Hive 2.1 Izmo skin by Plugmon

[pdxindy]

The bottom row of modulators is like looking at a hieroglyph that needs to be deciphered.

Just to make this point clear :
The bottom row modulation indicators -- what I call "footer matrix" or "mini mod matrix" -- has 3 main purposes.



(1)Check how many slots are used
In the default skin I often fail to assign a mod, not knowing the MM slots are already full. This is because MM of the default skin has 2 pages long. The footer matrix informs you of current MM usage. It also indicates inactive state of a mod. For this purpose, you need not decipher hieroglyphs


(2)Help you overview mod usage
There're patches using AMP or VIB as mod sources. In these cases you have to be more careful of adjusting AMP/VIB than those not using them as mods. Again, single paged MM list surely help you notice this.

In v2 mod assigner system, users will frequently click mod assigner to see where it's routed. Footer matrix helps this kind of actions. Say you see some orange(=Amp) in footer, you notice AMP is used for mod, then click AMP mod assigner to see how it is used.

It also tells you the basic tendency of mod usage. This is helpful when you load an existing preset. If green all over, it intensively uses sequencer. If yellow, it's very sensitive to MIDI. To grasp an overview of a patch, you don't need to look at an icon one by one. proportion of colors tells you.


(3)Swap modulation sources
There're cases where you want to swap a modulation for another -- like changing all LFO2 mods for FNC1, to use LFO2 for different purpose.
For this kind of task the footer matrix is convenient since all sources are listed in a single line.

---
So the point is, footer matrix is abstract by its nature -- because it's only 25px height. But with that 25px it does some job, some even without clearly distinguishing each icon. I believe that purpose (1) alone can be a sufficient reason to place footer matrix. It saves you from needless drags and clicks.

For general modulation tasks, you can use "mod assigners" and "full mod matrix editor".

That said, the point that LFO(blue) and FNC(purple) are close in color is fair criticism. Making it more like light blue / red purple may improve distinction.
Also, currently most mod sources are expressed in 1 character e.g. "M" for modwheel, "V" for vibrato and velocity and such. If I make some space by moving MIDI/CPU meter to left-top of header, 2 characters may be able to be put -- "A1" for Amp1, "M1" for Mod1... by this readability could be improved, or clutter? Not sure but worth trying if other people also have trouble in distinguishing them.

I really like that little bottom strip. Yeah, it takes some learning to understand it, but I think no other possibility exists with such little space.

And it adds something useful that wasn't there to begin with. 2 characters would be easier to understand at a glance.

Hive really needs more mod slots... the current mod limit is the most frustrating thing about Hive at this point.

[Biome_Digital]

The bottom row of modulators is like looking at a hieroglyph that needs to be deciphered.

Just to make this point clear :
The bottom row modulation indicators -- what I call "footer matrix" or "mini mod matrix" -- has 3 main purposes.



(1)Check how many slots are used
In the default skin I often fail to assign a mod, not knowing the MM slots are already full. This is because MM of the default skin has 2 pages long. The footer matrix informs you of current MM usage. It also indicates inactive state of a mod. For this purpose, you need not decipher hieroglyphs


(2)Help you overview mod usage
There're patches using AMP or VIB as mod sources. In these cases you have to be more careful of adjusting AMP/VIB than those not using them as mods. Again, single paged MM list surely help you notice this.

In v2 mod assigner system, users will frequently click mod assigner to see where it's routed. Footer matrix helps this kind of actions. Say you see some orange(=Amp) in footer, you notice AMP is used for mod, then click AMP mod assigner to see how it is used.

It also tells you the basic tendency of mod usage. This is helpful when you load an existing preset. If green all over, it intensively uses sequencer. If yellow, it's very sensitive to MIDI. To grasp an overview of a patch, you don't need to look at an icon one by one. proportion of colors tells you.

That's actually a really cool feature.

[mbb]

i really prefer the old skin. my first thoughts: "oh ... a massive x clone". my eyes feel exhausted after looking at the gui for a few minutes. somehow blurry. the shades around some knobs dont feel right to me. the new skin is counterintuitive for me. maybe it´s better if you know hive inside out ... bottom row of modulators way too small.

