Vixen 2 Source Code

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CheapOLights

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I would like to obtain the source code for the 2.1 series Vixen builds but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Can someone point me to the code? I specifically need version 2 because I'm trying to compile it on linux and version 3 uses strictly non-portable libraries.
 
Thanks for the link, but it was my undestanding that that was hilariously buggy. I'm also not a fan of its dependency on DirectX, but I'll see what I can do with it. If anyone has the source for older versions, I'd really appreciate any links!
 
Cheap:

Two things:

*The original Vixen 2.x software was shared as a compiled application but the source code was private. Nobody except the original author, KC Oaks, has a copy of the source. I don't believe he drops by here much anymore but we have never heard of any willingness to share the code.

*Vixen Plus is not "hilariously buggy." I produced my entire 2014 show on it, with nary a crash or even a burp for that matter. I'm not sure where you got your "understanding."

DirectX dependencies were the call of the author, who originally thought he was going to write all the code himself, and chose an environment with which he was most comfortable. After deciding it was too daunting of a project, he opened it up on GitHub. If you don't like the dependency, I'm sure nobody would argue if your fork removed it.

\dmc
 
And it would seem that Vixen 2.5 also has a bad reputation. However, I ran two years on Vixen 2.5 and it worked great. The only reason I moved to V3 is for the superior pixel support.

FYI: It is possible to create new modules for V2 (the tutorials work well). I just don't think you will be able to port it to run natively under Linux.
 
Vixen 2.5 was hit and miss. Most people it worked good for and few had issues with it that were never tracked down.
 
Well, I did not intend to open a discussion of developer's choices. That being said, I think I'll just stick with the binary builds in the 2 series. I'd like to run v3 but it has some things that at this point in time are considered non-portable and being not of the windows world, my C# isn't good enough to factor those bits out. FWIW the 2 series builds seem to run okay under wine, just not really that easy to troubleshoot given the various layers of translation involved.
 
Have you looked at nutcracker? It is in active development and it doesn't seem like there is much that it can't do. It is open source and runs on both windows and mac. Maybe you could join the team and be the Linux guru.
 
Repository for xLights/Nutcracker is https://github.com/smeighan/xLights

we use Code::blocks and wxwidgets and C++ and MinGW compiler. This is the same development stack as Audacity.

We have native builds for windows xp,vista,7,8,10 and MAC and Linux.

we welcome developers to come and help.
Dave Pitts made first xLights 4.0 last November. He then handed it off to Dan Kulp and Gil Jones.

We have a forum http://nutcracker123.com/forum/
and a facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/628061113896314/
 
I've heard of nutcracker, but I haven't really understood what it looks like. I run an "old style" display with no megatrees, no pixels, not even an RGB cluster anywhere (small houses have a habit of sliming your display in a hurry). If nutcracker can do an old style display, and import my old vixen sequences then sure, I'd go be the linux guy and package it, I just couldn't figure out how to use it in the few minutes I spent with it in VM.
 
There are people who are doing ac only using xlights. I think u should give it a try.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
CheapOLights said:
I've heard of nutcracker, but I haven't really understood what it looks like. I run an "old style" display with no megatrees, no pixels, not even an RGB cluster anywhere (small houses have a habit of sliming your display in a hurry). If nutcracker can do an old style display, and import my old vixen sequences then sure, I'd go be the linux guy and package it, I just couldn't figure out how to use it in the few minutes I spent with it in VM.
Click to expand...
You can convert your 2.1 sequences in nutcracker and use it no problem. Down load the latest version of Xlights do you set up and you are on your way. Sean has many videos. One will walk you thru from start to finish.
Here is a link link to getting started with Xlights.
https://vimeo.com/123758528
Good Luck
 
Fast-forward to 2018, almost 2019. I've been using Vixen 2.1 for the past 4+ years. We're up to 520 channels with NO

pixels. I've tried Vixen+, Vixen2.5, and Vixen3 - and found serious issues (or just preference dislikes) with all of them.

I plan to keep using Vixen 2.1...

But there are several, small issues that are turning into a constant source of irritation. Things like
Having to press Esc after choosing a new sort order in the sequence editor
Fix Chase Lines: Paint from Clipboard (mangles shape)
Ctrl-S does not work for any sequence until AFTER you do File/Save - and is silent failure.

Or features to add:
A short-cut for "repeat the last effect" on selected area
An 'un-move' for when I accidentally press home, end, page dn or page up and lose my point of editing
Ability to mark begin or end of selected areas with cursor control keys
Show the COUNT of LINES highlighted
Option to 'tile' a selected buffer into more lines than the buffer contains
Auto-enable 'Sequence Repeat', and F6 behavior (or include in Preferences)
Resize editor window to be inside main window upon opening sequence
Limit the width of the channel elements in ediot screen
Do a "Restart current timers" automatically at boot up.


And a few others.

I don't expect KC to fix any of these but I would love to fix them myself. I'm a 35-year software engineer.

Does anyone know of any way to get access to the Vixen 2.1 source? Or how to contact KC?

I can see how he wanted to keep tight control of the source, but I would sure love to make these minor enhancements.

Jimboha
 
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