List of To-Be-Implemented Features

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    Hey all, this is directed at the moderators, but would like to hear others opinions on this:


    After reading Ryan Kanarek's 'What's taking so long?..." thread and much of the back and forth on this forum regarding implementation of new features over the 4+ years the MA3 software has been available to the public, I question why MA is so secretive about new potential features and development. I'm not asking that we get a 1-for-1 calendar of what is to come and when, but would it be that detrimental to the community / software if we knew approximately what features we can hope for in the future? Even broad strokes of such.


    I think many, myself included, are excited to be building our core showfiles in MA3 while discovering all the new and time saving features that are already implemented - but there are still so many quality of life features that require LUA workarounds and MA2 functions that I've personally rely on without knowing if I need to think about redistributing my dependency on those features or not.


    Anyways, I appreciate the work ya'll have done so far and understand the software is a slow evolving organism - just looking for a little light to help guide me through the transition.


    And here's some wild speculation as to what I've found collected from various sources:


    - Tracking shield (Mod's MA Forum Post)

    - Finite loops in phasers (MA Forum Post)

    - Single digit shortcut for programmer values (MA Forum Post)

    - User-customizable attribute-encoder page arrangement (MA Forum Post)

    - Extracting hard values from fixture to fixture (MA Forum Post)

    - ASCII import functions (MA Forum Post)

    - Deactivate calculator function (Mod's MA Forum Post)

    - Agenda (Implemented v1.5!)

    - Gels in patch (MA3 Manual)

    - Channel pages (Asked for, MA Forum Post)

    - Command line multiplication (MA3 Manual "*" page references it, but maybe is just calling it by it's alternate symbol name)

    - Conditionals (Assumed, lots of posts asking for it)

    - Bitmap or some sort of pixel mapping (Mod's MA Forum Post)


    Confirmed Not Happening

    - Rotary encoder button presses assignable

    In the meantime, if there are any specific features or functions you're especially needing at the moment, please make sure to speak to your local distributor (if you haven't already done so).


    (p.s. For clarification, it's 3 years next week since v1.0 was released, not 4+ years.)

    Well that seems like a major mis-step with the buttons, but thanks for confirming it's lack of support - that honestly does help me a good deal. I've edited my original post to reflect the new knowledge. My questions remains though!


    And for clarification, I said available to the public, not v1.0. Release for v0.8.3.1 was 2018-08-02. 4 years, 4 months, 4 days excluding today, no? Granted it was only console software at that point.

    Everything prior to v1.0 was a "Preview" version. Sure, technically you could see something of what was coming, but it was not recommended to use on shows, and there was no guarantee that anything would be forward compatible. Only from v1.0 on was the use of MA3 software actually suggested.

    Ok, that really doesn't help me here. Can you confirm any other features that slated to be implemented or deny any that are on the list above?


    Further more has anyone else heard of or suggested features to their distributors?

    Agenda was implemented in v1.5. All the others from your list I think are still on the table for possible future implementation.


    And yes, speaking with my ACT Entertainment Software Support hat on, we have a long list of feature requests from customers. And we keep track of how many people have called or emailed us with each request. (I can't speak to how other distributors keep track of the reports and requests they get.) Hence why I always suggest reaching out to your local distributor, and not assuming that something has already been asked for or reported.

    Quote from andrew.peterman

    - Command line multiplication (MA3 Manual "*" page references it, but maybe is just calling it by it's alternate symbol name)

    on gma3 the asterisk sign "*" is reserved as a wildcard.


    the gma2 functionality of scaling/multiplication via the asterisk e.g.


    At 60

    At *0.5

    -> 30

    At *1.5

    -> 45

    At 12*3

    -> 36


    on gma3 this functionality is implemented via the percent sign "%" e.g.

    At 60

    At %50

    -> 30

    At %150

    -> 45

    At 12%300

    -> 36

    Quote from andrew.peterman

    - Deactivate calculator function (Mod's MA Forum Post)

    Just for the record, activate/deactivate attribute functionality is implemented on gma3, just not via the calculator


    As in gma2, you can double-tap the attribute column in the fixturesheet, to activate/deactivate that attribute.

    or via commandline, repeat the attribute e.g. Attribute "Dimmer" ; Attribute "Dimmer"


    For the scenario described in OP of the thread you are referring to, please consider to adjust workflow, as while the gma2 has a deactivate button, the gma3 has an activate button (On) in the calculator (which gma2 doesn't have):


    the following steps is required on gma2, utilizing the gma2 calculator deactivate button:

    1. Adjust color
    2. Open calculator for Green
    3. Tap "Deactivate" for Green
    4. Open calculator for Blue
    5. Tap "Deactivate" for Blue (repeat steps for remaining emitters if more than RGB)
    6. Store


    To achieve the same on gma3, utilizing the gma3 calculator activate button (On) :

    1. Adjust color
    2. Doubletap the FeatureGroup "Color" button to deactivate Red, Green and Blue (and also other emitters)
    3. Open calculator for Red
    4. Tap "On" (activate) for Red
    5. Store

    Thanks Andreas, I am aware of both of these workarounds! And thanks Ryan for confirming. Sounds like ACT has a list of features that are 'on the table', not just suggested. Could this be shared with the community?