New Kind of Automation System

[sdv]

Lots of things have been happening under the hood with the MuLab code recently -- making everything a MUX, in essence, it seems. So, I'm trying to figure out if there's a way I can make a meta-XY control surface. What I'd like to do is something akin to The MetaSurfance in AudioMulch and The Harvester in SugarBytes' Graindad. I'd like to put multiple Meta-Parameters on a grid and then be able to move the cursor around in X-Y fashion and when the cursor gets closer to a control it increases in value, and the value lessens as the cursor moves away. Seems like some heavy coding but maybe there's a way to accomplish that now which is right before my eyes?
The logical outcome for this would be a Meta-Parameter X-Y surface for all the tracks in an individual Rack.

[pljones]

Oh ... I can imagine far more fun with various different shapes. Stick a parameter on each vertex of a hexagon with another at the midpoint of each side. The midpoints reach. 0.5 is the middle and 1.0 is the far vertex or midpoint from the "root". You can extend that with a drawable area with placeable parameter roots and an adjustable midpoint, of course. (I guess you limit to the number of parameters to 32 or something reasonable.)

(Still, I'd prefer OSC support and more MIDI message remapping tools - low level ones that let you apply rules. And maybe scripting -- that's got me out of so many problems in Reaper.)

[MuTools]

Lots of things have been happening under the hood with the MuLab code recently -- making everything a MUX, in essence, it seems.

Indeed

So, I'm trying to figure out if there's a way I can make a meta-XY control surface. What I'd like to do is something akin to The MetaSurfance in AudioMulch and The Harvester in SugarBytes' Graindad. I'd like to put multiple Meta-Parameters on a grid and then be able to move the cursor around in X-Y fashion and when the cursor gets closer to a control it increases in value, and the value lessens as the cursor moves away. Seems like some heavy coding but maybe there's a way to accomplish that now which is right before my eyes?
The logical outcome for this would be a Meta-Parameter X-Y surface for all the tracks in an individual Rack.

There is the Event Generators -> XY Parameter Pad module.
When it is connected to a module you can use the options button at the top-right in its editor to choose 2 parameters of the connected module and control these parameters in a 2 dimensional way.
Does that cover your request?

[sdv]

There is the Event Generators -> XY Parameter Pad module.
When it is connected to a module you can use the options button at the top-right in its editor to choose 2 parameters of the connected module and control these parameters in a 2 dimensional way.
Does that cover your request?

I use the included X-Y Pad quite often in my patches (including a new granular synth I'll be uploading to the User Files soon) but, like you said, it allows you to manipulate two functions of a plugin. What I'm referring to is an extended X-Y Pad which would have many Meta-Parameters placed on the surface and the cursor's position relative to the Parameter would indicate the Parameter's value (from 0-100%).

Here's another way to think of it -- say I have an MUX with several synths, filters, mixers strips, etc... and I assign some of their controls to Meta Parameters. As it stands now we have two views with an MUX; (1) the standard modular window and (2) a Front Panel configuration (if we so choose). What I'm looking for is (3) a third view - call it Meta/Terrain/Surface/Grid/etc... View - where those 32 MUX Meta-Parameters could be dropped & arranged and cursor X-Y movements within that view would alter the Meta-Parameters based on their distance apart.

With such a 'view', cursor movements could be automated to create evolving sounds. To take it to the next automation level one could import a "terrain" -- a topographic background image which the cursor would follow (slower 'uphill', faster 'downhill', etc...) to give the a third dimension to the cursor's movement and Meta Parameter's change. A person could swap out different topo images to alter a Meta Parameter layout. I know that would be a huge amount of programming but would be pretty unique modulation system.

[Michael L]

The traditional way to change many parameters at once is with many fingers on a many-fader controller.

[sdv]

The traditional way to change many parameters at once is with many fingers on a many-fader controller.

Thank goodness for computers which can now do the work for us with one mouse.

[Michael L]

The traditional way to change many parameters at once is with many fingers on a many-fader controller.

Thank goodness for computers which can now do the work for us with one mouse.

We don't want computers to do things "for us"
We want to do it, but with more immediacy and hands-on responsiveness:
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mdi.png

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You could get more flexibility from the current xy pads if you edit the Minimum and Maximum settings in a Macro so the Min is more than the Max to reverse the axis. Then you could map multiple xy pads to your mouse.