Looking in the Positions window, it appears there can only be one Custom_Module in the entire display, is this accurate?  Shouldn’t you be able to do custom modules for each firing system or at the very least, for each universe?    Isn’t the point of the addressing blueprints to be able to set address settings for each position and therefore setting virtual slats for an address blueprint should be included there.   I hope this feature is built in and I’m missing something with virtual slats.  There should be a virtual slats window that lets you define slats for each type of firing system, right?  

I’m using two universes, one is a cobra, one is using the custom CSV feature.  Both systems are addressing but I’m running into a bug or something. I have a row of 18M’s that will run Dragons Breath fuel mines and ground salutes using a 6s slat for each position.  My middle row is in my own universe called FanFire, with a Firing system in position properties called Csv and a Module or Slat Type “Custom Module”, this works fine. For the 18M’s,  when I pick Firing System: Cobra, Module or Slat Type: Custom Module it changes the Firing System back to CSV.  I need to be able to select Cobra for the firing system with a custom module so it creates the virtual slats (cues 1-6, 7-12, 13-18) for each section.  The Firing positions that use a single 18M have the same section listed. Can there be only one “Custom Module” in the entire show, if so, doesn’t this defeat the whole point of the Universe system?  When I go to Custom Module and choose the Firing System and adjust the Rail address template, why does it apply to all custom modules.   You should be able to define custom modules for each firing system.   The help documents talk about virtual slats, is there some field I’m not seeing somewhere to define virtual slats for the Cobra system while still having another universe that uses CSV and its own custom modules?   Derrick  

Thank you for this clarification.

Hey Curtis B, I’m having trouble reproducing the fan + pan issue. Below is a video showing my steps. If you’re still encountering the problem, reply with a Loom video (loom.com) to help me understand the reproduction path.  

Strobing Willow is one of the newest VDL terms/effects. It’s a dramatic improvement from not having strobing Willow, but there’s no question it needs some more love. Gold Tip Strobing Willow is a case where you won’t get a good result – it doesn’t produce a trail containing gold tipped micro stars. Another current limitation is that adding a tip to a strobing willow star requires the effect editor. The good news is these are easy tweaks to make in the effect editor and I’m also confident we’ll be able to further improve the VDL capabilities at some point.

Hey Walker Pyrotechnics, prioritizing catalog development by most requested is exactly what we are doing. For example, the demand for Raccoon and Wizard pro line catalogs was massive, so we tackled those earlier this year.   One exception is when a catalog is developed by a manufacturer or distributor themselves. In those cases, we simply publish what we’re given which doesn’t interrupt the ongoing focus on most requested.

Hey MT Pyro, in you display settings, you should have separate options for resolution and scaling for each monitor. Have you tried adjusting both? Keep in mind, you will have to restart Finale 3D after each display settings adjustment in order to see how the adjustment impacts the appearance of Finale 3D.

Hi Barehm and Curtis B, I think there may be a little confusion on terminology or about the function of the “effect editor” versus the “exact syntax”. These are independent aspects of VDL. The effect editor allows you to customize the visual appearance of individual effect simulations. This result in effects being represented by stings of text inside curly braces { }. Separately, the exact syntax is used to specify the firing pattern and timing of a cake when it can’t be represented by one of the standard firing patterns.   Here’s an example of a cake that contains a custom effect and uses exact syntax. The custom effect is highlighted in bold.   1.2″ 24 Shot (a) {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} Cake, 1 Row (-15a48/15a/-15a/15a/-23a/23a/-31a/31a/-39a/39a47/-47a/47a/-55a/55a/-55a/55a/-47a/47a/-39a/39a/-31a/31a/-23a/23a/CAK)     Here’s an example of a cake that doesn’t contain a custom simulation and uses the exact syntax. The exact syntax portion is highlighted in bold.   1.2″ 72 Shot Cake (a) 1.8 DUR 35 HTM Small Very Bright Very Sparse Very Sparse Sparse Very Long Blue Mine Above + (b) 1.2 DUR 10 HTM Slightly Big Very Dense Green Strobing Mine + (c) 0.8 DUR 25 HTM Small Very Sparse Very Sparse Sparse Short Orange Strobing Willow Mine, 1 Row (-15a0/b/c/15a/b/c45/-25a0/b/c/25a/b/c60/-35a0/b/c/35a/b/c60/-45a0/b/c/45a/b/c60/-55a0/b/c/55a/b/c60/-65a0/b/c/65a/b/c289/-65a0/b/c/65a/b/c60/-55a0/b/c/55a/b/c60/-45a0/b/c/45a/b/c60/-35a0/b/c/35a/b/c60/-25a0/b/c/25a/b/c60/-15a0/b/c/15a/b/c/CAK)

Barehm   I tried getting it without ANY “exact syntax” and this is the best I could do…   1.2″ 72 Shot Cake (a) 1.8 DUR 35 HTM Small Very Bright Very Sparse Very Sparse Sparse Very Long Blue Mine Above + (b) 1.2 DUR 10 HTM Slightly Big Very Dense Green Strobing Mine + (c) 0.8 DUR 25 HTM Small Very Sparse Very Sparse Sparse Short Orange Strobing Willow Mine, 1 Row (-15a0/b/c/15a/b/c45/-25a0/b/c/25a/b/c60/-35a0/b/c/35a/b/c60/-45a0/b/c/45a/b/c60/-55a0/b/c/55a/b/c60/-65a0/b/c/65a/b/c289/-65a0/b/c/65a/b/c60/-55a0/b/c/55a/b/c60/-45a0/b/c/45a/b/c60/-35a0/b/c/35a/b/c60/-25a0/b/c/25a/b/c60/-15a0/b/c/15a/b/c/CAK)   As you see, even then some of it is Exact Syntax. This is one of those “cakes” where you pretty much just need to use the effects editor to make.

Hey Curtis B, sorry, not yet. We’ve been prioritizing other bug fixes since this bug has an easy workaround that’s 100% reliable.