To create and export a script for the Megafire firing system, please follow these steps:
- Address the show (“Addressing > Address show”).
- Export the script (“File > Export > Export firing scripts“).
Step 2 creates the script file, which has the “CSV” extension. The file format details are described in this section.
Figure 1 – Megafire firing system
Table 1 – File format and encoding
| File format | Extension | Text encoding | Field delimiter | End-of-line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | .CSV | UTF-8 | semicolon | CRLF |
The script contains rows for the firing events, i.e., unique combinations of module, pin, and ignition-time. Multiple effects can be combined on a single cue. The special characteristics of the script are shown in the following table:
Table 2 – Special characteristics
| Special characteristics | Description |
|---|---|
| Sort order of rows | Rows sorted ascending by event time. |
| What rows represent | Each row represents a unique firing event, a module/pin/event-time combination. For example, a chain of five shells will be one row, not five. A pair of shells shot together from the same position will be one row, not two, even if the shells are different effects. A flight of shells shot together from multiple positions with the same module-pin using scab wire is still one row. |
| Header | The header file, in Brazilian Portuguese, indicates the meaning of the columns. |
| Time resolution | The Megafire system supports millisecond resolution. |
| Special characters | The CSV file allows all UTF-8 characters except semicolon and control characters like linefeed and tab, which are filtered out. There is no escaping or quoting facility. |
Each row in the script has a number of fields separated by the tab character. The names of the fields and their descriptions are the following:
Table 3 – Specifications of script fields
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Sequência | Cue number, starting with 1. Every row is a unique event time / module / pin combination, so every row is a unique cue. The cue numbers thus increment sequentially. If multiple effects are on the same cue, their effect names are combined in the effect name and size column (see below). |
| Tempo de ignição | Time of ignition in seconds with three digits of fraction. |
| Duração do efeito | Duration of the effect in seconds with three digits of fraction. |
| Tempo para disparo | Prefire of the effect in seconds with three digits of fraction. |
| Artefato e calibre | Effect name and size. If the cue represents multiple effects, the description begins with the number of effects in parentheses, continues with the first effect name, and ends with elipsis (…) as an indication the row represents more than is being displayed in this single field. |
| Nome da posição | Position name. |
| Direção | Angle or angles of the shells in the cue, drawn in ASCII art, like \|/. |
| Distribuidor | Module number, starting with 1. |
| Canal | Pin number, starting with 1. |
| ID do artefato | Part number. |
| Preço do artefato | Price per device. |
An example script containing twelve (12) shells across nine (9) firing rows is shown in Figure 1 and included for download in Table 4.
Sequência;Tempo de ignição;Duração do efeito;Tempo para disparo;Artefato e calibre;Nome da posição;Direção;Distribuidor;Canal;ID do artefato;Preço do artefato
1;2.760;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-01;|;1;1;G2SH1001;1.45
2;2.860;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-02;|;2;1;G2SH1001;1.45
3;2.960;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-03;|;3;1;G2SH1001;1.45
4;3.060;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-04;|;4;1;G2SH1001;1.45
5;3.160;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-05;|;5;1;G2SH1001;1.45
6;3.260;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-06;|;6;1;G2SH1001;1.45
7;3.360;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-07;|;7;1;G2SH1001;1.45
8;3.460;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-08;|;8;1;G2SH1001;1.45
9;3.560;1.020;2.240;White Chrysanthemum 2";Pos-09;|;9;1;G2SH1001;1.45
10;11.446;1.110;0.000;Green Mine 2";Pos-04;\;4;2;G2XX1018;1.45
11;11.446;1.110;0.000;Green Mine 2";Pos-05;|;5;2;G2XX1018;1.45
12;11.446;1.110;0.000;Green Mine 2";Pos-06;/;6;2;G2XX1018;1.45
Figure 1 – Example Megafire script
Table 4 – Example files
| Download link | Explanation |
| test_megafire.fix | Example show file |
| test_megafire.csv | Example exported file (TXT) |