StepSto_v2
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This script is a technical trading indicator designed to visualize market momentum and trend strength by creating three distinct "levels" of price movement. Instead of simply following the price, it calculates the volatility of the market to establish dynamic boundaries, helping traders identify which direction the market is likely headed.
Core Logic Overview
The indicator operates by analyzing how much a currency or asset typically moves over a specific period. It uses this information to create three different "sensitivity zones":
- Fast Line (High Sensitivity): This reacts quickly to small price movements. It is designed to capture immediate momentum but can be noisier as it responds to minor fluctuations.
- Slow Line (Balanced Sensitivity): This serves as a middle ground, filtering out some of the "noise" of the fast line while still remaining responsive to significant shifts in trend.
- Maximum Trend (Extreme Sensitivity): While not always visualized as a primary moving line, the script calculates extreme boundaries to identify major breakouts or significant reversals.
How it Works Step-by-Step
1. Volatility Assessment The script first looks at the "Average Range" of recent price candles. By measuring the distance between the highs and lows of past data, it determines the current market volatility. This ensures that the indicator adjusts itself automatically: in a high-volatility market, the boundaries expand; in a calm market, the boundaries contract.
2. Establishing Trend Boundaries Based on the volatility, the script creates a set of mathematical "floors" and "ceilings" for the price. It categorizes the trend into three states based on whether the current price has broken above or below these calculated levels:
- Minor Trends: Based on small volatility steps.
- Medium Trends: Based on moderate volatility steps.
- Major Trends: Based on large volatility steps.
3. The "Step" Mechanism Unlike standard moving averages that smooth out price constantly, this script uses a "stepping" logic. It looks for specific triggers where the price crosses into new territory. Once a trend is established (for example, a move upward), the indicator locks onto that direction and builds upon it until a significant enough move in the opposite direction forces a "step" change.
4. Final Visualization The final output on your chart consists of two lines:
- Fast Line: Represents the normalized percentage of the high-sensitivity trend.
- Slow Line: Represents the normalized percentage of the medium-sensitivity trend.
Both lines are scaled to a 0–100 range, allowing traders to see at a glance whether the market is currently overextended, consolidating, or gaining strength in a specific direction.
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| StepSto_v2.mq4 |
//| Copyright © 2006, TrendLaboratory |
//| http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TrendLaboratory |
//| E-mail: igorad2003@yahoo.co.uk |
//| Thanks to Nikolay Kositsin for good reversal tecnique |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
#property copyright "Copyright © 2006, TrendLaboratory"
#property link "http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TrendLaboratory"
#property indicator_separate_window
#property indicator_minimum 0
#property indicator_maximum 100
#property indicator_buffers 2
#property indicator_color1 Yellow
#property indicator_color2 DeepSkyBlue
#property indicator_width1 1
#property indicator_width2 1
#property indicator_level1 30
#property indicator_level2 70
//---- input parameters
extern int Length = 10; // Volty Length
extern double Kfast = 1; // Sensivity Factor for Fast Line
extern double Kslow = 1; // Sensivity Factor for Slow Line
extern int MA_Mode = 0; // Volty MA Mode : 0-SMA, 1-LWMA
extern int StepSizeMIN = 0; // Minimum Step Size (if need)
extern int StepSizeMAX = 0; // Maximum Step Size (if need)
//---- indicator buffers
double LineFastBuffer[];
double LineSlowBuffer[];
double SminMin[],SmaxMin[],SminMax[],SmaxMax[],SminMid[],SmaxMid[];
int time[2],TRENDMIN[2],TRENDMID[2],TRENDMAX[2];
