Control software - Interested?

[KISTech]

If this is the wrong place for this, I apologize in advance.

I haven't purchased a Prop-2 controller yet, but I will probably be picking up at least one of everything
for our haunt next year. (this year was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. :( )

After spending about a week looking over the controller specs and the programming language
capabilities, I came up with an idea for some software that could help. I've done some extensive
searching and haven't really found anything else that does what I have in mind. Vixen probably
comes the closest, but doesn't cover everything.

So, here's the question. Would you, as Prop-2 users, be interested in a piece of software that can,

- Connect and communicate with the Prop-2 through the serial port during operation.
- Send and Receive commands to/from the Prop-2.
- Allow you to draw a map onscreen of your show layout.
--- showing triggers when they are tripped.
--- showing props when they are fired.
--- allowing you to track your guest through the show.
- Support multiple sound cards.
--- Sound Zones. 1 per card, or 1 for left channel, 1 for right.
--- play sound effects in a specific sound zone when a sensor is triggered
--- use Sound Zones for ambient soundtrack or sound effects or both.
- Complete PC control over the entire show
--- Prop-2 runs a simple program that only communicates with the PC program.
--- The Prop-2 program reports all trigger changes.
--- The PC program tells the Prop-2 when to trigger an output on or off.
--- Manual control of a prop trigger with a mouse click.
--- Show pause / resume.
--- Show stop / reset / start
- USB WebCam support
--- Place a web cam in your show where it doesn't give anything away in the background
--- Allow guests in line to watch while they wait
--- Grab a snapshot based on a prop trigger print it out for the guest to take with them

Would there be interest in a program like this?

[JonnyMac]

If it's vaporware -- that is, not built and working -- it's really not a good idea to talk about it.  How do I know?  One word: AP-16! 

The Prop-SX may actually be a better controller for a networked system as one can program it to run VPs (virtual peripherals) like UARTs for sending and receiving data while doing other things at the same time (e.g., servo control).  I've posted several examples in the VSA library.  VSA, of course, is a one-way system and doesn't poll slave devices for sensor status.

We designed the RS-485 board at Disneyland's request and they use a lot of them for networked prop control, though most of that is DMX.  To talk to more than one controller you're going to need a similar circuit.

Since you don't have a real product yet and are simply looking for feedback, I'm moving this post to the Miscellany forum.

[KISTech]

Fair enough.

As you said, I'm just looking for feedback at this point.