SmartDancer has 2 controllers.
CONTROLLERS
The main reason for SmartDancer controllers is to be able to control 2 halves of a set of bots (or dancing avatars) at the same time but in different ways. You can send commands to 2 halves using just 1 controller but when sending to controller zero, it sends commands to ALL controllers so this way you can insure tighter timing by sending 1 command to control both halves in different ways at the same exact pinpoint time using multiple controllers. We will explain that method in more detail later.
You can control up to 9 bots/avatars with one controller.
If you have 9 bots/avatars, you could control 5 with 1 controller and 4 with the other controller. If you had 6 then you could control 3 with 1 controller and 3 with the other controller…etc, etc.
You need at least 1 controller rezzed at design and showtime.
The controller talks to the bots (or Palettes, or Special Poseball) and makes them move or turn or June or change speed, or flip, or combinations there of.
A major purpose for the controller is to SEND the formation positions to the bots (or Palettes, or Special Poseball). This is done by resetting the controller, a very important first step. Only needs to be done once.
If you have the Artiste HUD then it talks to the controller telling it what to tell the bots (or Palettes, or Special Poseball) to do.
GROUPING
HALF vs ALTERNATE vs NO_GROUPING
You can tell the controller which group-ing methodology you will be using coming up.
Lets look at HALF vs ALTERNATE. The bots kindly use RED and BLUE coloring of the bot-head to let you easily follow which bots are affected by which controller
Using just one controller you can quickly send commands to the RED bots AND a different set (or same) commands to the BLUE bots.
You would use the SENDA button to tell the controller that subsequent commands would go to RED.
You would use the SENDB button to tell the controller that subsequent commands would go to RED.
You would use the SENDC button to tell the controller that subsequent commands would go to both RED and BLUE (or BLACK if NO_GROUPing).
OR
you could use 2 controllers with one sending to RED and the other sending to BLUE
HALF
Imagine a formation change applying to just the RED or BLUE bots instead of ALL the bots. That could make for some unusual and interesting bot/avatar movement.
ALTERNATE
Imagine a formation change applying to just the RED or BLUE bots instead of ALL the bots. That could make for some unusual and interesting bot/avatar movement.
This coloring choice of making the middle bot RED instead of blue makes more sense because the other 8 will be in sync since the middle bot is usually doing something different or differentiated from the rest WHEN here is an ODD number of bots/dancers.
So next you tell the controller WHICH half (red or blue) that the
subsequent commands will go to.
NO_DIVISION
ALL subsequent commands apply to ALL the bots.
This is the mode other formation tools use.
Not only do we have formation commands but we ALSO have turns and Junes, flips, and speed-assignment, all of which can apply to divisions as well as ALL the bots. We will talk about the commands in an upcoming post.
NOTE: Juneing (a term i made up in respect to June Taylor of the June Taylor dancers) is rotating a formation around the center-point or center avatar of a formation.