Paradiddle News

Hey everyone!

A small patch went up today to address some bugs that were brought to my attention on the Paradiddle Discord. The fixes are:

• Fixed a bug that caused terrible performance when trying to use the in-app camera tool. The app should now run just as smooth while using any in-app cameras! (Keep in mind that any cameras you enable in the tool still have a performance overhead, since the scene has to be rendered one more time for each camera.)
  
• Fixed some bugs related to using an electronic hi-hat pedal that triggered pedal close sounds even if MIDI wasn't enabled for a hi-hat, and triggered extra pedal sounds as the pedal was being closed.
  

I was able to catch these thanks to your help, so thank you, and happy drumming!

- Emre

Hey everyone!

The April update is out, bringing a few big additions and a bunch of bug fixes. As always, if you find yourself running into any new issues that you weren't seeing before, you can always roll back to the early_version branch on Steam. Here's what's new:


You can now map a controller button to perform a Cymbal Choke. For those who might not be familiar with the term, it basically lets you choke out the sound of a drum that's playing when you hold down the button and touch that drum. The action is currently not mapped to any button by default, so you'll have to go into the Controls tab and choose what button you want to use for it. For those who use the app with MIDI out, the drum choke also sends a proper MIDI polyphonic aftertouch event for that drum, so it should also work fine through other audio software.

If you get around to trying this out, I'd appreciate any feedback with respect to the placement of the cymbal choke sphere (it's currently at the drum stick tip, but I was suggested on top of the hand might be preferable), and whether you'd want to see it as a default mapped action or you're happy with it remaining as an opt-in one.


There were two improvements made to the hi-hat:

• Pedal Close Sounds: Hi-hat pedal close sounds have now been added! You can tweak the default pedal close velocity/loudness or toggle the pedal sounds on/off under the "Drum" tab of the hi-hat. The hi-hat will also send a MIDI Note of 44 when it closes, signaling a pedal close sound in most audio software - a slider will be added to adjust the pedal close MIDI note in a further update.
  
• Hi-Hat Close Sound Fade-out: Previously playing
• *h**i-hat sounds now properly fade out when the pedal is closed. Prior to this update, if you hit a hi-hat when it was open and immediately closed it after, you'd still keep hearing the open sound.
  

The two ride cymbals in the app actually have two hit zones that make different sounds: the center (also called the bell), and the edge. You can now adjust the size of the center zone by clicking "Show Center" under the "Drum" tab of the ride cymbal options. This will display a ring that you can grab and move to tweak this center zone. In future updates, I'm also planning on adding a visual cue for this zone on the drum itself so that you can better see where the center and where the edge is when playing in the app.


As some of you might have heard, Paradiddle was selected to be one of the 5 finalists in this year's 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards in the Music & Audio Innovation Category, going up against some big names like Google! We got to showcase the app with the rest of the finalists, and the feedback from the demos was incredibly helpful in shaping the app's future.

I prepared some additional drum sets and recordings to help showcase the app during SXSW, and those have now been added to the app. I might eventually move these to Steam Workshop instead if people would rather not have them come bundled with the app, but let me know if you have any thoughts. The drum sets added were: Ringo Starr, John Bonham and Neil Peart sets, while the recordings added were a Basic Rock Beat, Basic Swing Beat and a Basic Punk Beat. Enjoy!

• Fixed a bug where Oculus users would be placed in the floor after pressing Reset View in the Oculus Dashboard.
  
• Fixed a bug with dropdowns that prevented some users from using their Rock Band pedals through their microphone jack.
  
• Fixed an issue that resulted in crashes when using more than 3 Vive trackers in the app.
  
• Fixed a bug where the user would sometimes get stuck in the menu and not be able to switch back to their drum sticks.
  
• Fixed a small issue where a loaded drum set wouldn't be cleared from the scene when the user skipped the tutorial.
  

