6.3.0 - 2019-04-08
This update provides a fully overhauled user experience for the Blocks framework. Most remarkable new features: new file format, called “Rack” file, allows to save patches with your DAW session, patching Blocks is now possible on panel and a search box makes browsing for Blocks more intuitive.
The Blocks framework now also runs in free Reaktor Player, and is open for 3rd party products.
ADDED New file format, called “Rack”. The new file format is specifically suited to the Blocks framework, and allows to save patches, including the wiring, in a very small file size to enable saving patches with the host chunk
ADDED Patching on panel for Reaktor Full and Reaktor Player users in Rack mode
ADDED Quick Search Box for convenient browsing in Rack mode
ADDED “Visible on/off” property for terminal ports. The ports can now also have an user defined image
ADDED Visual representations of the audio in and out terminals on panel, supporting up to 40 ports
CHANGED Text module “view” properties default state
ADDED Min width and height properties for instruments and macros
ADDED New font “Roboto Condensed Light” for the text module.
ADDED Global switch from A to B view for all instruments at once
IMPROVED Design of the interface in Rack mode. Four new buttons in the header now allow for switching between view states “Compact”, “Ports only” and “Ports and Wires”. Additional toggle switch for “Show Structure”
CHANGED Design of the structure view in Rack mode. Removed breadcrumb navigation and Bookmarks bar. Changed color theme and design of structure view
REMOVED Unnecessary properties in Rack Mode. Properties are now reduced to Midi in and out Settings on the connect tab and the bankchain settings on the function tab
ADDED Coloured wires - eight different colours are available to distinct wires in a patch
FIXED Automation ID issue: when deleting a Block the Automation IDs don’t get auto compressed, but keep their original ID
ADDED Consistency for file and project name in Rack mode
CHANGED Behaviour in case of loading a project with non applicable host chunk. If the Rack file is not loadable due to missing instruments referenced in the file, the host chunk will be preserved to be applicable after fixing installation
REMOVED The option to “minimize” instruments and to switch A/B view via the header in Rack mode
IMPROVED “Extended view” in Maschine & Komplete Kontrol enables panel patching
CHANGED The sample map editor in Rack mode. The sample editor is showing only relevant options / functions, as the sample map editor in Reaktor Player
REMOVED Context menues for panel and structure view in Rack mode
CHANGED Handling of missing instruments. As the Rack format is relying on referenced files, a new error message guides users how to fix issues via Native Access, or the installation of 3rd party content
ADDED “Welcome Screen” on start up
ADDED “Load new Rack” entry to the Preference “On startup”
ADDED Dedicated NEW.nksr Rack file to the Library folder of the application
FIXED Accessibility of presets via the toolbar. This issue occurred specifically with REAKTOR instruments like FORM.
I hesitated and wish i’d hesitated longer - it’s screwed up my install - Native instruments’ installs are a bit of a spaghetti mess - base and primes have content i’d previously had (in some form) so it’s sorta duplicating and displacing and screwing my arranging - i’d created ensembles of the various groups of blocks and they’ve vanished
gonna have to look into an old time machine backup to get back that sense of order
i hate it when manufacturers take control and wipe stuff - it’s all well and good to update an item in place, but it’s gone too far here and it’s returned to being a bit of a mess - especially for a latecomer to navigate - rather peeved about the base/primes thing - there was no info to work with ahead of loading it up that i could see
grrr !
edit : looking at backup - this is not super clear tbh - maybe some path has been lost such that i’m not getting the workflow i had built or there are other directories to relink back etc
This may be unfairly whingey - it seems there is a bit of a significant structure change here (my older content is there but ignored) and there are new sub-folders with racks - so hopefully re-shifting will be worth it and one time only (if even applicable)
Blocks just got a bit more accessibly ‘modular’ then (just as @xidnpnlss promised ) …
think i’ll have a play and consolidate/tidy-up later
but only the factory blocks have patch cables… for now. seems the rack level of things is closed. you can still patch w/the various existing blocks but you have to do it in the ensemble. i’m hoping it’s just a matter of blocks being updated to whatever new format this is and getting some kind of vetting from NI but it might be that they are going to do some 3rd party thing where users have to buy blocks from NI or something dumb… which goes against the entire idea of reaktor imo.
but it’s cool they added patch cables… hopefully at some point the user blocks can be used in the same way. for now they cannot.
User Library version is staying up and will remain free. New version required a bunch of work for 140 Blocks:
Add front-panel ports to everything.
Ensure all ins/outs/knobs have correct labels and tooltips.
Create 100+ “Racks,” each with NKS tags and mappings. This was my favorite part. Euro Reakt was originally created for education, but the sheer size of Ensembles (80+ MB for a decent patch) and time required to backport bugfixes to existing Ensembles was limiting. Now, the entire collection of Racks takes about 8 MB, most of which is taken up by NKS audio previews. Racks reference encoded Blocks, so they take up significantly less space and load the current version of the Block. It’s now a much better tool for education, as I am able to create and share more of these.
Thanks! I’m still humbled at how many people use it. I spent so much time building it that this update was the first time I really got to sit down and make music with it.
