I was wondering, there has been a few updates to the software this past month but I see no news or improvement regarding the art overlay or painting in no-overlay mode?
the issues I have written about in the past - squiglly lines and palm rejection failure when in the art overlay mode. I was told sensel team is aware of the problem and to use the no overlay painting mode in the meanwhile. while the overlay mode works to an extant and don’t have squigly lines. even there there is major problem in having the brush be recognised at light touch and only after putting deeper pressure I can use light touch. also in stroking out the brush abruptly is unecognised.
can someone from the Sensel team reply?
It seems the hardware is functional but it’s software and compatibility issues that actualy prevent the sensel to become an actual tool despite of its potential.
kinda feels the company dcided to disregard the artist customers here, and that’s a big dissapointment.
I’m not from their team, but I suppose it is not the purpose of such touchpad, it’s resolution is lacking for the functionality of drawing tablet. It is a better tool when you have some custom software to use your fingers directly for input, and that is because normal commercial tablets have low polling rate and inability to use multiple touch detection. It is still cheaper than using high-resolution fast cameras for finger tracking, which would cost a few thousands usd just for the basic hardware.
I agree with @Noa_K. The last time anything was really said about this topic was back in mid September and nothing seems to have gotten resolved.
I do not dispute the fact that this device can do really cool things in other artistic realms such as music, programming, etc. but as far as drawing/painting is concerned the Morph is not worth using. Since receiving my two Morphs, I’ve not taken them back out of the box they were shipped in because there is no point. If these squiggly line issues, pressure issues, and overlay/no overlay issues don’t get resolved I will definitely be selling them so I can at least get something out of them.
They advertised on the kickstarter campaign the sensel morph as a painting tool which will allow artist to use brushes, real pencil etc. and create a more organic feel and workflow. that was one of their main objectives and features.
So while it was part of their promise, it doesn’t happen in real life, and more so, the team doesn’t seem to address the issues customers ask about in this field.
potentially, it still has great promise.
I think if sensel had a designated drawing application, even if one as simple as sketchbook pro, that can actually read the multiple sensors and not translate it to “wacom” standards, then we will see a huge shift. I’m even up to working with a programmer to do that, but we need someone from the company to reply first, and show they are actually doing SOMETHING to fix the problems.
Technically, you would need a huge bandwidth to achieve that, and the touchpad would be many times more expensive and would consume a lot of power to allow precise drawing. I personally don’t believe in void promises, but I ordered it for the sake of fingers input, so far it is one of the best options available at the market for that.
No, you won’t have such a shift, it would need a huge resolution and powerful processors installed just for that. The problems can’t be fixed completely due to that, no matter what you would believe. And regarding Wacom - do you know that to achieve precise drawing, it would need about a few times more reporting rate than it currently is ? That is what you have now, and you are unlikely to have more, because the policy of major manufacturers to improve things just a bit, and make people replace them.
BUT - I supported the kickstarter campaign because of a certain presentation and promise from sensel. that’s it.
I had faith in their product and while the release was delayed for over a year, they still updated and made it seem the final product would deliver on their initial promise.
none of what you’re pointing out here was told to backers, and given you’re not from the sensel team while I trust you have a better analytical view then i do, i can’t view it as official reply. if it were so I’d be furious, since that means that from the get go they present a false claim to what the sensel can do.
Now, I get there’s a difference in going from operational prototype and final product, and that there will be things to improve on once the product is out.
But it doesn’t seems sensel team is working forward to resolve known issues or even bothers to let us know if they are resolvable, or seem to care about customers who paid money and now left with non-operational product.
if they knew sensel is not applicable for painters, why not acknowledge that this area of the product failed and giving us the option to choose if we want to get the product or get a refund?
for over two months there has been no update or interaction from sensel team regarding the art overlay and the panting mode.
I really wanted to support this product, and I really wanted to support the company but such disregard is just aggravating.
You should be guided by some common sense, that it is not quite possible to get something way above present market offers so cheap. Just the parts for something superior to Wacom tablets would be way over 1000 USD, and that is without other expenses, the industrial product would cost way more. For me such thing as “faith” is irrelevant in your meaning, if I trusted employers and marketologists, I would be left without money, most likely.
Actually, you can use pens and other things for non-precise drawing with this touchpad, but for the reasons explained above you should not be expecting that much for such amount of money. Be happy that at least it has full functionality unlike other kickstarter projects which presented something quite different from minimum promised and called it “alpha product”.
Unlike you, I’m realistic about things, and ordered the product for fast input with fingers, with my custom software; it would cost me way more if I designed something similar myself to the stage of ready product. You can’t expect the team to have the possibility to hire someone with high practical and theoretical knowledge to quickly respond to your requests at the level of my experience. For its price it is probably not so bad, so you don’t have to be so upset about it.
I’m not expecting something superior to wacom products, just saying it has the potential to be so.
