Stage Traxx beta version 3.0.0

EddieH

I’m not trying to be snarky but this is a new app with a new workflow. I think Peter has done an excellent job of getting in the best features within the constraints of coding. Sure I really like ST2 and I know what I need to do during a performance,, but there is a lot to like in ST3 as well. We should use ST2 as a reference in our testing but wishing it to be ST2, we already have it. My recommendation is to verify your new workflow for ST3.

musicadi

EddieH Sorry if my comments come over as "picking on the app" 🙂 I really love it and it's gonna be an amazing upgrade.

Yes, of course Peter has done an excellent job, but I think these comments are actually one of the purposes of a beta test (besides bug hunting 🙂 ). It's up to him to decide whether the suggestions are good enough to be implemented or not 🙂

Damir

EddieH I don’t agree with your thinking we shouldn’t give up anything we really liked about V2 , but we should expect a more powerful tool from V3
Tempo/pitch change on the run etc.
These things really matter yes the way V2 loaded new songs on the run sucked and the way it synced up with iTunes was confusing and frustrating but fix that don’t change something that really worked well on stage for the sake of change.
a simple one page interface that had everything you needed right there in your face or on your foot.
A powerful yet simple operation volume remembered for each song and playlist master volume easily accessible everything neatly presented and remembered these things are what matter .
You fire up the old version from last gig clear played songs you are ready to go again lyrics in your face all the time nothing hidden or on another page this is the key to a well designed program to top it all off I haven’t managed to crash it once, which is unheard of as I am the master of finding how to crash any program.
I will end up on V3 when it gets to that stage and puts a smile on my face when I’m on stage like V2 did.

dellamore

peter
it simply
because as I know the order by heart it was very easy and very fast to find a song . As the songs played disappear I no longer have the markers and it takes more time to identify the location of it . I know this song is next to this one. If a song changes places it’s longer to find . But i promise i try .

musicadi

dellamore With the latest beta, you can actually switch to Songs or Playlist view while playing.

So, start the app, go to Songs, tap your first song and play it. If you have "Show lyrics on play" ON, the player window with the lyrics will open. Now, above the Play/Pause button, tap on Songs or Playlists (whichever is good for you.

From then on, you have your full list in the right order and whenever you tap a song, it will be added to the queue and will play next. @peter - Actually, here's where the color codes from ST2 would come in handy. So, people who want to use the app the "classic" way will just stay in the Songs tab

musicadi

peter Interesting idea with the 2 item queue. But what I don't understand is how do you propose to keep the queue filled? So when song 1 finishes, song 2 becomes song 1 and now the queue has only one entry. You would need to manually fill up the queue after each song has been played. I don't think that is very practical.

Actually, if the "Only 2 Songs in queue" option would be selected in Settings, the app would need to automatically add the next song to the queue. So, as soon as Song 1 finishes, it gets removed from the queue and at the same time Song 3 gets added after Song 2. So, basically, you will always have 2 songs in the queue.

peter

musicadi So, as soon as Song 1 finishes, it gets removed from the queue and at the same time Song 3 gets added after Song 2. So, basically, you will always have 2 songs in the queue.

But this is the part it gets complicated. What is the correct song to play next (song 3)? The first in the current tab? Doesn't seem likely. It would always be the same song. Then the first unplayed song in the current tab? Might work if you are in a playlist, but would not work if you are in the list of playlists or history (no unplayed song in both cases) or in the song list (alphabetical order). What if you are in the queue? Where to load the next song from?

It would be a mess to build an algorithm for this. It would mostly consist of very special rules that would cater for all the corner cases where I would have no idea why the hell the thing is doing this or that if I need to work on that code in the future. That's not maintainable.

musicadi Yes, of course Peter has done an excellent job, but I think these comments are actually one of the purposes of a beta test (besides bug hunting 🙂 ). It's up to him to decide whether the suggestions are good enough to be implemented or not 🙂

Exactly, that's why I participate in this discussion instead of just coding away the way I see fit. But in this case, the decision to move towards a play queue is such a central part of the whole design process that it is not really possible to replace it with another fundamentally different approach without rewriting major parts of the app.

