6.3 released?

The VISIBLE option for ports is a new feature added in 6.3, yes. This is outlined in the What Is New document and described in Building in Primary. As for Blocks used in Ensembles, A View is the original layout without ports, and B View is the new layout with ports. I am going to update the original Blocks Manual (which is dedicated to the Ensemble use case) with this information as soon as possible.

Another handy new feature in this context is global switching of Views for all Instruments included in an Ensemble. Find it in the View menu under Panel View. This is described in the section about A/B Views in the Building in Primary document.

 

no one likes it when he says this but it's true. the language itself is stuck. and this whole thread is quite like talking to a wall -a wailing wall, as it were. morning, jan ola!

 

What additional things do you think would be most beneficial for the language?

 

I think we're talking about the restriction of the cables colour .
Not the blocks themselves , rea ktor supports jpeg , targa and png files

Maybe a codebox like max/msp

Personally I would like to seem them tackle the whole widget gui concept , opting for vector graphics .
It gives a lot more flexibility and reduced the filesizes

 

Native Instruments posted in the beta forum that they left off the feature to allow user generated content in racks for the launch to keep the host chunk saving feature (the ability to save just pointers to blocks and their connections rather than the entire ensemble with DAW projects) simple and stable for what they called a 'minimum viable product', but are open to feedback.

I think they didn't want to commit to one model but rather planned to release the front panel patching and host chunk saving features and then get feedback on them.

I don't think we should read too much into it at this point. Generating content is very much at the heart of what Reaktor is about so I don't think it will be long before they address this.

 

Well, I am here to listen, learn, and help. Also I am excited about Racks since they have the potential to onboard users to patching and exploring REAKTOR who have only used single REAKTOR Instruments as Ensembles before. This will benefit everyone involved down the road.

This release is about patching with Blocks in a more engaging and convenient way, yes. However, the inclusion of panel ports in Ensembles should make clear that we do care about builders. Remember, 6.2.2 was all about building with some exciting new DSP building blocks added.

In terms of documentation, we prioritized the Quick Start Guide to go along with the new opportunities of the Rack format: the broader group of synth users can get into Blocks, or modular in general for that matter, more easily. This is great, because as much fun patching is, it is not very accessible.

Most of the relevant REAKTOR documents have already been updated with information about the new features, however I am looking to further improve them based on the feedback I gather. For example, there is useful information for Rack users in the Blocks Manual, which will stand as the go-to document for the 'Blocks in Ensemble' use case. This needs to be clarified, with use cases explained and relevant info made available to Rack users.

 

abstraction. iteration in core. bundles in primary. some form of localized upsampling and polyphony. reaktor is generally awful with multiplicity, let alone variable multiplicity (try to implement a variable length fir filter). debugging tools. some documentation for the compiler to adopt practices according to its optimizations, without having to guess them. i'm ok though, i'm used to the things available, i know what's reasonable and not to try, and i like core's minimalism. i just say it's true -the language had some update in 2015 and that's pretty much it since 2005. more than the fact itself, what worries is the impression that NI supports the project on conditional liberty -it has to justify its existence with raising sales. this is not a general truth, it's a choice. there are many companies doing very well with niche products, and the strategies for that and "going mainstream" are different. some products can't be forced out of their niche without some frankensteining. think about it in music -imagine some executive telling a jazz label they have to go k-pop because sales are stalled. i do like k-pop and have nothing against rack hosts, but

 

Nice ! Concerning the new potential users, I would rather say they will explore Racks and modular concepts. Actually a part of what Reaktor is, no ?

 

Yes, that is where the journey can start in the most rewarding and interesting way. If a user wants to take the next step, they can save the Rack as an Ensemble and dive deeper into the structure. Maybe experiment with the core of a filter, for instance, like Vadim has shown in his Native Sessions presentation. Or apply learnings from using Blocks to build something a little bit more granular in Primary. The tutorials in Building in Primary are a great entry point for that, especially when a user has already learned about the basic structure of a synth using Blocks.

 

well, that would have been a reasonable answer to the concerns posted

 

I think it is fair to ask for a little bit of patience. The official announcement is tomorrow, and the team has been super busy wrapping everything up.

I am using this release as an opportunity to engage more with the users of this forum, which I have been planning to do for a while.

However, as the Technical Writer and Sound Designer, I cannot address some of the more strategic topics. I will bring these up for discussion with the team.

 

And we all Reaktor user are like BETAs since thursday? Or was it a jump into the cold water for us?


This are the actual manuals from Reator site.
For myself I don't like online manuals - I prefer actual pdf's.

I need snapshot saveable cables in ens mode. You can see with HexViewer nksr carries port IDs (post 132 this thread). Snapshots needs IDs for saving.

 

No, the software including updated documentation has been available for existing users a little bit ahead of the marketing communication.

You can see that the documents What Is New, Getting Started, and Building in Primary have been updated for this release. Information about the basic workflows involved in patching with Blocks in a Rack is available in the Quick Start online.

