Taking XBMC GUI to the next level

[Johan5556]

Hi Guys

I just wanted to get a discussion started on what you see in the future for the XBMC GUI experience. Wouldn’t it be cool to have more life in the GUI? A 3D Interface with video, animation and special effects.

I threw together a couple of ideas I had. Remember I am no Graphics guy. But it’s enough to get the idea of what I am talking about.

http://www.outpostone.se/a.html

http://www.outpostone.se/b.html

How about a interface changing with time of day, season and selected menu option. E.g. the clock is indicating night. The interface is dim. The weather module is indicating rain. It is raining in the interface. You get the idea.

Only your imagination is the limit!

Many thanks to the XBMC team for a great htpc experience!

/Johan

[Freddo]

Pretty much all of that is already possible.

[sho]

Except maybe videos in skin (if that's what you are doing):
http://xbmc.org/trac/ticket/1356

Nice mockups though.

[watzen]

Pretty much all of that is already possible.

doing a spinning cube with beveled edges is not possible for what I know. A spinning cube might be possible but not without a lot of jaggies between the edges and a lot of messy code. Neither would lightning and shadows be possible of said cube.

[Johan5556]

I haven’t done any GUI development in XBMC so I don’t really know what it is capable of. But I would think if working with mesh object /animation, lighting mapping and shadows where really supported by XBMC we would have some skins using it.

Wouldn’t it be quite cool to have to have water, fish, sea weed and air bubbles your blending in with your main menu. Like a 3d screensaver aquarium. I know there are allot of those.

There are hundreds of cool things you could do. I can’t be the only one who actually thinks this is the way of the future for an application like XBMC.
The GUI development in general is moving towards more effects and 3D. Video games are in the front line they often you have animated rotating menus.

I don’t know if there is an interest from the talented people developing XBMC adding this type of functionality or event if there is an interest from the people using it to have this type of functionality.

For arguments sake let’s say I’m not alone:) what would need to be done in XBMC to make this possible?

Let’s say we use the fish tank and rotating menu cube as an example.

/Johan