Product Discussion
Hi everyone,
I'm making simulations of Sisters Brand consumer (1.4G) products.
As I need to choreograph a pyromusical with these products next week, I tried adjusting the pre-fire time so the actual burning time of the visco fuse is taken into account before the cakes start to fire away.
However, Finale Fireworks just starts the cake earlier as I increase the pre-fire time, instead of just moving the ignition and keeping the first burst at the same place it used to be.
Therefore, I was wondering if it would be feasible to separate the pre-fire time of the cake from the pre-fire time of the first effect. This way, I would be able to, let's say, add a 7-second pre-fire time (to allow for the visco fuse to burn), then the cake would start firing using the actual pre-fire time of the first effect, as determined by its caliber.
Just a thought. This may come in handy for regular 1.4G simulation, as a quick match leader is a luxury that only professional lines (such as Dominator 1.4G Pro) have.
To have the correct pre-fire for the actual show, I'm now forced to either import the ATF CSV file in Excel and move each firing time 7 seconds earlier, or doing a 7-seconds too early simulation, instead of editing the actual cake and reconciliate the simulation with the time I want the e-match to light up...
STL
This CAN be done right now... You must user the Break-apart-Cake or Chain feature, under the edit menu...then you can see the first shot in a cake and modify that shots pre-fire time, re-align all the subsequent items, and repackage it as a cake. BUT, the Physics rules take over and make that 7 second shot hit the ground... :), but I think it would work for the ATF .sho file creation....
YOU and Mix are correct, we NEED another type of delay other than the pre-fire time to correctly simulate the use of visco or other pyrotechnic delay devices like pyroclocks, that do not interfere with the simulation of the items.
* And the simulation of the long prefire time is NOT correct.
Another way you can do this is to create an inventory of products in MS Excel, define thier properties for prefire, # of shots, and Duration, and Finale will create them and a "Simulation" that is TECHNICALLY correct with regards to the Prefire time and duration, but is NOT VISUALLY CORRECT with regards to the first break, so it will be correct as far as the computer firing script, it just won't be correct visually for an accurate representation of the product. I know this does not help much, but it will produce an accurate firing system file.
Just a thought: how about making a visco fuse simulation by reducing the size, duration etc of a fountain to something that looks like a Visco fuse burning. The (7 sec) visco simulation can be put in front of the cake on the timeline, then combine the cake and the visco to a new cake. This cake should then have 7 secs earlier firing time than the unmodified cake.
This is a workaround to get the additional PFT, but you could also consider the visco fuse just as a another cake component that needs to be simulated like this. In addition, you also get to see the Visco burning:-)
Okay, this thread brings up two problems: (1) that changing the prefire time of a shell moves the break time of that shell instance instead of the launch time to accommodate the new prefire, and (2) that changing the prefire of the shell changes the simulated time duration of the trajectory between launch and break. I have good news regarding both problems.
Regarding the first problem, Finale already supports one solution that works: Select the firework, or multiple fireworks, and the click "Edit > Bulk update fireworks." You will be prompted to enter a new prefire time, which will be applied to all selected fireworks in a manner that preserves their break time. We need to make editing in the firing view work this way too, which we haven't yet done.
Regarding the second problem, the new simulation capabilities in the latest pre-release provide a solution. All new fireworks will be built from the template of the fireworks currently in the Candles tab, which is also the only template that supports the new simulation capabilities. So to get the new capabilities, insert a firework from the Candles tab and edit it.
For this new template, the "prefire" field is decoupled from the duration of the trajectory. You can set the prefire to whatever you want without affecting the simulated trajectory. Furthermore, there is a parameter in one of the right-most editing panels called "Row sequence (if cake) > Seconds before first". This parameter adjusts the simulation of the visco fuse, adding a delay between the ignition of the firework and the launch of the first shell.
This thread is a good reminder that controlling the simulation of the visco fuse is important, so I'll rename this field to "Fuse delay" and move it forward to the second editing panel ("Launch") so it is obvious. I will also rename the "Prefire" field to "Prefire (0 = auto)" and make it work that way, such that if you set the prefire to zero, it will be calculated automatically based on the fuse delay and the duration of the Proj-L trajectory for aerial shells or will be zero for comets and mines.
