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[PoC] Simple DAW-Style Segmented VU Meter/Progress Bar

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Corroder
Grandmaster Cheater Supreme

Reputation: 75

Joined: 10 Apr 2015
Posts: 1681

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 6:16 am Post subject: [PoC] Simple DAW-Style Segmented VU Meter/Progress Bar

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share a small architectural experiment I’ve been playing around with inside Cheat Engine. As many of you know, customizing the visual look of the built-in TProgressBar in CE/Lazarus can sometimes be a bit stiff and limited to the default Windows styles.

To overcome this, I worked on a small Proof of Concept (PoC) to build a custom, highly responsive DAW-style Segmented VU Meter from scratch. Instead of fighting with OnPaint canvas redraws or overriding Windows UXThemes, this script directly manipulates an array of small child TPanel components packed inside a main container.

It is very lightweight and fully reactive. I have attached a simple test script that links a standard TTrackBar (with top ticks) to this custom progress bar to showcase the real-time visual update. I hope this might be useful for anyone looking to build a cleaner, modern Dark/DAW theme for their multimedia trainers or custom GUIs.

How to Use:
1. Open the Cheat Engine Lua Engine (Ctrl + Alt + L).
2. Paste the script below into the editor.
3. Click "Execute script".
4. Drag the slider knob to watch the blocks light up dynamically!

Feedback and optimizations from the community are always welcome!

Best regards,
Corroder

Code:

-- =============================================================================
-- 1. GUI INITIALIZATION & DAW THEME LAYOUT
-- =============================================================================
if testForm then testForm.destroy() end
testForm = createForm()
testForm.setSize(420, 180)
testForm.Position = 'poScreenCenter'
testForm.Caption = 'DAW VU Meter & Control Slider Linkage'
testForm.Color = 0x2A2A2A -- Charcoal Dark DAW Background

local labelOutput = createLabel(testForm)
labelOutput.setPosition(25, 42)
labelOutput.Caption = "Output Level"
labelOutput.Font.Color = 0xDDDDDD
labelOutput.Font.Size = 9

-- =============================================================================
-- 2. BUILDING THE CUSTOM VU METER CONTAINER & SEGMENTS
-- =============================================================================
local segmentCount = 25
myVUMeter = createPanel(testForm)
myVUMeter.setPosition(110, 40)
myVUMeter.setSize(270, 18)
myVUMeter.Color = 0x141414 -- Inner dark track background
myVUMeter.BevelOuter = 'bvNone'
myVUMeter.BorderStyle = 'bsNone'

-- Create individual block segments inside a global array for direct access
allBlocks = {}
local totalGapSpace = (segmentCount - 1) * 2
local segWidth = math.floor((270 - totalGapSpace) / segmentCount)

for i = 1, segmentCount do
local box = createPanel(myVUMeter)
box.Height = 18
box.Width = segWidth
box.setPosition((i - 1) * (segWidth + 2), 0)
box.BevelOuter = 'bvNone'
box.BorderStyle = 'bsNone'
box.Color = 0x222222 -- Default OFF color (Dim Gray)

table.insert(allBlocks, box)
end

-- =============================================================================
-- 3. CONTROLLER SLIDER CREATION
-- =============================================================================
sliderControl = createTrackBar(testForm)
sliderControl.Left = 110
sliderControl.Top = 85
sliderControl.Width = 270
sliderControl.Height = 40
sliderControl.Min = 0
sliderControl.Max = 100
sliderControl.Position = 0
sliderControl.TickStyle = 'tsTop' -- Position the tick marks on top
sliderControl.TickFrequency = 10

testForm.show()

-- =============================================================================
-- 4. LOGIC LINKAGE & EVENT HANDLERS
-- =============================================================================
R = 0

function vuMeterChange(sender)
-- Grab the current trackbar position directly from the sender object
R = sliderControl.Position
print("Current Slider Position: " .. tostring(R))

-- Calculate how many blocks should light up based on the position percentage
local activeCount = math.floor((R / 100) * segmentCount)

-- Loop through the panels array and update color memory states instantly
for i = 1, segmentCount do
if i <= activeCount then
-- DAW Color Gradient Logic (BGR Hex Format for Cheat Engine)
if i <= math.floor(segmentCount * 0.6) then
allBlocks[i].Color = 0x00FF00 -- Neon Green (0% - 60%)
elseif i <= math.floor(segmentCount * 0.85) then
allBlocks[i].Color = 0x00D7FF -- Golden Yellow (61% - 85%)
else
allBlocks[i].Color = 0x0055FF -- Studio Orange/Red (86% - 100%)
end
else
allBlocks[i].Color = 0x222222 -- Revert to OFF state color
end
end
end

function exit()
closeCE()
return caFree
end

-- Assign clean callbacks to explicit LCL events
sliderControl.OnChange = vuMeterChange
testForm.OnClose = exit

-- Trigger initial execution to sync layout on startup
vuMeterChange(sliderControl)

_________________

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And Admit It.. Hmmm....Typically LOL

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