bool Expert=true;
double ATR0,ATRmax=0,ATRmin=100000;
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Custom indicator initialization function |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int init()
{
string short_name;
//---- indicator line
IndicatorBuffers(8);
SetIndexStyle(0,DRAW_LINE,STYLE_SOLID,1);
SetIndexStyle(1,DRAW_LINE,STYLE_SOLID,1);
SetIndexBuffer(0,LineFastBuffer);
SetIndexBuffer(1,LineSlowBuffer);
SetIndexBuffer(2,SminMin);
SetIndexBuffer(3,SmaxMin);
SetIndexBuffer(4,SminMax);
SetIndexBuffer(5,SmaxMax);
SetIndexBuffer(6,SminMid);
SetIndexBuffer(7,SmaxMid);
//---- name for DataWindow and indicator subwindow label
short_name="StepSto v2("+DoubleToStr(Kfast,2)+","+DoubleToStr(Kslow,2)+")";
IndicatorShortName(short_name);
SetIndexLabel(0,"StepSto fast");
SetIndexLabel(1,"StepSto slow");
//----
SetIndexDrawBegin(0,Length);
SetIndexDrawBegin(1,Length);
//----
return(0);
}
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| StepSto_v2 |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int start()
{
int shift, TrendMin,TrendMax,TrendMid,MaxBar,limit,counted_bars=IndicatorCounted();
double linemin,linemax,linemid,bsmin,bsmax;
double StepSizeMin, StepSizeMax,StepSizeMid;
if (Bars-1<Length+1)return(0);
if (counted_bars<0)return(-1);
if (counted_bars>0) counted_bars--;
MaxBar=Bars-1-Length-1;
limit=Bars-counted_bars-1;
if (limit>MaxBar)
{
for (shift=limit;shift>=MaxBar;shift--)
{
LineFastBuffer[Bars-shift]=0;
LineSlowBuffer[Bars-shift]=0;
}
limit=MaxBar;
}
//----
int Tnew=Time[limit+1];
if (limit<MaxBar)
if (Tnew==time[1])
{
TrendMin=TRENDMIN[1];
TrendMid=TRENDMID[1];
TrendMax=TRENDMAX[1];
Expert=false;
}
else
if (Tnew==time[0])
{
TrendMin=TRENDMIN[0];
TrendMid=TRENDMID[0];
TrendMax=TRENDMAX[0];
TRENDMIN[1]=TRENDMIN[0];
TRENDMID[1]=TRENDMID[0];
TRENDMAX[1]=TRENDMAX[0];
}
else
{
if (Tnew>time[1])Print("ERROR01");
else Print("ERROR02");
return(-1);
}
for(shift=limit;shift>=0;shift--)
{
double AvgRange=0;
double Weight = 0;
for (int i=Length-1;i>=0;i--)
{
if(MA_Mode==0) double alfa= 1.0; else alfa= 1.0*(Length-i)/Length;
AvgRange+= alfa*(High[shift+i]-Low[shift+i]);
Weight += alfa;
}
ATR0 = AvgRange/Weight;
if (ATR0>ATRmax) ATRmax=ATR0;
if (ATR0<ATRmin) ATRmin=ATR0;
if (StepSizeMIN > 0) ATRmin = StepSizeMIN*Point;
if (StepSizeMAX > 0) ATRmax = StepSizeMAX*Point;
StepSizeMin=(Kfast*ATRmin);
StepSizeMax=(Kfast*ATRmax);
StepSizeMid=(Kfast*0.5*Kslow*(ATRmax+ATRmin));
SmaxMin[shift]=Close[shift]+2.0*StepSizeMin;
SminMin[shift]=Close[shift]-2.0*StepSizeMin;
SmaxMax[shift]=Close[shift]+2.0*StepSizeMax;
SminMax[shift]=Close[shift]-2.0*StepSizeMax;
SmaxMid[shift]=Close[shift]+2.0*StepSizeMid;
SminMid[shift]=Close[shift]-2.0*StepSizeMid;
if(Close[shift]>SmaxMin[shift+1]) TrendMin=1;
if(Close[shift]<SminMin[shift+1]) TrendMin=-1;
if(Close[shift]>SmaxMax[shift+1]) TrendMax=1;
if(Close[shift]<SminMax[shift+1]) TrendMax=-1;
if(Close[shift]>SmaxMid[shift+1]) TrendMid=1;
if(Close[shift]<SminMid[shift+1]) TrendMid=-1;
if(TrendMin>0)
{
if(SminMin[shift]<SminMin[shift+1]) SminMin[shift]=SminMin[shift+1];
linemin=SminMin[shift]+StepSizeMin;
}
if(TrendMin<0)
{
if(SmaxMin[shift]>SmaxMin[shift+1]) SmaxMin[shift]=SmaxMin[shift+1];
linemin=SmaxMin[shift]-StepSizeMin;
}
if(TrendMax>0)
{
if(SminMax[shift]<SminMax[shift+1]) SminMax[shift]=SminMax[shift+1];
linemax=SminMax[shift]+StepSizeMax;
}
if(TrendMax<0)
{
if(SmaxMax[shift]>SmaxMax[shift+1]) SmaxMax[shift]=SmaxMax[shift+1];
linemax=SmaxMax[shift]-StepSizeMax;
}
if(TrendMid>0)
{
if(SminMid[shift]<SminMid[shift+1]) SminMid[shift]=SminMid[shift+1];
linemid=SminMid[shift]+StepSizeMid;
}
if(TrendMid<0)
{
if(SmaxMid[shift]>SmaxMid[shift+1]) SmaxMid[shift]=SmaxMid[shift+1];
linemid=SmaxMid[shift]-StepSizeMid;
}
bsmin=linemax-StepSizeMax;
bsmax=linemax+StepSizeMax;
if (bsmax-bsmin>0) LineFastBuffer[shift]=100*(linemin-bsmin)/(bsmax-bsmin);
if (bsmax-bsmin>0) LineSlowBuffer[shift]=100*(linemid-bsmin)/(bsmax-bsmin);
if ((shift==2)||((shift==1)&&(Expert==true)))
{
time [shift-1]=Time [shift];
TRENDMIN[shift-1]=TrendMin;
TRENDMID[shift-1]=TrendMid;
TRENDMAX[shift-1]=TrendMax;
}
}
return(0);
}
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