Essence-1080p [WIP] - Looking for tester/contributor! (4 Viewers)

[n4orcer]

Re: Essence-1080p - Testers/Contributors wanted!

I like where this is going.

Have you considered moving the menu list to the left side. The only reason i suggest this is i am so used to streamed mp and it just seems more visually appealing on that side.

Another suggestion. You could try and possibly align the elements of the skin between different screens. Such as the text in the same place on each. I think it would flow better this way.

Thanks for your input!

We have not discussed anything like that, we would possibly provide it as a option in the configuration tool though. Nothing is set in stone in terms of the layout/design of things, we have gone trough 3 "major" design changes and we will probably end up with a few more before we "hit the nail" on how we envision the skin and we will provide as many options/layouts we can for the different areas in the configuration tool.

This is one of the reasons that this is taking so long, we are constantly coming up with new things to try, design wise and changing things around until we find something that feels just right and that can be applied to the whole skin.

What text elements are you referring to? I'm aware that the episode view is not really in the same layout as the other views in TVSeries, that will be fixed so they all contain the textual information to the right and images/ratings/logos to the left.

Update wise the skin have been a little on hold as i've spent the last couple of days learning and working on the configuration tool (dubbed "ECT"), I've actually managed to get some functions working so thats some progress.

/n4orcer

 

[n4orcer]

Re: Essence-1080p - Testers/Contributors wanted!

Happy holidays everyone!

Time for some screenshots, mostly tweaks to the interface. This are screenshots of the new branch of Essence, which basically is a rewrite from scratch based upon Blue3Wide and for MePo 1.2+. It's currently running smoothly on the 1.2 Alpha.

Still a 1080p skin, just based upon Blue3Wide's XML and file naming scheme which offers faster development of new XML's (we hope). The screenshots are from my development setup so ignore the misalignment, it's only visible on my setup and looks great on a real setup.




Thanks for viewing, please let us know what you think.

/n4orcer

 

[Spragleknas]

Re: Essence-1080p - Testers/Contributors wanted!

Good to see that you're still at it

I trhink I've said everything in prev. pst, but:
- GREAT to see a 1080p skin being dev.
- Looks good! But...
- Still concerned about the readability due to very small fonts being used.

 

[n4orcer]

Re: Essence-1080p - Testers/Contributors wanted!

Good to see that you're still at it

I trhink I've said everything in prev. pst, but:
- GREAT to see a 1080p skin being dev.
- Looks good! But...
- Still concerned about the readability due to very small fonts being used.

It's been going slowly, but thinks are starting to pick up speed again. I understand your concern for the size of the text, It might be a size to small at the moment, I will test a little bigger font size in the coming days and see how that looks and feels.

We do have a few screenshots to show and even a youtube clip! It was recorded on a 42" tv. This way it is a little easier to get a sense of the skin, even if we do not show off that much in it. But we are working hard to get some serious progress done to the skin.




I've finaly got around to do some BasicHome testing aswell, this is one of the layouts that we will support upon release. The "classic's" with the menu on the left side will be there, a "tabbed" menu system and something new that at least I've not seen yet.

I'm sorry for the poor quality of the video and it's shakyness. But you should be able to see some of the new animations and so on atleast.

YouTube - Essence-1080p Quick Demonstration

We are still looking for help on developing or testing the skin. If you are interested in either, please drop a line.

Please let us know what you think!

 

[emphatic]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

That looks good! I too have concerns about font sizes in your screens, but in the video clip it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Emph

 

[SpudR]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

This must be the longest skin development in history!
1st post in March 2010..!

 

[n4orcer]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

That looks good! I too have concerns about font sizes in your screens, but in the video clip it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Emph

Thanks for your comment! The video was filmed from about 3m from the TV, though it was zoomed in. I'll try to take a few photos from the distance so you can see how it looks on a 42" from about 3m away. I've noticed that some elements are a little hard to read and that i squint when reading them, so will increase the size on some elements because of this.

This must be the longest skin development in history!
1st post in March 2010..!

Very true. Perhaps we will get an award for it later.. In retrospect I should probably not have announced it as soon as I did, did not realize how much time things take and with all the new features coming in Mediaportal 1.2+ that I just want to wait for does not help either..

Not counting the hours I've spent in photoshop redoing graphics over and over again because I'm not 100% happy or the time I've spent redesigning screens that could have been left and moved on to new stuff.

Keep the comments coming, we really do appreciate all the feedback we can get.

 

[SpudR]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

The amount of PS hours you've put in really shows - the screenies look cool
Keep the pace and this might be the must have skin of 2012

 

[Spragleknas]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

Well, I guess doing a 1080 skin is more time consuming, as there are not so many XML's to re-use/copy.

Vid looks great. I have tested this skin on my laptop, but I haven't gotten to test @ my 42" yet.

 

[SpudR]

Re: Essence-1080p [WIP]

I wish I had 42"
lol