Igniter R4After months of coding, testing, fixing, coding, testing dashed with a few nasty explicits (like F-Disk and Firetruck! LOL!) I finally am ready to release Igniter(tm) R4. This will be the biggest release since R1 in terms of the most amount of stuff added; the entire code base was re-examined, improvements made and of course a completely new feature has been added (you'll have to wait for that tomorrow :) In fact you may have two surprises tomorrow as I'm still preparing the video for those second things :)
The new release is now available for anyone to purchase in my store: SaberIgniter.com. I'll be updating my site over the next couple of days with the new config editor but all purchases will come with R4 and the new config editor on the uSD card. And some of you may have noticed that while you must buy the TruColor(tm) now with Igniter(tm) (as it allows me to focus on color features for Igniter(tm) and have less shipping confusion) that the overall price has dropped, even with the new features. (: R4 - More for less :)
Improvements
R4 Part 1 - Improvements walkthroughThere were many improvements to the Igniter(tm) platform this release. I fixed a few issues with minColor not working for some colors, accents sometimes coming on for split seconds, ect. Lots of little tweaks to get things going more smoothly. However some improvements were to really address useability, and these most 5 important ones are the following:
- Latching main switch support - for anyone installing into an MR you'll find this handy as you won't need to custom install a new switch. Also works great for Parks where you turn the twisting knobs into a switch by putting a tactile under it.
- EZ Blast(tm) improvements - for some fonts it was tough to trigger the EZ Blast(tm) feature as the blaster sounds were short, so blaster mode would end. Now you can set the buffer using the blWait variable in the config editor to specify the amount of time it remains in the mode, making the feature easier to trigger.
- Saber FX (tm) Swing override - for FX packs like Droid Armada, I found it annoying that the swings would cutoff the fx sound. Thus I added a parameter to allow swings to be ignored when the FX sounds are playing. This allows you to have talking ones that can be cutoff or action ones that won't get cutoff
- Saber Cinema(tm) interaction enhancement - now a font that has Saber Cinema(tm) engaged can still be used as normal or with Saber Cinema(tm) engaged! Pressing the main button simply makes the font work as normal. Holding the aux button will engage Saber Cinema(tm), allowing a personalized Saber Cinema(tm) experience for each font.
- Continued audio improvements - More work was done in the audio engine to get crystal clear sounds regardless of the weird color or pulsing scheme that was chosen for the main LED. The sound is loud and clear.
New Feature!!!
Igniter(TM) R4 Release - part 2Introducing Saber Dual Phase(TM), the most exciting feature to hit the saber world since the 9-in-1(TM) saber! With Dual Phase(TM) you will be able to have two main blade colors that can be transitioned to while the saber is running! Similar to a feature described in EU books, this will allow one saber with multiple crystals to be engaged differently. On top of that, because both the blade color and Dual Phase(TM) color are affected by BladeShade(TM), it is possible to switch between multiple colors!
To activate Dual Phase(TM), simply twist-the-wrist and the feature will be activated. The colors will transition before your eyes! Twist-the-wrist again and the color will transition back to the original color. The amount of twist needed and the amount of motion allowed in other directions is configurable so you can setup the triggering to your use-pattern.
There are two sub-modes of Dual Phase(TM)
- Classic - this mode works as described above, switching between two distinct colors and playing a sound during both of the transitions. With BladeShade(TM) you can even transition to multiple colors allowing a rainbow saber experience! You can also set two similar colors, one being brighter allowing for a battery saving mode at cons. Finally, by setting the Dual Phase(TM) color to the same as the main blade color you can trigger Action or Force sounds, where unlike FX mode you control when the sound occurs.
- Lock - this mode is different in that the dual phase color is "locked" into place, and the dual phase sound repeats until the user clicks the aux button, where the color returns to normal. Useful for simulating a saber cutting through a door (I've provided a special sound for this that will be on my site)
Another Surprise?I have another surprise in store too, here's a hint for those that like these: Igniter(tm) Now Is More.
The answer is: Igniter(TM) Mini! Based on the Spark(TM) platform (the PCB is shared, but Mini has different components), Igniter(TM) Mini is a way to have a full version of Igniter(TM) on a small solution that requires only one battery. What this means is that it will now be possible to create small sabers like Parks or sabers with fancy reveal chambers that still can utilize all the features of Igniter(TM).
There are only two differences functionality wise of the Igniter(TM)-Mini vs. the Igniter:
- Volume - because it runs on only one battery (up to 5v), the audio amp cannot produce the volume as a full Igniter(TM) can.
- Main LEDs - Igniter(TM)-Mini only supports 3 main Die instead of 4. This is minor as the major use-case will be a TriRebel or Quad Rebel with two of the same colors anyways, but it is a difference to note.
Because of the complexity of the Mini, I'm currently not listing it directly in my store at this time. I may do so in the future but more needs to be worked out in terms making it user friendly along with some business decisions. For now if you are interested in getting a Mini for a build please PM me.
Config EditorAs mentioned, a new config editor that makes all the features of R4 available will be soon added to the website. This contains a few fixes, re-organization of the tabs plus new slides for all the improvements/ new features.
I hope everyone enjoys this release, it was a lot of hours in the making. Special thanks to IA, Arkhan, Caz and DarthAlice for their continued support, and for everyone else that has helped me along the way. Without everyone's support I wouldn't be able to continue as I have. I'm God-blessed to have so many good friends near and far.
Godspeed, and MTFBWY all!
Topic: Introducing Igniter(tm) R4 and Mini! (Read 4488 times)