Loop component

James, you cannot do that in Lua (unless your entire image-generation logic is within the Lua script and it doesn't rely on FF components whose inputs change their values between loop iterations).

Regarding the "Multi-Transform" idea: The generalized loop would be much more powerful than what you suggest, while requiring the same amount of work to implement it into FF. I just don't see why we should go the narrow specialization route when we can kill the whole flock with one well-generalized stone.

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Vladimir Golovin Regarding the "Multi-Transform" idea: The generalized loop would be much more powerful than what you suggest, while requiring the same amount of work to implement it into FF. I just don't see why we should go the narrow specialization route when we can kill the whole flock with one well-generalized stone.

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James I guess if i needed a Multi-Transform component now that FF4 has groups and if generalized loop gets added also then all i would have to do is group a few components and i could easily use that setup.

Yes I agree with Vladimir, it would be better to have a complete and generalized Loop component that could be used with any component you may want and multiply and apply this component a number of repeated times and do not have to keep with just the defined ones, just use ANYONE and do not have specialized ones.

Although perhaps it would be ALSO good to have 2 or 3 customized loop components in the way James have suggested, but seeing how FF have done the filter editor components thay do not like to make specific and specialized ones

So as in FF 4.0 will be groups you can make your own loop components groups customizations as you want

xirja, I was referring to our existing bitmap-based components that have samplable (i.e. green) inputs: Blur, Motion Blur, High Pass, Sharpen, Median / Minimum / Maximum / Percentile etc.

Too early. Bump again in a year or... two.

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Vladimir Golovin wrote: [...] this may be years off.

Thanks very much for the updated news Vladimir, but when you say that

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I wrote a preliminary spec that would be enough to start prototyping

Does this mean that you have just begun to think about it and just developed a very little bit and there is a long way to do until this can be possible and could mean that this is not going to be included in FF 4.0?

or you have the wish and intention to put it in FF 4.0 IF you can make it as you want and is good enough for your level of quality? (I mean you will try to make it for FF 4.0 although not sure)

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Morgantao I'm guessing that unless all the groups bugs magically dissapear overnight, there's no real chance of loops making it into FF4. Unless FF4 release will be postponed 6 to 8 months.

Well I think that the new groups feature is really very complex and have a huger amount of many thousands of possible combinations and mix of components and surely must be a hard work for the developers to iron out all the possible bugs and errors that could appear and it will take some good time.

I think that FF 4.0 should be delayed and postponed as you suggest another 6 or 8 months or until it has new and useful features that will really encourage you to upgrade to have these new things.

Others version have already taken between 8 and 12 months from the first beta announcement to the final version arriving, so I think that they should better wait until they have it all ready and with enough things included, even if they have to wait possibly until end of 2013.

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Morgantao There's always hope for FF5

Well this would be a really very long hope waiting until sometime in middle or end of 2014 and then the competition will be much higher and will have arrived already with new things to rival this.

Filter Forge is lucky and fortunate that really there is no other software like this one that is a really direct competition, although there are a rising new wave of software that could harm FF if it is left behind in time for new features and keep waiting and waiting for new things to arrive.

"Things like folder-based filter storage and randomizer lock are boooooooooooooooooring but necessary. Personally, I'm always in favor of working on cool features, but we can't ignore the necessities, especially ones that appeal both to filter authors and users."

Did you finally say that, Vlad??? lol... I couldn't agree more... I'm all for cool features...but user-created folders and control locks are a must-have...

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Did you finally say that, Vlad???

"Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever the fcvk you were gonna do anyway."
Robert Downey Jr.

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StevieJ I'm all for cool features...but user-created folders and control locks are a must-have...

I also like much cool features and are a great thing but I agree with you that control locks is a must too, as the user created folders are already confirmed to be included in FF 4.0, but not yet the control randomizer locks