Upcoming Synapse OB-Xa: Obsession

[e-crooner]

Well, the hardware has a very longish panel, unlike the plugin. On the hardware the oscillators are in the center where they belong, not in some corner like with the current GUI.
That's what I mean by familiar.

[AnX]

I dont think he was being defensive

i did have a go, the S+H one was easy, but the other not so much, there was an env setting I couldn't match.... but I was testing some new stuff and got pissed off in the end, so gave up

[chk071]

No worries.

Personally, I hate to do those "match the sounds" exercises. What matters more to me is that the general tone is there, and that I can do similar stuff.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Well, the hardware has a very longish panel, unlike the plugin. On the hardware the oscillators are in the center where they belong, not in some corner like with the current GUI.
That's what I mean by familiar.

Yes, exactly! What works on a horizontally long interface, with a keyboard underneath, doesn't necessarily translate to a square plugin GUI. You don't put the most important features at the bottom, you put them in the center! Like...I dunno...every other synth ever, including the original OB-XA where the oscs and filter sections filled out the middle section. Just flipping horizontal to vertical doesn't achieve the same goal.

I really hope someone on the testing team raised this because while you "may get used to it" or "may not notice after working with it for months," it's the first thing many of us noticed when we saw the GUI. Also why wouldn't Osc2 Detune and X-Mod be in...I dunno, the oscillator section? Being that they're oscillator specific features and all. When you keep the square GUI though, where else are you gonna put them? There's no room by the osc's. See how this becomes a problem?

Keeping the square "Legend" layout makes absolutely no sense from a design and usability perspective IMO. I may buy the synth. It may sound terrific. But that GUI needs some work and should get an update. If the testers didn't point that out during the beta phase, then I'd suggest Richard needs to add to the team because that's the kind of feedback that should be getting raised early on.

I'm sorry if this comes across as petulant, it's just not a small thing IMO. I really hope some consideration is given to redesigning the UI to better fit the features. If this were a CS-80 emulation, would all those controls been crammed into a small square space just because? The UI needs to be designed around the features. Here it looks like features were moved around arbitrarily to fit a UI size, in a sometimes very illogical way.

[Yorrrrrr]

None of the people testing the plugin have complained in the slightest about this. It's really not an issue. Maybe in the aesthetics point of view...just maybe. But not in usability.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

None of the people testing the plugin have complained in the slightest about this. It's really not an issue. Maybe in the aesthetics point of view...just maybe. But not in usability.

The fact that none of the people testing this complained about it is an issue in my opinion. So we can just disagree on that.

I'd also make the case that layout does effect usability. You've got Oscillator Crossmod and Oscillator Detune nowhere near the other oscillator controls. Sure, they're on the same page, so you can say "it doesn't effect usability," but they in the wrong section. Did the OB-Xa have X-Mod and Osc2 Tuning by the paddles or were they in the oscillator section?

Imagine if this GUI were longer horizontally. I'd bet you could...

1. Make a layout that more matches the original synth,
2. Put everything in the right section and also...
3. Have room for the Page 2 effects and tweaks on the bottom of the GUI (think RePro for example) - this having room for everything on a single page

Wouldn't that improve usability?

[AnX]

None of the people testing the plugin have complained in the slightest about this. It's really not an issue. Maybe in the aesthetics point of view...just maybe. But not in usability.

The fact that none of the people testing this complained about it is an issue in my opinion.

why?

ive never used an original, or any of the emus, so the whole layout was new to me, much like any new synth. Because of its simplicity, took very little time to find my way around. Its not like I have to physically reach over to get to anything, it's all a tiny mouse movement away.

Anyway, thanks to "someone" sending Rich the picture, if changes do happen, you can easily add another month to release

[Teksonik]

Imagine if Synapse had taken the time to create a whole new GUI framework instead of using the existing one from The Legend and the GUI artist had to create a whole new template.

How much longer would we be waiting for OBsession to be released ? Would it have an impact on the final price of the plugin ? I don't know I'm asking.

Wait until you get the demo in your hands to make any judgments on "usability".

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

why?

ive never used an original, or any of the emus, so the whole layout was new to me, much like any new synth. Because of its simplicity, took very little time to find my way around. Its not like I have to physically reach over to get to anything, it's all a tiny mouse movement away.

Because putting the oscs, filters, and envelopes at the bottom of a vertical layout is about as non-standard as you can get. Putting the X-mod and the Osc2Detune outside of the oscillator section is about as non-standard as you can get. That's why. The place your eye goes to first is the center. In this case, that's the mod section. Why not just randomly place everything all over the GUI if none of this matters since we don't have to reach for anything and they're just tiny mouse movements?

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Imagine if Synapse had taken the time to create a whole new GUI framework instead of using the existing one from The Legend and the GUI artist had to create a whole new template.

How much longer would we be waiting for OBsession to be released ? Would it have an impact on the final price of the plugin ? I don't know I'm asking.

Wait until you get the demo in your hands to make any judgments on "usability".

For the record: I'm not suggesting he change it now. Far too late for that. Maybe for Obsession 1.1 or something sometime down the road.

Hence why I think this should've came up when there would've still been to change it. Like...early in the beta phase. Testers got this, what? 3 or 4 months ago? Maybe more? If Richard agreed with the feedback, there would've potentially been time to make changes, while other fixes could've continued in parallel.

[Teksonik]

3. Have room for the Page 2 effects and tweaks on the bottom of the GUI (think RePro for example) - this having room for everything on a single page

You're making assumptions based on a single screenshot of part of the GUI.

[AnX]

what can I say, I havent had a prob with it, and haven't seen anyone else mention it...

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

3. Have room for the Page 2 effects and tweaks on the bottom of the GUI (think RePro for example) - this having room for everything on a single page

You're making assumptions based on a single screenshot of part of the GUI.

Fair enough. If it's just a part of the GUI, and there's more I can't see because maybe it expands out with tweaks and effects, then that's different. I can only comment on what I can see. And even Bones mentioned a few pages ago that going to page 2 for effects was driving him crazy, so I assumed it was the same as The Legend there.

Still, the layout is utterly bizarre (unless that's changed too)!

[zvenx]

I wonder why they don't just move the modulation row down, the layout would look more familiar this way:

Oh definitely!!!
rsp

[Teksonik]

If Richard agreed with the feedback, there would've potentially been time to make changes, while other fixes could've continued in parallel.

The key word there is time. Regardless of what point in the development process they decided to use a new GUI framework as opposed to the existing Legend framework it still would have pushed back release the same amount of time.

Perhaps no one brought it up because no one had a problem with the layout.

The fact that you do is unfortunate but it is what it is.........

Like I said wait for the demo then we can discuss usability.

Oh and the fact that Bones complained about something shouldn't worry you one bit. He'll complain about something that takes two seconds then spend an hour composing some quote fest of a post at KVR railing against it........

But in all seriousness the more complex a synth gets the more complex the GUI will be so a developer only has a few options.

Make it bigger, use pages, or use pop outs. No matter what method they use someone will complain that it's too big or has pages or uses pop outs......