Mirage version 2.0.3: Beta 1 and new installer

In this blog post I’m going to outline the changes that I’ve made to Mirage and its new installer, and share download links for them.

You can help me refine these developments by downloading the files below and testing them out. Leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post or email me at [email protected].

You can sign up to the beta-testing list if you would like access to new features early.

Try the new version

1. Download the new Mirage Installer: Windows or Mac
2. When prompted, use the download ticket: mirage-beta

Mirage Update

This is the first time that I’ve released a new version in this way but hopefully this will become a regular occurrence. I want Mirage to be steered, in part, by what its users want. It’s also important to get the software tested on lots of computers so that issues can be ironed out quickly.

This new Beta will install as a separate plugin called ‘Mirage Beta’, meaning it can work alongside any full versions that you might have installed.

Key changes

1. Perfect seamless switching of presets. No more pops or intermediate sounds. If for example, you hold down some keys, and cycle through presets, you will find it to be a greatly improved experience.
2. New animations to show each voice’s ADSR position and volume.
3. Added the ability to add crossfade to ping-pong loops.
4. New setting for high-contrast GUI mode. This removes the background images for improved readability.
5. Lots of fixes and groundwork for big future updates.

Detailed changelog

New features

• Added markers to the ADSR envelopes to show the state of each voice.
• Added the ability to add a crossfade to ping-pong loops.
• Added a high-contrast option to the Appearance menu which makes the GUI always have a dark, flat background.

Visual improvements

• Made the blurred background images darker an more opaque so that control are more visible.
• Made the voice markers fade in and out to match the volume of the voice.
• Made all of the animations on the GUI smoother.

Fixes and improvements

• Improved the speed of loading a library.
• Improved the experience of changing presets in the following ways:
  • Show a ‘loading’ box when the preset is taking a while to load.
  • Change all of the parameters at exactly the same time; therefore eliminating intermediate pops and noises.
• While waiting for a new instrument to load, show ‘loading’ instead of the old waveform image.
• Provide more useful error messages when something goes wrong.
• Reduce pops and clicks when changing the loop points of a sound that is playing.
• Fixed potential glitches caused when clicking the GUI keyboard or changing parameters at the same time as playing audio.
• Fixed letters from being cut off when pasting text into a text input.
• Fixed the value from jumping after releasing the shift key when doing find adjustments with a parameter.
• Made the default location for libraries, presets, and settings files to be in an ‘all-users’ location, meaning that any user of the PC has the same configuration of Mirage. This only applies if you are doing a fresh install of Mirage. These are the specific changes:
  • Mac: the settings file is now saved in /Library/Application Support/FrozenPlain/Mirage/Settings
  • Windows: the settings file is now saved in C:/ProgramData/FrozenPlain/Mirage/Settings and the libraries and presets are now saved in C:/Users/Public/Documents/FrozenPlain.

New Installer

The installer has it’s own version: 1.0.0, Beta 1. This new installer is a small file that will download the libraries/plugins/presets as needed and put them where they need to be. In order for this installer to know which files you need, you must enter your frozenplain.com email address and password. The installer will then offer all of the available products that you can install. Doing this does not log you in to anywhere, it simply checks what products you own on frozenplain.com.

Alternatively, there is option to use a download ticket. A download ticket is code that grants you access to one or more file downloads. There are a few download tickets here that you can use to download some of our free products and updates.

The motivation for making a new installer is this:

• It makes it monumentally easier for me to create updates; the new version is just uploaded to my server rather than having to create new installers for every Mirage product on Windows and Mac.
• It makes it much simpler for you to install multiple products at once.
• On Mac, it allows you to install the large library files to a location of your choosing (an different drive, for example).