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Thanks everyone,
for filling out this years survvvvey! Judging from the responses it looks like some of you even did twice or thrice! What can we say... Anyway, since we've done this before this time we can compare to the previous results and in general we can say you're pretty stable. As you'll see, answers are in most cases roughly the same as last time, which i think adds to the credibility of the numbers overall. So here are your results with added attempts of interpretation and a few comments.
Who you are
Most likely you're a german speaking male, living in germany, in your early thirties and labeling yourself an artist, rather than a developer or designer. You're considering yourself an intermediate user and are using vvvv every week.
Even though you do have a username on vvvv.org, when it comes to the forum, you mostly read it silently. Which seems to be enough for you as you say the forum was your second favorite learning-resource after the help-patches and before the girlpowers. Also you've attended at least one edition of the NODE festival
You found out about vvvv by searching on the internet and have more likely taught vvvv to others than having learned it in an educational institution. When we ask you how you prefer to get your vvvv news, curiously there was a little spike in your request for email. In this day and age where the so-called social-media is showing its true face, we appreciate this request and are planning to offer a newsletter in the future.
Using vvvv
We asked you what your favorite user contributions are and here are your top ten:
With 3 hits in the charts everyoneishappy clearly bombs it. Chapeau! And this list also clearly shows us what you'll be missing in vvvv gamma from the start. The foundations are built, we're on it...
How nerdy are you?
Your biggest challenges
Then we asked about the biggest challenges you have with vvvv. And your answers can be summed up, in this particular order of occurence:
1) Learning
You name a lack of tutorials and documentation that make it hard to learn basic principles. In particular you struggle with the concept of spreads and vl and figuring out when to use what node to solve a specific problem. Point taken. We also see great potential in improving this situation.
2) Keeping patches organized
This is not only your complaint but one of the biggest critizisms of visual programming in general. And it is one of the reasons we started to work on vl, where we provide different options to help you structure your projects. Obviously this comes at the cost that you'll have to understand how to use those, but once you do, you should find it much easier to build and maintain more complex applications than you were used to in vvvv beta. But we understand that this still needs better documentation.
3) Keeping track of contributions
As a direct response to this, we've created this new site: User Contribution Staff Picks where we collect, sorted by categories, the most useful contributions.
4) Missing features
Apart from everyone missing their own favorite feature there is a more general bottom line: Many features expected as standard come "only" as user contributions, in varying quality and states of completeness. Creating, organizing and maintaining a vast library of standard nodes is a beast of its own and over the years vvvv immensely profited by the incredible amount of high-quality user contributions. While for vvvv beta we only added a plugin-interface at a later point, for vvvv gamma it is one of our top priorities to provide the most simple way we can think of, to extend it with more nodes. See Using .NET Libraries. This not only makes it easier for user contributions but also for ourselves to provide and maintain a much larger node-base than we could handle for vvvv beta. In the next survvvvey this point should not be up this high anymore!
5) It is windows only
See the roadmap for vvvv gamma
6) It cannot export executables
See the roadmap for vvvv gamma
7) Missing installer
Already solved for vvvv gamma
8) Difficult debugging of complex programs
We see that and would argue this is already much improved in vvvv gamma but also know that we will have to do much better in the future
9) Performance issues
This is a tricky one since there is the inherent performance of vvvv and then there are ways to patch things that run faster or slower. Therefore this will always be hard to solve in general. But certainly vvvv gamma improves over this by offering new features like reactive programming and async regions that allow you to better balance the load of your patches.
Your favorite tag-lines
Next we've asked you to choose your favorite tag-lines that best describe the vvvv you want to use. Here are the results in order of popularity:
If you were uncertain, in particular in regards to vvvv gamma, who we make it for and what it aspires to be, this listing gives a good answer. This is where vvvv comes from and it is also where we see its future!
We'd argue that today vvvv gamma improves over beta in points 10 and 7 and also points 1, 2, 3 and 8 are covered for use-cases that do not require 3d graphics. 4, 5 and 6 are waiting for the announced integration of the Xenko 3d-engine and nr. 9 is "only" short of some better integration of tooling like timeline and automata which is well underway... Overall it gives us great convidence that your wishes seem to be very much aligned with our plans.
Your favorite vvvv companions
Also we were interested in your favorite companions for vvvv and reasons when to prefer those over vvvv.
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First, your top companion choices are: 1) Unity 2) MaxMSP 3) Unreal Engine 4) TouchDesigner 5) PD |
And the top reasons to use them: 1) When executable export is required for a project 2) When the project cannot be deployed on Windows (web, mobile, microcontroller) 3) When better 3d-rendering support/workflow/quality is needed 4) When better video playback is needed 5) When better audio support is needed |
About vl
Here are some of the 15% other answers you gave:
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What is gamma?
Here are some of the 32% other answers you gave:
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Business
In this section your answers where particularly close to your answers in 2015. Here is what we asked and your answers:
Are you aware of the fact that when using vvvv for a commercial project you need to buy a license?
