Midinote command for sending out midi data to something.

Just did a quick check of the manual and release with some cnt+f for midi.. Seems like 1.5 is only supporting midi in, in a practical sense. there are no valid midi keywords. Best try and use dmx instead for now, you can call that easily via a macro for now

I think they turn modules off for certain things until elegant solutions are found, so that parts of a given module dont break something. Development is hard. Especially early development, where its possible (if you are not very careful) to dev yourself into a box for the remainer of the product life cycle.

On the other hand tho, I do agree that development is painfully slow, but so too are console sales at the moment with covid, and those sales fund development hours.

Covid was probably the best time ever for users to learn the new system, and its a shame the product wasn't more polished before then in hindsight. Very bad luck to anyone creating or releasing products for live entertainment at the beginning of or in the middle of the pandemic,

I can feel with you. Prehaps bought a expensive console a few years ago. Spend a lot of time to learn how this thing works. Now when starting to earn money and save time on the show its the old stuff. But thats the way it works for decades.

For me Grandma3 is a gamechanger.

Its not about if any gadget is implemented yet. The question is: Is the basic datastructure of the lighting-content well done? I think so.

But changed datastructure means changed workflows and changed UI. But also means new posibilities.

Everyone can start to generate content and setups without MA-Hardware but for all MA3 consoles. Without spending money for the software.

Yea I have to disagree with you on a few points Jason. I think there is a decent foundation. if anything, having such a void in functionality will make it easier for people to start, as opposed to a software that has 50 unique ways and 500 tools to complete one task. They ended up loosing a lot of money at the end of the ma2 product cycle due to counterfeiting, so I feel as though that was at least some part of the seemingly rushed decision to make a move on ma3, and I'm pretty sure (but not certain) that the might have been let out of the bag a little to early on that too, which would have forced their hand a little to get it out quicker also as new sales on ma2 practically stopped at that point. Overall I really like the direction I can see them taking with this software. I can see a lot of placeholders for a lot of features that also had placeholders in the MA2 architecture, there were at least on a DEV roadmap, and I'm pretty thankful that these exist now, and will finally be coming personally.

I can see a future with in console video and audio capabilities, which will make the lives people working in timelines a lot easier, and defiantly provide some cool new ways to utilize large amounts of fixtures. Being a bit of a data nerd, I love the way data is handled now, and how they have given us tools to make thigs clean and elegant, efficient and organised like never before, but also secure which has always been a big deal to me. DEV is hard. So are interfaces. everyone has their own preference based on their own subjective experiences so its basically impossible or near impossible to create a system of software and interfaces that everyone will feel comfortable on, or even like.

That said, your absolutely right about hardware option. I know for a fact that bringing a single or 2 universe micro console that runs seamlessly in the ma3 ecosystem, and is small enough to lift in one hand and throw into the seat of a car (like the ma1 ultralite) would have been the ideal move.
I think MA Lighting has a robust product line in the onpc solutions, lite and full-size, but I see waste in control options unless they are built to order.
most importantly I think that a big market opportunity was missed with the middle and lower tear offerings. There are a lot of new people who are being exposed to hardware and software solutions that are now just as capable as MA2/3 AND backwards compatible! So the value of MA in this new and emerging user market is not there. I think that the dot2 was at its heart supposed to address this to some degree, but from what I can see, it didn't because to cost prohibitive for the market here, and with such a short lifespan, and economic downturn, I see many companies and individuals in my part of the world seriously looking to alternatives now. Mainly driven by the ultra high entry cost in my part of the developed world, which is not in line with local inflation or the economic conditions most businesses have been working with since way before Covid-19. Conditions that have been worsening over time for the last 10 years now due to prohibitive government innervations, and generally poor economic conditions that have continually reduced budgets, investment and and spending (public and private) across all facets of the sector. While many analysts predict a boom in entertainment next financial year (post covid) It is clear to many national stakeholders that they will not be able to afford to upgrade for a very long time if at all. And many are now cautious of buying into an ecosystem that is no longer as value competitive in our market. Maybe a subscription model for onpc and a drastically reduced hardware price would be beneficial to both MA, and its end users/clients?

I think a large payday will come for MA when covid is over in the big global markets, and that should see a boom in dev speed, but the biggest investment they as a company can make now, is a cheap robust product offering that is as common place to factories, shows schools and rental houses etc, as a utility tool is to anyone who works in technical and theatrical production.

Something like ETC/HES hedgehog, but at a price point that is actually less. Even if it costs money to get them out there, it would address the needs of many who are not even considering MA's awesome products. MA should also address what I see as economically adversarial pricing in regions with lower populations like mine. Because right now I could buy a console brand new (with cash) from north America, Asia, or Europe, have it shipped to me and it would cost significantly less than it is thru official distribution, even after the settlement of currency conversion, tariffs, taxes duties and all other importation fees and liabilities. Of coarse that doesn't jive with the sales model, and technically distributors over seas are not allowed to export, but when an arbitrage opportunity arises like this, someone will always be looking to take advantage of it, even if it means no service or some kind of punishment, because desperate times call for desperate measures, and times are very tough for a lot of people out there right now, including companies like MA!

This is just some observations I've made within my local market though, and to be fair the industry here is tiny so no product manufacture really cares at all about such a small market. But they defiantly should be more proactive when it comes to on-boarding new users all over the world, especially given that those new users will eventually be the ones that are requesting consoles for shows, and requests drive purchasing. I fell as though I got a bit off topic HAHA.

I'm looking forward to 3d mapping large 3d fixture arrays, really fast workflow automation, and spending more time being creative with less time spent on administrative tasks. All of which are features MA have brilliantly built into the core of ma3 [if you know where and what to look for] after listening to what we the users want/need. That's another hard thing to do too, because of the variation in how people use MA software, and the kinds of applications they are using it for. In the future i think developers will ultimatly end up cornering the different markets, rather than trying to offer a one stop solution, although MA has done a pretty good job in making a one stop shop solution for a very long time now.

So for me the future is one of caution initially, but very bright with MA3. Some people will find its more work, others will find its less. I'm somewhere in the middle at the moment, but I'm not an expert yet.