As always, more changes are coming! Here's a list of what's coming over the next few months:

• Steam Workshop integration
  
• In-app drum sample improvements
  
• UI quality of life improvements
  
• Drum stick calibration relative to VR controllers
  
• Additional percussion instruments
  
• Educational content (this is quite a big task, but I'll be adding various pieces over the next several months)
  

If you're enjoying your VR jam sessions in Paradiddle and excited about upcoming features and improvements, I would really appreciate it if you wrote a review on Steam. It doesn't have to be long - any review helps in showing that Paradiddle is trying to be the most flexible, responsive and user-friendly VR drumming app out there. The more we can get the word out, the more support and resources I'll be able to get in realizing that goal. Thank you for your support so far!

- Emre
[email protected]
Join us on Discord!: https://discord.gg/paradiddle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParadidleVR
Paradiddle drum covers Youtube playlist (your cover could be on here too!)
Official Paradiddle website: http://paradiddleapp.com
FAQ: http://paradiddleapp.com/faq
Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/paradiddle

Happy New Year everyone - the February update is out!

Quite a bit has changed and been improved internally, so if you find yourself running into any new issues that you weren't seeing before, you can always roll back to the early_version branch on Steam. Here's what's new with this update:


I've been meaning to optimize parts of the app since the beginning of Early Access, and I'm happy to say that I was able to spend the past month and a half to optimize some of the more performance-hungry components. It was really helpful to be able to get your feedback when you were observing performance drops, so a huge thank you to everyone who let me profile and debug their performance issues!

As a result, there have been major improvements in the amount of CPU and GPU time consumed by Paradiddle. If you were ever running into frame rate issues or spikes, or were having trouble maintaining a constant 90FPS in the app, it'd be great if you could give the app a try again and see if things are better now. If you're still having frame rate drops - please let me know and I'd love to help you figure out what the bottleneck might be. There are still a few areas of optimizations left, but all the big ones have been taken care of. On my PC, I've seen CPU usage decreases up to 80% and a GPU usage decrease up to 30% during some of my more intense playing sessions.


Rock Band Pedals can finally be used in Paradiddle without going through other keyboard emulating software like Joy2Key, or other tools like rb2midi. There are two ways of doing it:

• Through USB: This method requires you to connect the pedal to your PC via USB, by connecting your Rock Band kit. You might need to get the USB breakaway cable in addition if the kit doesn’t already have one. Once your kit is connected and the drivers properly installed, it’ll work like a regular controller, and the kick pedal will trigger the kick in Paradiddle by default. If you’d like to use the pedal to control the hi-hat instead, you can change this in the Controls menu under Options, where it says "USB Input" under Rock Band Pedal.
  
• Through the microphone jack: This method doesn't require any additional hardware except for the pedal itself, so you won't need to have a Rock Band kit/controller or the USB breakaway cable. To configure it, go to Controls and click "Mic Input" under Rock Band Pedals. This will bring up a list of your audio input devices. Select the microphone jack that your Rock Band pedal is connected to, and then select the action you want it to trigger. Note: The mic jack currently isn't saved and loaded automatically across sessions, so you'll have to re-do it when you start Paradiddle. This will be added in the next update, sorry about the inconvenience in the meantime!
  

Up until now, information about how to use pedals in Paradiddle, pros and cons of each option, and other tips I've shared have been scattered around on our Discord and the FAQ. This is why I decided to create a comprehensive pedal guide on the website to act as a central resource for all of this info. If it looks like I missed anything out, feel free to let me know so that I can update it. I hope this helps some of you who are trying to figure out which pedal to get, or how to get your existing pedals to work in Paradiddle! You can find the pedal guide here http://paradiddleapp.com/pedal-guide

• Kick Drum Default Velocity Setting: You can now adjust the default velocity of the kick drum under the "Drum" tab of a kick drum's options. This affects the velocity that's played when the kick is triggered via the controllers, pedals without velocity information (USB pedals, Rock Band pedals), or any other peripherals emulating keyboard input such as driving pedals.
  
