Yeah, it can be done in a non intrusive way with most code already in place? It’s not like this need some hi tech audio algorithms nobody has even heard of yet to work either. It’s just rearranging code to show stuff in an alternative way.
I’m trying to figure out why I don’t think the Arranger Track works as it should on the creative level (my idea of it). I think it’s because it’s not really pattern based and not really linear but semi linear, maybe? You’re still stuck on the time line, only with blocks of music played back. You miss being able to set up your patterns in what ever way you want and then keep layering on top of that.
There’s also no way to NOT have a complete section with all the tracks playing back. In the old Cubase Group Tracks you could set up your locators and select the Parts you wanted for a Group, then you build the group of the selected parts. Then you could keep your locators at the same place and build another Group with some Parts which was also in the first group and some parts which were not. So you could have a series of Groups going from simple to complex, then build a song from them by drag and dropping Groups on a Group Track in any order or number of instances you liked.
You could start working in one open Arrangement window and build your groups, then open a new window and insert a Group Track and drag and drop your Groups there. Over that and bellow in the window you could add more actual Tracks to play along with and record on. In a way it was amazingly intuitive and simple to manage and you felt you had absolute control. You could just leave those Parts, Tracks and Groups there (without either urge or need to flatten anything) and that was your Project. And that was in a freakin’ Atari! It’s also in Cubase VST32, before they turned Cubase into a Nuendo wannabe …
Comparing the Arranger Track to that level of control and freedom, you are just stuck with those blocks. You can use it in the beginning of a project for mapping out how you want sections to repeat and then flatten that and keep working linearly. The thing is that it’s even not really worth the hassle of setting up Arranger Tracks just to flatten your still simple project.
Compared to Ableton Live the old Cubase Group Tracks also had the advantage of not having that “messy other view” where you set up all your parts that I forgot the name of, but I think you access it with the TAB key, knowaddamean? In Cubase it was all in a little overlay list at the right side of the project window, which you could show/hide. All of the other work was done in the main arrangement window, except if you had another arrangement window open. But if you like Ableton you might find that other window the best thing since sliced bread.
“Would you be happy if Cubase 8 offered Pattern-Based Seq. ?”
Yep!!! 