My favorite aspect of the Rack workflow is that Racks show up as NKS presets. It’s easy to build a cool sounding Rack, save it, open it in Maschine, map it, and start throwing parameter locks around. Additionally, performance seems to be improved. My heaviest Racks (full on generative drum patterns and whatnot) are only hitting about 10% CPU on my Macbook, so it’s solid for airplane patching.
It’s all a bit messy still - I have the old e.g. Bento Box folder and the new one too - only the latter is showing up and the blocks are subtly renamed too
So Bento is now part of the name (for new blocks with patchpoints) - the old blocks and ensembles can still be loaded from finder but aren’t browsable for me yet (if they’re even meant to be kept that is)
Now instead of a sole NI Blocks folder there are two (for base and primes) - not sure why that needs to be the case but there you go
So you can have the two types in an ensemble - i’m not sure if the older (as yet unscanned within R6) folder needs to be kept tbh - a bit untidy for my recent-newcomer needs presently
In order to see both the standard (original) blocks and e.g. Euro Reakt blocks again, i’ve had to move them from the location from which they had worked fine before
So i now have the same potential within the application i had before upgrading and there’s just a tiny workflow change or two to embrace
If i want to stick with working with ensembles will your .ism files still play ball going forward just as they do now and did before … so foregoing the paid access into the front panel patch cabling world will not affect what was achievable up until this point ?
I’m wondering if a similar issue (as i experienced with the NI stuff updating to 6.30) may arise if i attempted to install e.g. the free edition.
I understand that racks will now operate more like a second tier with paid access, but will it operate on the original tier just as it did before for 6.30 users or anyone using the free bundle below - just wary about installing that and i certainly wouldn’t want to lose any functionality, either way - not getting added functionality is something i will have to accept
Can you confirm that user library version means that old functionality is retained and not compromised if either of the options below is added ?
fwiw : to others, i found that by retaining the original bento blocks folder which may be the preferred user action i was able to patch ensembles again - if you don’t retain those modules, then the ensembles you create going forward will contain the unusable patchpoints … these are hideable by using the same key command from racks (Cmd 1) but this confusingly also toggles between view A and view B - but the extra UI area can be hidden ,but it’s a faff
the reason this may matter is if you want to integrate non-racks ‘modules’ (like the original free Euro Reakt stuff we’ve been using) with the factory stuff - this probably explains why NI renamed the original blocks with an extra descriptor - the fog is lifting
Here’s what i mean by retaining the original versions - it may or may not be worth considering
but in order to shake off the unusable inputs if you’re building old ensembles (to retain use of your library of blocks pre version 6.30) if you type cmd1 to hide and cmd2 to show you can see the effect it has on other blocks - it’d be easier if there was a clear word on this, but i am keeping both versions for now - something probably essential for backwards compatibility with users not on 6.3 etc
firstly as it will appear using the rack version, the old version and an old euroreakt block, then cmd1, then cmd2 - note this screws with the view A / B and formatting of Euro block gfx
The old version and the new version will play nice side-by-side. I renamed my old Euro Reakt folder so that I wouldn’t confuse the two (renaming the new folder wouldn’t work, since that gets listed by product name).
The new version has corrected A/B views so that it doesn’t look broken (like the photo above) when switching views.
You can test the setup by installing the new Free Edition, since that will show up as Euro Reakt - Free Edition on the browser menu (on the factory pane, not the user pane). If it doesn’t fit your workflow, you can uninstall it through Native Access.
I’ve been meaning to try out Euro Reakt, have heard great things about it. However, even after doing my best to read about it, I don’t quite understand the differences between the two versions. This is mainly because the image on your site shows front panel patch cables for the old version as well. I understand adding NKS support for racks is awesome, and I’m curious to try the racks you’ve created, but for a total newbie I can’t quite tell what’s possible with each version, specifically the limitations of the old version.
PS I only just made the connection that you appear to be (part of?) Unfiltered Audio. BYOME has caught my attention, looks amazing, look forward to jumping in there at some point as well. Looks like you’re doing some great work.
Thanks! That’s all great feedback. I’ll see if I can clarify the descriptions.
Euro Reakt - Free Edition is not the old version, but rather 18 free Blocks using the upgraded format. The other Euro Reakt bundle contains that 120+ other Blocks in the upgraded format. The old collection (without front-panel patching) is on the User Library (https://www.native-instruments.com/en/reaktor-community/reaktor-user-library/entry/show/9093/) and will remain there.
Essentially, the Free Edition contains a lot of Blocks that I think should remain free due to how derivative they are from other people’s products and research. I reached out to nonlinearcircuits, Mutable, and Noise Engineering before including these Blocks in the original User Library version, and I didn’t want to walk all over their generosity by then profiting off of their designs. Additionally, I think that the Free Edition also acts as a cool demo by showing people how third-party Blocks can integrate with the NI stuff.
Yeah! I’m half of Unfiltered. The other half is my friend Joshua Dickinson. We started the company in grad school and now we operate it from completely different parts of the country. He’s up in NorCal, and I’m in Houston, TX. We have some cool stuff planned for this year, including our first synth and an effect collaboration with BT. I also do HetrickCV, which are module bundles for VCVRack and Cherry Audio Voltage Modular.
Awesome, thanks for the clarification. It all makes sense now. Curious to know about the synth project. It’s interesting an insight into how you’ve set things up with your business partner. Best of luck going forward with Unfiltered Audio.
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