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Flashback Presets

 

Preset Architecture

The architecture of a Flashback preset is designed to provide a flexible approach to constructing complex animations. At its core, a preset is a complete configuration that includes multiple elements—such as planes, modules, and control settings—that work together to generate a animation frames. This structure is organized hierarchically, with each level performing specific tasks in the rendering process, from color and drawing effects on individual planes to the final combination of planes in the Mixer.

Each preset can contain up to four independent planes, which serve as drawing surfaces that accumulate visuals generated by a selection of modules. Modules within a plane are divided into categories, including Color, Drawing, and Overlay, allowing users to define and tune the color and structure of the images rendered on each plane. Once planes are rendered, the Mixer combines their output into a unified image, which can then be enhanced with post-mixer effects to achieve the final frame.

Flashback’s modular architecture allows for high customization, letting users add, configure, and organize modules as needed. The following sections provide a detailed breakdown of each component in the preset hierarchy and its role in producing a cohesive visual output.

Preset: A complete configuration of planes, modules, and controls that can be saved, loaded, played from a preset file. The architecture of a Flashback Preset employs a hierarchical structure that divides tasks in generating an animation frame into specific levels. At the top of this hierarchy is the Preset, which can contain up to 4 Planes, a Mixer configuration, and a list of post-Mixer Effects. 

Planes: Planes are drawing surfaces that accumulate an image through various modules' actions and can store either RGB values or palette indices. Each Plane contains three types of modules: Color Modules, Drawing Modules, and Overlay Modules. These modules are categorized based on their functionality in the frame generation pipeline. Planes are independent of each other and are generated in parallel until they reach the Mixer module where they are combined.

Color: Color Modules are responsible for managing the color palette available to Drawing Modules and include Morpher Modules, Generator Modules, and Color Effect Modules. Morpher Modules handle color palette transitions and translate palette indices into RGB values for both Overlay Modules and Planes before the mixing process. Generator Modules create color palettes for use in the animation, while Color Effect Modules apply various color effects to a color palette, such as palette animation and color filter effects.

Drawing: Drawing Modules comprise Full Draw Modules, Painter Modules, and Effect Modules. Full Draw Modules generate a complete image on the Plane's surface. Painter Modules draw on or add elements to the existing contents of a Plane, while Effect Modules modify the existing contents of a Plane to produce various visual effects.

Overlay: Overlay Modules are like Drawing Modules except that they are applied to the current frame but their modifications do not persist to subsequent frames. They receive a copy of the Plane resolved to RGB values.

Mixer: The Mixer module controls the process of combining multiple Planes into a single image. It operates on Planes that have been converted from palette indices to RGB values.  Within the Mixer UI, the user can select a Plane or Meta Plane from a list, then select a mixing operation they want to perform and a target plane for the operation if the operation requires one. This combination of planes with an operation comprises a rule that can be added to the list of mixing rules to create a numbered Meta Plane. A Meta Plane can be used in additional mixing rules or displayed if it is the last rule in the list.

Effects: Post-Mixer Effects are a list of effect modules that are applied to the mixed image after the Mixer module has combined the Planes into a single frame. These effects operate on the final RGB image, allowing the user to make adjustments and enhancements to the overall appearance of the animation.

Notes:

  • All modules, irrespective of type, contain controls. Controls can be set to a specific value, selected from a list of options, generated randomly in a number of ways, or driven by audio or periodic waveforms, allowing the user to have fine control over the animation's visual appearance.
  • Multiple modules can be added within a given module class, including modules of the same type.  The execution order of the components within a preset follows their arrangement in the TreeView, typically progressing from the top to the bottom. However, Planes, which function independently of one another, can be executed concurrently, allowing for better performance..

 

Creating a New Preset in Flashback

Flashback's user interface is designed to be highly interactive and flexible, with much of the functionality accessible through context-sensitive right-click menus. As you navigate through the application, you’ll find that right-clicking on items in the TreeView—such as Planes, Modules, and other preset components—will bring up context menus tailored to each item’s specific functionality. These menus provide quick access to options for adding, removing, and configuring various components, streamlining the process of building and customizing presets. Getting comfortable with these context menus will enhance your efficiency and allow you to take full advantage of Flashback’s capabilities.

The primary workspace for creating and modifying presets is the TreeView, which displays a hierarchical view of the preset structure. This hierarchy organizes each component of the animation frame generation process, from Planes and Modules to the Mixer and Post-Mixer Effects. By expanding and collapsing nodes, you can navigate through the preset and access settings for each item. Flashback’s design supports modularity, enabling you to add multiple modules within each category and control the order in which they’re processed.

Additionally, each new plane added to a preset is automatically configured with a basic setup, including a default Morpher and Color Generator. This minimizes initial setup time and provides a functional starting point, allowing you to focus on customizing the visual output. Flashback offers a range of modules across categories, including Color, Drawing, and Overlay, which can be added to planes to create complex visual effects. The Mixer module is a fixed component in every preset, combining planes into a final RGB output that can then be further refined with post-mixer effects.

