Ellipsis Beta One - Released Friday 4th December 2009

I'm not going to defend the way things have gone with Ellipsis' development, but maybe I should just let people know the facts.

When I worked on mc360, I was unemployed and had a lot of free time. There were also almost 10 guys working together on it. So when I started the project on December 29th 2005, it took us till June 6th 2006 to release the first release. Obviously once that first beta was done, we stepped off the gas a bit and it then took myself, jezz_x and a couple of other guys till February 17th 2007 to have a final 1.0 version ready. In the mean time we just released updates almost weekly, aswell as being in the xbmc svn. Because of the time I was able to dedicate to skinning, I was able to provide everything in the timescales projected.

While finishing off mc360, I started to develop a new skin, ellipsis. My plan was to try to code his skin with a smaller team, or even alone. So I began designing and I felt I was happy with some of my designs so I planned out how I would get the skin coded and textures done and saw it only taking a month or two. Then I got a job offer I couldn't refuse. So I took that, that involved moving. It also meant my freetime just went out the window. So for almost 2 years I wasn't able to much at all, so I thought at least if I keep designing, I wouldn't have to just cancel the project. So in what very little pockets of time I had, I would just fleshout window layouts.

Then in December 2008, I felt I could start spending a little more free time to the project and I was able to get equinox to come on board for coding. Now equinox at this point didn't really know xbmc skin code at all, but he is a software engineer by profession so he would pick it up along the way. So it wasn't until december 2008 that the skin even began really moving forward. So since then pete and I have pretty much sacrificed all our relax time to make this skin happen. A LOT of hours have been put in. We spent a long time making sure things work, are user friendly and are perfectly setup for a home media environment.

So please bare this in mind, it might have been much easier for me to just cancel the project, but I really wanted to make it happen so with pete's incredible help, we've been able to make that happen. If we weren't working, the skin would probably have taken a month or two, not eleven.

I would like to also add, along the way I have also been also working on several other sub projects, such as:

1) Adding needed functionality/bug fixes to XBMC source thruout project
2) Coding and development of teamblackbolt website (GFX Blackbolt)
3) XBMC Virtual Controller (GFX Blackbolt)
4) XBMC Localizer (Due out soon)
5) Ripple effect anim generator (output used in Xperience)
6) Globe anim generater (output used in Xperience)
7) Not tryign to hype this but summin else that im not going to announce till complete.
8) Carousel generator
9) XML Validator and tidier tool

Hopefully if you consider this all you can see we have packed alot of stuff in since we properly started on ellipsis. Especially if you consider i didnt even know the context menu existed and various other things when i first started

what's xbmc localizer?

Some people simply don't realise the amount of time these things take and, like you say, most of it's done in what little free time we get.

Quote:9) XML Validator and tidier tool

Consider me interested.

I will wrap up the tools mentioned and put on site as soon as possible. I like to make sure everything I do is of a high standard and as problem free as possible.

At the moment im interfacting a Tira (infra red device) to xbmc using event client.

http://www.home-electro.com/tira2.php

Blackbolt Wrote:I'm not going to defend the way things have gone with Ellipsis' development, but maybe I should just let people know the facts.

When I worked on mc360, I was unemployed and had a lot of free time. There were also almost 10 guys working together on it. So when I started the project on December 29th 2005, it took us till June 6th 2006 to release the first release. Obviously once that first beta was done, we stepped off the gas a bit and it then took myself, jezz_x and a couple of other guys till February 17th 2007 to have a final 1.0 version ready. In the mean time we just released updates almost weekly, aswell as being in the xbmc svn. Because of the time I was able to dedicate to skinning, I was able to provide everything in the timescales projected.

While finishing off mc360, I started to develop a new skin, ellipsis. My plan was to try to code his skin with a smaller team, or even alone. So I began designing and I felt I was happy with some of my designs so I planned out how I would get the skin coded and textures done and saw it only taking a month or two. Then I got a job offer I couldn't refuse. So I took that, that involved moving. It also meant my freetime just went out the window. So for almost 2 years I wasn't able to much at all, so I thought at least if I keep designing, I wouldn't have to just cancel the project. So in what very little pockets of time I had, I would just fleshout window layouts.

Then in December 2008, I felt I could start spending a little more free time to the project and I was able to get equinox to come on board for coding. Now equinox at this point didn't really know xbmc skin code at all, but he is a software engineer by profession so he would pick it up along the way. So it wasn't until december 2008 that the skin even began really moving forward. So since then pete and I have pretty much sacrificed all our relax time to make this skin happen. A LOT of hours have been put in. We spent a long time making sure things work, are user friendly and are perfectly setup for a home media environment.

So please bare this in mind, it might have been much easier for me to just cancel the project, but I really wanted to make it happen so with pete's incredible help, we've been able to make that happen. If we weren't working, the skin would probably have taken a month or two, not eleven.

You guys don't have to explain yourselves to anyone. It's YOUR skin, and it will be ready when your group has the free time to finish it. It's just xbmc, not life or death.

Can't wait to try something new.

as asked before... how is it performance-wise? how does it compare to the "speedy" rapier? is it xbox compatible?

EqUiNoX Wrote:I will wrap up the tools mentioned and put on site as soon as possible. I like to make sure everything I do is of a high standard and as problem free as possible.

At the moment im interfacting a Tira (infra red device) to xbmc using event client.

http://www.home-electro.com/tira2.php

Look forward trying it out, thanks.

Cimi Wrote:as asked before... how is it performance-wise? how does it compare to the "speedy" rapier? is it xbox compatible?

If you turn off fanart and don't use any custom wallpapers, then it runs fine