Please Help - Running Video Sprites in G-Force

[SteveH]

Hi first time posting from a newbie looking for help.
Absolutely love G-Force graphics and I am now running the stand alone (Platinum) version 4.3.2 on my PC and Laptop. The PC supports multiple hard drives and I have Windows XP 32 bit on one hard drive and Windows 7 64 bit on another, hence by selecting the drive at boot up I can select my operating system.
When running G-Force 4.3.2 under Windows XP I tried to start a movie as a sprite using this script:

0:00
KillRunningSprites ();
0:03
StartSprite( "Earth", );
4:40
StartRandomSprite();
4:50

The sprite Earth is a short movie lasting 269 seconds and is encoded as a Quicktime (.mov) file. The file plays in Quicktime without any problems.
I also have a text file (Earth.txt) in the sprite folder to set the time to allow the full movie to play.

Pen="1"
Invt=0
PDur="269"
vers=420

When I try to run the script I get the following message from G-Force:
Warning: encountered blocking script – aborting!!
I have checked the Path environment on the computer and Quicktime is correctly registered in the path. I have also checked and found that Direct X and Direct 3D are working correctly, but still the movie will not run as a sprite, either from the script (that produces the message) or from the G-Force toolbar (no error message).
My Windows XP installation is a new build on a larger hard disk, but I have an old hard disk running the same copy of XP and G-Force (version 4.20) and the video runs perfectly as a Sprite on that system. Unfortunately that version of XP has a virus and of course I would rather run my new install of XP on a larger, faster virus free disk.
My laptop runs Windows Vista 32 bit home edition and G-Force 4.20 and it is unable to run the sprite (no error message given). I also have the same problem when trying to run G-Force 4.20 on my PC under Windows 7 64 bit.
Why do I want to run G-Force on so many different disks and computers? I prefer to develop applications on my PC but would eventually prefer to run G-Force on my portable laptop.

[jerohm]

'earth.mov' SHOULD be in the same folder as earth.txt, i.e., "C:\Program Files\SoundSpectrum\G-Force\Sprites\" (or some sub-folder) ... is that the case???

P.S.: StartSprite() has an extra ',' (without following argument) too

I have "played" with scripting, but IN NO WAY, an expert. PDUR is typically used to override a 'Particle' default play time... For a still shot, it may have an effect, but I doubt it has a meaning for a movie (*.mov). As a matter of fact, if it was ME, I wouldn't mess with the text file at all, until I got the clip to play... but that is just me You still need to copy the clip into the Sprites (or sub-*) folder.

[SteveH]

Thanks Jerohm,
earth.mov is in the sprites folder as well as earth.txt.
I have tried running G-Force with and without the earth.txt file (renamed earth.txt to earth.old and even deleted the earth.txt file completely) but it made no difference to the error message and the video still would not play.
After each attempt (renaming earth.txt and removing earth.txt) I re-booted my computer then re-started G-Force and still no luck.

[jerohm]

as I said, I don't do the whole *.mov thing much... but I created a small *.mov clip w/ Cyberlink PowerDirector that played just fine with Quicktime... but locks up the Standalone version (verbose: Debug) WITHOUT any error messages... I suspect you need to generate a trouble ticket and see if ANYBODY actually can get a clip to run on 4.3. I KNOW I HAVE gotten clips to run in the past...
Sorry
j
( Win7/64 - 32bit GF Standalone)

[BTT]

Hello SteveH

If you wish to follow jerohm's suggestion click on the link below:-

http://www.soundspectrum.com/support/contact.html

This will put you in contact with SoundSpectrum. They will contact you direct within a few days.


Regards BTT

[SteveH]

Thanks Jerohm and BTT I'll give that a try and contact SoundSpectrum support. There must be some little trick that I am missing as others on this forum seem to manage to run video sprites.
The programmers that wrote G-Force must know what the error message means and how to correct it.

[bnh]

Reference the "warning. encountered blocking script --- aborted" error.

I just encountered the same problem using Version 4.3.2. on W7.

About once every other year I get into writing scripts, and this is the first script with version 4.3.2. This definitely is a bug, or at least a variation to the previous norm. I could find no explanation of it in the documentation. I have also reported it.

I tried several things, including the KillRunningScripts() command and a few other ideas. Then I tried to run the sample scripts furnished with the updated 4.3.2 ... and there it was.

Your script will play fine even with this error flag popping up. The way to work around this bug is to add the following line to your script:

SetConsoleVisible( false );

Normally you would add this line to your script and replace "false" with "true". But for now, build your script with "true" so you can see all flags, and when you are finished, change it to "false."

If I get a response to the error ticket, I will post it here.

It is a little strange that there haven't been more posts on this problem. Apparently, people don't build scripts or they haven't updated to 4.3.2. I like the last update.

