[Idea] Possible collaboration with OFL

[hrueger]

• discuss whether, how, and to what extent collaborate with the open fixture library, it's team and the community
• some ideas that came to my mind:
  • gdtf import / export plugin
  • udr import / export plugin (future)
  • using their fixture data for demo / tests / ...

[lukas-runge]

I really love the idea and the efforts over there! This could be leading to the ultimate and last fixture library ever needed. We should really get in contact with the community over there and see what we can do together. 😍✨🔥🥳

Some more thoughts in no specific order:

to make a fixture "exist" it should provide

• a name
• a manufacturer
• a firmware version
• a manual
• an image

to make a fixture "controllable" it should additionally provide

• all attributes with
  • name
  • general description (Shutter, Dimmer, Gobo, etc.)
  • physical feature description (Shutter open, Star Gobo, 5-facet Prism, etc.)
• the means by which the fixture can be controlled
  • eg. DMX (5 or 3 Pin cabling, Art-Net, sACN) or Kling-Net 2 / 3, OSC, etc.
  • the mapping of its features to cmds or ranges depending on protocol

to make a fixture "visualizable" it should additionally provide

• a functional description of the devices parts (e. g. Positions of Emitter, Axis, Gobo, Iris, Focus and so on) to allow for mathematically correct visualization of the devices output (Light, Fog, Flames, Snow, Fireworks, ...)
• a primitive (provided by the device class) or custom 3D model with all individually controllable bodies of the fixture as separate models

to make a fixture "field tested" it should additionally provide

• a way to vote on fixture definition quality and report issues back to the initial uploader (+ all editors ?) and the community

In any case let's hold on to the concept of an intuitive online fixture editor that everyone can use without prior knowledge. This is key for getting feedback from the field and keep quality of fixture descriptions high. 👌

In a perfect world I would like to see fixtures instead of OFL providing all this data back to a lighting control desk. But for now I think OFL is the most promising project bringing hobbyists and professionals together on the same cause so I think it can play a major role in improving peoples show creation workflow. 🔥

I am sure I forgot something important, but that's so far what I came up with. The main problem that I see with current solutions like for example the gdtf share is that your milage may vary extremely when mindlessly using fixtures from there. In most cases you have to check and correct them by hand to be accurately representative of what the fixture actually does in real life. 😬 Looking forward to a better UX for lighting designers alike! 🥳