aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed for MP 1.1.x! (1 Viewer)

[Dadeo]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Hi Photopeter - glad you are enjoying the new widescreen option after all the testing you did before!

Good point! Next version I will create a style so dates can be short in 4x3 and wide in 16x9 I'll try and add that to SVN soon. (I need a break )

In the meantime, if you want to edit it yourself, most of the dates and times are in common.time.xml. The date for most windows is the second control (the one that says 'Date' ) although there are also separate date controls in that xml for My Home and Classic Basic Home screens. revaMPed has it's own date control, so if you use revaMPed you will have to edit BasicHome.xml in the main skin folder as well as in the Layouts folder, and of course any mods of revaMPed you may have created.

 

[2BitSculptor]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Finally MP 1.1 and aMPed 3.2 installed and running.

A question (I may be mistaken)... doesn't MP 1.1 have the fully skin-able virtual keyboard? Maybe be something to check out... the keyboard might need a little sweetening-up (new graphics and positioning)

I like the new stuff, and the thumbs borders in Music/Now Playing look nice.

There are a few things I want to customize for my use, but I can't attack them until I get my current sculpting project out the door. I'm itching to get started, though.

Great Job with aMPed 3.2!!

Chuck

 

[Dadeo]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Finally MP 1.1 and aMPed 3.2 installed and running.

Congrats! Sorry for the delay.

A question (I may be mistaken)... doesn't MP 1.1 have the fully skin-able virtual keyboard? Maybe be something to check out... the keyboard might need a little sweetening-up (new graphics and positioning)

Not MP 1.1 - but MP 1.2.0 will have it. See skin-able keyboard on the MP 1.1.0 to 1.2.0 Skin Changes Wiki page.

I like the new stuff, and the thumbs borders in Music/Now Playing look nice.

I was pushing it with the image borders. They were implemented in MP 1.1.0 but not completely finished yet But I really wanted proper image sizes without having to distort them to fit frames!

There are a few things I want to customize for my use, but I can't attack them until I get my current sculpting project out the door. I'm itching to get started, though.

Of course! LOL I am sure I will hear lots from you when you get started Good luck with the sculpting project - you should take some photos and create a set of backdrops > new theme: Sculptor!

Great Job with aMPed 3.2!!

 

[Pom]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Just an improvement suggestion for a future release maybe... some of the skin backdrops look a bit grainy on my 40" widescreen e.g. the splashscreen and the dragon sitting on the rock to name a couple (i use Wine theme BTW). Is there any chance of replacing low res backdrops with high res ones?

 

[Dadeo]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Yep, good suggestion Pom. I did the backdrops originally for 4x3 screens, so kept them small size (720x405) which improves performance (and keeps the skin size small ) but the widescreen version could use some hd backdrops. I am getting tired of those backdrops anyways, so need some new ones for next release of aMPed! Anyone who finds some great ones, let me know!

In the meantime, you can easily change or add your own HD backdrops. See the aMPed Wiki Backdrops page. If you use BasicHome, you can create your own Mod using the Editor to use any fanart backdrops you have via Fanart Handler Plugin.

 

[briegel]

Thumbs contrast

Hi,

Thanks for the new aMPed skin. I like it very much. But there is one thing that i tried to change but until now i did not find the right xml-file:
I use aMPed monochrome and mainly use mediaportal for music listenig (CDs). When i navigate in the thumbnails or in the filmstrip view the not highlighted thumbs have very low contrast, are very dark and hard to identify. In highlighted condition they are easy to read.
In my opinion there must be a file where i must change something like the "colordiffuse" for these thumbs.
Where do i find this?

Thanks for an answer

Briegel

 

[Dadeo]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Hi Briegel: Since you said 'new' aMPed skin I assumed you meant 3.2 and moved your post to this thread. I hope that was correct.

Yes the code to adjust the opacity of facades is not easy to spot. It is not a <colordiffuse> tag, it is <unfocusedAlpha> tag and that is set in the references.xml. For thumbnails and filmstrips I set <unfocusedAlpha> to 120 (IIRC 220 is fully opaque) but I agree with you that the unfocused items could be a bit more visible and I will fix that in next release. I would recommend you try a value of 150 first and see if that is enough.

If you just want to change it in music, the easy way is to ADD <unfocusedAlpha>150</unfocusedAlpha> to the thumbnailpanel and filmstrip controls in common.facade.music.xml. That will override the setting in references.xml. I would do that for testing anyway as it is much easier than changing references.xml where you have to reload to see the effect.

If you want to change it globally (for all thumbnail flimstrip facades) then you must ultimately change it in references.xml.

In aMPed there are multiple reference.xmls depending on the font size (and screensize) you select in aMPedconfig. That is how aMPed adjusts to each user's preferences. So you need to change the reference.xml(s) file in the \fonts subfolder otherwise those overwrite your references.xml when you change options in aMPedconfig.

I hope that helps. Please let me know which value you find works the best. Thanks

 

[briegel]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Hi Dadeo

yes, it's right i meant the 3.2 version.

Your instructions were very helpful.
I've set the <unfocusedAlpha> to 180, because 150 is still too dark. I have changed it in references.xml. For me it was easy because i only use the 4:3 screen and only Font size 12.

But there are some further things i would like to change:
For example the thumbs inside the frames. There is a small gap on the right and left side between thumb and frame for both- small and big thumbs. I have also seen, that on the top and bottom side the frame is overlaped by the thumb. I tried to fix it in references. xml, but was not really succsessful.
If you have a hint for me how to fix it i would be happy.

Thanks for the fast reply
Briegel

 

[Dadeo]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

I've set the <unfocusedAlpha> to 180, because 150 is still too dark. I have changed it in references.xml. For me it was easy because i only use the 4:3 screen and only Font size 12.

Don't forget to save your references.xml for 12pt font before you install the next release of aMPed. (EDIT: actually references will likely change a lot so you will have to redo your edit!) You have time, a lot of time, because there are so many new skin features coming in 1.2.0 I want to use and it will take me a while!

But there are some further things i would like to change:
For example the thumbs inside the frames. There is a small gap on the right and left side between thumb and frame for both- small and big thumbs. I have also seen, that on the top and bottom side the frame is overlaped by the thumb. I tried to fix it in references. xml, but was not really succsessful.
If you have a hint for me how to fix it i would be happy.

A screenshot would be really helpful. Thumbnail panels are very tricky. There are a lot of codes and they all have to work together properly to get the desired effect. So if I can see exactly what you want to do, the instructions can be less complicated. We really need a proper skinning manual! It is on my (very long) ToDo list for our new Wiki.

 

[briegel]

Re: aMPed 3.2 - mega-aMPed!

Hi Dadeo,

i made two screenshots and marked the two items i ment.
The red marks show the Gap between the Thumb and the frame, the green marks show the overlapping.
For the screenshots i used the unchanged skin.
The Thumb "Last.fm" has an original size of 1600x1600 and "Billy Talent" a size of 142x12 pixels (folder.jpg).