Oscilla Control Input & Cross-Cue Modulation

Overview

Oscilla supports bidirectional control flow: values can enter the system from external OSC sources, internal animations, UI elements, or other cues, and can be routed to any running cue instance.

This enables:

• external control of cue parameters via OSC
• internal control using animation outputs (e.g. o2p, rotation)
• cross-cue modulation (one cue influencing another)
• explicit feedback patterns between cues

Control is treated as a first-class signal layer, separate from cue triggering and animation scheduling.

Core Concept

Oscilla introduces a shared control plane built from three components:

1. Targets — running cue instances that expose controllable parameters
2. ParamBus — a global store of named control signals
3. Control Router — a single routing function that connects signals to targets

All control sources (OSC-in, o2p, UI, other cues) converge through the same mechanism.

Addressing Model

Target addressing

Each controllable cue instance has a unique uid.

Parameters are addressed as:

cue:<uid>.<param>

Examples:

• cue:synthA.amp
• cue:drone1.freq
• cue:rotor3.speed

Signal addressing (ParamBus)

Control signals live in a global namespace:

<source>:<id>.<channel>

Examples:

• o2p:sliderA.t
• rotate:orb1.angle
• osc:/fader1

These signals may be:

• published continuously
• subscribed to by one or more targets
• used as modulation sources

Targets

A target is any running cue instance that opts into control.

Target contract

{
  setParam(name, value, meta)
}

Targets are registered by uid when the cue starts, and unregistered on cleanup.

ParamBus

The ParamBus stores and distributes control values.

Responsibilities

• hold the latest value of each signal
• notify subscribers when values change
• provide symmetry between internal and external control

API

set(path, value, meta)
get(path, fallback)
subscribe(path, callback) → unsubscribe()

Control Router

All control updates pass through a single function:

routeControl(uid, param, value, meta)

Behaviour

1. Updates the ParamBus at cue:<uid>.<param>
2. Forwards the value to the registered target (if present)

The router does not automatically send OSC to avoid feedback loops.

OSC Input

OSC address

External OSC control uses a single address:

/oscilla/set <uid> <param> <value>

Cross-Cue Modulation (Core Feature)

Any cue that publishes a signal can modulate any other cue parameter.

Examples:

• rotation angle → scale amount
• o2p traversal → synth amplitude
• audio envelope → visual opacity

This is intentional and supported, not an accidental side effect.

Feedback Patterns

Because control signals are routable, feedback loops are possible.

Oscilla does not prevent feedback. Instead, it makes it explicit and composable.

Summary

By introducing a shared control plane, Oscilla evolves from a trigger-based score system into a dynamic, signal-driven, executable score environment.