View Full Version : Ellipsis for Xbox (EX) skin for XBMC
Blackbolt
2008-05-20, 01:39
Hi Guys,
I feel like a newbie to the skinning scene I've been away so long. Basically I'm approaching a realistic goal of releasing my new skin for XBMC before the end of the summer. I have a bit of work to do on it, but I thought I'd begin a topic now so I can show off what I've been working on.
So firstly, a little about what Ellipsis or 'EX' is. EX is designed to be a primarily icon based navigation UI, meaning text or words will be used as little as possible in the GUI, only in the settings menus and also for file names. This simplistic form of navigation lends itself universally for use by everyone young and old regardless of age.
Now some pictures of what I have so far:
Home Screen: http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/61/teamblackboltexnewvolumkv7.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=teamblackboltexnewvolumkv7.jpg)
Video OSD: http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9356/teamblackboltexosdalphacv6.th.jpg (http://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=teamblackboltexosdalphacv6.jpg)
Video OSD Menu: http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4417/teamblackboltexosdconcerj2.th.jpg (http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=teamblackboltexosdconcerj2.jpg)
Some of the goals I'm aiming for with Ellipsis:
* Simplistic Navigation
* Sleek Design
* HD Dedicated GUI
I will have more very soon, I'm just waiting on a PC Upgrade to get at a lot of my stuff. :nerd:
Beautiful skin Sir, i seem to remember seeing that skin or something like it on your old website many moons ago.Thought it was great then.
uncluttered,stylish and very tasteful.
Can`t wait.
Voinage
how strange, i was just thinking about this skin this morning, remembered seeing it on your website aaaages ago.
looks absolutely gorgeous. the closest thing i've got to a sleek and elegant skin at the moment is the Apple TV-based one, but this looks fantastic. good luck!
IllumiNaughty
2008-05-20, 03:34
:nod:
Can't wait to download it, and theme it!
looks fresh look forward to it
yeah, nice to hear from you bolt, been waiting for this for ages!! :)
MikeBeecham
2008-05-20, 13:01
I think I just saw two black cats walking in front of me *shudders* - Deja Vu.
It's really nice BB, but 2 new screens a skin does not make. Could I suggest leaving off a release date until you're sure that you'll have a skin to release..it saves things getting a little sticky if you know what I mean :D
That said, those new screens do look good, and I also cant wait to see it on my tv!
Cool. I thought this skin might have been forgotten about but I'm sure glad it's finally getting off the ground.
I am pleased once again what EX heard. BB makes it already, I can wait.
@ MikeBeecham from "Fluid" I've also seen nothing yet. :D
Both skins should be a surprise, and this is a good thing.
MikeBeecham
2008-05-20, 15:15
@ MikeBeecham from "Fluid" I've also seen nothing yet. :D
Indeed, but I'm not advertising it till it's done :P
looks class man, good luck with it.
Those shots look fantastic. Really looking forward to this being released.
Blackbolt
2008-05-20, 22:43
Hi Mike,
thanks for your comments, but I think I like the idea of showing people stuff every step of the way. When I developed MC360 with so many peeps, we kept it so secret, only releasing the odd video and odd screenshot, that I felt cut off from the people actually wanting to use it. At least this way I can interact and adjust the skin based on people's ideas and observations.
To everyone else's kind comments, thanks for being so kind and welcoming. :;):
There will be a lot more stuff asap, just waiting on a few bits for my new PC so I can actually get access to all my Ellipsis goodies. :grin:
Also, don't forget to get the website up and running good again.
Hey BB
Nice to hear from you....welcome back although like JayZ u never really left...
I too like the idea of letting people have a glipmse of the future...
I think since MC360 success a few lessons have been learnt and things should be managed better so that "things dont get out of hand"
U'll find that the feedback people gave on MC360 conbined with the skills of the devs is what made it a great skin, doing otherwise u run a risk of developing and implementing stuff that may appeal to the devs but maynot sink in well with the end-users.
Wish you well and hopefuly i get 2 use the skin come end of summer....! second the suggestion of getting the website up and running smoothly again!
Blackbolt
2008-05-22, 22:30
Yes, new website will be up very shortly, as soon as I'm back up online. :D
Looks great. Would make the same comments as in this thread http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28900 re building in support for the new mythtv support.
Bigfoot87
2008-07-10, 12:40
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h6mZvmRdVDQ
Looks stunning!
Can't wait to play with this skin. :)
MikeBeecham
2008-07-10, 13:10
it's certainly a new view of the home page. Can i just confirm though BB...is this still going to be a textless skin, or do you now plan to implement text into it also?
