Actor Assist - Software Setup

This documentation is to assist the tutorial on installing and setting up the Actor Assist system.

In this article, we'll run through the steps to configure and customise COGS to set up your Actor Assist system.

1. Create a COGS account and download the software. Instructions on how to do this can be found here.
NOTE: You will only be able to open and configure the Actor Assist - Setup file in the current release (COGS 5.4.2).

2. Visit cogs.show/actor-assist-setup.

3. Download the Actor Assist project folder, and save this to a memorable location, you'll need to find this folder again later in the setup. 

4. Unzip the folder from it's download location. 

 

5. Open COGS, and Load the 'Actor Assist - Setup' file. 

 

6. Once the file has opened in COGS, you can now customise the buttons for your relevant mazes/ spaces. To do this, click into 'Maze 1' and navigate to the Dashboard.

 

7. This is where we're going to customise our:

• Maze name:  the name of the maze you're configuring the buttons for (e.g Zombie Town)
• Zone: the zone of your maze that contains a selection of buttons (e.g. Zone 1, Zone 2, etc)
• Button: the physical button located in your maze - this might be a room name/ behind-the-scenes space, etc (e.g. Dead End Diner, Sewer Escape - Entrance, Actor Hide 1)

To edit a Maze's name, click on the scene title, and change the Name to your desired Maze name. 

To edit a Zone's name, click on the group title, and change the Group Title to your desired Zone name. 

To edit a Button's name, click on the blue button, and change the Label to your desired Button name. 

In order to create multiple buttons, multiple zones, multiple mazes, duplicate the existing buttons, zones, and mazes in the Actor Assist - Setup file, and customise them accordingly. Here we only need to customise the NAMES of any of our Mazes, Zones, or Buttons. 

NOTE: When adding buttons to a Zone, place the buttons in order that you would like them to appear in the Operator's dashboard. Buttons can either be added to the same row, in which they will be added in the order from left → right, or they can be added to their own row, in which they will be added in the order from top → bottom. 

Example of a configured maze (in the Actor Assist - Setup file)

8. Once you have customised your buttons, zones, and mazes to fit your setup, go to File, then Close Project.

9. Go back to cogs.show/actor-assist-setup and click Choose File to upload your Actor Assist - Setup file from the Actor Assist folder location. 

10. Click the Download Live Project button. 

NOTE: Save this file in the Actor Assist folder (alongside the "Actor Assist - Setup" file) that you downloaded from this page in step 3 of these instructions. 

11. Re-open COGS, and Load the 'Actor Assist - Live' file.

 

12. After opening the Actor Assist - Live file, COGS will load the project into the Run view. Click on Build in the top left, and go down to the Actor Assist Configuration plugin on the left-hand panel. 

NOTE: In the Actor Assist - Live file, anything with a 🔒 emoji has been automatically generated during the setup and should not be edited. This applies to behaviours, variables, values, etc.  

13. In the Actor Assist Configuration plugin, you can configure the settings for your button actions, alert types, etc. 

• Long Press Alert Type: This will dictate if an actor long pressing the button triggers a Major Alert or a Minor Alert.
  • • If the Long Press Alert Type is set to MAJOR alert, a MINOR alert will then be triggered by a DOUBLE PRESS of the button.
    • If the Long Press Alert Type is set to MINOR alert, a MAJOR alert will then be triggered by a DOUBLE PRESS of the button. 
      
• Long Press Alert Delay: This will decide how long the button needs to be pressed and held before triggering your Long Press Alert Type.  
  • • If the Long Press Alert Delay is set to 3 seconds, the button will need to be pressed and held for 3 seconds before triggering your Long Press Alert Type. 
      
      
• Long Press Reset Delay: This will decide how long the button need to be pressed and held before triggering a Reset or Cancellation of the current alert. 
  • • If the Long Press Reset Delay is set to 5 seconds, the button will need to be pressed and held for 5 seconds while the button is in an active alert or in an accepted alert before resetting/ cancelling the alert.  
      
      
• Minor Alert Icon: This is the icon that will display to the left of the button on the COGS dashboard to signify a Minor Alert has been sent.
  • • The Minor Alert icon can be set to any emoji/ text you'd like to use to identify the alert type.
      
• Major Alert Icon: This is the icon that will display to the left of the button on the COGS dashboard to signify a Major Alert has been sent.
  • • The Major Alert icon can be set to any emoji/ text you'd like to use to identify the alert type.
      
      
• Play Alert Audio: Toggling this will turn the audio alerts on or off. There are 2 audio files, a file for both the Major Alert and the Minor Alert.     
  • • You can change the audio alert files by replacing the .wav files in the Assets folder, and keeping the same name convention of 'major_alert.wav' and 'minor_alert.wav'. These files are set to loop. 
      
      
• Slow Flash On Time (Minor): This is the time that the RED LED on the button will be ON during a Minor alert. 
  
  
• Slow Flash Off Time (Minor): This is the time that the RED LED on the button will be OFF during a Minor alert. 
  
  
• Quick Flash On Time (Major): This is the time that the RED LED on the button will be ON during a Major alert. 
  
  
• Quick Flash Off Time (Major): This is the time that the RED LED on the button will be OFF during a Major alert.

NOTE: Once configured, you can change these settings at any time and they will immediately affect your button behaviours. 

14. Now your Actor Assist system has been configured, you can connect and pair your COGS hardware. With your Digital Master powered on and connected to your LAN (Local Area Network), you can now pair your Digital Master to the software, find more information here.

15. After your Digital Master has been paired with the software, you can now patch your buttons to the Digital Master. While installing it can be helpful to note which Button has been patched to which port on your Digital Master, but it isn't necessary. 

If your buttons have been connected into your RJ45 breakouts as they are in the Actor Assist - Hardware Assembly article, you will be able to patch your buttons and LEDs in the following order:

16. Once your buttons have been patched to your Digital Master, go back to the Run view. This is the view your operator will see when running the show. As you press your buttons to start your alerts you will then see the buttons on your COGS dashboard lighting up.

• • When Red/ Yellow, a button has been pressed by an actor to start an alert.
  • Press the Dashboard Button to Accept the alert, this will change it to Green (this also changes the LED on button to Green to indicate for the actor that the alert has been accepted).
  • Press the Dashboard Button again to Reset the alert (you actors can also Reset/ Cancel alerts by long pressing the button (for the Long Press Reset Delay time).