[SteveH]

Thanks bnh, but I have now come to the conclusion that it is a deliberate attempt by Soundspectrum to stop users from using their products for commercial gain and I think that the commercial licence would allow the scripts to run.
Try running a script, and when that script ends run another script. You will find that the second script does not start instantly and will just pop up at some random time in the future, hence there is no control over the script.
I uninstalled 4.3.2 and re-installed 4.2.0 and all of my scripts started working again (my original problem with sprites was due to the fact that I installed Quick Time after installing G-Force; uninstalling and re-installing 4.2.0 cleared the problem).
I was also impressed with Aeon and purchased a copy of 2.0.1 to try out. It suffers exactly the same problem when trying to superimpose a jpeg or png file over the top of the graphics.
I can see why Soundspectrum would want to do this as graphics overlays could be used as advertisers to possibly promote some kind of product or event, but it has ruined the versatility of the program and (in my case the challenge of learning the scripting language, which is very similar to the C programming language that I studied for my MSc.).
I used to enjoy placing graphic overlays or background sprites relating to the music that I was listening to on top of or below the Sounspectrum graphic, but as this seems no longer possible I doubt if I will be purchasing any more of their products and just sticking to G-Force 4.2.0.
If Soundspectrum want to move into the commercial market for their product they should look to integrate it with commercial products like (for instance) Resolume or Arkaos GrandVJ which would allow the user to switch between G-Force, Aeon, WhiteCap, etc. by a mouse click or to bring in other video clips and graphics as the DJ or Lighting Tech desires. Until this is possible I doubt if any of their products would find a use on the commercial market.
I know George Michael used Soundspectrum products for his recent tour, but the concert must have been pretty boring if it only displayed the same graphic set for two hours.

[juxtiphi]

Thanks bnh, but I have now come to the conclusion that it is a deliberate attempt by Soundspectrum to stop users from using their products for commercial gain and I think that the commercial licence would allow the scripts to run.
Try running a script, and when that script ends run another script. You will find that the second script does not start instantly and will just pop up at some random time in the future, hence there is no control over the script.
I uninstalled 4.3.2 and re-installed 4.2.0 and all of my scripts started working again (my original problem with sprites was due to the fact that I installed Quick Time after installing G-Force; uninstalling and re-installing 4.2.0 cleared the problem).
I was also impressed with Aeon and purchased a copy of 2.0.1 to try out. It suffers exactly the same problem when trying to superimpose a jpeg or png file over the top of the graphics.
I can see why Soundspectrum would want to do this as graphics overlays could be used as advertisers to possibly promote some kind of product or event, but it has ruined the versatility of the program and (in my case the challenge of learning the scripting language, which is very similar to the C programming language that I studied for my MSc.).
I used to enjoy placing graphic overlays or background sprites relating to the music that I was listening to on top of or below the Sounspectrum graphic, but as this seems no longer possible I doubt if I will be purchasing any more of their products and just sticking to G-Force 4.2.0.
If Soundspectrum want to move into the commercial market for their product they should look to integrate it with commercial products like (for instance) Resolume or Arkaos GrandVJ which would allow the user to switch between G-Force, Aeon, WhiteCap, etc. by a mouse click or to bring in other video clips and graphics as the DJ or Lighting Tech desires. Until this is possible I doubt if any of their products would find a use on the commercial market.
I know George Michael used Soundspectrum products for his recent tour, but the concert must have been pretty boring if it only displayed the same graphic set for two hours.

Dont know much about scripts but imho I dont hink SS would make it so you could run one script but not another in direct fashion on purpose. bicbw. most likely its a bug.

G-force is never "boring" and I dont think dancing and screaming people in the audience would notice if a config repeated itself because they are always interacting with different configs which makes it hard to see the exact same scene twice if ever so I doubt it was boring but I'm not into George Michael so what do I know.

[jerohm]

... Try running a script, and when that script ends run another script. You will find that the second script does not start instantly and will just pop up at some random time in the future, hence there is no control over the script ...

be more specific... how are you attempting to start the second script... manually, or via a Run() command at the end of the first script? Scripting HAS changed a bit (and always has been somewhat picky), but I thought most issues were caused because of differences pre and post 4.0. Make sure you are using the most current "Script Command Reference.txt" as your reference. That said, there are undocumented timing issues that need to be adhered to.

[SteveH]

SteveH wrote:
... Try running a script, and when that script ends run another script. You will find that the second script does not start instantly and will just pop up at some random time in the future, hence there is no control over the script ...



be more specific... how are you attempting to start the second script... manually, or via a Run() command at the end of the first script? Scripting HAS changed a bit (and always has been somewhat picky), but I thought most issues were caused because of differences pre and post 4.0. Make sure you are using the most current "Script Command Reference.txt" as your reference. That said, there are undocumented timing issues that need to be adhered to.

Hi Jerohm thanks for the reply. I am using CTRL 1 to run the first script, then CTRL 2 to run the second script after the first script has ended and that is when I get the problem. The second script does not start immediately after pressing CTRL 2, but at some random time (possibly up to two minutes after pressing the keys).
I am using the Script Command Reference.txt that installs with the current version, and I have not noticed any difference between 4.2.0 Script Command Reference.txt and later versions.

