Moho Forum

Not sure if there's a way to switch channels on selgin. I just drag the timeline along to a certain place then click the tool I want to use and create a keyrame, then go back and add other keyrframes manually.

A neat tip when working with keyframes, if you click the timeline symbol to the left of each layer all keyframes will be selcted. Then click the Alt key and drag on the timeline to to auto stretch all highlighted keyframes.

Cheers
D.K

I'm not infront of the app, actually sending from phone, but you can select the "Select Shape" tool and click on a shape. The channels will be created for Color, Stroke, Gradient, etc. You can then right click and create key frames as you always have.
When you click off or select another tool those channels are hidden to simplify and avoid scrolling and confusion. Same for the other tools. So you're not loosing channels and a quick click with a tool will show them, and also can still right click or just quick click on empty space with some tools like layer transform tool, to create a key frame at the current frame.

selgin wrote:

synthsin75 wrote:As far as I can tell, the only way to expose all animation channels is to do Animation>Copy Current Frame whole document frame zero to frame one. But if you delete any of those frame one keys without any others, you lose that channel.

Oh, I'm sorry but I hate it. I know it's a good idea to hide channels to keep timeline clean, but there MUST be an option of see all the channels. Sometimes (many times for me) you need to copy the keyframe on frame zero, or just create a keyframe to keep things in order and now I just can't. I mean, I can, but it's so unjustifiably long process.

I'm adapting my pseudo 3d spaceship to work with blend morph instead poses script, but his has become a nightmare to create the one frame actions.

So what's the story on the gradients being warped by bone influence even though their shapes are point bound to another bone??

Agent_Smith wrote:I'm not infront of the app, actually sending from phone, but you can select the "Select Shape" tool and click on a shape. The channels will be created for Color, Stroke, Gradient, etc. You can then right click and create key frames as you always have.
When you click off or select another tool those channels are hidden to simplify and avoid scrolling and confusion. Same for the other tools. So you're not loosing channels and a quick click with a tool will show them, and also can still right click or just quick click on empty space with some tools like layer transform tool, to create a key frame at the current frame.

Actually, clicking a shape doesn't show the channel, just adding a keyframe: in this case, changing the color.
I think a good solution could be that when you select a tool, the channel of that tool automatically appears, no matter if it has or hasn't keyframes. And an option to switch and see all channels (a checkbox or a tab, maybe).

Ok, Agent Smith, Mike and beloved beta testers, I have a list of bugs and issues I have founded today, I hope you can look at them and tell me what do you think

- Hidden Channels: with the new option of no view channels with no keyframes, it's hard to add keyframes without changing anything. It's hard, for example, copy a keyframe from frame 0, because you actually can't see it. It's specially difficult to create one frame actions. In an action many times you need to add keyframes which actually doesn't change anything, just because another action does use that channel.
Let's suppose you have a simple rose face with 3 actions: normal, happy and furious. Normal and happy will have the face rose, as in frame 0, but furious will be red. If you put the actions in this order "happy - furious - normal" and you didn't add a keyframe on happy and normal shape fill, the face will be red forever once you put furious on timeline.

One solution to this could be that when you select a tool, the channel be shown, even if it hasn't keyframes (and obviusly, if the channel continue without keyframes after you select another tool, disappear).
Complementary to this, I think there should be the option to see all channels, a checkbox or a tab in timeline which switch between current mode and old mode.

- Consolidate timeline channels: That option is great but should be in timeline as a button, not in preferences. It's more probable you switch between consolidate/normal that you work with one and completely exclude the other.

- Layers window: If you undock the layer window and make it small, the popup of layer properties is "masked" inside the window.

- Bind points: If a bone is selected before use it, it doesn't change the selection to another when clicking. If there is no bone selected before, it became crazy and doesn't select any bone, even some times the screen becomes black when you click trying to.

- Blend morph: There is a bug and an issue with blend morph.
The bug is that when you have actions, but no one 1frame action and go to blend morph menu, it says you there is not 1frame actions and AS crashes.

The issue is that you can't move the cursor in the timeline when the blend morph window is open, you just can blend one keyframe when you open the window. It's specially irritating, because you can't test how is the blending working in time and if you want to animate several poses using blending you must be constantly opening and closing the window, on every single keyframe. It's ridiculous.

- Import stuff: I don't know if this is a demo limitation, but in menu importing, Image, Illustrator, EPS, audio, and 3d object are gray, you can't click them.

- Gradients are bend by bones influence, even when you don't want to: It's from Synth. I think it's great can to animate and even bend gradient with bone influence, but there would be a way to avoid it or bind a gradient to a specific bone, just like points.

- There is no preview of audio in library: This one doesn't need explanation, you can't hear the audio before add it to the project.

