FREE INTERACTIVE FLAME DEMO · MODULE 1: WAVE STUDIO
Drag a fixture. Change the look. See your show take shape. The demo is free forever; the full studio opens with a seven-day trial.
No installation. No signup to try the demo.
Visual rehearsal only. No physical output.
Drag units to arrange. Visual only; no physical output.
Drag a fixture to move the selection. Drag empty stage space to box-select. Use Multi-Select to tap individual units. Arrow keys nudge a focused fixture. Right-click or hold its fuel gauge to edit its estimate.
Internal sequences 001–070. Demo edits reset on reload. Visual rehearsal only; no physical output.Six units ready. F01, F03 and F05 are inverted.
Want to build a complete show workspace?
Open the full studio ↗40 units · 88 catalog presets · Custom workspaces · Free for seven days, then $29.99 CAD once
ONE LAB. MANY FIXTURES.
Virtual SFX Lab is the stage, cue stack, faders and receivers. Each module adds a fixture to it. Buy the lab once; modules you own share one show.
Explo X2 Wave Flame — 88 catalog sequences, nozzle direction, invert, angle limits, six-channel DMX patch, receive-only sACN / Art-Net input from Vista 3 or grandMA, an MA panel that mirrors the grandMA command section (Fixture 1 Thru 4 At 30 Please, Store Cue, Go+, X keys — pressable from a real grandMA2 / grandMA3), and export packages for Vista 3 and grandMA2 / grandMA3.
Included with the lab purchase.
Further flame and SFX fixture modules are planned to run in tandem on the same stage and cue stack, so a multi-fixture flame show is rehearsed as one project.
Module names, pricing and dates are not yet announced.
VSL INFO MODE
Download ↓
INFORMATION MODE, BEYOND THE STUDIO
VSL Info Mode is a standalone companion. Point at page content or select text to bring up relevant facts and source links in a floating orange panel, without opening the studio.
Download VSL Info Mode Browser extension ZIP only
Extract the ZIP, open your browser’s Extensions management page, enable Developer mode and choose Load unpacked. Select the folder containing manifest.json, then pin VSL Info Mode to the toolbar. The current package may display “VSL Info Mode for Comet.” It is not a browser-store listing; Firefox and Safari packages are not included. The downloads page also includes a live example on a Strange Science article.
A STAGE THAT MOVES WITH YOU
Place every fixture where you want it. Give each its own preset, Invert state and angle limits. Save your layout and pick it up again in the browser, on Windows, or on Mac.
Explore the full web appDrag up to 40 fixtures into position. Adjust individual limits or copy them to every unit.
Play, pause and scrub bursts, steps and waves. Slow the preview down to inspect a look.
Use a local receiver for independent fixture triggers from Vista. The hosted browser demo does not receive live DMX.
FREE DEMO. OPEN BETA STUDIO. ONE-TIME DESKTOP PURCHASE.
The demo on this page is free forever. During the open beta the full browser studio is free too: every studio button opens it directly, with no trial clock and no checkout. The Windows and Mac apps, which add the local receiver for live console input, are one-time purchases for one computer each. No subscriptions. Prices are subject to change as updates continue; what you buy is yours, with a full refund within 14 days if it is not for you.
Free during the beta
No trial, no checkout · opens in your browser
A one-time price (planned $29.99 CAD) may apply after the beta; anything you save now stays yours.
$29.99 CAD
Plus applicable tax · One-time purchase · per computer
Includes the local receiver for live Vista input and the full studio on that computer. Another computer needs another license. Payments are handled by Lemon Squeezy, the merchant of record; tax is calculated at checkout. Full refund within 14 days of purchase. Prices are subject to change as updates continue.
The complete Wave Studio module, right in your browser.
Manual preview only. Live input runs locally.
Desktop receiver and visualizer for one Windows computer: Virtual SFX Lab.exe, no Python install, code-signed.
Plus applicable tax · one-time · one computer. Price subject to change as updates continue. Testers with a code download free until 1.0.
Windows instructionsReadable launcher package for one Mac: Python 3.10+ required, no pip packages, about 3 MB.
Plus applicable tax · one-time · one computer. Price subject to change as updates continue. Not a signed or notarized app; native Mac testing is still pending.
Mac instructionsTESTER ACCESS
Codes are shared personally by the developer and are not published anywhere. One unlocks the full studio in this browser and the Windows and Mac downloads, free of charge until version 1.0 is released.
BETA TESTERS WANTED · COMMUNITY-DRIVEN
Virtual SFX Lab is built by one pyrotechnician and refined by the people who use it. Every beta build is shaped by tester notes, and the roadmap follows what the community needs on real shows. Testers receive a personal code that unlocks the full studio and the desktop downloads free of charge until version 1.0.