 

You will have to be patient, with all these excited Builders here

 

Adding some macros is great .
But most builders were asking for a better work experience , this has been neglected for years , yes 6.0 brought a new (bitmapped) based gui and some rather important core modules
Now focussing on new comers with some patchable blocks , c'mon ....it's a lost battle ,vcv takes the cake .
I also believe that potential coders would not opt for the core language , but instead choose c++ and thus vcv rack
Michael hetrick being one of the few exceptions , because it was a logical thing to do after gaining recognition with his eureakt modules .

Knowing N.I. , they will probably sell some wobble bass/tech sample sets for reaktor blocks

 

Actually, this is exactly why NI had to do 6.3; with VCV, Cherry Audio, and Softube all embracing the front panel patching paradigm, Reaktor was uncompetitive. Note that all three competitors depend on paid modules for their business models, which is why NI had to embrace locked content. Enfranchised users were not the focus of this update, but should note that if this does expand the user base for Reaktor, that means more opportunity to make money down the road. Perhaps now NI will be able to strike deals with major Eurorack manufacturers to port their modules to Reaktor, as all of their competitors have done. I think the future is bright now, whereas before Reaktor really was on a path to obscurity.

 

What NI modules would you think interesting for this ?

The way Racks are used have little to do with the whole of Reaktor. The full Reaktor is invisible to Rack users, so I'm wondering if this will actually avoid the "path to obscurity" of the Reaktor we like.

 

Hi jan,
thanks for joining the discussion.
i am fine with any quickstart guide, but the general documentation should be completly in one book/pdf.
as a noobie having to search for the right pdf to find the needed information and having to jump between different manuals is maybe a new style to provide information.
but from my side it corrumps the pdf search and hyperlink features. this is the only reason for me to use pdf at all, since i prefer a real book in general.
i have started around 6.0 using reaktor (jumped straight into building/modding) and so i printed the manuals in a somewhat 6.0 vanilla state.
missing a lot info which came in later, but should have been there since beginning.
i have wasted a lot of time, nerves, paper and colours due to missing informations.
you are talking about reaktor5 docu, which is way better as far as i have visitid it now.
but the real shock i got while seeing screenshots from even older reaktor versions.
there were real good hints, usual uscase formulas, (i/o) graphs.
from my point of view the quality of the docu has lowered a lot.

may i ask, why NI has decided to delete an already existing and very good documentation and replaced it by something horrible confusing?

this is simply wrong from my POV.
just standard blocks like them were, nested in the main layer of an ensemble structure is just perfect. NI made the blocks framework most likely foolproof. and now even more foolproof?
this is a pretty clear statement to us customers: you think the majority of your customers get more and more stupid.
the main trend really seem to go that route, so i can understand this decision partly.
but a manual a la reaktor 4 and 5 could help to raise that noobs into a intermediate and maybe pro user.
sure, just-consumers brings money, but someone who wants to consume a patching experience should be able to use the primary structure.
since it is just a bit flow patching in the structure level i found my way instant through blocks and its primary routing without openening any manual. primary + blocks is self explanatory from a signal/modulation-flow POV. and there is not much more to do beside discovering the A/B modulation knobs, to get things going. which is great for beginners

edit: having the primary structure level as main patchbay for blocks does help noobies to get into touch with reaktor in general.

 

So the team wants feedback, unless its negative, then we should be patient?. If we were all patient and just quietly waited for all the issues we have to be magically fixed, it would seem like everything was fine. What's been happening since the release is feedback!.

One of the problems as I see it is that the team wants feedback on the new features.
But I cant use the new features, they are closed off to me, and to others who use Reaktor in similar ways.
So My feedback is that I'm frustrated and disappointed that I cant use the new features.

This feeling is pretty strong here where Reaktor 'builders' congregate, but it will get stronger elsewhere as folk start to understand the implications for the User Library, and for bugfixing... also stuff like 3rd party development - e.g. some producer contracting a builder to develop a Block for a specific purpose - that's not going to work if we have to go through a licencing and registration system designed and priced for large volume sales.

We've been told before after other releases that we should be patient, things will be updated and improved in future updates - e.g. the 'table framework'. That was a really cool Idea, but somewhat let down by its minimal feature set, but we were told it would be expanded with more features - years later we are still waiting. So you have to understand why folks here might be sceptical when told not to worry, this is just a 'minimum viable product' and will by further developed... it brings a sense of deja vu.

 

if i need to check something, i always use the R5 manual. the idea of replacing a thorough reference with info hints doesn't work in practice, except maybe when you're learning the basics. if i need to check the manual, it's because i'm missing something, there's something i don't understand, something i'm getting wrong, something i don't remember. i can't go look for the info hint of something that's escaping me. i need the whole reference of the thing in one place, so i can see what i'm not seeing.

 

AFAIK it means Reaktor will save with a DAW project as-is, you won't need to save snapshot, ensemble etc separately .