Request - Reroute Modules: The End of the Spaghetti Mess era

 

Can we talk about the elephant in the room? :D I can´t believe I can´t find any posts about this. If there is one, please just point me to it and I´ll remove this post. Otherwise, it´s time to bring this up.

Why is there no reroute nodes in Aximmetry?? Those are the most basic, obvious and "goes without saying" tools in every single other node based compositing applications out there. So the things UE and Blender call as Reroute nodes, Fusion calls as pipe routers, Nuke calls as dots etc. Basically just small mini nodes/dots that does no processing but just allows to organize the wires in the flow. They are so simple yet irreplaceably useful. They are very handy for controlling how the wires go from a pin to another helping to avoid any overlap in the flow and organize all connections to neat clear readable lines and rows. They are also great for allowing to route signal to several places without needing to always grab a new connection from all the way from the other side of the flow creating connections that overlap everything in the entire flow, instead you can just create a reroute node nearby and nicely grab it from there.  

I can´t even say out loud what the default Aximmetry camera compounds looks like to me. Let´s be honest, it is such a mess, there is no way around that. It´s impossible to look at a connection and say where it is going. Just open any pro node tree´s from UE or whatever and they´ll be perfectly clear and beautifully organized even if they were as complex. Why is it not organized using reroute nodes? Personally I´d never have a node tree where the wires or connections overlap nodes that they are not in connection with and usually try to avoid even having any wires crossing when possible. Basic cable management. If you´d install a 5.1 speaker system in the living room you wouldn´t connect the rear speakers to the power amp by taking the cables in a straight line cross the living room, over the sofa and coffee table, but would rather "route" the cables to the walls behind the couch etc. Now imagine a hundred cables installed like this: That´s the mixed cam compound :D

But the default compounds is not the point, point is to be able to create structures that are easily readable. 

Please add the Reroute Module to the request list and give it some priority! This one lack of a feature to me stands out alone like a sore thumb as a mistake in an otherwise absolutely astonishing, well thought out and very solid application.

An additional note: Please add the shortcut functionality the other applications also have so that you can easily just Alt+click (or whatever) a connection to add a reroute module right there in a millisecond :P This would be amazing! Thank you :)

If you happened to read through and agree, perhaps consider adding a comment to vote for it to add weight to the request, thank you!

 

Emil

   Nestruction Studios

 
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Stefan Reck
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While I absolutely agree with you here I have to give Aximmetry some credit for trying to make this bearable at least; from 2024.3.0 node lines will tell you where they go if you select them and they happen to go to a module outside of your current view. 

A related topic that is also an elephant in the room is the artificial distinction between tracked and virtual cameras; they effectively use the same parameters and engine interfaces, just with different data sources and it is quite annoying that some features are available only in one type although they are needed in the other and vice versa. A good example is live recording and playback of camera movements for re-rendering within Aximmetry (only available on tracked cameras) and the camera sequencer for virtual camera paths which is only available on virtual cameras even though the tracked cameras actually have a VR path function of their own.


 
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Nestruction Studios
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Thank you for the comment :) That is a nice feature for sure! Still the reroute nodes would be totally critical. I can't stand the fact that it is impossible to dedicate space for modules. Try to create any logic within a camera compound for example, no matter how far from other modules you create the modules in the flow they will get buried under spaghetti mess when you zoom out. Or depends on the situation, but it shouldn't as the user should be in control. Drives me nuts 😅 Could be fixed in seconds with reroute nodes. 


"A good example is live recording and playback of camera movements for re-rendering within Aximmetry (only available on tracked cameras) and the camera sequencer for virtual camera paths which is only available on virtual cameras even though the tracked cameras actually have a VR path function of their own."

I've actually requested the Camera Sequencer for tracked cameras earlier! Eifert, if you're reading this, could you see if these are on the list? The mentioned missing virtual cam feature is not famirliar to me as I never use the virtual cam compound, but sounds like a great request to put on the list as well if it's missing. 


Emil

 
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Eifert@Aximmetry
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Hi Emil,

You could use a Copy module, or if you have more than one connection that you want to reroute together, consider using a Pin Collector.

Also, you can insert a Copy module by holding down CTRL as shown here: https://aximmetry.com/learn/virtual-production-workflow/scripting-in-aximmetry/flow-editor/flow-editor/#interacting-with-nodes
Note that the page includes many other tricks for altering connections or navigating the Flow Editor more efficiently.

There are various reasons why the camera compounds resemble a bit of spaghetti, but we're working on cleaning them up with each update.


Anyway, I think you were thinking about a solution more akin to the reroute functionality in Unreal's blueprint editor's reroute:

If you want, I can add this kind of rerouting to the request list.


When creating complex logic within a Camera compound, you should consider creating a new compound inside the camera compound. This helps avoid visual clutter and makes it easier to copy changes to a new camera compound (which you should do if you update Aximmetry).


"I've actually requested the Camera Sequencer for tracked cameras earlier! Eifert, if you're reading this, could you see if these are on the list?"

It is on the list, that is why I know you requested it here: https://my.aximmetry.com/post/3846-programming-virtual-camera-moves-with-tr


"node lines will tell you where they go if you select them and they happen to go to a module outside of your current view. "

Even when they are in the view, the Flow Editor will display the start and end points of the connections in the bottom left corner:Request - Reroute Modules: The End of the Spaghetti Mess era

Warmest regards,

 
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Nestruction Studios
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Thanks! 

"I think you were thinking about a solution more akin to the reroute functionality in Unreal's blueprint editor's reroute. If you want, I can add this kind of rerouting to the request list." 

Exactly! Please do! It would be so so valuable. And again, it would be perfect if it was possible to add it by a simply clicking on a connection when holding Alt or something, without needing to first separately add it in the flow like actual modules. 

And sorry if that came out a bit harsh at first, just really thought this one needed some extra weight 😅 It's great that you have made the camera compounds clearer on each release, and when you implement the rerouter I guarantee you'll notice just how much it will help with that. 


Talking about things that would help make node trees clearer, one more thing that would be super great is the tool they call "Comment" in Unreal Engine and  as "Underlay" in  Blackmagic Fusion for example. This one that allows to put these clear labels under groups of modules to make them more readable and give more info about them. Also, usually they are made so that they can be used to kind of group nodes: if you move underlay module, the nodes inside would stay in place inside it and follow as a group. Very useful! Basically I would just check how it behaves in UE and mimic it.. So this would be one more request from me! For greater good😅

Request - Reroute Modules: The End of the Spaghetti Mess era

Emil

 
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Eifert@Aximmetry
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Hi Emil,

No, you didn't come across as harsh at all.
We always welcome suggestions for the Flow Editor and any other part of the software.


This comment underlay feature is already available. It was added in Aximmetry version 2024.2.0.

If you add a Note:

And turn off Auto size:
Request - Reroute Modules: The End of the Spaghetti Mess era

Once you do this, any modules that are over the note will move together with it:
Request - Reroute Modules: The End of the Spaghetti Mess era


Also, I added your reroute feature request to our internal request list.

Warmest regards,


 
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Nestruction Studios
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Aah ok hey great! I've always used notes module but for whatever reason I never thought to use it like this. Nice! After this I will likely be using it even more than before. 

Thank you for adding the rerouter on the list! Looking forward to it :P


Emil

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