Post by: BenJeremy on February 28, 2003, 06:39:00 PM
This is JUST a bug fix, no new features.
The MenuX compatability has been fixed and tested.
The MXMReadMe.txt for version 0.9h can be found on usenet in alt.binaries.xbox, alt.binaries.games.xbox, and alt.binaries.cd.image.xbox; find that, and you should be able to locate whatever else you need.
Post by: LumbraX on February 28, 2003, 07:43:00 PM
Post by: BenJeremy on February 28, 2003, 07:52:00 PM
| QUOTE (LumbraX @ Feb 28 2003, 11:43 PM) |
| Gr8. Thanks alot BenJeremy. Gonna go to #Xbins right now and download it. |
Check your PMs....
Post by: Iriez on February 28, 2003, 10:48:00 PM
Post by: Jsmith on February 28, 2003, 10:49:00 PM
Post by: BenJeremy on March 01, 2003, 03:50:00 AM
| QUOTE (Jsmith @ Mar 1 2003, 02:49 AM) |
| Is there a list of current features anywhere? |
Probably too many to list.... the MXMReadMe.txt has all of the update history.
Here are the big ones:
* Screen saver
* Title screen - you can provide a title and subtitle for your discs
* full Xbox soundtrack support
* Highly configurable skin support
* Can use multiple skins, randomly selecting at boot up
* Can do Help screens for games
* Works on the hard drive (use as games launcher)
* Supports WMV8 video for screenshots, help, backgrounds, etc...
* Supports keyboard and IR controllerm, besides game controller
* Can auto-configure, loading game entries when games are in immediate subdirectories
* Open sourced
* Configuration done from XML files
* Game entry information can be self-contained in the game directories, allowing you to quickly mix and match previously composed collections
* Allows you to password protect specific entries.
This post has been edited by BenJeremy: Mar 1 2003, 01:54 PM
Post by: taka912 on March 01, 2003, 08:31:00 AM
Post by: BenJeremy on March 01, 2003, 09:16:00 AM
| QUOTE (taka912 @ Mar 1 2003, 12:31 PM) |
| Not sure if this has been fixed in the rel, but .9g had a bug that wouldn't see the screen shot files if I named them .JPG, or .PNG on a DVD. But it would see them just fine if they were .jpg, or .png. Didn't test any other extentions. |
Hmmm.. interesting. It shouldn't matter, I'd think, what the capitalization is, but I'll look into that.
I wasn't aware that was a problem until now, at any rate. Thanks for the heads up.
Post by: legueux on March 01, 2003, 10:54:00 AM
| QUOTE (LumbraX @ Mar 1 2003, 04:43 AM) |
| Gr8. Thanks alot BenJeremy. Gonna go to #Xbins right now and download it. |
this version isn't yet on #xbins ? I've just check it on and nothing
Post by: Tuppes on March 01, 2003, 12:18:00 PM
| QUOTE (legueux @ Mar 1 2003, 07:54 PM) | ||
this version isn't yet on #xbins ? I've just check it on and nothing |
couldnt find it there too
Post by: legueux on March 01, 2003, 11:27:00 AM
| QUOTE (Tuppes @ Mar 1 2003, 08:07 PM) | ||||
couldnt find it there too |
It's normal that you don't find it here.
Post by: BenJeremy on March 01, 2003, 11:28:00 AM
I am working on the #xbins angle (for the MXMReadMe.txt, of course). Did you look in "Dashboards"? I haven't been to the ftp yet, but I think somebody is hinting something there.
I wouldn't claim that MXM is ready for dashboard primetime, but the pieces may be there AFTER 1.0 is release
Post by: legueux on March 01, 2003, 11:43:00 AM
| QUOTE (BenJeremy @ Mar 1 2003, 08:28 PM) |
| Well, try "the other usual places" heh heh... I am working on the #xbins angle (for the MXMReadMe.txt, of course). Did you look in "Dashboards"? I haven't been to the ftp yet, but I think somebody is hinting something there. I wouldn't claim that MXM is ready for dashboard primetime, but the pieces may be there AFTER 1.0 is release |
Hi BenJeremy,
Yes i've looked in Dashboard because there is a directory four your apps
but the lastest is the .g version.I will try to the other usual place thx.
Post by: cezzy2004 on March 01, 2003, 12:55:00 PM
Post by: Hammy on March 03, 2003, 01:05:00 AM
Post by: BenJeremy on March 03, 2003, 04:13:00 AM
| QUOTE (Hammy @ Mar 3 2003, 05:05 AM) |
| Just one question BenJeremy? Should i be using this program as i only use evox and i works great and never fails but from what i read your program just add some other shit which i will never need,like pictures of the game and other stuff,shit all i want is a menu system that lists the game and when picked the game loads and add fancy stuff to the menu is a waste of time to me |
Why bother commenting if it's "not for you" and "a waste of time to you"
Oh... right, you can never help yourself with comments like this one.
