Thanks for comprehensive answers to questions
(Re flicker)
How do you want it to work?
I don't have any other boards myself, so I don't know what is standard and how they work. :)
I imagine that popular choices would be sound-based flickering and random flickering?
I think your initial implementation sounds good. I like the idea of it being sound-based and having that sync between sound and light effects. I think it’s only the other open source solutions that currently implement this and not the Plecter and NEC boards, but I may be wrong in that.
I guess if used for clash and lockup and maybe blaster deflect, the main distinction between the blade flicker and clash/lockup/other effects is the colour change for the latter, but I guess this could be implemented with some sort of volume/amplitude threshold beyond which colour changing effects kick in as well as a more pronounced flicker/shimmer.
I’ve owned Plecter boards and know that the flicker has two settings for flicker, which (I think) control the variability and depth of the effect. As I undertstand, there are different settings and effects for shimmer/lockup and clash and blaster deflect.
I guess it comes down to tweaking the final effect to look subjectively good to the eye as much as the basis of the approach.
Also, I've actually tried to stay away from using configuration menues on the saber itself, as I think that seems really difficult to implement *well*. Instead everything is currently done through the "presets" array. Holding aux while tapping power goes to the next preset, holding power and tapping the blade goes to the previous preset. The presets are managed in the source itself.
I agree – having presets/fonts you can cycle through with the saber is important to me, perhaps along with basic functions like controlling or muting volume, but, beyond this, it seems easier and more straightforward to alter these from the keyboard.
I think the variation in clash lockup/tip drag depending on orientation of the saber you suggest may be more straightforward/user friendly to distinguish between activation of these effects and would cover most instances.
Deducing approximate location on the blade for localised effects from the motion detector would be great if possible – I guess this is something that the builder might need to tailor to work with the variations in the physical materials and build of the saber.
If you're serious about contributing, you'll need to learn a *little* coding to do it.
There is no better way to learn how to code than to customize something you love though.
Absolutely, this is my intention. A good starting place for me in the past with making a website and digital modelling and animation has been to comb through and play with existing source material to tweak it to understand it and better meet my needs.
I have materials for a test blade, so will be putting that together while Teensysaber is en route. I also have a DIYino board and may treat myself to a Prizm v5 when available soon, all of which will find homes-in-hilts. The polyphonic swing sound mixing is the standout feature for Teensysaber that puts that at the front of the queue for my personal saber.
I'll post further thoughts and questions on software in the thread you've created for that.