Run the studio on your own machine — Windows PC or Mac, phone or desktop — and build the kind of layouts and cue stacks you would actually program for a show. The more it resembles your real workflow, the more useful your feedback is.
Tell us what broke, what was confusing and what slowed you down: the build number, your device and browser, and the steps that led there. A short note or a screen recording is plenty — no formal bug report required.
Missing presets, Vista or grandMA workflows, fixture behaviour that doesn't match the real unit, features you want for rehearsals or client previews. Tester suggestions decide what the next modules and updates focus on.
Join the Discord and DM strangebrewgames with the short application form pinned in #faq: your background in SFX, pyrotechnics or show control, the console or software you use, and the device you'd test on. Tester keys are given out in the Discord's Beta Lab. No commitment beyond trying the build and sharing what you find.
PROTOTYPE SETUP REFERENCE
For testers running the 0.33.0 Windows build or macOS package; paid release instructions may change. Keep physical flame hardware disconnected from the rehearsal network. Vista can still output to other devices.
Unlock the download with your tester code above, then extract Virtual-SFX-Lab-Windows-0.33.0-x64.zip anywhere — your Desktop is fine. There is no installer, no Python and no admin rights needed. To verify the file, run Get-FileHash in PowerShell and compare it with the checksum shown beside the download button.
If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info, then Run anyway. The build is code-signed; the prompt appears only because the publisher identity has not yet built reputation. Do not disable your antivirus for it.
Pick the Console (Vista 3, grandMA3, grandMA2 or other) so the hints and status line match your desk, then Start receiver + open studio when that console sends sACN or Art-Net; select the network adapter it uses. Pick Skip for now to explore the studio without live input. Everything except live input works standalone.
In Connect Universes → Add Network Connection, choose Streaming ACN / sACN. Start with universe 1 and priority 100, assign your Vista universe and enable output. The workflow is documented in the Vista user guide; labels may vary by release. grandMA3: Menu → DMX Protocols → sACN, Local Universe 1, sACN Universe 1, Enable Output (and Send sACN If Idle Master when alone). grandMA2: Setup → Network Protocols → sACN, Local Start 1, Protocol Final, Output Active (and Network DMX if Alone). onPC software needs MA hardware to output. Full steps are in the studio’s Vista & MA Receiver and First Guide Part 5.6.
The app opens on the demo page; the First Guide opens when you enter the full studio. Choose Live sACN, match each fixture’s universe and six-channel start address to Vista, and check the packet counter and channel monitor first. Keep the rehearsal isolated from real flame hardware. Logs are written to %LOCALAPPDATA%\WaveStudio\receiver.log.
Install a supported Python 3.10+ release from python.org for macOS, then extract the complete Mac ZIP. Python.org’s universal2 builds support Intel and Apple Silicon on supported macOS versions (Python documentation).
Double-click Virtual SFX Lab.command. Terminal lists the modes: press Return for same-Mac Vista sACN (universes 1,2,3,4), or choose sACN from grandMA3, sACN from grandMA2, Art-Net from a grandMA, or another sACN console.
Select the listed local IP used in Vista’s Network settings (grandMA3: Menu → Network; grandMA2: Setup → Network), or enter it manually. The launcher cannot read the console’s selection automatically and will not guess one. Do not use 127.0.0.1 as the multicast interface.
Add an sACN connection for universe 1, priority 100, assign the intended Vista universe and enable output. Follow the Vista sACN workflow, and check your release’s Mac requirements. grandMA3 / grandMA2 output steps are in the studio’s Vista & MA Receiver and First Guide Part 5.6.
In the page opened at http://127.0.0.1:8765, choose Live sACN and match fixture universes and start addresses to Vista. Keep Terminal open. Stop with Control+C.
Native Mac verification is still pending. This is not a signed or notarized application. Follow Apple’s software security guidance; do not disable Gatekeeper or override a malware warning.
Download the complete Mac guideThe hosted demo is separate from this local input path. sACN does not advertise a discoverable Art-Net node.
BEFORE YOU START
More troubleshooting and advanced launch options are included in each download.
The interactive demo on this page is free forever, with no sign-up. During the open beta the full browser studio is free as well — press any studio button and it opens, with no trial and no payment step. The Windows and Mac apps, which include the local receiver for live Vista input, are separate one-time $29.99 CAD purchases per computer. There are no subscriptions. Prices are current as of this build and subject to change as updates continue.
Possibly. Virtual SFX Lab is early software and the price is reviewed as features land, so the amount shown today may go up or down for future buyers. A purchase you have already made is not affected and does not expire.
