[QLab] Trimmin' the fat

[soundsman]

My 2¢,

First of all, thanks to Chris for all the hard work. I've been out of  
commission for a bit working on a number of projects and going out of  
town for awhile, so I'm catching. Only 100 more QLAB emails to read  
through.... Anyway:

> 1)  Master Level crosspoints.  It's good to have the master levels,
> but do we actually need the crosspoint matrix?  Now that the
> crosspoint channel routing is in the right place--the initial fade
> levels--wouldn't it clarify things a *lot* to have that be the *only*
> crosspoint matrix?  Why not limit the master levels to the sliders?
> I'm fairly keen on this idea.  Unless someone can paint a real
> convincing picture for why you'd want to tweak the crosspoints of a
> cue, I'm inclined to cut them.

I haven't found a good use to have this in the Master Levels area  
either. It IS good to have in the Initial Levels, and this use will  
still transfer if we ever move QLab to include control of live  
inputs, but I still don't see a good use to have the Matrix in the  
Master Level area. I say Axe it.

>
> 2)  "Behave as a cue list" mode for groups.  Ever since I added it,
> I've been unconvinced it was wise for me to do so.  I know of only
> one semi-persuasive use for it, and the complexity introduced by
> having cues that maintain an internal state is just asking for
> trouble.

I've tried real hard to use this feature in a variety of situations.  
Though it could have some potential when the Control Plugins are  
introduced, I am just not seeing it work out in actual use. I keep  
trying, but the control to make it work with loops, etc..., just  
isn't happening. To really use it effectively, it would require If- 
Then abilities, and right now that isn't available - AND there would  
still be other usable ways to use it. However, the "Trigger All"  
abilities and the Sounds Cue really rock!

Cutting these might help with the confusion factor - more than the  
features help in actual use. I'll have to spend some time with the  
latest version to catch up before I comment on other fat trimmings.

Mark H