UND3R ACHI3V3R
2008-07-11, 00:10
Screens please?
Blackbolt
2008-07-11, 01:03
Hi Mike,
Yes the entire motto of the skin is an 'icon driven, as little text as possible' skin. The text description tag you can see on the video is just there now as its enabled, by default it will be off and configerable. In its default settings EX or Ellipsis as it should be known will be almost completly textless, only in the settings menus and where its absolutly needed like file names obviously.
hombrefeo
2008-07-11, 05:18
big big fan of this skin, looking forward to your next update...
Will this Skin get a 4:3 support, or is the time for 4:3 TVs over? :P
I think this skin will only be 720p
Should be done By 2012 I think he said.(Just kidding)
I just can't wait to use this skin.Thanks for still keeping it on your project list.
WOW, AMAZING VIDEO i fall asleep at 0.1 seconds.
sorry man he work, i aprechead but it is so booring and so often seen. Only a tweak of an old old skin. try something new.
tjost,why even comment?
I have a question,where are the skins you have made?Who do you think you are?Trying to tell a skilled skinning team that their work is boring and a tweak of a old skin?There is a way to address your opinion around here and that was nowhere close to it.
lord fluffy
2008-10-21, 05:34
hey are you blackbolt guys still working on this skin or what? i just went to your website and it hasn't been updated since july so i'm just trying to see what's up...
UND3R ACHI3V3R
2008-10-21, 10:58
They are going to reply "life happens" just like they had with MC360. In most cases people making skins get upset when you ask. I wouldn't.
I'm looking forward to this skin. It has potential.
UND3R ACHI3V3R
2008-10-31, 23:53
wow someone posted a rude comment on the youtube video.
A nice update from the blackbolt site;
Update 12th February 2009:
So it's been a while guys, but we've been busy! I've noticed on the forums that there's been a few users complaining that the Ellipsis skin is 'too little, too late', well screw you hippies, we don't give a shit, we're still making it. For the past few years, since finishing MC360 we've all gone our seperate ways, but I've also wanted to finish Ellipsis, just work, etc got in the way. Well finally after a couple of years of nothing much happening, we've gone from a few concepts of the skin to a fully functional skin which is past the mid-point of its development.
The shot below is of the skin actually running. Soon I'll change that shot to a video to give you guys a better idea of how ellipsis looks and works. We know most people are beyond XBMC now, but with the windows, mac and linux versions I think XBMC will live on for a long time to come and we wanted to have one last stab at it. Ellipsis will come in a single download, universal for all platforms. It's primary objective is to work in the home theatre enviroment, be simple to navigate and make it as quick as possible to get to the things you want. During our alpha stage we've had a lot of positive feedback and when we get to a good place very soon, we're going to go public so everyone can experience what I've had in my head for a couple of years and what has finally been brought into reality in the past couple of months.
XBMCG33K
2009-02-18, 14:10
Excellent news!
Looks nice and clean. Saw pictures of it long time ago. Finish it or don't finish it. Its your project. ;)
I'd rather see it finished, but ...............
XBMCG33K
2009-03-07, 21:46
Any more news since the 12th of Feb.?
WOW, AMAZING VIDEO i fall asleep at 0.1 seconds.
sorry man he work, i aprechead but it is so booring and so often seen. Only a tweak of an old old skin. try something new.
Rather an unkind comment it may not be to your taste but there is no need to rubbish it.
I think the skin will be awesome, please do release it.
Don't listen to the handful of folks that don't know there ass from a hole in the ground.
perfection
2009-03-24, 03:26
true: unkind comments are not welcome. just cuz u don't like it, STFU! I don't see ur skins on the forums. i don't noe how to code skins so i just be quiet. if i like the skin, i post. don't post if u don't like it. people like u should be banned forn XBMC altogether. :mad:
BTW: love the skin, i will skin my XBMC with this. (My first skin other than PM3) thank you for your hard work and your efforts on making this skin. your work is appreciated. (UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE WHO NEED TO SHUT THEIR MOUTHS)
jamsponge
2009-04-20, 12:49
what is happening with this skin? Is it still going to be released still? Seems to have gone off the radar
Blackbolt
2009-04-24, 09:34
what is happening with this skin? Is it still going to be released still? Seems to have gone off the radar
http://blackbolt.x-scene.com/ (http://blackbolt.x-scene.com/) :shocked:
FernFerret
2009-04-24, 09:41
Wow. This skin has come so far now, i remember just seeing screen shots and teasers. Will this also work on xbox without mods or is that a goal no longer attainable with one release?
