Orion 8.6 released

[Saukar30]

http://www.synapse-audio.com/news-orion ... utnow.html

[Orbit-50]

Awesomesauce!!!!

[Grizzellda]

What is the current status of this sequencer? Do you know? I wasn't clear about whether or not it was still in development, but now it seems that it is...

[Orbit-50]

What is the current status of this sequencer? Do you know? I wasn't clear about whether or not it was still in development, but now it seems that it is...

I don't know if we can say it's still in development so much as there was some stuff done to improve the current version which is way cool. I don't think they will be going further than this with Orion unless by some miracle...

[Grizzellda]

I've always been somewhat interested in Orion, but with no feeling of active development, well then forget it! It looks to me, from a distance, to be a straight forward, solid & elegant sequencer that would be superb for Electronic Music of various sorts.

Still though, I'm not quite confident in the development cycle, but Orbit-50, you seem to think that there is no "development cycle", right? Does anyone here communicate with the developer? Maybe his focus is on Dune 2?

[ravasb]

This just seems to be a maintenance update for current owners. It is not available in their store.

[Orbit-50]

I've always been somewhat interested in Orion, but with no feeling of active development, well then forget it! It looks to me, from a distance, to be a straight forward, solid & elegant sequencer that would be superb for Electronic Music of various sorts.

Still though, I'm not quite confident in the development cycle, but Orbit-50, you seem to think that there is no "development cycle", right? Does anyone here communicate with the developer? Maybe his focus is on Dune 2?

There was a thread not too long ago about the fact that development was all but ended. This update comes as a pleasant surprise.

[manducator]

development was all but ended.

But why isn't it for purchase anymore? Updates for something that isn't sold makes me confused.

[VitaminD]

development was all but ended.

But why isn't it for purchase anymore? Updates for something that isn't sold makes me confused.

IIRC, This version was in beta for years.. they just finally pushed it live.

[Numanoid]

Unfortunately something is missing

The following lists all changes since Orion 8.5.

New:
Track freeze option added in the playlist
New Effect: Fat Space for Orion
New Effect: Stereo Widen Pro
New Instrument: Dune v1

[Tux]

I'm glad to see this and shall definitely be buying. It looks like it's only for registered users though. I'm hopeful that one day Rich will continue development but I'm sure this long overdue upgrade (I'm speaking personally here, the version I'm currently using is very old) should see me right for a few more years.

Orion may not be the most sophisticated DAW but to me it's like an old guitar that I can pick up and jam with anytime. I don't get that with any other DAW.

[cytospur]

development was all but ended.

But why isn't it for purchase anymore? Updates for something that isn't sold makes me confused.

IIRC, This version was in beta for years.. they just finally pushed it live.

Not completely true. Freeze was in beta for some time as were some bug fixes. Other bug fixes and the newly added FX are properly new.

[cytospur]

Here's the change log:

Orion 8.6 is now available in the service area for all registered users! This version is largely the same as the public beta, except for bug fixes, several enhancements and a new reverb effect. The following gives an overview of the changes since the public beta.

Skins

The default skin has been enhanced to look more uniform:

Image

We made minor adjustments to the other skins as well, and the skin system has been improved. Since there is quite a few changes, the changelog for the 8.6 skin system is available separately here for those interested:

http://www.synapse-audio.com/public/skin86.txt


New Effect

New in v8.6 is Fat Space, a unique small room simulator which allows you to shape the reverb response graphically.

Fat Space uses a novel technology we call Liquid Convolution. Liquid Convolution has neither the shortcomings found in algorithmic reverbs, nor the problems associated with convolution reverbs. Using Liquid Convolution, Fat Space can generate a very high reverb density right on the onset of the reverb, providing more realism than conventional algorithmic reverbs. At the same time, the Liquid Convolution technology is capable of modulating the reverb tail similar to what algorithmic reverbs can do, enhancing the sound quality and avoiding a dull reverb sound.

By having the ability to adjust the reverb envelopes freely, Fat Space allows you to do anything from a natural quick reverb decay to a "brickwall" type of reverb with almost no decay. Furthermore, the envelope can be easily adjusted using the interactive display.