• Drums now have a fun little load animation when they are loaded into the scene.
  
• Opening a secondary window in the Options tab now closes any windows that were previously open. This prevents things from getting ugly where you could have multiple windows open on top of one another in previous versions.
  

As always, more changes are on the way. I'm still trying to push some smaller core features out, but my plan is to also release some bigger features throughout 2019, such as more types of percussion instruments, a functional note highway system, some built-in educational content, Steam Workshop integration and more.

If you're enjoying your VR jam sessions in Paradiddle and excited about upcoming features and improvements, I would really appreciate it if you wrote a review on Steam. It doesn't have to be long - any review helps in showing that Paradiddle is trying to be the most flexible, responsive and user-friendly VR drumming app out there. The more we can get the word out, the more support and resources I'll be able to get in realizing that goal. Thank you for your support so far!

- Emre
[email protected]
Join us on Discord!: https://discord.gg/paradiddle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParadidleVR
Paradiddle drum covers Youtube playlist (your cover could be on here too!)
Official Paradiddle website: http://paradiddleapp.com
FAQ: http://paradiddleapp.com/faq
Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/paradiddle

The November update is out (a couple of days late because of some last minute testing), with lots of fixes, improvements and a few exciting new features! Since the previous update never left beta due to a few bugs that were still in that version, you might also want to take another look at the previous update's notes in case you had not been using the beta over the past couple of months.


Before going over the changes in this update, I quickly wanted to add a link to the latest Whiplash Drum Cover I recorded in October in order to showcase some of the more advanced features in Paradiddle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKheiV1n4c
It was performed using electronic drum hi-hat and kick pedals, playing audio out from Superior Drummer 3 through the live MIDI integration, and recorded in mixed reality via LIV (http://liv.tv), which Paradiddle fully supports. The video description on YouTube has further details on how everything was set up, but let me know if you have any questions about recording similar content, and I’ll be happy to help out.

Paradiddle was also in the news recently, in a one-on-one interview with VRScout on the future of audio production and drumming in VR & AR! Make sure to check out the article if you’re interested in hearing a bit more about how Paradiddle came to be and some of the design choices behind it: https://vrscout.com/news/paradiddle-learn-drum-vr/

On to the updates!


I’m super excited to announce that Vive Trackers are finally supported in Paradiddle as foot or pedal trackers! They can currently be used to either trigger the kick or control the hi-hat. Here’s what you need to know about setting them up:

Make sure your Vive tracker is connected before you launch the app, as currently Paradiddle can’t detect it if the tracker is connected after the app starts. As long as it’s connected, you should see a little white sphere pop up where your tracker is with some options floating above it. The options are:

• Kick or Hi-Hat Pedal: Use these to select what functionality you want your tracker to perform. The kick mode currently triggers the kick at one specific velocity, but in further updates I’m hoping to add some velocity sensitivity to this that’s based on how hard the tracker is pressed down.
  
• Calibrate: The tracker might just work by default if you’re using it as a foot tracker, but it’s highly recommended to calibrate it on first use. Simply press the Calibrate button, press down on your pedal or your foot down on the ground as the instructions direct you, and pull the trigger to complete your calibration. This value will be automatically saved and loaded, so you won’t have to worry about doing it again each time.
  
• Down and Up Threshold: The down threshold determines how close the tracker needs to get to the calibration height before the pedal is triggered. The up threshold is how far it needs to go back up before the pedal is reset to an “up” state. You can also refer to this picture which illustrates how the thresholds work. The thresholds were set to default values where you ideally shouldn’t have to tweak them at all, but you’re free to do so if you want finer control over the tracker movement and how it triggers the kick/hi-hat.
  
• Reset Defaults: Resets the tracker mode, threshold values and calibration values to default.
  

All of the calibration and threshold values are saved automatically when you exit the app, so no need to worry about re-calibrating or resetting those values! The app also supports as many Vive trackers as can be connected, and will keep track of these values for each tracker.

