DanTModules New Releases Thread

Announcements
221

New module incoming…

Need some testers :face_with_peeking_eye:

Back in August I got myself a Pet Rock module, and I really love playing with it… there is something about the sense of anticipation and discovery of getting a new sequence each day which is great.

I like to leave a patch that incorporates the module overnight, then just see what the new sequence produces the next day before I pull out all the cables.

So obviously this inspired me to try to capture some of that magic in a new module (but its not a total rip-off).

Pet Rock is based on moon phases, my module produces a new sequence every day, but not based on the moon, instead using SIMD-oriented Fast Mersenne Twister and various distributions.

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The label at the top is the current date, which is used to produce the seed for the RNG, the colour of the label indicates the flavour of the sequence. The flavours are basically different beat lengths and add a slight guide to the RNG for the step values (except the magenta flavour which just makes random values).

Each day there will be a new sequence generated which has a step value (mainly for pitch), a step mod (could be used for velocity and has an attenuvertor and offset so that you can chose uni or bi polar, or other modulations), and two rhythm triggers A & B.

A sequence can be up to 64 steps, but you can set the number of steps you want with the knob.

So because I am seeding the SFMT with the date, every user of the module should get the same sequence on the same day (I am not 100% sure this is true across computer architectures, one thing I’d like users to test for me), if that works it should be interesting to see what different patches people can make using the same sequence… assuming I have implemented the module correctly! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

I made a demo video to show it off; I was originally going to keep the time-travel options just for development, but I figured what harm does it do to let users change dates…? The module doesn’t save the date though, the idea being that every day you use VCV Rack you get a new sequence, but changing the day is very helpful for me debugging, and also useful when you are building a patch and exploring sonic options.

If you don’t like spoilers, don’t use the time-travel menu options…

Anyway, hopefully the module works well and you all enjoy it

8 Likes
222

So if you have downloaded my beta version and want to help me with a test, here is what I get for todays sequence:

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…and here is what the sequence looks like on some scopes

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does yours match?

And actually I have realised that the first (actually the last step in my screenshots) step is always 0, the module automatically soft-resets when it gets to the end of sequence, and then the next step is zero for both the step value and mod…

This is OK and works musically, but was not my intention. Should I keep it that way, or correct it so that the first step after a reset is generated?

223

Right, I’ve corrected the reset behaviour in this new beta

Now Initialize will set the step value and mod to 0 aka hard-reset and the reset button/trigger will just set the step back to 1 aka soft-reset. So now each sequence does not insert a zero step after the Last Of Sequence trigger

With this new version my sequence for today looks like this:

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and the scopes like this:

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2 Likes
224

Is it by design the TnMs don’t have buttons (and maybe even trigger inputs?) for timetravel forward and backward?

225

Yes it is.

As I mentioned above, they are only really there to help during development, for the proper plugin release I may remove them.

The point of the module is that you get a new sequence each day, like its inspiration Pet Rock, it is supposed to be

a rogue-like rhythm generator which changes daily

except TNM also has a pitch and mod value in its sequence. Think of it as a creative restriction.

Unlike Pet Rock which produces its sequences based on the moon phases, TNM uses a seed value for the RNG.

The rogue-like part is important, similar to Minecraft, if you want a friend to play the game with the same world (starting point) you can share your seed, it is interesting to see how your games diverge from the same starting point, but rogue-like normally means you only get one go at it, the next go you start over (but possibly with gained experience).

With TNM the seed is the date, all users of the module will get the same sequence of pitch, mod and triggers on the same date, the creative and interesting part is how each user starts at the same point but hopefully ends up with a different patch.

So you are not really supposed to be able to change the seed date so easily, however, during development I need it to be possible so that I can verify the module works as intended.

226

Anyone make a patch using the 2024-10-14 sequence, how does it compare to mine?

1 Like
227

I like the idea of going backwards or forward, because I don’t use VCV everyday, so getting inspiration from another day is nice. Also you could do stuff like go back to some historical date, hehe.

228

I might consider adding the option to specify a date in history, but remove the ability to choose future dates, that way you can go back if you miss a day, but it maintains the anticipation and concept of getting something new each day…

5 Likes
229

Makes sense :grinning:

230

Hey @dan.tilley I ran into a issue when running at least two instances of rack as a vst in a hosting program. The first loaded instance always wins.

It does fail to work so it is more than a graphical issue. I screen-grabbed two hosting apps to show it is not the hosting app itself. I am not sure if it is systemic issue within VCV that effects certain plugins or something changed in the last update over the summer. It may have already been reported. As you can see in the example, even @stoermelder plugins are sharing the same demise.

