robert_inventor -> RE: What is Your Weapon of Choice: Metronome, Drum Machine, Compás CDs, or Software? (Aug. 29 2010 9:33:46)
|
quote:
Thanks, you are right it is a bug. Great! quote:
After "testdriving" it I came across some more bugs. Buttons that react only one way, tempo settings wich are not correct. Eg. adjusting the tempo with the "tempo-text" changes the interface in colors, and displays a new tempo, but continues playing the same tempo. Okay, can you say a bit more about this bug? I tested it just now, tried changing the tempo text and the tempo changed fine, not just visually, the played rhythm as well. So I need a bit of help to reproduce the bug in order to fix it. Also, one immediate question, does it happen when you use it in one particular window (e.g. main window, 3D graphics or whatever) or in all of them? Another question - is it something that happens for a particular rhythm or metronome? I may have more questions after you say a bit more about it, if I still can't reproduce it here. quote:
The "hidden" features are nice, but in essence the metronome should be rock solid, and from thereon you can build/show all the nice features. Yes 100% agree. quote:
IMO, the big dial could free up some space since it only shows a small bpm number and some musical terms. If shrinked it saves up a lot of space to combine groups of functions. Yes, I agree, something that I've been thinking as well in fact. split window Anyway there is one thing you can do right away. If you go to the Opts drop menu there's an option to split the main wnidow. This will make the tempo dial into a separate window which you can resize as you like - or close and only show when you want to change the tempo. The 2D and 3D graphics also then become separate windows you can show as desired or resize, and main window gets remade smaller leaving out the tempo dial and the bouncing balls. The thing about the tempo dial is that if you make it much smaller, it is hard to read all the numbers around the edge of the dial - as you'll see if you resize it as a separate window. Also the text in the center gets too small when it is small (though I could just prevent that text from resizing for small tempo dial). tempo strip There's also a tempo strip you can show in the 2D and 3D bouncing balls, which takes up much less space than the tempo dial, along the bottom of the window. Same idea as tempo dial, graphical interface to change the tempo - but linear rather than circular so takes less space. Of course depends on how you use it, some users won't have much need for a graphical interface to change the tempo - if normally you have a tempo in bpm you want to use and it is easiest to just enter it as text, you don't need this at all. You can show it at the bottom of "Bouncing Balls - Controls, Text and Layout (Ctrl + 233)". You don't really need it in the 3D bouncing balls because the tempo dial doesnt' get in the way in the same way - but is available there too if you need it, in the More (twice) version of the Bouncing Balls - 3D Visuals (Ctrl + 226). 3D bounce in main window idea I might do it so that you put the 3D bounce into the main window instead - as that combines the bounce with the tempo dial so saves space. You can't really put the 2D bounce in front of the tempo dial because it would be confusing, but in 3D with the visual depth, works okay. Also then optionally the user can show it as the bare bones tempo dial or just hide it altogether. But to do it that way, I would need to change the layout of all the main windows, replace the current upside down T shape of the graphic elements (tempo dial at top in the middle, 2D bouncing balls as horizontal rectangle at bottom) with a rectangular element for the 3D graphics combining both - and then reorganise all the other controls around it. Not a lot of work, once you have decided how to do it, just drag and drop ui editing most of it - but needs thought to do it well. Tempo text in 2D Bouncing Balls idea This is another thought, could just add the tempo dial text field to the 2D bouncing balls same as for the 3D bouncing balls. With that + the tempo strip, then you've got all the functionality of the tempo dial in the 2D window just as for the 3D window. So then could do the main window with the tempo strip, 2D bouncing balls, tempo text, and no tempo dial, but button to show the dial for those who like it, + button to show the 3D bouncing balls, as before. quote:
It may sound a bit nit picky, but thats how users, or at least I am, rate a program. From a visual point of view I would like to see a more mature interface. Other buttons, more uniformity etc. Yes that's fine, great to talk about these things. The visuals do also make a big difference to usability, if you can see how things work and what to do at a glance and the important elements are easy to find and easily visible and unimportant things take less screen space, makes it much easier to use the program - especially when it's the sort of software where you continually tweak settings as you use it, e.g. tempo, rhythm, etc. As for more mature interface, that will just come with time I think. Do what I can as I go along. quote:
I'll see if I can come up with an example today to illustrate it. "More bounce to the ounce" [:D] Okay great [:D]
|
|
|
|