- Docked windows: I found several issues with this
- With a undocked window you can't close it and open again undocked in the same position. It always reappears docked.
- You can't dock the windows on different places, for example, dock the layer window where style window is (for me, is much more comfortable to work opening and closing the style window, but having the layer window in its place. When layer window is docked, always cut the timeline, so you can't have the time line extended side to side of the screen)
- The timeline mount itself. I work with a 12" 1024x768 tablet screen. When all windows are docked, timeline sequencer has the zoom buttons invisibles and over restart audio and other buttons.
- Delete, copy, paste make no sense on sequencer if they can't be used.

- Translate audio layer keframes: The keyframes of translated audio layer are shown in timeline just when they are two or more (without counting keyframe zero).

- Files of AS 5.6 run much slower on 6.0: I have several files of AS 5.6 which runs slower on 6.0, even whit the same presets of visualization and even less presets. Sample file here.

- In sequencer you only can move all audio: If you have an audio and repeat it several times, you can see several blocks on sequencer, but each repetition can't move independently. This limitation has no sense if you on Channels can move the single keyframe which moves each repetition. There would be a shortcut to move it without having to going back to channels (drag with shift or something like this).

- Opacity and blur on layer popup: Since there is no tool to access to those animatable and very used parameters, it would be fine to found them on the popup too. I think.

That's all, sorry for the long list, I hope to be helping.
(and sorry for my bad english)

Just started playing around with the demo. A few first impressions.

There are definitely performance issues. Mind you, the same was true for version 5.0, subsequent updates addressed those problems, so I'm not too worried for now.

Like others here, I'm not too sure about the auto-hide for channels. It should be optional, not compulsory.

I was very interested in the blend morphs and have to say that I'm disappointed.
-First of all, it doesn't seem to have its own channel, it just dumps its information in the target channel. I was expecting a new channel that would contain references to the actions.
-Secondly, blend morphs normally have the option to work in an additive way, that is to say, you accumulate their offsets rather than average them. This would really help with point-animations.
-Thirdly, most blend morphs in other programs allow you to push the slider outside the 0%-100% boundaries.

Also, footlock still doesn't seem to work. Correct me if I'm wrong on this one.

Wow, an advance copy of the new AnimeStudio Pro! Now that's what I'm talking about, AgentSmith! Way to come through for us loyal users! I definitely have to apologize for the negative things I said about SmithMicro. Bloody WalMart had to go and spoil the party and release their version early! We don't have them here in Australia yet, but their reputation precedes them and I can see that it is well deserved.

I know I'm going to be busy in the next few weeks checking out all the new stuff, but so far I've been totally blown away with what I've seen. A lot of people are still quibbling that certain features are missing or don't quite work as expected, but that's what subversions are for, I guess, and I'm sure little scripts can be written if some things need to be made a bit more convenient in the meantime.

Also, AgentSmith, I definitely hope you are able to stop by this forum from time to time as your posts are very informative as well as entertaining.

Thanks you Selgin! Finally I've got some bug support (instead of being told that my version isn't final, and ignored).

Overall, sending a beta to retail, many bugs, etc. make it seem that version 6 was greatly rushed to market.

I asked Agent Smith in PM, but since I got no answer there- how many beta testers were there? I mean, me and Selgin have both found not inconsiderable bugs within our first 5-10 hours of messing around with it. I would assume that more beta testers would have helped this.

Also, why do I have so much trouble with all the included movie files? Even opening them in my Quicktime player, they are kind of jumpy.

I know these are not the kind of responses any developer wants to hear, but are we expected to ignore all this?

cooolio! I'm gonna try'n buy today

Linux: Yes there is an early Pro Linux build. if you are an EXPERIENCED Linux user, let me know via PM and we can get you in on an early beta soon. That being said we only sold 11 copies of this so the deal will be that it will be a perpetual work in progress out of our love for the platform, and you will need to purchase a MAC or Windows copy, register, and will give you the Linux build. Sorry no Debut for Linux.

Cool! \o/

Synthsin,

Stop blaming the beta testers. You make it sound like we were all sitting on the porch playing banjo and drooling. You might have missed as many things or more as anyone else.

Many of the things on that list selgin posted I OR OTHERS DID BRING UP DURING TESTING!

In every single case Mike explained why things either couldn't be done at this time or why he felt they shouldn't be done for whatever reason. Choices had to be made. Issues had to be prioritized. Many times he DID fix the things that were fixable.

When I would harp on some issue and Mike explained why X or Y couldn't be done and he explained it logically and technically it made sense. It was a reasonable and practical decision. They have a deadline to meet.

