future-custom-models.md

Future — Custom Model + Face / State + DMX Authoring

The model-authoring stack: Custom Model editor, SubModels, Face / State authoring, DMX model deep authoring (servo, skull, position-zones), and the Wiring view. Every serious xLights user hits at least one of these dialogs; on iPad, none are reachable.

Source: §2.4 + §2.5 + §2.7 + §2.6 of the 2026-04-23 gap analysis (Phases T + U + V + W).

Status

Not started. All authoring is desktop-only today; iPad's XLSequenceDocument exposes the use side of these surfaces (model state persistence per G8+, MH inspector tabs per G3+) but no authoring entry points.

Custom Model authoring (Phase T)

#	Dialog	Severity	Effort
MA-1	CustomModelDialog — 3D node-grid editor, ~40 ops (cut/copy/paste/find-replace/rotate/flip/reverse/shift/insert/delete row/column/compress/trim/shrink/expand/copy-layer-fwd/back/all/wire-cells-h/v/auto-number/background image overlay/zoom/wiring view/output to lights/import/export/import from controller)	P2	XL
MA-2	GenerateCustomModelDialog — 6-step wizard (Prepare → Choose Media → Start Frame → Manual Identify → Bulb Identify with sensitivity/blur/despeckle/contrast/gamma/saturation → Custom Model)	P3	XL
MA-3	ModelRemap — load original + new wiring → generate remap	P3	S
MA-4	SubModelsDialog — list CRUD + node-ranges grid + sub-buffer panel + buffer style + vertical buffer + live 3D preview	P2	L
MA-5	SubModelGenerateDialog — base name + type + count → auto-generate N sub-models	P3	S
MA-6	EditSubmodelAliasesDialog — alias listbox + add/delete/move	P3	S
MA-7	NodeSelectGrid — ordered toggle, select all/none/invert/load-from-model, zoom, background-image overlay, find/search, output to lights	P2	M
MA-8	ChannelLayoutDialog — HTML window with channel breakdown table; Print + View in Browser	P3	S

Face / State / Aliases authoring (Phase U)

#	Dialog	Severity	Effort
MA-9	ModelFaceDialog — Face type (Single Nodes / Node Ranges / Matrix); per-phoneme node selection (10 phonemes: AI, E, ETC, FV, L, MBP, O, REST, U, WQ) + Eyes Open / Closed / Open3 / Closed3 + Mouth variants; Force Custom Colors; Output to Lights live preview; Image Placement (Centered / Scaled / Aspect / Crop); MatrixFaceDownload integration; per-face Add / Import / Copy / Rename / Delete / Shift; embedded ModelPreview	P2	XL
MA-10	ModelStateDialog — State type (Single Nodes / Node Ranges); per-state name + nodes + colour grid (200 rows); Force Custom Colors; Output to Lights; SevenSegmentDialog integration; Add / Import / Copy / Rename / Shift / Reverse / Clear / Export / Download; Color Draw Mode (All Colors / White Only); embedded preview	P2	XL
MA-11	ModelDimmingCurveDialog — 4 modes (Single Brightness/Gamma, Single Curve File, RGB Brightness/Gamma per channel, RGB Curve Files); load curve files; per-channel visualisation	P2	L
MA-12	EditAliasesDialog — model alias listbox + move / add / delete	P3	S
MA-13	StrandNodeNamesDialog — 2-column grids (strand names / node names); conditional Generate Node Names button (DMX models only)	P3	M
MA-14	SevenSegmentDialog — 6 segment checkboxes (Thousands / Hundreds / Colon / Tens / Decimal / Ones) + reference image	P3	S
MA-15	MatrixFaceDownloadDialog — tree navigator (categories / artists), search, image preview (256×128), face details, Insert Face. HTTP catalog from nutcracker123.com/xlights/faces/xlights_faces.xml; ZIP download with per-phoneme PNGs	P3	XL

DMX models deep authoring (Phase V)