Quick note: This feature is still in development and this is just a big first step, so if you have a Vive tracker, I’d really appreciate it if you could test this out and let me know if you have any comments or further suggestions. The UI will most likely be improved further in future releases as well, I just wanted to get an initial usable version out so that people with Vive trackers could finally use them in Paradiddle.


All cymbals now have the option to toggle cymbal animations on, similar to the ones seen in the Whiplash cover video! My hope is that this’ll make playing on the cymbals a little more fun, while making it feel like real thing even more. The animations are on by default for the ride and crash cymbals, and can be toggled on/off in the newly added “Drum” tab of the drum options menu. I’m curious to hear about your experiences with it and whether you prefer to keep it on or off while drumming, so let me know if you have any thoughts.


For those of you with electronic drum hi-hat pedals, Paradiddle now supports Change Control (CC) messages sent through hi-hat pedals to open and close the hi hat. Keep in mind that MIDI In still has to be enabled for the hi-hat drum for this to work. You can see how this works in the Whiplash cover video, as I was using an e-drum hi-hat pedal.

In addition, Change Control hi-hat messages are also supported through MIDI out. So if you connect Paradiddle to a Digital Audio Workstation(DAW) like Superior Drummer, you can open/close the hi-hat in the app, and have it send the relevant hi-hat open/close messages to the DAW. This allows for effects such as hi-hat choking in DAWs, where the sound of an open hi-hat sound will be choked as the pedal is pushed down and the hi-hat closes. Note that you don’t need an e-drum hi-hat pedal for this - if you do have one, Paradiddle will just forward the messages to your DAW, but if you don’t, then it’ll still send the relevant messages when the hi-hat opens or closes as a result a button press, a USB pedal press, etc.

• The tutorial messages are now always oriented towards users, to accommodate the app being launched from any spot within the play area.
  
• MIDI: Fixed a MIDI bug where the channel of sent MIDI messages didn’t match up with the MIDI channel selected on the drum. Paradiddle was always sending the message out of the channel+1, but now the MIDI message channel should exactly match up with what’s shown in the drum options.
  
• MIDI: Shortened the duration between Note On and Note Off messages sent out of Paradiddle, in other words the MIDI note length, from 2.5 seconds to 250 milliseconds. This was done to ensure Paradiddle worked better with certain drumming games/apps, but let me know if this duration is too short or still too long, or if you’d rather have the option of tweaking this value. I’m considering turning that into a slider that can easily be adjusted.
  
• Fixed a bug with the previous (beta) release where saved drum sets were missing a name.
  
• The default window size of Paradiddle was changed back to 1280x720 (720p). If you have specific needs to scale the window size up or down, or any preferences when it comes to this, let me know. I might consider making the window size a configurable option in the Graphics menu.
  
• The mouse cursor is no longer “captured” and hidden by the Paradiddle window, and no longer bounded by the window boundaries. This should make it easier to move the Paradiddle window around or do other things on your desktop while Paradiddle was open. Note that you’ll still need to make sure Paradiddle is in focus and the active window if you’re using the Space/Ctrl keys to trigger the drums, because Unreal Engine only accepts keyboard input while an app is in focus.
  
• Fixed a drum set loading bug that had to do with backwards compatibility. Some older drum set files didn’t load properly, which led to broken values for MIDI notes on drums that had more than one MIDI note, such as the ride cymbals, but this is now fully resolved.
  
• Disabled a debug functionality that triggered on a specific key press that displayed additional information when a drum was hit. It wasn’t meant to be enabled for everyone and was just for my own testing.
  

As always, more changes are on the way, and your feedback can help! Feel free to reach out to me through any of the channels below, or the Steam Discussion Forums, and I’ll consider your suggestions and try to resolve your issues right away. Some of the features and changes I’m looking at for the next release are: stick calibration (repositioning the sticks relative to the controllers), driving pedal support, UI improvements/rework, cymbal choking, and a couple more smaller changes.