I have tried renaming my scripts S 0, S 1, S 2, S 3 etc up to S 9 and created a new CTRL 1 file that contains only one line:
Run ( sprintf( "S %d", rnd(9)));
then added the same line to the end of S 0, S 1, S 2, S 3 etc.
My scripts run perfectly using this method as when each script completes a new randomly chosen script starts (still get the error message after pressing CTRL 1 though, but not on the randomly selected scripts after that).
Unfortunately that only proves that the scripts are correct and does not allow me to choose the script I would like to run at the time that I wish to run it.
To end the sequence of random scripts I use a file that I wrote named CTRL E, that contains the script:

// Halts execution of all running scripts
KillRunningScripts();

// Halts all running Sprites
KillRunningSprites ( 1 );

// Restart Slideshow if stopped

SetSlideShow( CONFIG_WAVESHAPE | CONFIG_COLORMAP | CONFIG_FLOWFIELD | CONFIG_SPRITE | CONFIG_PARTICLE | CONFIG_UNION, true );

When I press CTRL E the error message pops up and the scripts still run for up to two minutes before ending.
All of the manual and automatic scripts run perfecly on 4.2.0, but not on later versions or on my version of Aeon.

[jerohm]

These work... but may NOT address your situation...
Ctrl-E.txt:

Code: Select all

stdout( "^E: KillRunningScripts()\n" );
KillRunningScripts();

Ctrl-6.txt:

Code: Select all

stdout( "^6: Ok, here we go...\n" );

Run ( sprintf( "S %d", rnd(9)));

S x.txt, where x=[0,9] inclusive:

Code: Select all

0:00.5
stdout( "S x: Ok, here we go...\n" );
Run ( sprintf( "S %d", rnd(9)));

A Script with a Run() at it's end, may look like an infinitely long Script... and there is never an opening for another Script to get scheduled... maybe one of those undocumented timing things...

I haven't run into this situation myself, but is another reason the scripts need a way to specify a wait time, relative to 'now' (instead of absolute offsets). If YOU insert the wait as the first line of YOUR "S x.txt" scripts, I suspect you can get things working

PS: Your use of 'rnd()' is cute... I wasn't aware that you could use it anywhere except Configs.

PSS: I faintly remember having an issue with Scripts/Run() UNLESS the toolbar was running... I couldn't start a recursive script. Once it got started though, I could kill the toolbar... and it would continue to run.

[SteveH]

Hi Jerohm thanks for the reply.
I'll try loading 4.3.2 again and see if that code works, but I will also try it in 4.2.0 first as that is the version that I am using at present.

[bnh]

I just received a very promt reply from Paul Brower regarding the error flag: "warning --blocking script--aborted" mentioned above. The error flag appears when running Stand Alone on W7. Paul's response reads:

Unfortunately, some media players we support started repurposing the "CTRL" to the point that our plug-ins were not able to use it anymore. As such, we have changed the way you save and call scripts along with where scripts are stored. First of all, please see the following FAQ entry regarding saving and calling scripts in G-Force.

Is there a way to automatically store certain combinations of effects for recall?
http://www.soundspectrum.com/g-force/faq.html#recall

Now, to incorporate your older scripts into our newer version, you will first need to copy them over the following folder:

C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\SoundSpectrum\G-Force\Scripts\

(Replace "USER_NAME" with your Windows User Account name.)

Next, change the file names from "CTRL X.txt" to "Key X.txt". These scripts should now be available via the above calling method within your version of G-Force.

Let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Regards,

Paul Brower


So, this negates my previous suggestion to rework the SetConsoleVisible( ); Just leave it as (true).

I just tested Paul's instructions and every thing works fine. So, from 4.3.2 (or something there around), we no longer store scripts in the old folder, which was the Scripts folder found under Program Files/SoundSpectru/GForce/Scripts. We now must store all scripts in the new folder Paul indicates.

And, although we change the file name of the script fron CNTRL X to KEY X, we still invoke the script (manually) by hitting the CNTRL + X keys on the keyboard.

Strangely, I have found that one still needs to stoe the file in this new folder as CTRL X, not as KEY X. I had originally understood that we were rename the file as KEY X and invoke it with the command CTRL X. And while I found this worked on my first test, I cannot get consistent results. This anomaly requires further investigation on my part.

And don't forget that old standby mistake: you have to click on the GForce screen to make it Active before you can call a script.

And thank you Paul, not only for your prompt response but for explaining things so clearly. You can see how much time is devoted to these little things. They will drive you nuts.

[SteveH]

Many Thanks bnh and to Paul.
I would never have found my way around that problem unless I stumbled across it in a forum.
I will now load 4.3.2 again and try it, and also see if the same works in Aeon. This has restored my faith in Soundspectrum products.

I know a few people that work in local music groups and have shown them the graphics from G-Force and Aeon. Most have said they would be interested in purchasing a suite of the standalone Soundspectrum products (namely G-Force, Aeon, Whitecap, Softskys etc.), if it was possible to switch quickly and at will between the products and the price was right. Just a thought for the future that could increase Soundspectrums income and move them into the commercial market.
So think about it guys - the Live Music Industry and possibly Video DJ's could be the break you have been waiting for to increase sales of your product.