Image

Fat Space offers two reverb programs, a forward and a reverse reverb. Forward reverb is the default mode, which is closest to the reverb of a real room, and the Reverse mode is a special purpose program useful for creative effects. Try Fat Space e.g. on Drum Sounds, it can provide a unique reverb unlike any other.

Track Freeze

Track freeze allows to render an instrument track to memory, such that is consumes no CPU. The option is available in the Playlist ("F" button). Compared to the public beta, Track Freeze now has a progress bar.

Bug fixes

A note on bug fixes. We went through pretty much all reports, but not all bugs were reproducible. In some cases we did not have access to the necessary plugins, or the plugins were discontinued and thus no longer available (Spectrasonics Athmosphere comes to mind). So realistically, not all bugs can be fixed.

Installation

Orion 8.6 can be installed on top of an existing Orion installation. This is particularly useful if you have all the Sampler content etc installed and want to avoid having to do it again. Note that Orion 8.5 is still available for download, should you need to revert to the former version for some reason.

Change Log

The following lists all changes since Orion 8.5.

------Change Log Version 8.6 -------

New:

Track freeze option added in the playlist
New Effect: Fat Space for Orion
New Effect: Stereo Widen Pro

Changes/Enhancements:

Paste to cursor: Selections in the piano roll can now be pasted to the cursor position, and the pattern size automatically increases as necessary.
Both streaming and "live" playback now use the same buffer size, increasing accuracy. Note this makes the previous "Enable accurate VST automation" switch obsolete.
Crash report tool allows you to forward a log to us with further information, this can help us find the reason.
Improved "Clone To Track" between internal modules and VST instruments
"Receive Midi From Generator" can handle every midi channel now
In song mode if track recording has been enabled, the events will be recorded into pattern events instead of song events
Progress bar for Track Freeze
Hints when using Mouse Wheel to change parameters

Bug fixes:

VST MIDI Arpeggiators did not work properly in Orion, fixed
All UAD VST Plugins now show their GUI properly (previously, the bottom was cut)
Flowstone VST works now, no longer crashes on delete (this fix may help other plugins too)
Some VST Effects didn't redraw properly, fixed
Axon VST plugin should be working properly now
Klanghelm VST compressor now works (rather a plugin bug but we found a way to make it work)
Serum VST should scan properly now
FX pattern events can no longer get recorded accidentally
Dialog focus fight problem addressed (dialogs were blinking)
Sampler Filter fixed, could bug out in certain extreme settings
VSTs could loose focus randomly, fixed
Orion did not save the playlist zoom ratio, fixed
Undo didn't work for mouse wheel changes, fixed
Cancelling sampler program import crashed, fixed
Mono 24-bit WAV export did not work, fixed
DrumRack multitimbral mode name fixed
Audio track didn't update after missing samples were found
Midi song import could crash, fixed
Orion.exe could hang in task Manager after an ASIO driver problem, forcing a reboot, should be fixed
Switching DirectSound driver sample rate could crash, fixed
Delay desynchronization on tempo change, fixed
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library Error, fixed
After collecting missed samples for audio tracks the tracks haven't been udpated, fixed
Pattern size on playlist is displayed properly now after a Style is loaded
Piano Roll Lasso fix
Various minor graphical glitches fixed
Setting a high UI refresh rate caused the compressor VU meters to blink, fixed
Fix for missing "Songs" directory
Song events work properly now with other timesignatures than 4/4
Wasp ignored notes in some cases, fixed
Roland SH-2 crashed Orion after insert, fixed
When cloning a track, Orion could crash in some cases, fixed
Mixer menus should work properly now
Drawing issues in the pianoroll and playlist are fixed
Plugins with resizeable GUIs should work properly now
Project load deactivates all track's recording flags now
In song mode Pitch Bend was recording to the pattern events instead of the song events, fixed
When closing Orion, Orion could crash with the error message "Exception on N/i", fixed
Groove slicer allowed 24/32-bit OSP files which crashed Orion, fixed.

[Saukar30]

Unfortunately something is missing
New:

New Instrument: Dune v1

I wish!

[grymmjack]