Fixing Matrix Slot Color

Ideas & suggestions
1

I’m starting a new thread for the following mockups.

The issue:

  • Matrix slot colors are rendered useless by invariably assuming the color of their parenting track

short solution:

  • Default track-color to something neutral (e.g. black or white)
  • Allow manual control over unique slot-color
  • Manual slot-color overrides track-color

I create a new xrns and reduce it to 4 tracks. These tracks are, by default, created equal.

I make a pattern including data in all 4 tracks, clone it three times, then label them all “A”. My loops repeats itself 4 times.

I decide I’d like to make Track 02 easier to see, so I set the track-color to purple. Also, I’ve changed the data in Track 04 for patterns 1 and 3. With “Visualize Repeating Slots” turned on, you can see that indeed these 4 slots are not identical, but what you cannot see is that in Track 04, the new slots in pattern 1 and 3 are actually identical slots. (if you have a keen eye, you can see that the width of the image contained in the slot actually differs by one pixel)

In order to make it visually apparent that the slots in Track 04 patterns 1 and 3 are different from the slots in Track04 patterns 0 and 2, I decide to apply a manual slot-color. This will also show me that the slots in Track 04 pattern 1 and 3 actually identical.

Now that the A section of my xrns is clear to me, I clone section A and rename the following four patterns to “B”. The manual slot-color I chose for Track 04 pattern 1 and 3 continues to show in patterns 5 and 7, notifying me that they are identical slots. I decide to modify the slot in pattern 4 Track 03, and the slot in pattern 4 track 1, looping these slots throughout section B. I also decide to modify pattern 4 Track 02.

By now, I’ve gotten a bit confused. I’ve changed the data in a few slots, so I decide to make these changes visually apparent. My changes to Track 01 throughout section B are negligible, so I don’t change anything. I decide to manually apply a slot-color to Track 02 pattern 4. The slot-color changes despite a clearly assigned track-color; the slot-color overrides the track-color.

I decide to make the changes I made to Track 03 section B visually apparent. I manually assign slot-color to one of the slots, and the slot-color is represented in all other identical slots.

For the heck of it, I clone my whole song, it’s just not long enough!

And now that I think of it, I will make my changes to Track 01 apparent. I change the color of any slot from Track 01 in section B, and it’s represented among all other identical slots.

2

This idea changes the fundamental behaviour of the Pattern Matrix (current incarnation) - that is the colours represent tracks. Not unique blocks.

Even if it is a good idea, it’s not realistic to expect these changes for 2.5.

3

Well, basically this is just like:
http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?s=&…st&p=178274

but mushen wants neutral default track colors instead of the soft colors we have now. As I’ve said in this other thread: If you really hate the default colors that much, save yourself a default song template with more neutral colors.

I also don’t agree with you here:

As danoise already tried to explain. How often do you play the same content in other tracks. Tracks are parenting content for a good reason?
I never play my bass drum first in one track then in another. Maybe I do start a new track with an alternate FX chain, but then both tracks do more or less act like a “group”, and then simply should have the same default !track! color. So IMHO its definitely OK to give everything thats in the same track the same color by default.

4

how are we supposed to distinguish and recognize particular slots in a track if they’re all the same color? not everyone wants to refer to pattern titles. for example, if i’m sequencing an amen and a bass-guitar in patterns that scroll rapidly. in pattern 3 my bass part does something incredibly funky. in pattern 4, my amen does an epic fill. can’t I color these “fills” rather than squint to see if the little infinity-symbol chain has been broken?

the main feature request is a color corresponding to a unique slot.

if it’s not possible atm, i’ll stfu.

I don’t play the same content in other tracks usually, but I constantly tweak one “slot” in a track and it would be great to see this more clear than the small infinity sign.

5

Yes, exactly as we proposed here and you also agreed? http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?s=&…st&p=178397

Its just about the default track colors then, isn’t it? You want them all grey, right now they get a soft default random color. No panic ;) and thanks for the detailed mock-ups above.

6

yes, great idea. i assumed since you mentioned this was discussed during alpha meant it was rejected, thus my mockups to popularize the idea.

that track colors are still customizable, it’s a marginal issue (defaulting them uncolored) mostly for aesthetics. the only actual feature i think is lacking in the matrix is the ability to manually color unique slots.

7

Even in your mock-up you never have more than two colours in a particular track. What about an option to somehow highlight certain tracks? Maybe with a brighter border or some kind of raised effect. That way each track would be of one colour but you can still make individual blocks stand out.

8

i assumed more than one color implied the possibility of 2+

9

has purple and red = 2 colors?

10

edited for mispost

11

Black/Neutral could almost be consider a colour. I said no MORE than two colours, thus highlighting, rather than independent block colouring could suffice in most situations.

12

huh? sorry, I just wanted to clear up some confusion and it seems I added more. I’m not sure why you’re talking to me now - I understood your point about simply adding a “highlighted” slot kind of thing.

I think the confusion is here:

“Even in your mock-up you never have more than two colours in a particular track.” → “i assumed more than one color implied the possibility of 2+”

what he meant is, are colors really needed there? instead:

“What about an option to somehow highlight certain tracks? Maybe with a brighter border or some kind of raised effect. That way each track would be of one colour but you can still make individual blocks stand out.”

Bleh, now I’m confused, too :wacko:

13

Sorry I confused it, on quick reading you both have dark avatars and for some reason thought he was quoting himself That coupled with the fact I forgot this forum only has a quote depth of one, so it looked like it was aimed directly at your post, when in fact you were helping clarify on my side.

I was trying to say that most tracks could be taken as two colours, not just the obvious one, as a Black/default colour can probably be considered a colour as much as any other, so not only Track2 has two colours.

14

that’s part of this suggestion. the starting track colors (black) are actually colors form the color selector. so in the final mockup, every track has more-than-one color. since each track had more than one color, only bound by number of unique slots, it follows that more-than-two colors is possible.