Not during the open beta. Every studio button on this page goes straight into the full studio: 40 units, 88 presets, faders, cue stacks, layouts and workspaces, saved in your browser. If a one-time price is introduced after the beta it will be announced here first, and layouts, cues and workspaces you have saved stay with you. The demo on this page stays free regardless.
$29.99 CAD plus applicable tax for the app on one computer, with no recurring subscription: the local receiver for live sACN or Art-Net input plus the full studio running locally. A second computer needs a separate license. The download is unlocked in the browser you bought from; your Lemon Squeezy receipt is your proof of purchase if you need access restored. Updates within the current major version are included; no promise of lifetime updates or support is made.
Virtual SFX Lab is the shared stage, cue stack, virtual faders and receivers. Each module adds a fixture. Wave Studio (Module 1) is the Explo X2 Wave Flame. Further fixture modules are planned to work in tandem on one stage so a multi-fixture flame show can be rehearsed as a single project; their names, pricing and dates are not yet announced.
Press a Buy button above. Checkout opens on Lemon Squeezy, the merchant of record, which accepts cards and PayPal, calculates applicable tax for your location and emails a receipt. When you return to this site in the same browser the studio or download is unlocked within a few seconds. Testers with a code do not need to buy anything until version 1.0.
14-day refund policy. If Virtual SFX Lab does not work on your system or is not what you expected, you get a full refund within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked. Reply to your Lemon Squeezy receipt (or use the support link in it) with your order number; refunds are issued through Lemon Squeezy and can take up to 10 days to appear on your statement. After 14 days, refunds are at the developer’s discretion. A refund removes the license from the browser it was bought in.
Join the Virtual SFX Lab Discord and DM strangebrewgames with the short application form pinned in #faq. Tester keys are given out in the Discord's Beta Lab; they unlock the full studio and the desktop downloads free until version 1.0, in exchange for notes on what works, what breaks and what is missing. See the Beta testers section above.
Enter it in the Tester Access box on this page. It marks this browser as a tester (the full studio is already open to everyone during the beta) and unlocks the Windows and Mac downloads, free of charge until version 1.0 is released. Codes are shared personally by the developer and are not published; please do not pass yours on. When 1.0 ships, tester access ends and the regular one-time price applies. Your saved layouts, cues and workspaces are kept either way.
A first-party page counter notes which page was opened, the site that linked here (its address only), whether the screen is phone, tablet or desktop size, and a salted digest of the random visitor id this site already uses for your saved layouts. No cookies, IP addresses, browser details or emails are kept for statistics, no third-party analytics scripts run, and the figures are visible only to the developer as aggregates.
The listed $29.99 CAD is before applicable tax. Lemon Squeezy calculates the tax for your location and shows the total before you pay; no universal tax rate is quoted here.
Not by itself. Live input requires the Windows or Mac app, which runs a local receiver and its own local browser page. The hosted web app is for manual preview, layout editing and rehearsal.
Yes. The desktop receiver has grandMA3 and grandMA2 presets (Console drop-down in the Windows app, menu options in the Mac launcher) and accepts standard sACN (E1.31 Final and Draft, multicast or unicast) and Art-Net, so a grandMA3 or grandMA2 console — or onPC with MA hardware attached, which MA requires for any output — drives the virtual units the same way Vista does. Export For grandMA writes a GDTF fixture type, an MVR scene with patch and stage positions for grandMA3, fixture-type and layer XML for grandMA2, and CSV cue sheets. MA show files are not a documented format, so cue contents are programmed from the sheet.
Same-computer mode uses sACN multicast, not Art-Net discovery. Add a Streaming ACN output and match the universe and interface. Separate-computer Art-Net mode retains discovery replies.
With real flame hardware disconnected, inspect the virtual fixture’s channel monitor: check the six-channel patch, virtual armed state, trigger reset and angle limits. The receiver’s status readout can explain why visual emission is suppressed. This is simulator troubleshooting, not physical firing guidance.
Use Save layout to download a JSON file, then Load layout in another version. Fixture positions, presets, Invert, angle limits and DMX patches are portable. The updated Windows package and web app also save recorded cues, fader assignments and chase settings; the earlier Mac package does not support that playback data. Layouts do not store the visual flame-scale slider or Vista show data. Save before closing; changes are not automatically retained.
Check that Vista’s sACN output is enabled, the selected local adapter matches, and the receiver subscribes to the right universe. Review network permissions without disabling system protections. Stop other receivers or monitors that may already own UDP 5568.
No. This is an independent artistic visualizer. Catalog looks are based on the Explo sequence sheet, but flame shape, motion and timing details are approximations. The manufacturer’s manual remains the reference for physical equipment. Never use this app to determine clearances, certify safety, or confirm actual firing behavior.
START WITH A LOOK
Free for seven days, then $29.99 CAD once. Manual browser preview; no installation required.