.  LSP seemed to be much more difficult to learn then I wanted so instead of trying to learn LSP and nutcracker this year I have started focusing only on LSP.  I also trying to work on output via lap scheduler or xlights. Until I get basic sequencing and output down I figured I would wait to plug in nutcracker.  Apparently my family wants me to spend time with them as well.....decisions decisions! 

With all that said.... I really can't wait to attempt to do more with Nutcracker.

Alan

[injury]

I'll probably use some things, or grab bits and try to modify in the sequencer. My main issue with it and why I tend to put it down for a while and come back to see if things have been modified is I don't have a mega tree yet and most of the coolest stuff I was trying only seemed to render properly for a mega tree. I had some fun with the user defined but did run into some issues with the limitations of being confined in a function there so took a queue from nutcracker and grabbed a HSV class off the web and have toyed with some of my own ideas from scratch off and on.

For instance I really like the look of lava on a tree gif, also looks good on the matrix preview, but if I want to slap it on say a single strand not sectioned it's nothing like what it looks like fade wise on the tree/matrix previews. I was expecting like a random orange to red fade cross fading in different areas instead it was rapidly firing from the start end a pulsing fast red effect.

Another one was one of the snow effects looked good on the tree gif, but when I tried to apply it to a matrix I was getting a lot of straight horizontal movement as opposed to vertical or even diagonal so the effect wasn't really working for me.

Definately a lot of promise in nutcracker, and I think if I had a mega tree I'd use it this year more.

A "wouldn't it be neat" idea I had (but be a pain to program) would be like a giant matrix representing a whole display then the user blacks out the sections he doesn't want in the gif of the display element. So in my case my display this year I'll have roof line in single strand (most dense area horizontally), some icicles that fuction as a matrix a bit wider spaced, some arches, then some luminaries in a tree shape. So if I could define a grid with the width being the number of pixel across the roof, height being the max height from top to bottom of the display, then black out what I don't want rendered in the preview a single script that rendered for the entire grid would seem to accomidate multiple displays for mood/ambience type of effects, or whole display chases and fades.

[kgustafson]

I'll probably use some things, or grab bits and try to modify in the sequencer. My main issue with it and why I tend to put it down for a while and come back to see if things have been modified is I don't have a mega tree yet and most of the coolest stuff I was trying only seemed to render properly for a mega tree. I had some fun with the user defined but did run into some issues with the limitations of being confined in a function there so took a queue from nutcracker and grabbed a HSV class off the web and have toyed with some of my own ideas from scratch off and on.

For instance I really like the look of lava on a tree gif, also looks good on the matrix preview, but if I want to slap it on say a single strand not sectioned it's nothing like what it looks like fade wise on the tree/matrix previews. I was expecting like a random orange to red fade cross fading in different areas instead it was rapidly firing from the start end a pulsing fast red effect.

Another one was one of the snow effects looked good on the tree gif, but when I tried to apply it to a matrix I was getting a lot of straight horizontal movement as opposed to vertical or even diagonal so the effect wasn't really working for me.

Definately a lot of promise in nutcracker, and I think if I had a mega tree I'd use it this year more.

A "wouldn't it be neat" idea I had (but be a pain to program) would be like a giant matrix representing a whole display then the user blacks out the sections he doesn't want in the gif of the display element. So in my case my display this year I'll have roof line in single strand (most dense area horizontally), some icicles that fuction as a matrix a bit wider spaced, some arches, then some luminaries in a tree shape. So if I could define a grid with the width being the number of pixel across the roof, height being the max height from top to bottom of the display, then black out what I don't want rendered in the preview a single script that rendered for the entire grid would seem to accomidate multiple displays for mood/ambience type of effects, or whole display chases and fades.

I think the behavior you mentioned whith the 'giant matrix' is actually doable in LSP.  I have seen folks who use a video to drive their entire show.  The video just tells LSP what lights to turn on based on the colors being translated by LSP to their show preview pane.  In essence, the video acts as an overlay to their preview pane and drives the various colors, pulses, on/off, etc.  I have seen it demo'd at the Academy last year and it was something worth looking into.

Kurt

[dgreen]

You bet I use it.
I don't know where I would be without it.
I watched the videos and it got me started. I can do what you would call basic effects.
I plan on getting a lot deeper into it in the off season.
There was a huge learning curve for me just getting LSP, Pixels, etc going.
Then once all that was done I had very little time to sequence.
This program has made it possible to do effects I could have never done.
Thanks a ton.