==What is Wintermute?==

Wintermute is a show control system designed for the control and monitoring of large, technology-heavy audience experiences. It is designed to allow you to use the programming environment you are used to (assumed in this guide to be Qlab, but it could be any system capable of outputting UDP and responding to OSC or UDP commands) whilst massively extending its functionality, and the reliability and visibility of the resulting systems.

{{:concepts:wintermute_overview.png?nolink&600|}}

At its most basic, Wintermute acts as the "glue" between Qlab and all the networked devices on your show:

  * Facilitates branching behaviour 
  * Tracks groups of audience, and drives logic based on their actions
  * Encapsulates complex communication protocols
  * Provides control and feedback across site

==Getting Started==

  - The first thing to is to familiarise yourself with the [[interface_layout|interface]].
  - You then need to understand what we mean by [[Nodes]], and how Wintermute responds to [[udp_received_behaviour|input from them]].
  - The other main topic is the [[Flow]] system - how we handle audience [[groups]] moving through the [[zones]] of the show, and how Wintermute interacts with [[variables]] and [[concepts:groups:tags]] - this is all interlinked with the [[chat]] system.

Finally, to start programming Wintermute, you will need to learn some of the [[commands:]]

==Advanced Topics==

  - One of Wintermute's most powerful features is the use of [[concepts:macros:]] to offload  tasks from Qlab.
  - Advanced users will also want to be able to configure and deploy [[concepts:remotes|remote stations]] around their site.
  - Variables can be monitored with the use of [[concepts:variables:triggers]].
  - Data about audience members, actors - anything really - can be managed through the use of [[concepts:dynamic_objects|dynamic objects]].
  - See how Wintermute uses [[concepts:timers]]