MXM is a fully functional, very nice looking, and easily/very configurable menu system for both DVD-R and Hard drive-based collections.
Post by: StrongBad on March 03, 2003, 07:53:00 AM
) but they all have IMHO the same boring evox menu. So it feels good to see them in total amazement when they see my menu that is so alive with sound and animation. And that wouldn't be possible without MXM. They have even wanted to pay me to make their menu look like that. It feels good to stand out.. ehehehe. But check this out, a lot of the times, I let my gf's little bro borrow my xbox. And because he doesn't own an xbox, he doesn't know what half the games are.. so it's nice for him to see the games in action in the menu instead of having to load each of them up.So yeah, just to reiterate.. I love MXM.
MXM - Generator Skin
Right click, save as..
Post by: Ant2483 on March 05, 2003, 01:36:00 PM
How did you do that to your mxm menu? Can you create a little tutorial on how you did that. Your MXM ROCKS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Post by: BenJeremy on March 05, 2003, 01:51:00 PM
| QUOTE (Ant2483 @ Mar 5 2003, 05:36 PM) |
| Hey Strongbad, How did you do that to your mxm menu? Can you create a little tutorial on how you did that. Your MXM ROCKS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK |
It's ALL possible with MXM
He's using a skin with a WMV background (video).It will get even better with the next versions...
Post by: StrongBad on March 05, 2003, 02:58:00 PM
And to Ant2483, customizing your menu simply involves modifying the skin xml file. Unfortunately, it is a bit of trial and error since there aren't dedicated GUI skinning apps that provide WYSIWYG functionality. But it really isn't that difficult. Just positioning the menu and preview window. Then it's a matter of creating the background wmv for the main and loading screens. And then adding the final touch of music and menu sounds.
If you don't want to make your own, you can use the one I made that you saw in the movie. You can grab it from the usual places and it's called 'MXM - Generator Skin'. It's a bit large (80MB), but nothing today's broadband can't handle. It's large because it includes the skin, and over 32 in-game movie previews to use within your menu. I'm currently repacking a release to include a few more movies of the newer games. Also, I'll try to comment sections within the skin xml to make it easier for others to customize. Look for it soon! Of course, you can still benefit from the movie previews in my release to use in a custom skinned menu of your own.
As BJ said, it can only get better from here. I really look forward to the features he has planned.
Post by: BenJeremy on March 05, 2003, 05:38:00 PM
| QUOTE (WhiteBoy @ Mar 5 2003, 09:32 PM) |
| ok what number in the mxm skin file do you use to position the menu and preview window? |
Oh goody... another prospective skinner for MXM!
Just take a look at the code in an MXM_Skin.xml file....
Sets up the Menu block:
| CODE |
: : : : |
Sets up the screenshot:
| CODE |
: : : : |
there is another one like this for the description....
It's pretty straightforward. Just try playing around with a file (run it fromt he hard drive, obviously, to tweak things). It's fairly standard XML, simplified to emulate Section/Key-Value pairs like INI files.
Post by: BenJeremy on March 05, 2003, 05:53:00 PM
| QUOTE (WhiteBoy @ Mar 5 2003, 09:44 PM) |
| thanks alot man. By the way i am kinda new to all this do you know a good site that can help me with xml and stuff like that. |
Well, it's basically just a "metatag" format.... you should be able to open the XML in Internet Explorer to verify you've created a valid file and didn't mess something up.
It's kinda like HTML. I moved to XML because it provides the flexibility I needed for the future skinning stuff (it will be taking advantage of more XML features)
Hopefully, we'll see some PC skin editing/preview tools after MXM 0.9i comes out.
Post by: StrongBad on March 05, 2003, 06:46:00 PM
Post by: BenJeremy on March 05, 2003, 06:55:00 PM
| QUOTE (StrongBad @ Mar 5 2003, 10:46 PM) |
| BJ.. how drastic will the skinning engine change with future releases? Is backward compatibility something you consider maintaining? Or will this new engine you've hinted at be so different that we won't be able to use our current skins? |
I'll keep compatability with the old skin definitions.... that shouldn't be too hard.
Of course... you'll want to play with the new toys
when they become available.
