My programmer continues working in the Magic Editor. The zoom is improved, with options of automatic resizing to the maximum size of the program window, various enlargement percentages up to 800%.

The zoom is real, and not on a small window, with which you can work with maximum comfort, large images, with large dots to make color to detail without forcing the view. Applicable to all monitor resolutions, mine is 32 inches 2K and works in great detail.

Three boxes are added vertically coupled to a left column, to select dumps, animations and frames by animation or dumps. We add eyelash systems to the work boxes, for a greater versatility of options. Magic Editor allows you to work with up to 32 colors per animation, you can choose each color of a RGB Picker with a depth of 24 bits (more than 16 million colors). It will add zoom from the mouse wheel, and scroll the image with the mouse cursor, all to get a really nice work tool to manage, for a quick and comfortable work.

Now it is necessary to add, most importantly, the assistants to the coloring (magic pencil, magic fill and magic frame on the frame), which will allow painting very quickly, by zones to several colors in a single pass or with filling in several colors.

All this by software, on the other hand will be Color Processor by HARDWARE, for an automatic coloring of complete games, that is a product that I am developing myself, and that together with the assistants of the Magic Editor will allow to color complete games in record time and with much comfort, within reach of anyone.

The attached capture screens, are only for TESTS, to check the Magic Editor, not final look of color games for DMDMK66 and DMDMX7. Really the Color Processor hardware will do most of work, and reserve the Editor for some details or special games.
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Trying a very special case, and surely unique in Advanced Coloring, I've only seen it in the Baywatch. Dynamic data, with scores in large hollow numbers, behind them there are animations,

Mixing it is complicated, to get those colored animations, a special algorithm is required, we are in it, I have studied it and I think I know how to do it. The programmer Carmelo is implementing it in the Editor, as an option configurable by the user, and I in the firmware of the screen. It is curious the complexity involved, to be used only in a single game. The rest of the dynamic content treatment, for all games, with masks is already tested and working (also those of rats in Dracula).

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Applying a translucent color within the numbers can be very complex, or maybe it can not be done. The idea is to keep it as in the original, transparent within the numbers, to see the complete animation through it. Doing it with dynamic content is not easy, but I already know how to do it.

Also, this only works for the Baywatch, I do not know any other game in which the scores come out this way.

The Multicolor DMDMK66 128x64 for vintage machines, such as the "Rage in the Cage" and others from the same era, is fully finished, tested and working 100%.

The product is available for purchase in the virtual store of my Facebook and also announced in the Pinballsp webshop in Pinside. The firmware is updatable for free from the Pinballsp Github.

Share the same features as the other DMDMK66 screens. It is Multicolor, configurable by the user, does not need licenses or activations, 100% plug and play. Compatible with the Advanced Coloring tool, Magic Color Editor, that I am currently developing to color the games of all the DMDMK66 and the future DMDMX7.

I attach some photos of the product, and as soon as I can I'll upload a video of the screen shooting the game of the Rage in the Cage, and I wait for another video of a client as soon as he install it on their machines.
 

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Carmelo continues to work with the Magic Editor of Advanced Color and I am really very happy and very impressed with the results I see and how well Carmelo works, he is a very good programmer, an expert in image processing.

There is still a lot to do, but the current state is very good for me, I'm sure it will be a fantastic tool for coloring games for DMDMK66 and DMDMX7. And I have not yet shown the Color Processor hardware in operation, it is the most powerful of the Advanced Coloring system, but that will be later, now I am busy with the Hologram kit for the Creature, and Carmelo is still working with the Magic Editor.

The improvements for last version testing today are:

1. Keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Mayus + Z to handle the Undo and Redo.

2. The window that shows the previous frame is automatically resized to occupy the maximum possible size.

3. Zoom with Ctrl + Mouse wheel (you must locate over the window) and also the + and - buttons were added, I could not zoom in on the mouse point, It will be for later.

3.1. You can move the image with the Mouse using the Right mouse button to change the mode between Movement and Paint.

4. The animation buttons were repaired, the first one is for (Play/Pause), in the second Stop, the next two are for step-by-step progress, and the last two increase or decrease the playback speed.

5. The default colors were set, when (disable color), it is active to do the opposite of assigning a color, that is to say removing it.

6. A new item is added to the menu that allows you to open one of the created projects above or use the button (Open ...) to find one in the folder.

