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Custom patches for Quartz Composer now a reality

This information has been out for a while now but I thought I’d summarise and link to it all from one place. Currently there is no official API to allow adding of new functionality to Quartz Composer. However it appears that all the functionality is there to allow it, but for whatever reason it is not yet documented. Thanks to the efforts of Clockskew and Quartzcomposer.jp we have all the information we need to program new patches for Quartz Composer now…. And a few people have already started working on expanding Quartz Composer.

The question is why did Apple not publish this? Either they didn’t get time to finish Quality Assurance or quite likely, the API will change in the next version so they didn’t want third party developers to start using it yet…. So of course this is totally unsupported and you’ll be visted by a plague of boils if you go near this stuff. In short you’d be a fool to use it, and don’t blame me if makes your computer explode violently or leap out the window in horror….

Now to the good stuff….

Clockskew has documented extensively how to write a new patch here:
http://www.clockskew.com/blog/?p=15

And he has a plugin available for download that enables some patches that are included with the Quartz Composer but disabled here:
http://www.clockskew.com/blog/?p=15

This is worth it for VJ’s as one of them is “replicate in time” which allows for many cool trail effects to be created on movies or compositions.

QuartzComposer.jp has released a plugin including source code that allows you to load and display any 3DS file (so any shape 3d object) within Quartz Composer, including applying still or quicktime textures to it.

Download the xcode project and compile it from here:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/quartzcomposer/

The “replicate in time” and “3dsloader” plugins allow many new possibilities for the VJ… very useful and it can only be a matter of time until Apple releases the official API and documentation throwing the door wide open for expansion.

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Posted by roger on Thursday, August 25th, 2005 at 4:42 am.

4 Responses to “Custom patches for Quartz Composer now a reality”

Great great summary, I hadnt heard about this stuff and the 3ds loader is just what I had dreamed of for my uses of Quartz Composer. Thanks!

Left by Steve Elbows on August 26th, 2005

You have some really cool stuff at your site. I’m sure gonna come back here. Port aBuayar: http://angrypirate.com/wordpress/?p=381 , quilt Your fabric yoyo

Left by Gabriel Drake on September 21st, 2005

it’s very interesting info. thank you for this. I was using MAX since 1991. Quartz Composer is so nice. I hope Apple going to open more to us.

Left by masahiro kahata on October 5th, 2005

Hi, i’m a newby in quartz and I can’t find the replicate in time patch. It’s not in my patch list. how can I enable it?

Left by makuto on January 23rd, 2008

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