Thanks for taking a look at it.

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231

This is a known issue for certain types of module.

If a module has some sort of global control on Rack, then it typically guards against multiple instances having an effect.

I had a similar issue with Purfenator module that displays .vcv patch name - #8 by ale47p which I think should work correctly.

BrightIdea is one of my older modules, so it hasn’t been updated with new code yet.

It is somewhere on my TODO list, but not at a particularly high priority.

What is the use-case that you need BrightIdea to work for multiple DAWs?

1 Like
232

Hey Dan, I figured it was a known issue.

I am not using multiple DAWs concurrently. I provided two examples of different DAWs illustrating the issue was in both environments. Reaper. Bidule. Sorry for the confusion.

I have Rack on a few individual tracks in Reaper. Track 1, Track 2, Track 3. … It is a very common use-case having multiple Rack instances in a DAW.

What is needed is the newest feature you added to BrightIdea earlier this past year

As for @stoermelder’s modules, it is the same situation especially in a multi-track environment. Strip++ speaks for itself, it is must have module. His library module, I loose access to my favorites. . .sigh

Thanks, Dan!

233

Ah I see, so you want the smart rearrangement keyboard shortcut to be available in each instance of Rack hosted in a DAW, but it only works in the first instance?

234

yes. It only works for the first instance.

I also noticed that the indicator light does not work as intended (in the first instance).

235

Thanks for letting me know of this issue. It was an easy fix as all my singleton modules share the same code for this purpose.

4 Likes
236

@gtilde OK, fix for this will be included in my next release, but couple of notes:

  • The keyboard shortcuts only work if the window is in focus
  • The active state is shared between instances, if you deactivate either option in one window, it will be deactivated in all instances of Rack
  • I’ve only tested this in Reaper on Windows with the VST3i VCV Rack plugin, but I am hopeful it will be consistent across all OS and DAWs

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237

DanTModules v2.4.44

  • New Module
    • That's No Moon - Daily generative sequencer, will create the manual thread shortly (edit: created)
  • Moar Cowbell!
    • New preset: SkwareUawe - HellsBells.vcvm
  • BrightIdea
    • Multi-DAW support
  • General
    • Although I love them dearly irl, removed the Knurlies, a small step towards updating all modules to the new style
4 Likes
238

PSA: I know it is very common to not RTFM, and especially so now that I have been mixing my documentation between the manual site and forum posts here in the community…

BUT in case you didn’t know and are not a fan of the objectively best colour, Blue

All my modules except MOAR COWBELL! and Little Pig can have their colour set to anything you want.

The older modules use the Magical CV theme and the Chromagica module, the newer modules have Plugin Settings options in the right-click context menu.

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8 Likes
239

edit: almost ready…

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6 Likes
240

DanTModules v2.4.45

Available in the Library now

  • That’s No Moon

    • Locked seeds are now parsed
      • Locked seeds show their date
      • Locked seeds show their Flavour
    • Added lots of presets
      • If you think that a date is incorrect, or you have a more appropriate date, please let me know
      • You can also continue to submit ideas for preset dates to be included in future updates
    • Loading a preset should trigger a soft reset

  • Custom Panels

    • NuMetal modules: 5Splice | PolySplice | Kalkatron | Purfenator & Seizure Trigger | Time Lord | Charlie Foxtrot | That's No Moon
      • These modules have a new Plugin Setting: Draw panel legends
      • When turned off, the additional panel text, lines & texture will not be drawn
    • NuMetal modules & Neon Oblique modules MOAR COWBELL! | Little Pig now have a Custom Panels context menu

Custom Panels

You will find the new Custom Panels menu in the right-click context menu for modules that support this feature.

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Each module is assigned a folder in the user directory under a parent folder of DanTModules (you can view the user folder from the Rack Help menu).

A modules folder will be automatically created when you select the - Open folder option.

Any png files you place in this folder will then be displayed as options in the menu.

All custom panel settings are stored in a DanTCustomPanels.json file, if you ever want to reset all custom panels you can simply delete this file.

The Image size indicates the optimum dimensions for the best visual quality.

However, you can use any size and quality png file you want, it will be stretched to fit the module size.

For NuMetal modules, if you use a png with alpha transparency, the panel colour will be rendered underneath the image file.

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The NuMetal Plugin Setting: Draw panel legends will determine if the text and lines are drawn on top of the custom panel or not.

Once you have added png files into the modules folder, simply select the file and see the custom panel drawn using the image file

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4 Likes