If you're enjoying your VR jam sessions in Paradiddle and excited about upcoming features and improvements, I would really appreciate it if you wrote a review on Steam. It doesn't have to be long - any review helps in showing that Paradiddle is trying to be the most flexible, responsive and user-friendly VR drumming app out there. The more we can get the word out, the more support I'll be able to get in realizing that goal. A huge thank you to everyone who's already written a review!

- Emre
[email protected]
Join us on Discord!: https://discordapp.com/invite/wjHnTVr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParadidleVR
Paradiddle drum covers Youtube playlist (your cover could be on here too!)
Official Paradiddle website: http://paradiddleapp.com
FAQ: http://paradiddleapp.com/faq
Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/paradiddle

The September update is out with a few exciting additions!


I appreciate everyone's patience who has been waiting for this - I'm happy to announce that Paradiddle now officially supports Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets! If you have any trouble running the app with SteamVR on your WMR headset, this article might help: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/using-steamvr-with-windows-mixed-reality

As far as testing on different WMR headsets go, I've only been able to test the app with my Lenovo Explorer, so if you run into any issues with other WMR headsets, please let me know and I'll try to resolve them.


I'm especially excited to let everyone know that the LIV integration in Paradiddle got a big new update, which means it's easier than ever to start recording mixed reality content as you're drumming in VR. The LIV wiki will make sure you're set up in no time: https://wiki.liv.tv/index.php/Main_Page

Note for Oculus Users: If you're using an Oculus Rift, you'll have to right click Paradiddle on Steam and select "Play Paradiddle in Forced OpenVR Mode". This will force Paradiddle into SteamVR/OpenVR mode, which is currently necessary for the LIV integration. Don't mind the warning that says you'll be running the app in desktop mode - this is just a quirk with Steam's launch options. You don't have to do anything special if you have a Vive or WMR headset. I really want to see more people recording mixed reality content with Paradiddle, so if you run into any issues, please let me know and I'll be happy to help you out.

• Autosave/Autoload: Skipping the tutorial by holding down both triggers will now autoload the last drum set that you had open when you quit the app. Let me know how this works out for you, and if you think it could be improved further!
  
• The resolution settings under the Graphics tab have been updated to be consistent across all headsets. If you previously didn't think the resolution settings seem to be changing much for you, give it another try, and let me know if you still think the difference between medium/high resolution isn't very visible.
  
• Fixed a bug that messed up inputs when trying to remap the Oculus B and Y buttons.
  
• Forcing SteamVR/OpenVR mode on an Oculus Rift didn't actually work up until now, but this is finally fixed. I'd still recommend launching in the regular, Oculus SDK mode unless you have a specific need for this (such as using LIV for recording mixed reality videos). Due to how Oculus inputs are used by SteamVR, the A and X buttons don't work, but B and Y do work. Also haptics might feel different when using forced SteamVR mode on Oculus, this will be addressed in a future update.
  

More changes are on the way! Next on the list are: Vive tracker support for pedals, driving pedal support, pedal support directly through the microphone jack, physically animated cymbals, updated documentation/FAQs and more. As always, suggestions for improvements, or any comments about Paradiddle are appreciated!

If you're enjoying your VR jam sessions in Paradiddle and excited about upcoming features and improvements, I would really appreciate it if you wrote a review on Steam. It doesn't have to be long - any review helps in showing that Paradiddle is trying to be the most flexible, responsive and user-friendly VR drumming app out there. The more we can get the word out, the more support I'll be able to get in realizing that goal. A huge thank you to everyone who's already written a review!

- Emre
[email protected]
Join us on Discord!: https://discordapp.com/invite/wjHnTVr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParadidleVR
Paradiddle drum covers Youtube playlist (your cover could be on here too!)
Official Paradiddle website: http://paradiddleapp.com
FAQ: http://paradiddleapp.com/faq
Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/paradiddle