Things I'd like to be able to do with the automation track:
- Event recording: This means that you can record the actions applied on any dial or slider into the automation track that it is associated with. There would be a feature like an "arm recording" button attached to automation tracks. So if you were playing or looping a track and had event recording turned on for that automation track, any live adjustments made to the associated dial would go right in there without guesswork. Both the software interface and/or MIDI inputs should be equally usable for doing this.
- Alternate vector mode: Instead a raster-like automation track, you'd have control points with bezier handles. Most people should be familiar with how such things work in 2D graphics apps. (Think of the pen tool in: GIMP, Inkscape, PhotoShop, Illustrator, etc.) It would be very easy and fast visual way to create and smoothly control transitions that occur in within the automation track. Also there should be a way to convert the raster-like tracks to the vector format. (I'm not too concerned if conversion is a one-way op, it would still be useful.)
- Ability to control more dials and controls in plugins concerning effects and external synthesizers: There are things I'd like to do with VSTs that I can't right now, because those controls cannot be attached to an automation track in LMMS.
- Visibility controls and attaching as a child in the song editor: An option to attach an automation track onto a songtrack as a child object. This along with visibility toggles would keep these things more organized. There should also be a way to group FX and Global automation tracks together as well and toggle their visibility on the song editor, even though they wouldn't attach to a specific instrument or song track. (As it is now, there are some "global" automation tracks that can be accessed by right clicking on certain parameters, but they aren't viewable in the song editor like the others. There should be an option to make them visible.)