Feature Request Megathread

This might be a pretty significant request, but has the subject of integrating PD into Audulus come up before? Maybe a module that implements an interface to pdlib or something similar?

It would be great to be able to integrate PD patches into Audulus, or maybe use Audulus input for PD patches.

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I would think that the simplest approach to integrating PD and Audulus would be through a shared audio/MIDI stream. On macOS Soundflower should allow at least audio to pass from one app to the other. I think the ideal approach would be using an AU version of each running in a host. Doing a quick Google search it looks like there is a project that is intended to allow PD to run as an AU on macOS but it hasn’t been updated in 3 years so I don’t know if it is still useable. Apparently pdlib isn’t thread-safe so the developer had to build his own wrapper for PD. There is also the PDParty app which allows PD patches to run on iOS, but I wasn’t able to determine if it supported AUv3, IAA or Audiobus. The Audulus AU available for macOS is currently somewhat limited, but should be significantly improved with V4 and an AUv3 version is also planned for iOS. Ultimately I think that this will be the best approach to integrating the two apps. I believe that writing a specific interface from PD to Audulus would be a significant piece of programming and would probably only be feasible on the Mac in any case. iOS is pretty restrictive about the types of inter-app communication allowed and IAA, Audiobus or AUv3 are probably the only practical approaches.

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MobMuPlat is an IAA app with Audiobus support. The Pd patches need to be written in Pd Vanilla. They can run either in native mode or you can build a custom GUI for the patch on a PC and transfer it to your iOS device.

zMors Modular is an app that can run Pd patches and host AU or IAA apps. It hasn’t been updated in 10 months and the AU window support isn’t always very functional.

PdParty can’t be hosted as an AU, IAA or in Audiobus.

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How about UNgroup?? You could convert all inputs and outputs to vias, converting i/o names to expr-legal variable names if necessary. Exposed elements could stay exposed
Just a thought. I’ve needed it from time to time.

I’d like to request a ‘snap to grid’ and/or ‘align modules.’ I’m imagining the ‘snap to grid’ would work very similarly to the existing lock/unlock UI feature. The ‘align modules’ would work similarly to the align feature in the microsoft office suite, where you have Alight Left, Center, Right, Top, Middle, Bottom as well as distribute horizontally and vertical.

As I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, foregoing an official ‘snap to grid’ feature, I’d be happy to write a little python script and/or iOS ‘shortcut’ to parse an audulus save file for module XY coordinates and round them to a user definable increment.

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Snap to grid is definitely happening :slight_smile:

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If anyone is familiar with quartz composer the short cut system is pretty smooth.

Hit cmd + return and a library panel pops up that starts a new search.

Do a search for something like “LFO”

Then you can click on or navigate to the Wave generator with the keyboard arrows and the module will pop up in your modal workspace.

I immediately started trying to find a keyboard search function and was a little disappointed that I had to navigate so many menus to find modules in Audulus.

Still it is sooooo coool!

Thanks for a great app.

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I have been mulling over the MIDI Fighter twister. When I saw the Hydra synthesizer knob/screen design I was reminded of how I wish the Twister had a small screen just to display text below each knob. This would, hopefully, lessen that feeling of separation you can get from hardware controlling software.

That ain’t happening. But, the twister does have programable colour coding. So, I am hoping Audulus 4 can allow for some sort of knob/button colour coding for hardware controllers. I think that would be enough of a visual cue to keep things fluid.

The second thought has to do with focusing. What if when you zoom in on a section of a large patch, the knobs that are currently on the screen are the ones that light up on the Twister. Then when you move to another section, different knobs light up and there is a one to one colour match?

It would also be nice to be able to save screen locations that can be snapped to. So you could have maybe 3 or 4 locked screen zoom points that you can flip between without needing to drag the screen and resize it.

I have been thinking about some sort of Make Noise Rene sequencer the using the Twister, or both the Midi Fighter and the MF Twister.

I have to say though, I have done stuff like this in the past and have found that while it may be challenging and fun to setup, quite often the fact that it is not dedicated like a Rene would be, means it might not get used.

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I’m also hoping that A4 will have the ability to send some MIDI feedback to the Twister.
Firstly I think that the knobs and triggers in Audulus should be channel specific. As it stands, it doesn’t matter which channel a CC message is received on which limits the ability to use multiple banks on the Twister or even different controllers.
Secondly I believe that knobs and triggers should send MIDI feedback back to the controller. This would allow the Twister and similar devices to track a knob position instead of the knob only tracking the Twister. When you opened a patch, mapped knobs would send their position to the Twister, which would set itself to match.
Thirdly I think we need the ability to send an arbitrary MIDI message. You could use this to switch banks on the Twister, or change the knob color etc.

That is a major topic.

If this can’t be a two way street I will be very sad.

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I know that @taylor intends to expand the MIDI capabilities available in Audulus version 4. Exactly what form that will take and when various features might be available is still TBD. He has made some fundamental changes to the underlying architecture of the app which will provide a sound platform for future development, and at this point getting all of the basic functionality debugged is taking priority over new features. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Hey! I’ve tried to search this question in this topic before posting, but nothing useful has come up.

I know that auv3 is coming with Audulus 4, but what about having multiply, separate IAA ports like Patterning 2 or Reason Compact?

Auv3 would be useful for having separate instrument roles on different channels in AUM or Audiobus, but it would be great to be able to use lets say half of ES-8 for audio and effects, and the other half - for modulation and / or sequencing.

P. S. I guess this won’t happen due to iaa being soon deprecated by apple, so hopefully multichannel support for au is coming sometime in not too distant and not too bleak future)))

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As you pointed out IAA has been deprecated by Apple, with AUv3 intended as its replacement. Because of this I would expect that there will be no additional IAA development for Audulus. I have advocated strongly for multichannel support in the forthcoming version 4 AUv3 on both iOS and macOS and hopefully that will be the case.

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Just to confirm: I’m going for multichannel AUv3 support in A4. No IAA though because it’s deprecated.

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In Audulus 4, will there be a way to add icons/images to patches from an iPad? While I’m here, Will there be multitouch functionality?

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Yay! Looking forward to this.

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Yes to both :slight_smile:

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Hey There,

If at all possible, I would greatly enjoy the ability to host Audio Units, or some other Plug-In type within Audulus.

Tyler

Btw, Michael Tyson, Audiobus creator, is confident that when (if?) IAA eventually disappears (which seems unlikely to happen soon) that he will have an Audiobus version that is not reliant on IAA. So, it might be nice to continue Audiobus support (particularly with multichannel support).

There’s a good chance whatever hack he uses will be rejected by Apple (just like what they did pre-IAA).

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