[eytanmich123]

i really prefer the old skin. my first thoughts: "oh ... a massive x clone". my eyes feel exhausted after looking at the gui for a few minutes. somehow blurry. the shades around some knobs dont feel right to me. the new skin is counterintuitive for me. maybe it´s better if you know hive inside out ... bottom row of modulators way too small.

I, too, prefer the old skin over this. my eyes kinda hurt after looking at the gui for more than a few seconds. TMI/TMII (too much interface interference).

[Jorgeelalto]

I really like this new skin. Thanks a lot for including both of them : D

[Miralis]

I really appreciate the new skin as well, especially considering that it provides a different workflow and some neat quality of life improvements (I absolutely love the sequencer and the 12 slots mod matrix).

To echo some previous posts, I believe as well that the Izmo skin is a bit too bright for long sound design sessions.

I have modified it slightly to start working with it as early as possible. I am posting my modifications in case anyone is eager to start working with a darker version of the skin.

Hive Custom.png

Here is a list of the modifications:
-Main color was changed to a darker shade of turquoise
-Waves (including standard waves, noise, wavetables and anything shown by the scope) and the font color in the settings menu are turquoise as well
-The brightest images were darkened slightly by using a python script
-LFO and FNC modulations have more distinct colors
-Swapped the Triangle and Square icons from the shape sequencer
-Partly fixed a weird issue with the Saw icon in the shape sequencer

Suggestions.png

I also have some suggestions/notes. Use the screenshot of the shape sequencer screenshot I attached as a reference:
-First of all, I would like to have the shape sequencer icons in the following order: Saw, Square and Triangle. It makes more sense since this order is used in the shape sequencer dropdown menu
-The "q" from "Shape Sequencer Editor" is bold in Linux Mint (64 bits) but not in Windows 10. Inversely, the "S" from "Segment Type" does not appear properly in Linux but presents no issue in Windows
-The saw wave icon in the shape sequencer has a weird behaviour. When selected, the saw is black and appears on a transparent background (the other icons are white on a black background). For a reason I cannot explain, changing the name of the SSQ-Saw1.png file and modifying Hive.txt to reflect this modification solves the problem
-Somehow, the two skins have different CPU usages on Linux. Plugmon's skin maxes out one of my CPU cores usage whereas the original skin allocates a similar charge on every single core. Note that my computer is particularly problematic when it comes to graphic drivers in Linux (I cannot use the recommended NVIDIA drivers for my GTX 970M). Take this last point with a grain of salt as it may not happen on other computers

CPU.png

SSQ-Saw-Anomaly.png

[Ploki]

that green looks like the 1995 Mazda 323F i had.
or same year honda civic.
i'm gonna pass

[e-musician]

Thanks for providing Izmo as an alternative skin! As stated in the opening post (provided that I got this right), Izmo is not only supposed to look different but to offer a new approach to HIVE as well (which I believe is a good idea).

I would like to say that, generally, I really like the combination of black and white and the overall "aesthetic". And I do not want this to be any more "colourful" (but I could live with yellow or orange graphs for the OSCs and filters, as suggested by some).

The problem I see, though, is the thing about contrast that some have already pointed out, too.
What is more, at least here, the GUI looks a little blurry (and not sharp enough).

I think drzhnn has made some very good points (although I do not like his suggestion for the lower part, i. e. FX, PB and modwheel and stuff; here I prefer Plugmon's design).

[zvenx]

I actually much much Much prefer that green.
rsp

[exmatproton]

I actually much much Much prefer that green.
rsp

I don't like the green, but it is way better compared to the bright grey in the 'original'.

[zvenx]

I was comparing it to the Izmo skin.
But indeed just proving everyone has different tastes.
rsp

[Dirtgrain]

that green looks like the 1995 Mazda 323F i had.
or same year honda civic.
i'm gonna pass

and too much reminds of the teal-era Detroit Pistons.

[exmatproton]

I was comparing it to the Izmo skin.
But indeed just proving everyone has different tastes.
rsp

[exmatproton]

Done this;

Grey (212121FF), quite flat, low contrast (have good eyes, so the darker text on the dark grey isn't an issue for me):

Hive2 Grey.JPG

EDIT:

whoops...Forgot to make the Mono89 aaaaaaff:

Hive2_2.JPG

[zvenx]

I also prefer your darker one.
Rsp