XBMC Visualization Competition

[Gamester17]

xbmc visualization competition

team xecuter has kindly offered to donate 10 final versions of the xecuter 3 modchip to the xboxmediacenter project for us to run this audio visualization development competition. the purpose of this competition is to develop new audio visualization plugins for xbmc and/or extend xbmc's visualisation interface, hopefully it will also encourage more programmers to join the xboxmediacenter development. the competition starts of right away and will end two months from now. all good entries (winners or not) can be integrated in xbmc, however the top-10 entries (decided by the xboxmediacenter team) will each win one state-of-the-art x3, a top-of-the-line modchip by xecuter for the xbox, so new that you can't even buy one yet, thanks team xecuter!



non-developers please make a paypal donation for the winners modchip shipping cost to help

xbmc visualization competition code requirements:
- full source must be submitted as open source (l/gpl)
- must be in c/c++ or assembly and compile under msvs
- embedded assembler is permitted, only if really needed
- the plugin must use xbmc visualization plugin interface
- the plugin should preferable be configurable via xml file
- visualization must be in synchronization with the audio
- only xmms/winamp extending interface also welcome,
* (but it must work with unmodified visualisation binaries)

xbmc visualization suggestions (not requirements):
- port open source visualization or code it from scratch
- improvements on xbmc visualization plugin interface
- extend interface to use xmms visualization plugins
- extend interface to use winamp visualization plugins
- configurations options available from inside the gui
- recommend program in direct3d as it is xbox native
- opengl might be possible if write a sdl wrapper(?)

xbmc visualization competition rules and conditions:
- all the requirements for the competition must be met
- can't have illegally acquired or non open-source code
- no illegally acquired or copyrighted pics can be used
- code can be based upon other open source projects
- no existing xbmp or xbmc team members may join
- visualization can't simply be a goom or jm's sa mod
- the full source must be submitted before contest end
- the last competition submission date is 14/03-2004
* note! on 8th/4 contest end was postponed to 18th/4
- code judged on look, quality, functions and cleanness
- if equal function & look code will be chosen on quality
- winner will be decided by the xboxmediacenter team
- the winners should be announced before 21/03-2004
* note! on 8th/4 contest end was postponed to 18th/4
- one person or team may submit more than one entry,
* (as long as both the code and look significantly differ)
- each winning entry can and will only win one modchip
- if a team wins a prize they have to split it themselves
- all winners pay s&h if the donations do not cover it
- we reserve the right to cancel this contest if needed

source code can be submitted here (link), make sure you select "competition (x3-viz)" as category in order to join this competition. we recommend you register a sourceforge.net account and login before you submit a patch as you then can update or change the entry as you progress. note that sourceforge has a 256kb upload limited per file, though you can attach more than one file if you need more space you can upload the file/s here (link) after you submitted the entry on sourceforge to get a "patch entry id #".

[Gamester17]

you can help developers find open source visualizations! i've found these possible project exampels:
good guides lines in finding portable code is c/c++ source code, preferable win32 and directx/direct3d

the nebula device (sf) (c++ & direct3d for win32 - 3d realtime visualization engine)
candide (c++, win32 & directx- 3d realtime visualisation)
whitecap (c++ for winamp or win32 standalone - non-3d visual plugin for audio players as well as a standalone screensaver)
g-force 1.6 (c++ for winamp or win32 standalone - non-3d visual plugin for audio players as well as a standalone screensaver)
greenshift (c++ & directx for winamp - 3d audio visualization plugin)
stepmania ( c++ for win32 - game inc visualizations)
skullydoo (c++ for win32 - 3d architechture & visualization)
nat spectrum analyzer & guitar tuner (c++, win32 & directx - spectrum analyzer?)
i3dfm (c++ for win32 - 3d file manager for visualizations)
paranormal (assembly & c for x11)
openqvis (c++ - visualization of 3d volume data)
wavesurfer (? - tool for sound visualization)
gxsm (c & c++ for linux - 2d/3d visualisation)
funtimedancer (c for posix/x11 - animation visualization)
extace (c for x11/linux- 3d audio visualization tool)
imlib3d (c++ & os independent - 3d visualisation system)
sgl (c++ & opengl for win32 - scene graph library api)
interactive visualisation framework (c++ for win32 - small class library encapsulating opengl)
open scene graph (c++ & opengl for win32 - library for real-time visualization)

other development resources:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library....als.asp

[Gamester17]

developers wanting to create visualization plugins for xbmc might also find use of fankey's code development for the xbox dsp

[Frodo]

@developers, come on, don't be shy, we love to hear if you are planning to join, what kind of visualization and your progress

frodo

[mu5e]

i am new the the xbox scene and see this competition as a great way to get my feet wet. do i need the xdk to write a visualization? where can i get more information on how to get started. any help would be great.

[Gamester17]

dependance of the xdk depends of kind of viz you code, if non-directx/d3d then you may not need the xdk, much more info here (link)

[Gamester17]

aren't there more devs that is interested in joining this competition?, where are all you developers hiding? *...is it that you are developing for this contest but you want your entry to be a surprise and are waiting to announce your entrance in the last hour or do you just don't want to code this? come on and step up, we know that there are are so many talented developers out there that could do this if you wanted too, and i thought that someone would at the very least jump on the whitecap (src) and/or g-force (src) code by now as it's available as standalone and it's not directx. what about you other high-profile xbox homebrew devs in the scene (xport, lantus, benjeremy, eabair, team-evox, team-avalaunch, team-complex, james/unleashx, xbox-os team, team-xecuter, ...and many others that together becomes to many to mention here (we respect u all!)), any chance you will contribute with an entry? there doesn't seem to be many people joining this contest so anyone who would dare to enter could win.

ps! you don't have to take the modchip prize if you win if don't want to too, ...just in case that is what is holding you all back

[Hullebulle]

Originally Posted by (gamester17 @ feb. 09 2004,15:08)

ps! you don't have to take the modchip prize if you win if don't want to too, ...just in case that is what is holding you all back

:lol:

[nmrs]

i have a vis that i am working on right now. i have it working perfectly as a standalone xbox app, but having trouble converting it to a dll (vis) file for XBMC to load. i copied the spectrum visualization solution as a base, and modified the source to use my files. i am using more directx functions than the spectum xbox_dx8.lib is exporting, so i added the functions i needed to the def file, ran makelib.bat, and managed to get it to compile fine.

so far so good, but when i moved it on to the xbox to try out, nothing happens (with feb 12 build that is--with older builds, the xbox crashes/locks up).

i'm pretty much at a loss here on how to proceed. like i said, it works perfectly as a standalone xbe, so i'm not exactly sure why xbmc is having trouble with it.

it's based on a full particle system, so it should be pretty easy to tweak a few variables here and there and get a pretty wide range of different visualizations.

if anyone has any advice on what steps i should try next, i'd love to hear them.

[Gamester17]

Originally Posted by (nmrs @ feb. 13 2004,16:48)

i have a vis that i am working on right now. i have it working perfectly as a standalone xbox app, but having trouble converting it to a dll (vis)

developmment for this this is best discussed here (topic thread link), technical questions will also easier catch other devs eyes in there