As you work through the following steps to create a new preset, remember that most configuration options, module additions, and adjustments can be accessed quickly by right-clicking an item in the TreeView. This workflow will guide you through each stage of building a new preset from scratch, explaining the purpose of each component and how to use it to achieve the desired visual effects.

Workflow: Creating a New Preset

  1. Initialize a New Preset:

    • Go to the File menu at the top of the application and select New.
    • This will create a minimal preset that includes an empty Drawing Planes section, a Plane Mixer, and Effects nodes.
    • The preset is displayed in the TreeView, with each main component expandable to reveal their sub-items as you add them.
  2. Adding a New Plane:

    • Right-click on Drawing Planes in the TreeView.
    • Select Add Plane > RGB or Add Plane > Indexed based on your needs:
      • RGB Planes allow for any color to be displayed, making them suitable for realistic images or videos. RGB planes can still use color palettes but they are not limited to them like Indexed planes.
      • Indexed Planes are optimized for palette-based animations, simulating effects similar to old 8-bit graphics but with a much larger palette (up to 2K colors).
    • The new plane is added to the TreeView as Plane 1 (or the next available number, up to 4). Each plane has three main sub-items: Color Modules, Drawing Modules, and Overlay Modules.
  3. Understanding the Default Modules:

    • By default, each new plane includes:
      • An Interpolator  module (specifically, Morpher) under Color Modules. The Interpolator resolves color indices to RGB values for indexed planes and handles palette transitions, morphing between palettes over a specified number of frames.
      • A Color Generator module (Algorithmic by default) that creates, loads, or generates color palettes by a given method. You can replace this generator with other options depending on your needs.
  4. Adding Color Modules:

    • Expand the Color Modules section under the newly added plane.
    • Right-click on the type of color module you want to add (Generator or Effects, there's only one Interpolator module so leave it as-is):
      • Generators:
        • Algorithmic: Customizable algorithms to generate colors.
        • Palette Editor: Integrates with the external palette editor so that edits are viewable when "Push"ed (how the editor tells Flashback to update the palette).
        • Palette Files: Loads colors from predefined palette files created with the Palette Editor.
      • Effects:
        • Bounce: Bounces red, green, and blue components at a given color index between their max and min values over frames
        • Scroll: Scrolls color components at a gven rate/direction to produce palette animation effects.
        • Effects: Adds various effects (blurring, striping, enhancing, banding, etc..) to the palette.
    • These modules collectively manage the colors available to the plane’s drawing operations and any palette-based animations.
  5. Adding Drawing Modules:

    • Expand the Drawing Modules section of the plane.
    • Right-click to choose from different Drawing Modules to determine what is drawn on the plane. Modules are grouped into:
      • Full Draw (draw to every pixel on every frame, usually best to use just one unless the module supports forground/background-only drawing):
        • Options include modules like Bubbles, Noise, etc...
      • Painter (draws elements on top of existing content without covering the whole plane):
        • Examples include Curve, Line, etc...
      • Effects (apply an effect that takes the current contents of the plane and modifies it in some way)
        • Use the right-click menu and choose an effect from the Add Module submenu (Fracture, DigiFX, etc...)
    • Adding a mix of Full Draw and Painter modules lets you layer visuals creatively, defining the composition of each frame.
  6. Adding Overlay Modules:

    • Expand the Overlay Modules section of the plane.
    • Right-click to add Overlay Modules that apply visual effects to what has already been drawn on the plane. Overlays modify the current frame but do not persist to subsequent frames, offering non-destructive effects like:
      • Pixelate.dll: Pixelates the image.
      • Fracture: Adds a fracturing effect.
      • Tile: Repeats the content in a tiled pattern.
      • Warp: Warps the image based on specified parameters.
    • Overlay modules enhance the visual complexity without altering the original drawing on the plane, allowing for dynamic, frame-specific effects that do not persist to the next frame.
  7. Configuring the Mixer:

    • The Mixer section is located below the planes in the TreeView.
    • The Mixer combines multiple planes into a single output. Since it’s fixed and always outputs an RGB plane, it doesn’t require configuration beyond setting up the rules for how planes blend.
    • To create a blending rule:
      • Select a Source Plane and choose a Mix Operation (e.g., blend, xor, tile, etc...) to apply. and choose a mask and/or second source plane depending on the mix operation.
      • You can create multiple rules to define how planes interact, with the final result representing the combined content of all planes.
      • The last rule in the list is the rule that produces the final output
  8. Adding Post-Mixer Effects:

    • After the Mixer combines the planes, you can add Post-Mixer Effects by right-clicking on the Effects node below the Mixer.
    • These effects operate on the final image output and do not persist beyond the current frame, giving you control over the overall look and feel of the animation. Examples include:
      • Use an effects module like Fracture or DigFX to suffle the geometry
    • This final step allows for last-minute tweaks, ensuring the animation’s appearance matches your vision.
  9. Preview and Adjustments:

    • Use the Visuals Window to see the effect of each module and and experiment with the modules controls.
    • Adjust settings or add/remove modules as needed to achieve the desired visual output.

 

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