Plugins for Mediaportal Important! (3 Viewers)

[Harley]

Hi all plugin developers,

the way mp goes, is that the plugins are all add ons for the main software MediaPortal and not be included in the mainsoftware.
So it is realy important for MP that each plugin has complete support for the defaultskin of MP.
In this case, each plugin developer should be add skinfiles for the deafault skin as default in his plugin.
That should be the first step, by doing a plugin for mp, because all plugins for mp should work with a fresh install of mp, in other way it is no MP Plugin.

So we need here the Help of all Plugindevelopers, please update all your plugins for the default skin.

If you have do it, so please post here in this thread the Pluginname and the downloadlink, so we can see what real Mp Plugins we have, that supports full the Mainsoftware.

Many thanks Harley

 

[emphatic]

Could you please include the skin files with Blue3 as/when they are done? Or, as you are the main skinner of Blue3, shouldn't the community as a whole be better off letting you do the skinning for at least the most popular plugins such as Moving Pictures, My Films and MP TV-Series? When Blue3 was released, I'm pretty sure that many users were put off that it didn't support their favourite plugins right away, like all the other popular skins do. I know I was.

Emph

 

[framug]

the way mp goes, is that the plugins are all add ons for the main software MediaPortal and not be included in the mainsoftware.
So it is realy important for MP that each plugin has complete support for the defaultskin of MP.
In this case, each plugin developer should be add skinfiles for the deafault skin as default in his plugin.
That should be the first step, by doing a plugin for mp, because all plugins for mp should work with a fresh install of mp, in other way it is no MP Plugin.

Hi Harley,
For some plugin (most french plugins), I asked to MP French community then, I hope we will have skin files for B3 and B3wide in few days/weeks/months and, MPI files will be updated.
Therefore, I'm working on a new plugin actually and, I have no more time for skins.
- For MultiSHortcut plugin, no problem, cause it doesn't need a skin.
- For MyExplorer plugin, if someone in the community would propose new xml files for it, I will include it on MPI ASAP.
Regards.

 

[Harley]

Could you please include the skin files with Blue3 as/when they are done? Or, as you are the main skinner of Blue3, shouldn't the community as a whole be better off letting you do the skinning for at least the most popular plugins such as Moving Pictures, My Films and MP TV-Series? When Blue3 was released, I'm pretty sure that many users were put off that it didn't support their favourite plugins right away, like all the other popular skins do. I know I was.

Emph

Hi Emph,

..we need here realy the help of the plugin developers, because developing and maintaining
of all integrated default stuff of mp is enough work for us.
And the real situation is that noone other can do the skinfiles better then the whole developer of the plugin, because he realy know best how it should work. And he only must do one skinfile for his own plugin, thats not so a big deal, i think.
That does not mean, that we not will help. If special gfx are needed like for example the hovers, i will do them.
But, i can not do all the add on plugin stuff for default skin, most off them i don´t know how they work. I´m not use any plugins, i only use mp with the default stuff

Greetings Harley

 

[tourettes]

Also its not possible to keep the default skin up to date if 3rd party plugins change (you shouldnt have to update the MP to SVN version to get some 3rd party plugin skin file updated). It clearly is plugins responsibility to provide the (up to date) skin file for the default skin.

 

[emphatic]

I´m not use any plugins, i only use mp with the default stuff

Greetings Harley

Try Moving Pictures, you're really missing out. And I really understand your workload is big, so that you're willing to take time to create hover pics for plugins is really great. Thanks.

Emph

 

[catavolt]

+1!

This applies especially to MP TV Series. As a skinner you have to search for another skin supporting TV Series, download it and extract the respective skin files to finally adapt them to your own skin.

The plugins should provide at least support for the basic MP skins. If a skinner than adapted it to his own skin, he should enter the respective forum, upload his version and ask the plugin developer to incorporate that one in the next release of the plugin.

 

[Harley]

Hover for Outlookplugin

I have draw the hover for the outlook / Mail Plugin



Harley

 

[fforde]

Harley I understand where you are coming from. It is extremely difficult or impossible for one person to skin every single plug-in that is available for MediaPortal. And I agree that a plug-in should provide skin files that just work right out of the box. But you should understand that many (most?) developers are not skin designers, and they probably have no desire to get involved in this sort of work. Requiring developers to create skins for their plug-ins for Blue3 will only make Blue3 an inconsistent and unattractive skin. If there is not even a style guide how can we be expected to create a consistent experience that lives up to the expectations you have created with the base skin?

As for Moving Pictures, we are starting to get a fair number of skins to support our plug-in, and support for additional skins is in the works. But this work is being done by skinners in the community who are volunteering their time to help improve the plug-in. If I, the primary developer, were to be the main skin designer for Moving Pictures it would quite honestly look like crap.

So I guess my point is, software developers are not always skinners. If you make developers create skins, they will not always look very good and they will almost always look inconsistent with the rest of MediaPortal. And since Blue3 will be the first skin most new users will be using, you'd be sabotaging the experience of new users if you relied on inexperienced skin designers to skin even the most popular plug-ins.

My suggestion is to close this thread and make a new topic in the Blue3 sub-forum. Ask for help from skinners. Make a list of the most popular plug-ins and work on getting a complete version of Blue3 put together with collaboration from the community. You can cross plug-ins off the list as they are implemented, and you can review each addition to the skin. There would be much more control and the work would be in the hands of the most capable people.

 

[Epstone]

yeah, thanks a lot

From my point of view the best thing would be a skin designer application.
Cause.. I like the result of creating a skin file, but I hate the process to create one... Messing around with these position coordinates, sizes, animation types (most I dunno what theyre good for), you know what I mean...

But, I also want to decide how it looks at the end.