Post by: BenJeremy on March 05, 2003, 08:41:00 PM
| QUOTE (WhiteBoy @ Mar 5 2003, 11:36 PM) |
| what format is the colors on? Hex or something else. Is there a chart somewhere that lets me know what color i am picking? O by the way on the next version if it is possible you think you could have .swf files on it for background |
On colors - it's a 32 bit value... ARGB
0xAARRGGBB
The numbers are hexadecimal, ranging from 00 to FF (255)
AA - Alpha FF means no transparency, 00 means invisible
RR - Red
GG - Green
BB - Blue
For simplicity, you enter the numbers as hex numbers, but it will accept other formats; hex is just the easiest. Once you understand hex numbering, it becomes pretty easy....
0xFF00FF00 - Full Green
0x80FF0000 - Half transparent Red
0x40FFFFFF - Three quarters transparent white
and so forth.
As for SWF, that's a ways off.... there are currently no portable Flash viewers for the Xbox (no open source DirectX viewers at all for flash), so it would require a bit of work (though I have looked into it).
More important after MXM hits 1.0 is the Dashboard Enhancement project, which includes VNC client AND server, web server, telnet, ftp (which should already be in there by 1.0 anyway), IM client, and a few other goodies.
Post by: WhiteBoy on March 05, 2003, 09:35:00 PM
One more question what does the first to letters mean the Ox
Post by: Antipop on March 06, 2003, 05:39:00 AM
Post by: corkinator on March 06, 2003, 01:15:00 PM
) to say this is an awesome tool! I love it, having my games and stuff in the menu list to the left, seeing pics or videos of them to the right, the soundtrack options, skinning, everything!! And it sounds like it will keep getting better! Well wanted to say thanks, that it is appreciated and keep up the good work
Post by: WhiteBoy on March 06, 2003, 03:39:00 PM
Post by: BenJeremy on March 06, 2003, 03:55:00 PM
| QUOTE (WhiteBoy @ Mar 6 2003, 07:39 PM) |
| My videos for MXM screenshots wont play well they will but it is green. I heard that i am supposed to use window media 8 in order to get it to work. But the only thing that gives me trouble is finding out where to download it. Can anyone give me a hint or link. Thanks |
Well, M$ freely gave the tools out.
They might have also just been uploaded to usenet
Look for wm8eutil_setup
Post by: StrongBad on March 06, 2003, 04:02:00 PM
Also, I read that random was a bit buggy. Is that with Xbox soundtracks only? Or any media in any directory? Or has it been fixed? What were/are the symptoms of this bug?
Thanks
Wait, I have more questions...
Or does random have nothing to do with the startup song but only the order of the rest afterwards? Is the song that starts up with a menu the last one played?
Post by: BenJeremy on March 06, 2003, 04:19:00 PM
| QUOTE (StrongBad @ Mar 6 2003, 08:02 PM) |
| BJ.. if I wanted a random song to play each time my menu was started up, can I put the <Random>On</Random> in MXM_Skin.xml? Will it override any settings by the MXM.xml? Or would wanting a random song to play each time require that it be set within MXM.xml? I've had luck, of course, with setting it in MXM.xml, but I think for the skin's sake, it would be better if the skin was able to override the main MXM.xml. (Less work for the people installing the skin) Also, I read that random was a bit buggy. Is that with Xbox soundtracks only? Or any media in any directory? Or has it been fixed? What were/are the symptoms of this bug? Thanks Wait, I have more questions... Or does random have nothing to do with the startup song but only the order of the rest afterwards? Is the song that starts up with a menu the last one played? |
Hmmm... Random isn't supported in the skin definition, at the moment.
I'll be looking at offering a lot more control when the new stuff is rolled out.
As for the bugs.... it's more 'flaky' than a matter of bugs. It should be starting on a random song, but the only way to be sure is to run a bunch of tests. I did some things to clean it up a couple of releases ago, but you never know what might be lingering.
Post by: RolfLobker on March 07, 2003, 09:00:00 AM
Post by: chilin_dude on March 07, 2003, 09:29:00 AM
how about you create a simple WINDOWS app that does all the work for you e.g. after you have got your game directories you simply select the folders you want adding to the mxm disk, enter the names and choose the picture/video you want to use. Then this app moves all your games you selected to the DVD001 folder along with all the screenshots/pictures/videos you selected.
