How are you setting up Peace Stakes in xLights?

TomL8345

TomL8345

New member
I plan to add 102 6-pixel Peace Stakes to my display for this year. Everything I have read and viewed says to set them up "organically" rather than in a rigid system of rows and columns. I plan on running them off either 1 or 2 outputs of an FPP Remote device since there are only 612 pixels total in the prop and I do not mind doing PI.

How would you set them up?

I tried adding 102 single-string models, but that gets really messy when I use the visualizer to assign them to a controller.
I spoke with the xLights Zoom room yesterday and got the feedback that a lot of folks are using the Cube model, but that gives me the Rigid System and does not allow me to move the individual models
The Zoom Room also suggested using Shadow Models. I haven't tried that yet, but that looks like a lot of work to set up

Please let me know any suggestions you may have or comments about what works well for you.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have 100 10-string pixel sticks in my display. Using the 3D model, I have them setup as just 10 strand lights. I've tried the structured layout as well as the organic one and i actually prefer the structured. Now that I've had them for 4 seasons, I realize they are nothing more than vertical arches without a curve.
 
Braveit1 said:
I have 100 10-string pixel sticks in my display. Using the 3D model, I have them setup as just 10 strand lights. I've tried the structured layout as well as the organic one and i actually prefer the structured. Now that I've had them for 4 seasons, I realize they are nothing more than vertical arches without a curve.
Click to expand...

Can you give me a little more detail about using the 3D model referenced above?

I just did another setup using Candy Cane with the Stick option, and that seems to be working out well. I did 8 sets of 12 candy sticks and 1 set of 6 for my 102.
 
I bought the nodes from Ray, 20 sections of 5 nodes. I used a single line, set it up the way I wanted it (about 10" long), and then copy & pasted it 40 times. Took almost no time at all.
 
TomL8345 said:
Can you give me a little more detail about using the 3D model referenced above?

I just did another setup using Candy Cane with the Stick option, and that seems to be working out well. I did 8 sets of 12 candy sticks and 1 set of 6 for my 102.
Click to expand...
Basically, I used a single line string where it was vertical and with 10 nodes. I placed on and copied it 10 times to get 10-pixel sticks in a row. Then I copied those 10 sticks, ten times to get 100 total props. I placed them in a grid and moved them around for my custom layout. (I have a flower bed so not all rows ended up with 10 sticks.) You need to do this in the 3D preview mode. After I had all my sticks placed, I created a few new camera angles to be able to render effects from the different point of views. The David Peace video shows him creating groups for each level of the sticks and then different sections on the display. That's another option.
 
What I like about icicles is you have the option to be irregular about it. Maybe that's the aesthetic you want. Or if a pixel goes out and you splice it, you could update it in the software.
 
1pet2_9 said:
What I like about icicles is you have the option to be irregular about it. Maybe that's the aesthetic you want. Or if a pixel goes out and you splice it, you could update it in the software.
Click to expand...

Irregular in what way? The number of pixels or the placement?

Also, I'm not following what you are trying to say about splicing a bad pixel and updating the software. Can you be more descriptive?
 
The spacing has to be regular, but you can have any number of pixels you want on each stake. They can vary. You can start with 8,8,8,8,8,8.... ,and then a pixel goes out. You could remove it and then change it to 8,8,8,7,8,8.... and then do a re-render.
 
1pet2_9 said:
The spacing has to be regular, but you can have any number of pixels you want on each stake. They can vary. You can start with 8,8,8,8,8,8.... ,and then a pixel goes out. You could remove it and then change it to 8,8,8,7,8,8.... and then do a re-render.
Click to expand...

got it. Thanks.
 
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