I’m not expecting a designated program, but saying it would probably best for this type of product.
I DO EXPECT A FUNCTIONAL PRODUCT.
at this point - it is not:
palm rejection - not working
painting in a straight line - not possible
sensitivity - goes in and out.
that is not functional
I DO EXPECT CUSTOMER SUPPORT:
which at this point is non existent.
So unless you have suggestions on how to actually make this product work, OR you are affiliated with the company and can offer an official answer to problems presented and were answered by the team which replied in the past in style of “aware of this problem, working on it” never to be heard from again, you have nothing to add for this discussion.
you may be pleased with the product you got for your purposes. that’s fine.
it also seem that sensel had put much more effort to update issues in your field (by their newsletter) but have done nothing nor gave information about the art overlay and painting mode which is the title of this thread.
Well, I’m generally stating the realistic situation, which is not uncommon for low-budget projects. Other than that, I’ve nothing to add to the discussion, as you correctly pointed out. It is not unexpected for me to be rude, as a non-related person; I’ve helped to save your time by pointing out what you would able to expect technically even if you get some other product and why.
It is not that I’m pleased, my attitude is purely technical, something like “at least it works if I write the software”. I’ve faced some lame excuses at other kickstarter projects, when there was nothing functional at the end, something that won’t work even if I modify it for my purposes. Also, for example with some high-budget, not kickstarter products, it took a whole year to get them something done, about 1 month I was receiving automated replies, then replies with some random answer, which was not related at all, then they said after a lot of harassment that they have forwarded my request to the technical team (which they had to do from the very beginning), and after about a year they finally did something.
Hello, thank you for contacting us and sorry for the delay over Thanksgiving holiday.
I will try to respond and answer as many of the questions/comments in this thread as possible. Additionally, as Programmer said, he is not from the Sensel Team, so I will also try to clarify some inaccuracies in the statements he made.
Currently we do not have any updates for the Art Overlay, art applications and painting on the No Overlay mode. We appreciate that a lack of public updates for these modes can be frustrating, but internally we continue to work on new tracking algorithms, improving customization, and working on a driver to support more applications. Our current plan is to release the next update for Art early next year. We will make sure to keep you updated as these prototype features get moved to public releases.
As you note Noa_K, you can see in the visualizer that the data is there. I am not sure if Programmer has received a device yet, so Programmer may not know the sensitivity, resolution, and the way our sensing technology functions. The challenging part is taking the data we have and making it compatible with all the art software out there to offer a great art experience. We will continue to update the Morph firmware to meet the potential of our sensing technology.
Noa_K, we would be happy to work with you to get you early versions of the Art firmware and discuss your expectations for the device. Please contact us at support@sensel.com and we can discuss further.
We would like to confirm that we are working hard on this and many other features/issues. We typically develop new features/correct bugs prior to making public announcements, but going forward, we will provide more regular updates and communication so everyone can stay up to date.
Thank you again for your continued support and we will continue to improve the Sensel Morph based on your feedback.
I’m comforted to know that you guys are working to improve the art overlay. I’m one of those people who purchased the device mostly for the art overlay potential (I have to agree with Noa_K, it was definitely presented in a way that artists like us will be excited for this new input device for making art). I know it must be hard as Programmer said, but at least all I ask is a bit more precision and a working palm rejection, and I will get back to trying it out.
No worries, I understand Programmer is not from the official Sensel team
it’s good to know your team is working on resolving issues regarding the art functionality! I strongly encourage you to communicate with customers regarding that, as the silence regarding it has been the most worrying part. I’m sure I can speak for many of us, that even if no solution had been found yet, knowing that you’re aware and working towards resolving said issues will put many users at ease since the initial release there has been no update for us artists.
I can only speak for myself on this, but my biggest part of the frustration is that I have spend many hours trying to adjust to painting in the sensel morph, only to realise that certain issues must be resolved first but were not communicated to us users… If sensel team had communicated clearly about these issues in advance, much frustration could have been avoided…
I’m looking forward to see the new updates.
Yes, that was my point. the device is clearly functional, but the adjustment to painting programs is the hurdle.
That sounds great. I strongly believe in the potential Sensel Morph has, and would love to work with your team to create a good experience for us all. I will send you an email shortly.
that is really good to hear! As I said above, I srongly encourage you to communicate that with your customers: let us know what the current problems are so we won’t be frustrated of them not working and that you are working towards resolving it.
From my experience, palm rejection now seems to be working well in Stylus mode.
But I am having a major issue: I still find it hard to lift my stylus and move it to another area of the Morph/screen without making a mark. Ideally I’d like to see where the stylus will make a mark before making the mark. Is there a way to solve this problem?
Edit to the above: When I use the Morph in painting mode without the overlay, I’m able to move the cursor without making a mark, though I have to be careful. However, when the Art overlay is on the Morph, I can’t move the cursor without making a mark in Painting Mode and in Stylus Mode.
