djh_
2008-08-07, 23:28
Before anyone (else) bemoans the start of something new before something old is finished, I should point out that this is merely an experiment and a bid to learn more about the XBMC skinning engine. I figured, having seen a few requests to do something with Microsoft's new 360 dash, that it'd fun to do it as a kind of speed run. So the other night I bashed together a prototype to see if this menu scheme can work (it can) and I've given it a tweak or two since.
http://www.aeonproject.com/dropbin/horizon_proto1.jpg
http://www.aeonproject.com/dropbin/horizon_proto2.jpg
This is an incredibly simple model for an interface and doing it in XBMC should - let me reiterate that, should - be just as easy. The first thing to point out is that if I choose to flesh it out with basic view types and menus, I'll have to run it past Redmond first. I can't really afford to have the Microhammer brought down on me for various reasons. That said, I understand the actual dash is getting an overhaul of sorts anyway.
So what you have here are a number of interesting possibilities, many of which already work surprisingly well:
- You can set custom artwork for each of the menu options, and can even have it cycle. It's kinda like having every Aeon wallpaper slideshow visible at once. That looks like madness in practice, of course, so the cycle would have to be refined to only change with each load of the page. So you'd have different icons for each visit.
- Additionally, there is opportunity for a general custom wallpaper in the background. The page is made of several layers which build up to form the "floor" and background, on top of which is an Aeon-esque vignette. The advantage of this is that backdrops and other items can be slotted in between the layers, potentially controlling their visibility and contrast, ensuring they don't clash. Another possibility would be to drop the entire floor and menu to make more room up top.
- Functionally, this whole thing is actually very Aeon-esque, though the prototype is currently using a music roller-type object for the main menu. A bit tricksy, that. What it means is that there's little of Aeon's functionality that couldn't be included, such as changing menu items, backdrops, and even icon artwork on the fly.
- So long as the basic floor/sky backdrop could be sustained without hitch between windows - and if you look at Aeon's Settings/Core screens it clearly can - you could do a very nifty transition effect with this. Imagine the main menu cascading and fading backwards out of sight, the movie or music menu flowing in from the foreground to replace it. Entirely possible.
This was just me farting around, tbh, and the need to address certain key issues with Aeon (and a mountain of real work) means I can't do anything for the moment. Give it a weekend, though, and it could be well on its way. It'd be nothing extravagant or experimental, just a fulfilment of this basic design to incorporate XBMC's primary features.
Interested?
http://www.aeonproject.com/dropbin/horizon_proto1.jpg
http://www.aeonproject.com/dropbin/horizon_proto2.jpg
This is an incredibly simple model for an interface and doing it in XBMC should - let me reiterate that, should - be just as easy. The first thing to point out is that if I choose to flesh it out with basic view types and menus, I'll have to run it past Redmond first. I can't really afford to have the Microhammer brought down on me for various reasons. That said, I understand the actual dash is getting an overhaul of sorts anyway.
So what you have here are a number of interesting possibilities, many of which already work surprisingly well:
- You can set custom artwork for each of the menu options, and can even have it cycle. It's kinda like having every Aeon wallpaper slideshow visible at once. That looks like madness in practice, of course, so the cycle would have to be refined to only change with each load of the page. So you'd have different icons for each visit.
- Additionally, there is opportunity for a general custom wallpaper in the background. The page is made of several layers which build up to form the "floor" and background, on top of which is an Aeon-esque vignette. The advantage of this is that backdrops and other items can be slotted in between the layers, potentially controlling their visibility and contrast, ensuring they don't clash. Another possibility would be to drop the entire floor and menu to make more room up top.
- Functionally, this whole thing is actually very Aeon-esque, though the prototype is currently using a music roller-type object for the main menu. A bit tricksy, that. What it means is that there's little of Aeon's functionality that couldn't be included, such as changing menu items, backdrops, and even icon artwork on the fly.
- So long as the basic floor/sky backdrop could be sustained without hitch between windows - and if you look at Aeon's Settings/Core screens it clearly can - you could do a very nifty transition effect with this. Imagine the main menu cascading and fading backwards out of sight, the movie or music menu flowing in from the foreground to replace it. Entirely possible.
This was just me farting around, tbh, and the need to address certain key issues with Aeon (and a mountain of real work) means I can't do anything for the moment. Give it a weekend, though, and it could be well on its way. It'd be nothing extravagant or experimental, just a fulfilment of this basic design to incorporate XBMC's primary features.
Interested?