New Effects! Solid 2, Solid 3 (Similar to Chase 2, Chase 3)

[zowper]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
It would be AMAZING if there were a very simple way to create stationary repeating patterns with the "Effect" workflow that everyone is used to. While complex patterns can be created with segments, users have a VERY difficult time understanding patterns built using segments.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would love to have an effect called "Solid 2" and "Solid 3" so that people can choose two or three colors (Red/Green or Red/White/Blue). The effect does not move (similar to Solid). It is a stationary pattern. The "Intensity" slider can change the width of each color in the pattern (identical to "Chase 2" and "Chase 3").

Describe alternatives you've considered
While complex patterns can be created with segments, users have a VERY difficult time understanding patterns built using segments. This would greatly simplify the creation of simple stationary patterns (especially with more and more people using WLED to control the lights on their homes).

[DedeHai]

so you want chase2 and chase3 just not moving? you can easily do that, just freeze the segment. done.

[zowper]

I've been working with WLED for years and I didn't realize that you can "freeze" a segment. A quick Google search explains how to do it with the API (which doesn't help the issue of usability). Do you know if there's a GUI option that I'm missing? If not, it seems like "Solid 2" and "Solid 3" would still be great additions to the list of effects! :)

[zowper]

After digging deeper into my Google search, it looks like stopwatch icon (next to the "speed" slider) actually freezes the animation if you tap it! It almost feels like an easter egg (I thought it was just a label for the "speed" slider). Now that I know it's there, it works perfectly for what I want to do!

I still think that "Solid 2" and "Solid 3" would be good additions to the effect list (because of how intuitive it is - rather than freezing a "chase" animation). Does anyone else have any thoughts?

[blazoncek]

Use spacing and overlapping segments.

[zowper]

@DedeHai I just have to say, your solution is amazing! I've been using segments to create patterns and your idea of "Freezing" effects is amazing! I'm really glad you shared it. The only unfortunate part is that it isn't obvious (but it's really great once you understand that it's possible).

[zowper]

@blazoncek Yes, that works really well and I appreciate how configurable it is for complex setups! Unfortunately, most of the people that I show the app to don't use segments (even after I explain it multiple times).

What is your opinion about including effects called "Solid 2" and "Solid 3"? If I coded them and submitted a pull request, might it be considered for inclusion?

[blazoncek]

I would be against it.

[zowper]

Good to know. Could you explain why?

[willmmiles]

On the technical level, effect IDs are currently limited to an 8-bit range, and we're already experiencing contention with many usermods using parts of that range. There's a secondary problem that the ever-growing list in the UI is already making it hard to find what you're looking for, especially when many of the entries do very similar things. For the near term future, adding an effect that can be implemented through some other combination of settings would be a waste of a scarce resource.

[k7bbr]

Solid 3 is there already isn't it? Solid Pattern Tri is the name of the effect. For 2 colors just double up one of the color selection and live with one of the stipes longer than the others. Chase 2 and freeze it as mentioned would work if you only wanted 2 equal colors.

[zowper]

@willmmiles That makes perfect sense. Thanks so much for the clarity! I didn't realize that we were running out of addresses.

Has anyone talked about splitting the address space into 1D and 2D effects (so they each have 256 options)?

The 2D configuration is already saved in the settings, so it seems fairly trivial to implement a check when loading a given preset ID.

As for organization, I think that it would be great to have them in categories (rather than a monolithic list). The same could be said for presets.

[zowper]

@k7bbr You're correct! I forgot about that one, thank you! It's surprising to me that "Solid Pattern 2" doesn't exist but "Solid Pattern Tri" does.

In thinking more deeply about the problem, it seems like a MUCH better solution would be to implement another parameter in addition to "Speed" and "Intensity" (for many of the presets) called "Color Count". It could be selectable from 1 to 10.

It would be applied easily to many existing presets. Some of the easiest to visualize are Blink, Breathe, Candle, Dissolve, Fade, Lightning, Meteor, Puddle, Strobe, Sweep, Wipe, etc.

Additionally, some of the presets would be consolidated (because they would be redundant). This would help a lot for clarity and standardization. For example, Chase 2 and Chase 3 could simply be "Chase Pattern". The same with Fade and Tri Fade, Solid Pattern Tri, etc.

This would help a lot with the preset organization. It would also greatly expand WLED's abilities in a very user friendly way. It doesn't seem like there are many downsides at all (besides the work to implement it). Any thoughts?

[willmmiles]

In thinking more deeply about the problem, it seems like a MUCH better solution would be to implement another parameter in addition to "Speed" and "Intensity" (for many of the presets) called "Color Count". It could be selectable from 1 to 10.

FX are currently limited to at most 3 selectable colours ("foreground", "background", "other").

It would also greatly expand WLED's abilities

That's not strictly speaking true; anything you can do with such an approach can also be done using segments with the 'spacing' setting. From a software maintenance perspective, I would recommend against adding redundant abilities to the FX engine.

A better approach may be to improve the UI so that it's easier to set up that kind of configuration. For example, consider a "split segment" button that converts the selected segment to two or more sub-segments with the offset and index shifts pre-calculated.

[zowper]

FX are currently limited to at most 3 selectable colours ("foreground", "background", "other").

Interesting! That's good to know going into this. Do you know if that current limitation is based on WLED (or if it's due to the underlying libraries)?

That's not strictly speaking true; anything you can do with such an approach can also be done using segments with the 'spacing' setting. From a software maintenance perspective, I would recommend against adding redundant abilities to the FX engine.

I agree, we definitly don't want anything redundant (which is the reason some effects like "Candy Cane" have become "retired effects"). I believe this can help remove redundancy by generalizing several redundant presets (like Chase 2, Chase 3, Fade, Tri Fade, etc).

My understanding (unless I'm missing something) is that using segments with "spacing" wouldn't work properly for full width animations (2 color strobe, 3 color lightning, 4 color fade, 5 color chase etc.).

To be fair, my original request was for stationary patterns (which is exactly what you are addressing). Let me know if I should open up a different feature request (so that the updated intent is more clear). :)

A better approach may be to improve the UI so that it's easier to set up that kind of configuration. For example, consider a "split segment" button that converts the selected segment to two or more sub-segments with the offset and index shifts pre-calculated.

I agree that a more intuitive UI for the segments would be extremely helpful (especially for stationary patterns). I'll think a bit longer on possible improvements there. :)