@ES - GraFX 'Gray Moon' small status update
By: @ruantec
December 15th, 2011
6:13 am
Hello my dear friends!!!
Today i decided to post a small status update and with it explain few things about the progress of a project that isn't dead, was never dead and probably never will die(at least not that easy). the reason for this thread is to clarify few things and show some small progress that will show that the project is still alive but progressing slowly due to my very busy life.
first of all i want to apologize once again for all the drama, confusion and dissapointment about the progress of my project. i just want to make clear that this is a one man project which means am actually the only one writing the thousands lines of code to make it happen while having some awesome guys testing it.
second i would like to thank Strike for testing the current version as well as schumi even if he hasn't got his hands on the current version since i wanted to re-add some important features that he likes and also to all those true followers of my project. eitherway you guys rock!!!
Now lets go back to @ES - GraFX.... as mentioned the progress have been painfuly slow due to the fact that i do not have enough time to spend on it and also due to the layout re-design which i wanted to do since long time. all core features and previous features are available but since am re-designing the UI things need to get linked back again to the different layers. Thanks God i managed to get some free hours of my busy life and managed to fix lots of bugs, add some core features back as well as even add new ones that many of you may like such as PS3 bluetooth remote control support.
@ES - GraFX holds a new codename as i skipped a version which should've been called "AmpheX". that version was basically the same as the old "MorphX" but after testing i just realized that landscape mode is just better and fits well. because of that i started a re-design in the UI(not a re-write so don't misunderstand that) and made what is now called "GraFX". the new codename also has a theme name which is "Gray Moon" a name that fits well for the new UI theme.
Feature-wise few things has changed such as the grabbing mechanism which now use the advanced mode that wasn't used in the past just to keep XP compatibility. another feature is Android-like stack icons as well as animated background support for those that still love Dreamscenes which were introduced with Windows Vista. @ES - GraFX allows you to set any type of video as your background or almost any type of picture. however you're responsible for the resouce usage depending on the size and quality of the video added.
last but not least another big change is the settings file which was somehow terribly bad structured and people had some bad time editing it. tbh that's the reason why i didn't choosed XML right away for that task since i knew lot of people will manually edit the settings file 
the new structure goes like this:
[SettingItemName]
Description=
Value=
Icon=
As many of you know i quit my job recently and will start a new one in january. my new job will require me to travel so i will have less time to code. however i am free till 2nd january and i will do my best to try to have a new public build ready for all those that had to wait that long.
If for any reason am unable to work in the project anymore in the future i've prepared the code to be made open source. by doing that am hopping that the project will progress faster and new stuff could be added or fixed easily in case people request stuff.
anyways enough talking... here is my new video that shows some of the changes i've made so far:
Note:
Animations and transitions are very smooth but sadly due to the overhead of the screen capture code some lags are present in the video. in reality the whole experience is as smooth as butter Stay tune since i will have enough time till january to add all the stuff back so that we can have the most advanced version of @ES i've ever released.
Over and out
@ruantec
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33 comments on "@ES - GraFX 'Gray Moon' small status update"
December 15, 2011 at 10:45 am
Nice update @ruantec looks like something worth looking for ^^.
December 15, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Looking Awesome man. The new layout looks very smooth and easy to adapt to. Really glad to see you still working on this and adding new features. Keep up the great work.
BTW: Love the song even if I can't understand a word;p
December 15, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Nice update @ruantec looks like something worth looking for ^^.
Also forgot to mention a feature and that's notifications
Looking Awesome man. The new layout looks very smooth and easy to adapt to. Really glad to see you still working on this and adding new features. Keep up the great work.
Atm am very happy with the image quality as well as overlays, effects and overal design after working lots of hours in the past tunning @ES core to get better image quality as well as working with photoshop to see how i can create a tablet-like look for my new theme which i called "Gray Moon". my main goal is to give @ES a professional look and feeling as well as making it look and behave like a real device and not just like another window app... also this time am using more GPU power for that
BTW: Love the song even if I can't understand a word;p
December 15, 2011 at 7:22 pm
@ruantec,
The video you posted looks really nice, your new UI work looks quite smooth & sleek. I gave you a plug at my emulation site http://sixbit.net.
Thanks for sharing this! It's always really nice to see/hear that great projects around here are still alive and well after periods of inactivity
Regards,
December 16, 2011 at 7:17 am
Oi @ruantec, where's my build???!
December 16, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@ruantec,
Thanks for sharing this! It's always really nice to see/hear that great projects around here are still alive and well after periods of inactivity
Regards,
Oi @ruantec, where's my build???!
December 16, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Damn, what a tease. I need it, nao
December 19, 2011 at 6:15 pm
If for any reason am unable to work in the project anymore in the future i've prepared the code to be made open source. by doing that am hopping that the project will progress faster and new stuff could be added or fixed easily in case people request stuff.
Over and out
@ruantec
Thanks for your great work, and I can't wait to try this new version of @ES out when it's ready!
December 20, 2011 at 3:23 am
@ruantec, I have question that I hope hasn't been asked a million times, because I can see that this may be a touchy topic, but I'll ask it anyway, since I'm a bit new to the emulation scene. Anyway, is there a specific reason for the project not being open source, and simply a "one man project"? Is it a matter of creative ownership, or are there other reasons?
Thanks for your great work, and I can't wait to try this new version of @ES out when it's ready!
@ES was created as a private/hobby project focusing in new technologies and graphical UI. because of that it was kinda hard to find someone that shares my views and also my knowledges when it comes to UI design. Sure there are tons of awesome coders out there but lets be honest... how many of them actually have a taste for UI design or even better knowledge in that area???? i think that question answered by itself
Another reason why it never got open source is because am very picky with my projects and way of coding... that means i personally hate when others start touching my code when am writing a private/hobby application. at work is different tho. since at least the company make sure that all the coders follow several rules and code design. am aware that you can do that nowdays using SVN etc. but since this is a private/hobby project i never bothered to use those technologies.
If you give a close look to the actual version of @ES you will notice that i focus a lot in details as well as effects and such stuff. In order to bring it further i will need a coder that is able to code in C#, XAML, ASM and Javascript(youtube layer) as well as work with Photoshop as the actual version of @ES is being written/created using those languages/tools. As you probably notice @ES may not be the most advanced app out there but is quite advanced and complex at its own way and the video above showed that
hope i could answer all your questions
@ruantec
Damn, what a tease. I need it, nao
December 20, 2011 at 4:30 am
Basically it's creative ownership. @ruantec does a lot of stuff with AES I didn't even know was possible and that I haven't seen other apps do. I'm sure there's people out there just dying to rip off his work.