You see, the thing about the queue that is a really great benefit from a coding perspective is that you have the current and next song on the top of that list. Always! Without Exceptions! This makes it possible to concentrate on editing possibilities in the queue. The app makes it really easy to change the queue order and add remove songs. This is something that was not possible with the old approach where we have a fixed list and use markers for the current and next song.

Bazz02 Would it be possible in Song and Playlist mode to colour mark the song playing.
At least at a glance you know where you are.

Yes, I will add that in the next beta.

Bazz02

Would it be possible in Song and Playlist mode to colour mark the song playing.
At least at a glance you know where you are.

Thx Bazz

Bazz02

Oops.Seems my suggestion has already been covered.

Cheers Barry

musicadi

peter It would be a mess to build an algorithm for this. It would mostly consist of very special rules that would cater for all the corner cases where I would have no idea why the hell the thing is doing this or that if I need to work on that code in the future. That's not maintainable.

I see! Thank you for explaining 🙂

Well, if you add the color codes for "Current song"/"next song"/"already played" in the Songs and Playlists windows/tabs, that would perfectly cover this area. I just set up "Default Queue Add Position" to "Top" and stay on the Songs or Playlists tab. Then I always just tap the next song I want to play, The only thing I need to pay attention though is to add the second next song before the first one finishes, because the player window closes when the queue is empty 🙂

peter Exactly, that's why I participate in this discussion instead of just coding away the way I see fit.

That's really great and I'm very happy that you listen to us 🙂 Sorry if we sometimes get on your nerves with all this, but I think that the end product will be really worth it!

musicadi

Oh, getting back to bug tracking:
- this is actually a typo - when the Queue only has 1 song, the information text says "1 Songs"
- when adding songs to a Playlist, you have the search bar, but if you start typing there, the header disappears and the only way to get it back is to tap "Cancel". This could be confusing, because after you selected your songs, you first have to tap "Cancel" and then tap "Done"

peter

musicadi - when adding songs to a Playlist, you have the search bar, but if you start typing there, the header disappears and the only way to get it back is to tap "Cancel". This could be confusing, because after you selected your songs, you first have to tap "Cancel" and then tap "Done"

That's actually the way searchbars work in iOS. Try it out with the mail app for example. Same behavior. I don't think there is a way to keep the navigation bar open if you are in an active search.

musicadi

peter oh, didn't know that

dellamore

peter
Anyway I will buy the new version to test it on my iPhone.To support you and your job !
I’ll test it and get back to you
see you soon thanks peter

peter

musicadi - when first opening sections with a lot of content (in both main and player views), it takes about 2 seconds before the content appears. Actually, even with about 20 items, the content takes about 1 second to show up.

I did some more analysis on the performance and there might indeed be a way to improve it. Currently the app loads all properties of each song in the list even though it only needs a few to display the list. I think it would be possible to improve the performance I modify the database structure so that the properties not needed to display the list (like lyrics, waveform data) are moved to another structure so that they don't get loaded in the list views.

But this change will most probably lead to data loss in the update. So please take a good look at the release notes for the next update as you might need to restore a backup after the update.

Btw, the colored song markings are back in the next beta. You all were right, it helps a ton to keep an overview of what has been played and is lined up for playback. Here a sneak peak:

image foto-130619-08-34-39.png

dellamore

peter
oh perfect Peter !
and in the playlist also ?

musicadi

peter Yes! Thank you! That looks great, can’t wait to install it 🙂

peter

dellamore Yes, the coloring is visible in every list. Well, except in history I do not mark every entry as "DONE" as this is obvious and a completely purple list does not look right.

dellamore

peter
ok perfect when we can test it ?
best regards

peter

I guess I will distribute another beta build in about a week. So if you have the beta already installed, you will get a notification.

dellamore

yes that you peter

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