7. Added the Assisted Fill and the Smart Pen. When clicked, a window will appear with the brightness levels, clicking on the colors in the palette will assign the colors to each brightness, you can click on a brightness level to reassign a color and then press [Ok] to finish and start using. You can also select the size of the brush, 1, 2x2, 3x3, etc ... to paint and fill quickly using the wizards.

8. A button that orders the list automatically flips or frames alphabetically, You can also manually sort by dragging and dropping the item from the list to your new position.

9. I keep working on the rest, files: save, import, encrypt, etc.

 
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It is not made in JAVA language. It is being developed with QT5/QT Creator, so C++. I'll ask Carmelo if he can compile the same sources to create a Linux version.

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Carmelo, the programmer, confirms that for Linux, the editor can be ported, and for MAC or Android, he must verify it and he will confirm it. Practically, there will be versions for Windows and Linux.

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As soon as I have an operative version of the Magic Editor, I will put it at the disposal of several beta testers, so they can try it.

The idea is to be able to use the Magic Editor with these three data sources:

[ removed - Please do not use Pinside to promote copyright infringement of complete artwork that is the property of other companies and/or independent authors on other projects. ]

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I only know the Rage in the Cage, but it can practically work on any machine that installs a 128x64 plasma screen, with 2.5mm dot pitch.

And if in some other machines it does not work well, I can always modify the firmware to add them, no problem, I have already done it with other machines and other screen formats successfully.

Tomorrow I will connect here the CPU with the additional I/O boards, the video controller and all the switches and wires to start and play a complete game on my desk, and I will record a video.

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Carmelo just confirmed me also Mac, but for Android it is more complicated and practically would require a new development. So it is confirmed that the Magic Editor will be available for Windows, Linux and Mac.

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All connected and ready to test DMDMK66 128x64 with the "Rage in the Cage" plates (CPU, I / O, DMD controller), I hope it does not explode anything. If all is well, I will make a video of the product running with a complete game to see the animations.

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DMDMK66 128x64 tested with a CPU "Rage in the Cage", works perfectly. I made some small modifications to the firmware to set the resolution and everything works fine.

Product ready for shipment next week. I am happy to allow the recovery of these machines, which would otherwise end up destroyed in a scrapyard.

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Thanks.

Carmelo continues working with the Magic Editor, adding new features, modifying and amending some. I hope to release the first version for public download from Github and Gitlab, as soon as the Masks for Dynamic Content system is ready, tested and running. Then I will release the first firmware version for DMDMK66 and DMDMX7.

 
In the new version he sent me today:

1.- The zoom was improved, now the focus of the zoom acts on the positioning of the mouse pointer when using the mouse wheel, it is tested and works very well. Very good option to quickly access the details of the image to be colored.
2.- The edited and colored frames are permanently saved.
3. The editing menu has the options Save (Ctrl + S) and Discard (Ctrl + D) that are used to save an edited frame or discard everything edited.
4. Now selecting the size of the brush, on the mouse pointer is shown a box that marks the size, to know precisely how many pixels were painted for each pass of the pointer, 1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, etc. It is a very quick way to paint several pixel with several colors in a single pass.
5. Previously found errors were repaired.
6.- In the window to choose colors for Advanced Fill and Smart Pen tools, was added a check called [Deactivate color] when it is selected you can click on a color to disable it. With these options, you can paint multiple colors in a single pass or use the Advanced fill to color with maximum speed.
7.- Tested to work with up to 32 colors per animation, works perfect. You can choose each of the 32 colors of any RGB color from the color selector (16 million).

Suggested corrections and additions for next version:

1.- Fix the color assignment by default, for 4 or 16 levels of brightness.
2.- Add option "Drag and Drop", to quickly add animations to the project, so that with the mouse you can take a file from the file browser to the editor's main files window.
3.- Modify the shape of the dots, so that they are round (they are now square), so that what is seen is more like the final result on the real DMD (DMDMK66 and DMDMX7)
4.- Add language selection for all texts, English - Spanish (maybe also French and German).
5.- Improve the color selector, with greater chromatic variation and brightness levels.
6.- Help menu options, About, etc ...
7.- System of masks for dynamic content.
8.- Check duplicate Keyframes
9.- Advanced Painted Algorithm, automatic painting of current image from previous, one or several, for very fast and automatic color of animations.
10.- Prepare versions for Linux and Mac. Maybe in the future for Android, but that requires a new programming and is dismissed for now.

