what is the purpose of LIVE template ?

[minehead]

I am confounded by Arturia. Let's assume that I can read your minds, I have loaded the SMC for Live in MC Mode, I then open LIVE and open the LIVE als template in LIVE, it basically brings up the plugin, but it's not mapped across the 16 outputs, it's just there, occupying one track, the SPARK is stuck in MIDI Controller Mode, now what ? This is absolutely the most slipshod piece of gear ever released. The documentation makes no sense, the functionality is dodgy at best, and now I've got a useless template that I'm not even sure what the purpose of is...wtf are you ppl thinking/smoking  ? I don't need a template to load up a plugin, and LIVE is locked in MC Mode with nothing working...what the hell is the purpose of that ?

iMac Quad-Core i7, OSX 10.6.7
Spark 1.1.1 (software)
SPark 1.1.0 (hardware)

[Rom1]

Minehead,

With all my respect to you and your question, I think you are misunderstood about the purpose of the Live template, probably because of a lack of documentation on the subject.

The purpose of the Live Template is to allow you to launch audio clips in Live from the Spark Controller in MIDI mode. All audio tracks are voluntarily empty so that you can use your own loops/samples.

In that configuration the Audio outputs of Spark are not used.
It only acts as a MIDI controller for Live.

Now, it seems that what you want is opening the 16 audio outputs of the plugin in Live.
As for any audio plugin, create a Live audio track, then select Audio from : Spark (in the 1st dropdown menu) / and then the stereo output you want (2nd dropdown menu).

If you are in any doubt, it is also explained on page 69 of the manual.

Being a standard manipulation in DAWs, you can also check out the instruction manual of your favorite host sequencer for detailed info.

Hope it helps.

[minehead]

ok,now that the purpose is clear, the fact is that it just hangs in MIDI Mode, it seems completely unresponsive.  page 68-69 in the Manual are screen shots from CUBASE, I just do not understand how this controls LIVE. I've used an APC40, I see no correlation between that as a controller for Live and SPARK. There is absolutely ZERO documentation that describes what it does with LIVE, and the fact that it just sits like it's in a coma with an LCD that says "MIDI READY", yet no pads, knobs, or switches affect the operation in Live, is not reassuring.
I think that Arturia will have to supply written docs. and a video that demonstrates the MIDI Controller functionality, I can't get it to work with anything in Logic Pro, Studio One, or Live 8. It clearly states that SPARK is a Universal Midi Controller that will map and control ANY 3rd party software...I can't get it to even trigger keys in KONTAKT 4, after entering the exact number and key, let alone mapping the entire controller to work with LIVE. Page 69 shows how to load it as a VST in CUBASE, ...WTF does that have to do with LIVE ?