Machinate wrote:Khazul wrote:I suspect this automation issue is one of the latter - ie not fixable via MFL.
Oh, I definitely suspect it WILL be something fixable via MFL. That and "DUAL MONITOR SUPPORT" will be the big ones, I think.
Live (AFAIK) is not written using the same runtime as MAX. Live will therefore probably expose a finite feature set to the MAX run time.
So if a feature you should want to manipulate isnt exposed, then you cant interfere with it. The best you can do is approximinate is and hope your approximation doesnt clash with live's internal workings, and again that is only if alternative functionality is exposed through MFL.
To actually intercept and replace a feature, live has to choose to enable this behaviour by making available some kind of callouit or event into the MAX runtime along with a means to access all necessary state data that may be required in order to incepts the feature. Even then, the most you may be able to do is influence the feature rather than replace it. It will be a choice made for every feature and state data item they want to expose.
To start with, I expect that clip data will be exposed, along with audio streams and if we are lucky, phsyical device (audio midi) ports and selection menus. this would be sufficient say to implemnent menu based processing tools to perform offline editing functions on midi and audio clips. (MIDI clips has allready been confirm as being availabel for this to some degree or other), though access to automation parameters AFAIK has not been confirmed. Neither has clip audio data, nor clip metadata (tempo, length, start, end etc), but I would guess is might be.
Also the communications between Live and a controller devices has been confirmed as changable - for eg so you could change the behaviour of the APC-40 and perhaps write your own custom controller mappers.
We know its is possible to implement MIDI processing plugins and audio processing plugins along with access to Live native UI elements (though whether that is all native UI elements remain to be seen, but lets hope it is). I would guess though these plugin interfeaces you can implement Live style extende plugins (live seems to expose more functionality to its native plugins than it can to VST and AU plugins).
Some of the hinted at cooler stuff that you can do with MFL basically just needs acces to UI elements, control srface comminications, live host clocks and song pos and midi/audio streams - ie no where near enough to replace core live functionality - for eg, like automation envelopes.
It wont be like having the source code to Live. The folks who are probably best placed to say what is reasonable to expect from it are those know know both what you can do with max/msp/jitter and those who know the python scripting API. this API may not even exist in Live 8, however I wold guess its functionality may get merged into MFL as a means of provide custom control surface drivers etc.
I sincerely hope they keep enough basic MAX functionality such that externally developed MAX objects can be used with it as well, however there is absolutely no gurantee of this, so for eg - I have no idea of the DMX lighting interface object I have will work - i hope it will, but in the end, no guarantee at all.
I think alot of people are getting overly hyped about the possibilities of MFL and could be in for a huge diappointment. For those of us who have an idea of what you can do with MAX/MSP in the context of plugins etc, then it wont be a disappointment at all, actually we may be pleasently suprised at getting access to stuff we didnt expect.
But unless Live 8 has been re-written from the groun up to expose everything to MFL and allow anything to be intercepted (you have to plan for this within a single runtime, never mind integrating another one as well) - the the picture people are painting simply will not happen.
It will be very powerful - but mostly for writing plugins and controll surface and perhaps for offline processing utilities (for eg, the splice audio clip to drum rack function could we written in MFL *if* we are very lucky).
There wont be any writing of dual screen support. You should be able to offline re-write automation data and do some manipulations. I really hope functionlaity like creating tracks and setting up there parameters can be done from a menu, but I wouldnt be at all surpsed if that cant be accessed unless it was a deliberate choice as a way of potentially enable some of the macro functionality that can be found in other DAWs.
We shall see - dont expect much more than the currently hinted at essentals and certainly not for the first release - buit that will still be very powerful for certain kind of functions (plugins, control surfaces etc).