95% say yes.
Do you use vvvv in any professional / income-generating work?
50% yes, 50% no. What a healthy balance to have in a community, don't you think?
Have you worked on a commercial project where for some reason no license was bought?
70% yes, 30% no. Amen!
And finally, look how this one has pleasently changed:
If you have any idea what we could improve for the next survvvvey, please let us know in the comments.
Who community
When Wed, Aug 14th 2019 - 10:00 until Sun, Aug 18th 2019 - 10:00
Where Lodge Sisoretne, Dolne Oresany, Slovakia
Hi everybody!
Since I missed meeting the best community this summer, I decided to organize Link summer camp in Slovakia!
Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1msDePnoVfAl9gCTMcZvBLj60c57-vGEv-Va9npP4pb0/
I found great place for the camp, 1 hour of public transport from Bratislava.
https://www.facebook.com/sisoretne/
The summercamp is not like an academy or workshop. You are not coming to learn. Here you are coming to share and spend quality time together while bringing forward your developments and ideas for future developments.
Wednesday is arrival day, and Thursday morning we are starting to work on our projects, so you need to be ready by then!
Capacity for guests is 25 people, so some of you unfortunately might not get in.
There will be DIY breakfast table ready for you every day, lunch and dinner cooked so you can patch away.
There will be also night program involving projectors and speakers! You will have opportunity to show off your live patching skills.
Also if you cannot attend for the whole time, join us on the public Saturday.
In a nutshell:
40km from Bratislava
180€ with all food and drinks inclusive
Everybody gets a bed!
Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1msDePnoVfAl9gCTMcZvBLj60c57-vGEv-Va9npP4pb0/
Who you
When Tue, May 21st 2019 - 19:30 until Tue, May 21st 2019 - 23:00
Where Retune Studio, Glogauer Str. 21, 2nd Backyard, Berlin, Germany
Sir Prise,
vvvv berlin meetup #9 is ante portas: Again the fine people of Retune Studio will be hosting us.
This time we'll have a special surpise guest who came from very far and is here in berlin now to stay for a while... so evvvveryone please come plenty to give a warm welcome!
Still as always, feel free to bring your project/notebook/questions or whatever you want to share with the community. We have space and time for spontaneous discussions and presentations!
If you feel like, please rsvp on our Getogether page!
Who Dominik Jančík (domj)
When Sat, May 25th 2019 - 13:00 until Sun, May 26th 2019 - 18:30
Where Vzletná, Milady Horákové 56, Prague, Czech Republic
This two-day pilot workshop will introduce you to the secrets of light equipment and principles of visual programming.
Schéma is a new software based on vvvv and VL for controlling audiovisual installations developed in Prague. It allows for simple control of various lights and creating a wide range of animations through a combination of basic building blocks.
I posted more about the software itself in the WIP forum
https://discourse.vvvv.org/t/schema-streamlined-visual-programming-for-physical-devices/17545
Overview also available here http://schema.domj.net/
You will learn how simple it can be to breathe life into various light sources such as classic and smart lightbulbs, moving heads, LED strips or christmas light chains and what kind of equipment is required.
You will also have the option to brainstorm your own building block which will then be implemented in front of the group in the VL visual programming language.
If you’re interested in this topic but don’t have a controllable light of your own to play with, no problem! A simple DIY device for dimming battery powered christmas lights (or other similar light sources) will be offered on the spot. This device can connect to WiFi and communicate with the Schéma system.
This pilot workshop will primarily offer you:
- Early access to the development version of Schéma
- Overview of the various technologies you can encounter while dealing with light control at music and theatre venues, audiovisual installations and others (DMX, ArtNET, OSC, MIDI)
- Overview of the necessary and optional hardware equipment for light control from a PC (DMX converter, MIDI controllers, …)
- Introduction to the principles of visual programming and dataflow
- Familiarization with the Schéma system
- The option to influence future development of the system
- A live example of using the VL visual programming language
Please prepare the following:
- A computer running vvvv beta getting started
- An external PC mouse is recommended
The workshop will be carried out in czech or english depending on the common language of the participants.
The workshop will be streamed online.
More information and booking here https://www.facebook.com/events/2217690264988190/
Who Davide Di Franco
When Sat, May 11th 2019 - 19:30 until Sat, May 11th 2019 - 21:00
Where XM24, via Aristotele Fioravanti 24, Bologna, Italy
Hi all,
next Saturday I will be performing a generative work entirely done in vvvv, during an experimental electronic festival in Bolognahttp://www.ecn.org/xm24/evento/bologna-elettrica-2019/?instance_id=37718
The midi patches to external synths have been created with midi patches created in VL.
The video part is created with the great Instance Noodles pack, playing with sprites and lines @60fps.
After the improvisation there will be an open discussion on the software vvvv.
It would be great if one of you guys will be there to join the discussion.
In total I have got 90 min for the live show and open talk.