--FF
Looks awesome, Any idea when the skins is going to be released?
Blackbolt
2009-04-24, 13:16
Wow. This skin has come so far now, i remember just seeing screen shots and teasers. Will this also work on xbox without mods or is that a goal no longer attainable with one release?
--FF
At this very moment we've hit a snag with memory running out when playing videos and exiting back out to the menus, but we do have a fix in mind. But yes the plan is without a doubt to have a single download, a single skin that works for both xbox and pc, if we have to make changes per platform, it will be done dynamically within the skin, so the skin will know what platform its running on and adjust itself accordingly.
I am definitely not going to settle for a juddery, slugglish experience. :no::nerd:
Blackbolt
2009-04-24, 13:21
Looks awesome, Any idea when the skins is going to be released?
Soon, can't say when for deffinate but I can tell you it will be after feature freeze of XBMC, unless that's months away, then we'll make adjustments and release sooner.
Just keep an eye on that website, as soon as I know the release date, I'll let you guys know. You'll have a few weeks notice anyway. So at least I can say its not coming out for at least a few weeks as I would have said so now.
Soon, can't say when for deffinate but I can tell you it will be after feature freeze of XBMC, unless that's months away, then we'll make adjustments and release sooner.
Just keep an eye on that website, as soon as I know the release date, I'll let you guys know. You'll have a few weeks notice anyway. So at least I can say its not coming out for at least a few weeks as I would have said so now.
Nice to know your still looking out for us xbox users.
Saves me the time makeing it work for the old black brick:laugh:
If all skinners were as thoughtfull as you i would become redundant ha ha
FernFerret
2009-04-24, 14:37
You know it's sad, when you turn on your xbox, it makes a kathump noise, you shrug, go over to your shelf of modded xboxes, grab another, replace that one, and continue on your day as if nothing happened...
Thanks so much for keeping this with the xbox spirit. Blackbolt did, imo, have the best skins at the time, it's time you made a comeback!
Looks Great!
--FF
Soon, can't say when for deffinate but I can tell you it will be after feature freeze of XBMC, unless that's months away, then we'll make adjustments and release sooner.
Just keep an eye on that website, as soon as I know the release date, I'll let you guys know. You'll have a few weeks notice anyway. So at least I can say its not coming out for at least a few weeks as I would have said so now.
Do you think the 4:3 support will be included??
BTW the skin look amazing!!!
thank you
L.
Blackbolt
2009-04-24, 23:19
Do you think the 4:3 support will be included??
BTW the skin look amazing!!!
thank you
L.
I'd like to think so. Probably not when we go public, but its a possibility as we progress.
peppe_sr
2009-04-24, 23:50
marvelous!!!
Looking very nice in the video.
http://blackbolt.x-scene.com/
manturafs
2009-04-29, 17:18
completely agree. very slick skin bb. i've been waiting to see this skin concept of minimal labeling come. likin it!
Nice video, looks very nice and slick, only bit that is confusing me, is that when you go to settings there is no reference that you are in the settings folder/menu, most of the menu items have the same title as the main menu, just a bit confusing.
Besides that minor detail, that probably only confuses me, keep up the good work!
Blackbolt
2009-05-12, 16:30
Nice video, looks very nice and slick, only bit that is confusing me, is that when you go to settings there is no reference that you are in the settings folder/menu, most of the menu items have the same title as the main menu, just a bit confusing.
Besides that minor detail, that probably only confuses me, keep up the good work!
There is a giant cog taking up the lower half of the screen in the background when you're in settings windows. When you scroll left or right the cog will also turn depending on which way you scroll, also there are little cogs incorporated into most of the settings icons.
Also we will be doing a couple of more things with those icons before first public release just to confirm you're in settings, not to mention adjusting the labels from things like 'VIDEO' to 'VIDEO SETTINGS'.
Looking simply elegant. Are you still on target for an end of summer release?
And, of course, the xbmc skin fanboy within would love to see more screens... *nudge nudge* But I'd understand if your not ready to share.
Looking simply elegant. Are you still on target for an end of summer release?
And, of course, the xbmc skin fanboy within would love to see more screens... *nudge nudge* But I'd understand if your not ready to share.
I for one vote for a let it be a surprise. makes it more exciting that way:)
Blackbolt
2009-07-02, 17:54
Looking simply elegant. Are you still on target for an end of summer release?
And, of course, the xbmc skin fanboy within would love to see more screens... *nudge nudge* But I'd understand if your not ready to share.
Yes we should be read mid summer for a public release. There are some more screenshots on the xbox-scene forums, but soon our new site will be up and there'll be alot more to see there.