#	Item	Severity	Effort
DM-1	DmxMovingHead — Pan motor (16-bit coarse/fine, 540°), Tilt motor, RGB; basic property-grid	P2	S
DM-2	DmxMovingHeadAdv — 5 mesh files (base/yoke/head + textures), position zones (collision avoidance), 3D mesh import, advanced motor config	P2	XL
DM-3	DmxFloodlight — RGB-only basic	P2	S
DM-4	DmxFloodArea — extends floodlight with area beam	P3	S
DM-5	DmxGeneral — generic configurable channel layout	P3	M
DM-6	DmxServo — 1–25 servos, 1–24 static + motion meshes per servo, per-servo channel/range/style, 16-bit toggle, controller min/max pulse mapping	P3	XL
DM-7	DmxServo3D — 3D mesh + multi-servo puppet, mesh-to-servo / servo-to-mesh linking matrix	P3	XL
DM-8	DmxSkull — preset skull animatronic (Jaw / Pan / Tilt / Nod / EyeUD / EyeLR servos + RGB), Skulltronix preset	P3	M
DM-9	Color ability subsystems — RGB / RGBW / CMY / CMYW / ColorWheel (1 wheel + 1 dimmer + ≤25 custom colours with DMX value mapping)	P2	M
DM-10	Beam / Dimmer / Shutter / Preset abilities (mixin)	P2	M
DM-11	ServoConfigDialog — 3 spinners (servos 1–25 / static meshes 1–24 / motion meshes 1–24) + 16-bit toggle	P3	S
DM-12	SkullConfigDialog — 8 servo enable checkboxes + 16-bit + Skulltronix	P3	S
DM-13	PositionZoneDialog — 6-column grid (Pan Min/Max, Tilt Min/Max, Channel, Value); collision avoidance	P3	M
DM-15	ModelChainDialog — chain start channel after another model	P2	S
DM-16	StartChannelDialog — 6 modes (None / Universe / End of Model / Start of Model / Controller / Preview-only)	P2	M
DM-17	DMXEffect channel grid — 48 channels per effect (slider + value curve + invert per channel); Remap Channels button → opens RemapDMXChannelsDialog (O-12); Save State / Load State buttons	P2	XL
DM-18	MovingHeadEffect — 7 specialised value-curve domains (Pan / Tilt / Fan Pan / Fan Tilt / Pan Offset / Tilt Offset / Groupings / Time Offset / Path Scale) + shared color/wheel; partly covered by Phase C inspector	P2	L (extra curves)

View Objects + Wiring view (Phase W)

#	Item	Severity	Effort
VO-1	ImageObject editing — file + transparency + brightness	iPad has D-7 read-only	S (add controls)
VO-2	GridlinesObject editing — line spacing, width, height, color, axis labels, point-to-front	iPad has D-13 toggle	M
VO-3	MeshObject — OBJ + MTL + textures, brightness, mesh-only flag, per-material color override	iPad has D-13 toggle	L
VO-4	TerrainObject — heightmap image, parametric size, grid spacing/color, transparency, brightness, brush-paint heightmap edit-in-place	iPad has D-13 toggle	XL (paint tool)
VO-5	RulerObject — singleton; length + units (m/cm/mm/feet/yards/inches); 2-point line	✗	M
VO-6	ViewObjectPanel — tree, add/delete/reorder/rename/visibility/multi-select, alignment / distribute / flip / unlink-from-base	✗	L
WV-1	Wiring diagram view — strand-by-strand, Standard (1 px / node) vs MultiLight (RGB), color-coded by string, channel labels, Dark/Gray/Light themes, Front/Rear, 90° rotations, mouse-wheel zoom + pan	P2	L
WV-4	PNG export (standard + large)	P2	S
WV-5	DXF vector export	P3	M
WV-6	Print	P3	M

Why deferred

• All of this is XL+ work. The whole stack is collectively 6+ months of dedicated engineering.
• 90% of users acquire models from VendorModelDialog (covered in the AI / vendor-downloader future plans) or build them in desktop xLights and copy the show folder over. Until that workflow proves insufficient, native iPad authoring isn't on the critical path.
• Some pieces (MA-2 GenerateCustomModelDialog video-pixel detection, MA-15 MatrixFaceDownloadDialog HTTP catalog, WV-1 wiring view, VO-4 TerrainObject heightmap painting) could each justify their own multi-week sub-plan once scheduled.

When to come back

• After future-controllers-tab.md is at least at R-min — controllers and models are the two desktop-only authoring surfaces, and bringing controllers first matches user need (live output > model authoring on iPad).
• MA-4 SubModels and MA-7 NodeSelectGrid are the two pieces most likely to be pulled forward as "single dialogs needed for a specific user request" rather than as part of a phase.