Updated Motion Engine Hack Has Issues

Question

MIDI Target Manufacturer(s): Other/Unlisted Maker

This updated Motion Engine layout runs with MD Next 2.150 and is a follow-up to recent Motion Engine postings. Clear should be tapped when initiating a sequence to get all controls in sync.

This layout adds a Start/Stop button and a Halt/Resume button. Tapping Start/Stop starts repetitive cycling. Pressing it a second time Stops cycling and resets the Start/Stop controls. Tapping Halt/Resume while the Motion Engine is cycling will halt cycling at the position it is currently at. Pressing it a second time resumes the cycle from the halted position. They work fine independently as long as Halt/Resume is tapped ONLY while Driver is running.

However an out-of-sync condition exists if the Start/Stop is pressed while Driver is halted. Tapping Start/Stop then requires tapping Halt/Resume twice to halt. Randomly tapping Start/Stop and Halt/Resume occasionally causes the Motion Engine to act up and do strange things or it appears to freeze. I have had MDP crash several times during random taps. I created a Clear button to reset everything to its default prior to starting, but that doesn’t work when the Motion Engine is acting up. Clear may potentially impact applications and may not be a permanent solution.

Another anomaly occurs if Start/Stop is pressed a little too quick. Driver takes time to cycle back to 0 and should be instantaneous. I also believe my iPad response for other apps slow down and/or act up if I leave MD Next running.

HELP! Ideally, turning Halt/Resume off when Stop goes on may eliminate the out of-sync issue. I haven’t found a way to do that. I tried reseting Halt/Resume at start or at stop but that didn’t work.

Driver, Resetter, and Reset are configured as before. The new layout uses two 2 tick Knobs to control alternating Start and Stop buttons and control Pause (Halt) and Start (Resume) buttons. Resume actually re-Starts. Start triggers Driver to start (or resume) cycling with Snap Sub to Value set to 1s Fixed Speed (this can change based on application). Stop and Pause require 10ms (why?), Pause is Fixed Speed, Stop is not. Stop SuperControl Options is Inverted and returns Driver to 0. Pause Midi is set to 127 – 0 and Super Options are Button Send On, Current value, Stepper, and Inverted.

Another mod to think about is to somehow design a variable time.

Thanks, Don

Downloads: 425
Updated Motion Engine
Downloads: 428

Images

Updated Motion Engine

Comments

Hey there, glad that you're inspired to continue digging into this Motion Engine. Lots of great stuff here. I've changed the title to reflect that it's an exploit of a bug in MD: the failure to cut infinite loops between reset-to-default and supers-subs. This isn't to cause alarm but just for context: this behavior might be fixed at any time, and you're in uncharted (and unsupported) territory in terms of results.

Thanks and keep on!