As a hobby shooter, the Lite version put Finale back into a price range we could justify.  For the most part, it does everything a backyard amateur needs.   However, in prepping to shoot my first show off the new version, I did find a gap.  Creating chains is a very important feature for small users.  Hobbyists often work with extremely limited hardware/cues, and chaining together effects is an important part of making limited equipment go further.  However, while you can create chains, the Lite version doesn't include the chain building report.  With no way to see those chains at show time, the only way I can come up with to actually build them is to break apart the chain, write down every effect, then put the chain back together, edit chain times, and manually write down every time.  I'll do what it takes to make it work, but this seems like an oversight.   Thanks,   Brad

Last one I need for the year. Once again it is that lace input combined with multiple row speed and angle changes. The more of these I see you create the better I am getting but this one stumped me.   Thanks   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-HolHe83PM

Figured it out!! - User error!

HELP!! We are almost completely finished with our 4th of July show.  We saved the show, closed Finale and then remembered something we needed to add.  Opened up Finale and noticed that all the rails and pins are in numerical order, such as Rail 1 Pin 1, Rail 1 Pin 2 throughout the entire script. Everything else about the script is in the right order - The 1st event is at the correct time, correct angle, correct position and has the correct notes through all 400+ events but the Rails and Pins are all completely wrong.   We closed the program, did not save when asked - Finale gets stuck at the message "closing unnamed show" and eventually shuts down.  We then tried to reopen the show and it looks the same with the wrong rail/pin modules. We are running Lite.   HELP!!   Kristine

Eric G is exactly right. The catalog effects have been updated but we haven't quite launched the next full release of Finale 3D. To see the new light simulations, all you have to do is get the latest BETA release from https://finale3d.com/download.

Finale 3D has a set of default prefire times based on Size. You can see this in action if you use the menu item 'Effects > Create effect...' For example, if you type 1" Red Peony, you will see Finale 3D will automatically populates a prefire time of 1.59s. If you change the size to 1.75", the prefire will increase to 2.05s, etc.   You can override the default prefire values by explicitly adding prefire to your input description. For example, 1.75" 2.25s PFT Red Peony. In this example, the 2.25s prefire (PFT) overrides the default value of 2.05s.   The Finale 3D definition of prefire is "the time from firing system ignition to the effect time that is synchronized to the music." For shells, prefire = lift time, but if the shell is a consumer shell with a slow burning fuse, then the default prefire values does not automatically take that into account. Visual Descriptive Language (VDL) has additional terms to support this scenario. For example, let's say your 1.75" consumer shell has a 4s Visco fuse, then a 2s lift time from launch to burst. The 4 seconds of Visco fuse is a "Delay" (DLY) and the 2s from launch to burst is "Lift Time" (LFT). The full time from firing system ignition to burst is "Delay" DLY + "Lift Time" LFT = "Prefire Time" PFT. Therefore, to make an accurate simulation, you could type 1.75" 4s DLY 2s LFT 6s PFT Red Peony.   Documentation article on prefire: https://finale3d.com/documentation/prefire/   When it comes to timing, there is no substitute for knowing your product.

The main influences to “effect time” is shell diameter and Pre Fire Time (PFT).  Finale is pretty good at estimating lift time based on the shells diameter.  PFT is dependent on your ignition method.  If you are matching/Talon(ing) onto the visco leader of a consumer shell your PFT would need to be set to set to an average burn time for the leader.  These burn times may vary from manufacturer.  So you may get close, but never perfect…  If you are matching “direct” then PFT is not as important (I set my PFT to .1)   1.75” .1s PFT Variegated Peony Shell

I downloaded the beta and now it is showing it as DMX, it was kind of hard to script when all I saw is just lift sparks:) Now time to test the flame machines!! Thanks, a lot.

With all the various types of 1.4g mortars available, how does finale account for the various burn rates of fuses, lift times, etc to ensure effects match up with events as you would like them too?  Is there one default set of values that is preloaded, do I need to change those times for each type of mortar, help!

Hi Mark,   At this moment, Finale 3D doesn't have a built-in report that shows total net explosive mass/quantity (NEQ). However, in all versions of Finale 3D, any table window (such as the Effect window or Script window) can be copied and pasted to Excel. Once in Excel, it would be easy to sum the NEQ column to get the total. In the Pro version of Finale 3D, reports and labels are extremely customizable. Here's a video tutorial that demonstrates how to create a custom report that provides total NEQ by Hazard Class: https://www.loom.com/share/0f6b9de4145c4da9b44feaff29decaf9     Regarding equipment, Finale 3D currently only reports rack quantities. The exception is Lite, which doesn't have racks. In Hobbyist or Pro, try 'File > Reports > Basic reports > Rack Totals'. A report that can include other equipment like controllers, modules and e-matches will be possible later this year.