 
PS: The hardware assistant is now "Color Power", available to me and the beta testers. A new design with two Cortex M7 500Mhz, for better performance, the same microcontroller that will install the new DMDMX7.

 
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Magic Editor in action, playing a colored sequence for a Batman with DMDMK66 192x64. The editor's assistants allow coloring quite quickly, and there are still options to add to help and accelerate the coloring tasks.

In the editor, two images are displayed, the largest one is the one on which you work to color, and the smaller image is the previous one that serves as a reference to color the current one. The main frame can be resized, using the zoom, for more precise access when coloring complicated areas.

 
CLICK on the images to open and view the animations with good quality (the image preview of the forum, compress with terrible quality. For next will be better to do a video and upload to Youtube).

 
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My Pick and Place machine is practically ready to start mass production of the DMDMK66 and DMDMX7 multicolor displays. It was somewhat complex because there are many parameters to configure and some calibrations to make so that everything works well.

Making the latest tests and adjustments, and probably next week I'll put it into operation to assemble all the boards with this fantastic machine, both the displays, as the hologram kit and any other product I design.

I hope to offer a product of the highest quality, assembled in a record time and without any assembly cost, which will allow me to offer a good product at the best price. Along with the Advanced Coloration, in which I continue to work, I think I will offer a good multicolor display solution for pinball and other machines that use this type of screens.
 
We continue working in the Magic Editor, now adding some utilities to facilitate the work, important to be able to color quickly, is what interests me most, that all the coloring task is very comfortable and fast. As I am coloring games myself, I realize what I need for Carmelo to add it to the Editor, we are going at a good pace in the development of the product.

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We continue to advance with the Magic Color Editor, improving it and adding new options to facilitate and accelerate the coloring tasks.

Today, new options were added and tested:

1 .- Round pixels.
2 .- (Shift + mouse wheel) increase / decrease pencil thickness.
3 .- Icon change for buttons increase / decrease playback speed.
4 .- New drop-down to indicate Algorithm Number 0 - 255, is in the animation tools tab (this is to apply special color algorithm by hardware)
5 .- Add dumps to project with Drag And Drop mode.
6 .- The tooltip was added to the buttons.
7 .- A new color selector, with more options, though need yet add a new color management for best and fast access.
8 .- Option to activate the draft mode "Activate draft mode" when the pencil and smart pencil are selected as a draft, be at the bottom of the drawing tools tab.
9 .- New menu "View | View edited pixels" when selected, highlights the modified pixels, when this option is enabled, the editing is disabled.
10.- New menu "View | Configure mask" allows you to define the region to use to calculate the checksum of the animations of the project.
11.- New menu "View | System Palettes" allows to create and manage palettes that will be available for all the projects in all the projects, said palettes can only be modified from this window, to differentiate them the name with a starting point is shown.
12.- The list of frames can be displayed in thumbnail mode or text to the user's choice, to see the thumbnails you must click on the button located on the right side of the button that expands or collapses the list of frames, has the icon of an eye.

 
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Today I was testing the Pick and Place machine to mount the 192x64 DMDMK66 displays, a few adjustments and calibrations, and everything is working fine.

I only have to program the assembly of the DMDMK66 of 128x16 and the boards of the Kit of the hologram. I also have to mount enough DMDMK66 128x64 displays, but those will need special treatment.

In general, very satisfied with the operation of the machine, it will save me a lot of work time, so I can dedicate it to the most interesting tasks, which are always those of design and development. New hardware and software, mainly for the DMDMK66 and the new DMDMX7, launching the entire Advanced Coloring system.

 
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I will check all options, some version like current only with Base color, one version with Advanced Color, Update DMDMK66 to DMDMX7 (only replace PCB board and keep led panels), even one offer to replace DMDST32 by DMDMX7 (also with virtual pinball support), with a very special price to remove all DMDST32 from the market.

 
Ready to test the RT1020 processor for the new DMDMX7, a powerful Cortex M7 500Mhz.

I made two test boards, one connected to the NXP evaluation board, and another with a complete design with the currently available microcontroller, which has 100 pins, the final version will mount the 144-pin chip that, according to the NXP, will be available in the early December. While I have already started to port the firmware of the source code of the MK66 processor to the new RT1020, although I will have to add additional code, for Advanced Coloring, a part is already done.

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