This has been a long time coming!

We've hoped to have this one out earlier, but finally, we can release it into your caring hands: The best vvvv gamma ever (so far). With tons of bug fixes, improvements, and new features. And without further ado, you can divvvve right into it:

Here is to give you an overview of the most notable changes:

UI/UX

Improved patching performance

Part of the magic of vvvv gamma is, that it has the advantages of a visual live programming environment combined with the advantages of a compiled language. Getting those two to work together smoothly is one hard nut to crack. In this release, we were able to improve the patching performance with larger projects by introducing a new compilation and hotswap strategy. For details, see this discussion.

Hamburger menu

The new hamburger menu in the top right corner of the editor gives you quick access to Settings, Themes, Licensing information and the About page.

Editor extensions

Are you missing a feature in the vvvv editor and don't want to wait for us to build it? Editor extensions allow you to essentially build plugins for vvvv itself. Available examples are a desktop color picker, a TUIO simulator and monitor and a Spout monitor. Read more.

But the best thing about extensions is, that they are just patches. So it takes just a few clicks to create your own. Read more.

Libraries

Updates to Stride 3d rendering

• TextureFX: We added a vast collection of easy to use nodes for applying visual effects to textures
• We added Pipet and MeshSplit nodes and fully reworked the Texture- and Buffer-creation nodes
• Latest Stride comes with two new PostFX: Fog and Outline
• We added a ShaderFX node factory that allows to easily write composable shader snippets
• Materials can now be extended with custom shaders

FUSE - visual gpu patching

This release paves the way for the almighty new FUSE library, developed by dottore, everyoneishappy and texone. It allows you to use your GPU for things that typically require writing shaders. FUSE gives you access to procedural noise, signed distance field rendering, customizable particle systems, vector fields, fluid simulations and more, without having to write shader programs! Watch this video to see how to get started with FUSE.

Video input and playback

We added stable support for the effortless playback of a wide range of video formats for both Skia and Stride. In addition, we added ImagePlayer nodes for the playback of image sequences. Read more.

The ImagePlayers can also easily be synced over the network. Read more.

Updates to Skia 2d rendering

• 2d rendering is now fully GPU accelerated, which greatly improves performance in many scenarios
• SkiaRenderer and SkiaTexture nodes now also work on AMD GPUs

Language

• The "This" node can now be used in constructors as well as in generic patches. For details, see this dicussion
• You can now use explicit type parameters. For details, see this discussion
• You can now patch a stateful region with BorderControlPoints! See the "ManageProcess" node for an example

And these were only the highlights. For all the details, please see the changelog.

Licensing

The release of a new version is always a good moment to make sure you still have a valid license for commercial use. To check, log into your account here on vvvv.org and then view your vvvv gamma licenses.

In case, you simply buy a license the moment you start working on a commercial project. Don't forget that we also have monthly options!

What next? Expect the occasional 2021.4.x bug-fix release while we're starting work on the 2021.5 branch as per the updated roadmap.

Good patch!

Dear audiophiles!

Here is to announce some long-overdue work on the VL.Audio pack with the goal to finally release a stable version of it. There are still some pending todos, but the main things are done. So in its latest previews, please find the following partly breaking changes:

Driver and Timing Configuration

The singleton AudioEngine node is gone and replaced by 2 simpler singleton nodes

• DriverSettings
• TimingSettings

But the idea is to mostly only use those when exporting applications. Because usually, you'd now simply use the new Audio Configuration extension (Alt+C). The UI for the extension is still missing at this point, but you get the idea. Meanwhile, you can manually modify \AppData\vvvv\gamma\VL.Audio.Configuration.xml (requires a restart of vvvv).

A third alternative is to use the new SettingsFromFile node that allows you to specify such a configuration.xml that you may want to check into a git-repo with your project.

Still, to get any audio out, you'll need either the dedicated ASIO driver of your sound device or one of the generic ASIO drivers installed.

Buffer nodes

A new set of nodes allows you to record/play and save/load audio, using buffers. For now these nodes are still marked with the experimental aspect, because we may still apply breaking changes, but the idea is ready for testing. Create a Buffer node and then work it with the following:

• BufferRecorder
• BufferPlayer
• BufferWriter
• BufferReader
• WavReader (Buffer)
• WavWriter (Buffer)
• WaveForm (Buffer)

Misc

• WaveForm: returns a spread of floats you can use to draw a WaveForm
• WavWriter: for recording live audio to a .wav file on disk
• StereoMixer, MatrixMixer
• ValueSequence

Fixed issues

• Creating and disposing VL.Audio player leaks memory?
• VL.Audio Player - Break playback by hovering any FileStreamSignal link or pin
• Record audio in gamma
• AudioEngine - Dynamic enum not set on startup
• Gamma crashes when changing samplerate

So please give the latest preview a spin and report your findings!

Previously on vvvv: vvvvhat happened in November 2021

It's that time of the year again where we're throwing out the old one and are unconditionally happy for yet another one to come. That's the spirit! So while you mentally prepare for the upcoming meetup on January 25th, you have a chance to rewatch the 15th vvvv online meetup, the last one from 2021.

Last thing in December for us was releasing another dot-release for the 2021.4 series of vvvv gamma. Changes and download for it can be found in the usual place.

And here's to all educators among you:
With vvvv gamma finally being in proper shape, we're starting an educational offensive. First off, we're running a super-spreader event with a course tailored to educators. For full details and application, please see:

Course: Mastering vvvv for teaching

Contributions

We got a new one:

• VL.Spotify by sebescudie as demonstrated in the last meetup

and received updates to the following:

• Gamma Launcher
• VL.NewAudio
• VL.IO.HTTP.WebServer
• VL.TUIO.HDE
• VL.SpoutMonitor.HDE
• VL.Elementa

And there is a growing number of video tutorials in chinese by lavalse

Gallery

• Perpetual Myth by lasal
• #madewithvvvv by various patchers

Jobs

• Always keep an eye on the vvvv job board
• There are often some more on dasauge.de
• If you need a vvvv specialist or are one yourself, check out this listing of vvvv specialists available for hire

That was it for December. Anything to add? Please do so in the comments!

Mark the date! on December 7th, 8pm CET we gather to celebrate our 15th vvvvorld-wide meetup!
How will this work? Something like as always ;). So, fill up your bucket of popcorn and invite all your vvvvriends and vvvvamily to join us!

Want to share your work?

Please do! Anything more or less related to vvvv, yourself and your projects. Share some thoughts, share your funny fails. Or just ask some questions...

No sign-up, no line-up! We'll just have this an open call that anyone can join. Surprise!

Any questions? Get in touch via meetup@vvvv.org. See you there!