Drop me a message if you happen to pass by! ddf
ciao
previously on vvvv: vvvvhat happened in March 2019
have you tried it yet?
it is still hot and regularly updated! if you haven't yet, maybe the latest IOBox update convinces you to give it a go. massive thanks to everyone who is testing and giving feedback and reporting bugs. very much appreciated!
while we're onto fixing the still most pressing bugs we're now concentrating on 3 final things we mentioned in the roadmap: tooltips, executable export, documentation. these are the areas where we're hoping to have something to show next.
meanwhile if you have thoughts on working with Kinect2 in vl, please let us know.
and thanks to u7angel we have recordings of a recent vvvv gamma workshop, a presentation about Ocean Of Air and a VL.Xenko demo.
Contributions
happy to see vl based contributions rolling in...
| new: |
updated:
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| some new wips: | some teasers: |
Gallery
and some more not to miss:
- Bodies In Motion: Humanscale by m9dfukc
- Scalable storytelling environment by MESO
- Bosphorus: Data Sculpture by Refik Anadol
Jobs
and again some relevvvvant jobs are posted on jobboard Das Auge.
that was it for april. anything to add? please do so in the comments!
Who Will Young, Damien Schneider
When Wed, May 15th 2019 - 20:00 until Wed, May 15th 2019 - 20:00
Where Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester, United Kingdom
Brand new audiovisual performance on the way from me and Damien Schneider. Featuring body movement by Sean Murray
15th May - The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester - Ticket cost is 'pay what you feel'
thelowry.com/digital
jojojo IO,
one of the more important features for quick prototyping in vvvv always were the IOBoxes. Here is an update that finally brings the vl IOBoxes up to par (and beyond) with what you were used to from vvvv beta.
Support for Spreads
Most notably missing so far was proper support for spreads. Sorted. When creating an IOBox via "start link -> middleclick" you now always get an interactive IOBox for the supported primitive types: ints, floats, bool, string, path, color, enum, even if they are spreaded or spread-of-spreaded or...
Or configure your own, by first creating a normal IOBox via right doubleclick and then configuring its type (middleclick it) via the Inspektor to a Spread type:
Key to spread IOBoxes is that you can directly set their count, without the need to open an inspektor. By default they now show a maximum of 5 entries and add a scrollbar to show more. If you want to see more, you can change the "Maximum Visible Entries" count via the Inspektor.
To quickly modify a constant spread you can also insert/remove slices when the inspektor is active:
Same as with other editors, the spread editors also work on inputs of a node to quickly tweak values:
And you can now specify defaults for input pins that are spreads:
Override values temporarily
Mostly useful for numbers and bools, in vl you can override upstream values directly, by manipulating an IOBox that sits in the middle:
Numbers
What we're used to from beta: Entering values via formula now also works:
Vectors
Vectors now allow you to change all components at once:
Also the Inspektor now shows all properties that you get on a float IOBox, so you can now also configure e.g. a vectors precision.
Strings and Chars
Both can now optionally show non-printable characters:
Colors
Color IOBoxes now also show you transparency:
Paths
Paths finally can be reduced to smaller sizes and show proper path ellipsis, ie. preferring to keep the last part of the value visible:
Click the little O icon to open the current file/directory with their associated program. ALT+click the icon to show the file/directory in the explorer.
Matrix
For completeness:
This is it for now.. Available for testing in both latest alphas and gamma previews.
We are very lucky to host the first vvvv gamma workshop at the Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel. Joreg and Tebjan will give a 3 hour introduction into the vvvv future. Since we use vvvv a lot at the university, it makes totally sense to check out, what we can do with the next big thing.
There are still some seats left.
Where ? - Prototyping Lab, Werkstattgebäude
When ? - Thursday 18th of april, starting 2pm
In case you don't want to patch but just listen to what will come, you are invited to the evening presentation. The boys will give us a making-off presentation of Ocean Of Air, the first ever project realized with vvvv gamma and the upcoming Xenko 3d engine integration. (sentence stolen from the other news post ;)
Where ? - mainbuilding,ZFM Medienseminarraum EG
When ? Thursday 18th of april, starting 7pm
See you there
When Wed, Apr 24th 2019 - 19:30 until Wed, Apr 24th 2019 - 23:00
Where Retune Studio, Glogauer Str. 21, 2nd Backyard, Berlin, Germany
Here we go,
vvvv berlin meetup #8 is happening at a new location!
Spektrum Berlin sadly is no more. If you ever enjoyed a vvvv meetup or another event there, please consider donating!
Meanwhile the fine people of Retune Studio offered us their space, which we'll gladly occupy next week.
We'll have tonfilm giving us a making-off presentation of Ocean Of Air, the first ever project realized with vvvv gamma and the upcoming Xenko 3d engine integration.
Also we're happy to have m9dfukc talk about "Bodies In Motion" he recently helped realize:
And as always, feel free to bring your project/notebook/questions or whatever you want to share with the community. We have space and time for spontaneous discussions and presentations!
If you feel like, please rsvp on our Getogether page!
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