If Smith Micro did what you think they needed to do... then AS would cost $600 dollars and all you guys would have to pay full price for the upgrade.

You guys bitch about the upgrade price but in the same breath you expect a program that is worth ten times that price.

Granted my particular style of AS use is not exactly the same as everyone else. I tend to use vectors more than images. I use bones more than point motion. But I did my best to test things. I opened every massive gigantic mega layer complex document I could trying to trip it up. I opened a 400+ layer test file with complex vector layers and keys on every layer. It opened fine and actually worked reasonably well.

I would NEVER create a document like that for "real" in my life... so... if it worked with 400+ layers I thought that was a pretty dang good test.

I didn't experience the slow downs mentioned. As a matter of fact I commented to someone how much "faster" it felt.. maybe I was imagining it... but I don't remember doing any cocaine or heroin during the beta testing and I don't play the banjo or drool.

I will admit I don't have any AS documents with dozens of image layers. My mistake not to test that. I did however just finish a HUGE project that did have HUGE HI RES images on many layers. up to 25 big image layers. Each file had a sound file that was 2-4 minutes long. Most of these file were between 2000 and 5000 frames in length. they had multiple vector layers and masking. I opened those files as tests. they played as fast and as smoothly in AS 6 as they did in AS 5.6.

I used other character projects that also had TONS OF KEY FRAMES with audio and lip sync and were several minutes long. These files had bone rigged multi layered vector characters also included animated image layers, transparency, animated layer order, etc etc. Those files also played smoothly and with NO slow downs.

I was concerned about performance and used everything I had that I thought would tax performance and just didn't experience any show stoppers.

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Now I understand why software companies are so secretive and often less than enthusiastic about discussing these things openly.

I was so naive to think that this announcement was going to be exciting and fun. Sheesh. I'm an idiot. I am in serious danger of becoming jaded.


Just kiddiing! The glasses are always half full at Vern's house! Half full of JOY!

-vern

selgin wrote:
- Import stuff: I don't know if this is a demo limitation, but in menu importing, Image, Illustrator, EPS, audio, and 3d object are gray, you can't click them.

From the manual - which is brilliant BTW...

The demo version has just three limitations: First, you can only run the
demo version of Anime Studio for 30 days. Second, you cannot import
any external file formats including images and movies. Third, you cannot
export your animations to other formats (QuickTime, AVI, Flash, etc.).

Vern,

I'm not blaming the beta testers.

Every person is apt to have a different focus, and what they are liable to find will be different as well. The point of more testers is to try to bridge this gap. That's all I'm saying here.

I have not complained any about the pricing, and, like I said, I'm going to keep my ASD6 and buy ASP6 outright, no upgrade from anything. I know many here will cringe reading it, but personally I'd pay much more. I don't think anyone here wants to see AS crippled by only budget issues, and I'm sure it is budget reasons why development was so rushed. SM demanded a deadline on when it could reap the rewards of its investment, and I think that that is the company's motivation.

Now I trust Mike to make this all right. He's been good in the past about coming across with quick bug fixes. I just seriously doubt SM's interest in customer relations. Granted, Walmart played its part. I'm just waiting for SM to get it right once (since the 5.6 upgrade was a snafu as well).

SM, get it right just once, and then you can expect some benefit of the doubt.

If the release were handled even halfway well, we'd have a much different mood around here, I'm sure. It's just that one snafu gets everyone looking for the next. Just human nature. Any public relations has to take responsibility for the response. You can't trip all over yourself and expect a standing ovation, unless the audience expects slapstick.

That's another thing that could have been done better. Even with these problems, some bit of transparency would have actually softened the blow. Announcing that the next version is being rush to market would give the customer a less optimistic expectation of 'perfection'.

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That said, I do love the new features. This is a huge step! Even ASD6 is so vastly improved that it might as well compare to ASP 5.6. I mean, it is so much more of a complete solution, even just Debut.

It's just all so great that it really makes these issues stand out. And a few of these are not minor. Some will seriously foul some people's workflow.

inspite of few problematic bugs(AS6 crashes and some Lua console error probably because of old version of scripts, I'm using XP sp2) I have encountered in this build, as a user I can say that Mike alone did a wonderful job, esp. when he had to choose from a huge feature request list that could make everyone satisfied
however i will miss directional blur feature in v6

selgin wrote:- Files of AS 5.6 run much slower on 6.0: I have several files of AS 5.6 which runs slower on 6.0, even whit the same presets of visualization and even less presets. Sample file here.

Yeah, I found this too...but then I found out why. If you set your end frame in project settings to zero, ASP6 doesn't like it and it slows down. Set the end frame to the actual end frame and it goes back to normal. So I guess a setting used by many here is now buggy .