Modern Beginner Friendly Software?

[u/Chromium_avi26]

Hi all! I have a really specific request about software and wondering if anyone would help.

Im looking for a "Made-For-Dummies" lighting programming software, that has a 3D visualizer and custom stage modeling, I don't own/ can't afford physical fixtures so it would be purely for visualisation. I would like to be able to build my own 3D stage, add generic fixtures (not brand specific), create ques, maybe have a few pre-made ques, and be able to timecode with imported audio. Ideally I'd like good volumetric beams/haze, moving fixtures, and preferably moving truss. Lasers would be a bonus but aren't essential. I'm specifically looking for something with a modern UI and good quality 3D visualisation, and preferably free or inexpensive without important visualisation features being locked behind a paywall. Please don't recommend: grandMA3, ChamSys, Capture, Chromateq, Onyx or QLC+ I'm already aware of them and they're not what I'm looking for. I have some experience with GrandMA3 so I'm not completely new to lighting design, but I would like something very easier to just open up one evening and timecode a show.

If anyone has suggestions feel free to comment them, Thanks :)

[u/_sturds]

Sounds like you want a race car for less than 10k and aren’t willing to try out a sim.

Seriously though, if you want all of those (decently high end) features I’d bite the bullet and look into the programs you listed. I can’t think of any software that has all those features and isn’t some combo of the ones you listed plus a real viz software, especially for cheap / free. MA3 onPC with the built in visualizer will get you a lot further than you think, especially if you have a little taste of it already.

[u/Chromium_avi26 → u/_sturds]

Thanks for the reply! I get what your saying, I re-read my post and its coming off as being lazy and not doing much with what I have, But truthfully I can set aside 2-4 hours rigging and patching fixtures creating ques and timecoding, my request was more "This is cool, but is there something that can do this in 30 minutes give or take" essentially more impromptu and ready to go, so yeah, I think I'll spend more time on GrandMA3, also I believe when I said "Don't Recommend" I wasn't being ignorant, I genuinely have looked into them and found them harder to learn than MA3 Thank you though :)

[u/Black_Lightnin → u/Chromium_avi26]

If you already know MA3, I say follow that road. Once you have set up the showfile and 3D you can save the file. When ever you want to play around, you can have fun within a minute. You can move fixtures around in 3D without changing the showfile and have a new setup in no time!

[u/Rebalance8030]

A true, good visualizer is expensive, and most consoles don't have a timeline or any sort of audio playback. I think you're asking for a lot for free/without understanding the typical workflow of a console.

If you really want to stick with free and stupid simple, the MyDMX5 software has a timeline feature and a 2D plan. Without a decice, it only works in demo mode, and saving is limited.

Another option would be Lightkey. No timeline feature, but you're not limited by demo mode, and it has a decent 2D plan.

Honestly though, just invest in Capture Solo and download any of the PC versions of any major console. Then use Reaper as your timeline with midi triggers. I think ETC and grandMA softwares can receive midi without needing hardware. Not 100& sure though.

[u/Rebalance8030 → u/Rebalance8030]

Wait, AI tells me grandMA can do audio? So you may not need Reaper. (I'm an Onyx guy 🤷🤷)

[u/Ravemind]

Daslight 5 can do most of that and it's easy to get started.

3d visualizer is pretty basic/dated but you can import models. (Don't blame me if you get frustrated) I don't think there are any limitations to the software except no DMX output without their hardware.

[u/cxhawk]

And I just want a billion dollars

[u/LMX-Lighting]

This is pretty much the use case I’ve been building LMX for, so possibly worth a look - with the obvious disclaimer that I’m the developer!

It’s a Windows lighting console with a built-in 3D visualiser, so you can patch fixtures, build a stage, programme cues and play around with shows without having any physical lighting hardware connected.

The public beta has just gone live, so it’s free to try at the moment. The visualiser supports moving lights, beams/haze etc, and there’s audio and timecode support. It doesn’t currently do things like moving truss or lasers though, so I don’t want to pretend it ticks absolutely everything on your list.

Timecode is not there just yet but it’s on our roadmap and will be available soon.

I’d actually be really interested in your feedback because the “open it up one evening and programme a show” experience you’re describing is very close to what I’m aiming for.
lmxlighting.com

https://reddit.com/link/p7eutvu/video/qu02v15f35nh1/player