FoC™ (Flash on Clash™) test thread

[Scorpion]

so im assuming if i wanted a better run time for my graflex id need to upgrade the batterys to 17500s or whatever they are and change all the resistors etc

[Alex Gordon]

What resistors?  nothing changes except the capacity.  even if the voltage did change, the cf would still put out the same voltage evertwhere it is needed (assuming the voltage was still in the range of the cf)

[Scorpion]

ahh i assumed ther would be resistors for the accent leds etc .. im not up on these i always have my saber instals done for me

[erv]

accent leds are powered by a regulated voltage (3.3V) so even changing the battery voltage won't affect this. You can upgrade safely.

[Alex Gordon]

looking forward to updating this with my cfv6 when I get it.  However, I have a few notes about what is and isn't going to look good.  Say you are using a simple RGB led with the color mixing.  Say you are running that perfect shade of OSPP, but you want a yellow flash.  The blue would have to switch off and the green would have to switch on momentarily.  That isn't a "bad" thing per-se, but half of the reason that dramatic FoC looks so good is because in addition to the brightness, it changes color.  with that kind of a "software flash" I guess you could call it (even though it was all software before, just not color adjustable) the effect of a yellow flash "can" be achieved with any color blade, but it won't necessarily look right.  I'm going to test these theories when the board arrives (likely a couple of weeks from now) and post my findings. 

we'll see how well my predictions hold up, but that's all for now.   


edit: I just watched erv's 2nd v6 color mixing test, but I didn't really notice exactly what I was talking about.  those are just my predictions too.  I'm not saying anything for certain until I see the effect in person.  I did see it for sure when he went from purple to red or purple to blue.  however, I didn't notice it as much when he did yellow FoC like I though I would.  so basically, my predictions hold, but I'm double sure that I won't know anything until I see it in person. 

[m4rco]

Awesome thread Alex I will try these Settings on my saber:

shmrd=75     <- Same as the duration of the FoC. Otherwise might look not good?

shmrp=8     <- I figured the green burst should be not as tight as the red. So that the red is more in focus?
shmrr=18

focd=75     <- A bit longer because I like a bit more dramatic.

focp=6       <- The red a bit tighter, therefore being a bit more emphasized?
focr=16

shmrp and focp should be different to make the clash even more distorted??? (So the color of the FoC varies because of less and more green/red mixing)
Or do you like the FoC more if the main/green stays normal and only the Red/FoC is changing/bursting?

Anyway Will post a vid too, again great work!

[erv]

glad to have this thread going on, good settings explanation, very helpful !

[Alex Gordon]

For those who have noticed it (though with the lack of v6 builds, i'm not sure anyone has noticed) it's a lot harder to achieve this type of flash on the v6 and i have not matched the flash from the v5 to the v6 yet.  It is on my todo list though, so when i have some time i will try to figure it out.  thinking back on it, "harder" isn't the right word.  It is just more time consuming since all of the parameters changed (i believe there is no longer a separate way to define the shimmer on clash and the shimmer of the flash on clash).  Erv, am i missing something or did those parameters merge?  I wasn't very happy when i would get full on green during portions of the FoC of a red blade with green (for yellow) FoC but i could not find a way to keep the blade at the same brightness while only shimmering the flash. 

[erv]

I believe that it's possible.
Parameters sort of merged as there's no point in flicking separately 2 dice while the goal is to obtain a specific color. If you select a shimmer duration super short, you'll get your effect back IMO.
When the blade shimmers, the same amount (proportionally with the mix) of flicker is applied to both dice (when mixing 2 of them I mean), so color should be consistent if you keep the color randomizer low or off.

if there are things that don't work for you, let me (us) know, I'll see what I can do to the code.

[Alex Gordon]

The thing is i want a substantially heavier flicker for the flash than i do for the main blade and i did have the randomizer off with a shimmer that would sort of match the one in my video and it was showing the flash die only at some points, which looked really weird.  I'll play with it some more but i was hoping to achieve the same thing as in my videos which was no blade shimmer during clash but a pretty deep flash shimmer during clash.  I never had the flash die overtake the main blade die with that setup and that's what i was going for. 

[m4rco]

I never had the flash die overtake the main blade die with that setup and that's what i was going for. 

So you would actually prefer a solid main blade with FoC shimmering and burst mixed instead of both shimmering and bursting?
I thought that might look more dramatic...

On the other hand I can understand your point, that actually the main blade should stay the same and only the FoC is mixed in...

[Alex Gordon]

well, I want the main blade to have a standard flicker but other than that, yes.  No extra flicker/shimmer/whatever on the main blade color during clash/lockup/whatever. 

if you think about it, it is never the blade that "shimmers" or whatever no impact in the films.  it is the flash that is created that has some variance to it sometimes.  I can never recall the main blade getting dimmer on impact, so I want my FoC to be over and above the main blade so it has the most headroom and therefore brightness. 

[m4rco]

I want my FoC to be over and above the main blade so it has the most headroom and therefore brightness. 

Makes sense due to the fact that a flash should result in an overall increase of brightness, I will check my settings out but if the FoC overall is brighter with your settings I will chose them...

[m4rco]

Another cool feature I noticed:

If you want a movieaccurate FoC it should be yellowish or orangish.

With the CF 5 you could achieve this effect by using GG or RR for main and R or G for the FoC LED,
so you were limited to use either a Green or a Red main blade.

With the CF 6 you can use BB as main and Amber for the FoC led,
then just lower the current for the main during a FoC to a minimum or even disable the main LEDs.
You will have BB main and an Amber flash!!!

Before mixing B and A would have been like a greenish FoC!

AWESOME!

[Alex Gordon]

I tried that and was disappointed.  If you take away the main blade and replace it with a set flash color, it just looks like the blade is changing color, it doesn't look natural like a standard "added" flash does.