Fade controls for Blinder & Strobe (incl. random strobe)

Summary

Please add time-based fade controls to Blinder and Strobe effects to achieve smoother, more cinematic looks:

Blinder: Fade In / Fade Out time controls (positioned directly under Intensity).

Strobe: Fade In / Fade Out (Release Time) controls under Strobe Speed, plus a Random Strobe tick-box.

Problem / Why

Current Blinder and Strobe looks are abrupt. Without time controls, transitions feel harsh—especially on camera and in theatrical cues. Time parameters would let us ramp into/out of hits and release strobes gracefully, improving perceived quality and reducing eye fatigue.

Proposed UX

Blinder effect panel

Intensity: [slider %]

Fade In: [time slider / ms input]

Fade Out: [time slider / ms input]

Strobe effect panel

Speed: [Hz slider]

Fade In: [time slider / ms input]

Fade Out (Release): [time slider / ms input]

Random Strobe: [checkbox]

Optional sub-controls when enabled: Random Range [% or Hz jitter], Random Seed [int], “De-sync per fixture” [checkbox].

Defaults: Fade In/Out = 0 ms to preserve current behavior. Random Strobe off by default.

Behavior / Technical notes

Blinder fades: software ramps the fixture’s intensity channel from current level to target over Fade In, and back to base over Fade Out when the effect is released or cue ends.

Strobe fades:

Fade In: ramp strobe depth (or intensity) from 0 to full over given time while maintaining strobe frequency.

Fade Out (Release): ramp back to base smoothly.

For fixtures with separate strobe/ intensity channels, scale both as needed. If the device uses a consolidated “strobe macro” range, MaestroDMX can simulate fade by proportionally blending intensity and strobe depth at the software level.

Random Strobe: introduce time-varying randomness to strobe phase/interval per fixture (optionally de-sync across selection) to avoid uniform “machine-gun” look.

Backward compatibility

With both fades at 0 ms and Random Strobe disabled, output is identical to current versions.

Acceptance criteria

1. Blinder panel shows Fade In/Out beneath Intensity; values affect output ramps.

2. Strobe panel shows Fade In, Fade Out (Release) beneath Speed; values affect output ramps.

3. Random Strobe toggle adds non-uniform strobing; optional per-fixture de-sync.

Nice-to-have (future)

Curve selection (linear, ease-in, ease-out, S-curve).

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