Also if you want to use this as a dashboard is there any way to get this to auto add? as in like evo x does?
thanks in advance
chilin_dude
BTW to Bad:
Is it possible you can up your 80mb file to #xbins?as some people don't have access to newsgroups!damnit!
thanks
Post by: BenJeremy on March 07, 2003, 09:47:00 AM
| QUOTE (RolfLobker @ Mar 7 2003, 01:00 PM) |
| BJ, how about the possibility to enable sound from the background video? |
Patience
- these RenderGadgets I'm creating will give skinners a lot of power; I can easily add control tags for the configuration of these bad boys. They will require a reference manual before I'm though... sound support will be there for image sources (videos) of any nature onscreen.Post by: BenJeremy on March 07, 2003, 09:55:00 AM
| QUOTE (chilin_dude @ Mar 7 2003, 01:29 PM) |
| ben jeremy i have a idea: how about you create a simple WINDOWS app that does all the work for you e.g. after you have got your game directories you simply select the folders you want adding to the mxm disk, enter the names and choose the picture/video you want to use. Then this app moves all your games you selected to the DVD001 folder along with all the screenshots/pictures/videos you selected. Also if you want to use this as a dashboard is there any way to get this to auto add? as in like evo x does? thanks in advance chilin_dude BTW to Bad: Is it possible you can up your 80mb file to #xbins?as some people don't have access to newsgroups!damnit! thanks |
Actually, there are several tools people have written to create MXM config files. The main reason I have not encouraged more development, or created something myself is that until version 1.0 comes out, the design is still being updated and changed.
It's likely many tools might not work in future versions.
There are other complications, of course... mostly in the 'how' of doing these things. I think the best bet for user configuration (non-skinner) would be to integrate complete MXM support into Craxtion as an all-in-one tool. It would be better to build on an existing, well-used app than start from scratch. LepPpeR has mentioned many times about adding MXM support. The latest MXM alleviates the need a bit by being compatible with MenuX, but it would be nice to have it set up a specific MXM configuration, giving the user more options to play with, such as the help screen support and disc title info.
Auto-config is coming.... there is still more work to be done so the menu system can handle multi-level menus, too. It won't be too hard to add the ability to auto-config on other directories; it's just a matter of having some other things set up to get it done.
Post by: StrongBad on March 07, 2003, 12:59:00 PM
Post by: corkinator on March 07, 2003, 01:09:00 PM
) so would rather just grab the smaller file.Either way, it's much appreciated StrongBad, I can't wait to check it out.
Oh, and your list of preview movies looks cool! Did you do them yourself or convert files from websites like IGN etc? I'm glad I could do my own, having the Medal Of Honor video showing the storming the beach stage is perfect
I took all afternoon setting up good scenes in stuff like Splinter Cell, Buffy, and well, everything else I had Cheers
Post by: chilin_dude on March 07, 2003, 01:27:00 PM
well if you do decide to distribute on Emule tell me what your nick is!
cheers
Post by: BenJeremy on March 07, 2003, 02:54:00 PM
| QUOTE (StrongBad @ Mar 7 2003, 04:59 PM) |
| To Chillin_Dude and all, Give me until tomorrow to pack up the next release of Generator skin. I've done a lot to polish the skin up, and I'm pretty happy with it now. The skin was completely overhauled sporting a bit of a design change and used cleaner, more efficient encoding. It now has 5 different background soundtracks and includes over 40 preview movies to use to save you time from encoding. It will probably be the last update until BJ changes the skinning engine. Then maybe I'll try to come up with something new. So the skin will be posted to the usual places tomorrow. If you have trouble, contact me (PM or email), and I will provide you with the files personally. #xbins could be an issue since the file is rather large. Although, I could rip out the preview movies, what do you think? Anyways, here is the tentative nfo: MXM Generator Skin v1.02 nfo I'm glad that there's a lot of excitement for MXM in the air! |
My suggestion would be to release the preview movies seperately. I have a growing collection myself... they might make their way to usenet shortly.
That would make the skin manageable, and people could pick and choose the previews or grab them all, based on their bandwidth and storage capabilities.
Post by: ray12944 on March 07, 2003, 03:06:00 PM
And hey BenJeremy
Any news on making MXM the default Dash
I tried and Put MXM on the c drive and renamed MXM to xboxdash.xbe then evox to
evoxdash.xbe, but it starts on default mode because it says "cant Find MXM.xml" even though
its there, but it still detects the 2 dashes I had on C:, wich was the original and evox so I was just able to choose evoxdash from the menu and presto I was back to the evox dash.
This is what I wanted but It wont get whats on the MXM.xml
MXM WIll be The best Dash, and untill it has ftp capability you can just link
evox in one of the menu items and viola!
Cant wait!
Post by: BenJeremy on March 07, 2003, 03:47:00 PM
| QUOTE (ray12944 @ Mar 7 2003, 07:06 PM) |
| StongBad Can hardly Wait!! Generator Skin Will be the best add-on To MXM, I Bet!! And hey BenJeremy Any news on making MXM the default Dash I tried and Put MXM on the c drive and renamed MXM to xboxdash.xbe then evox to evoxdash.xbe, but it starts on default mode because it says "cant Find MXM.xml" even though its there, but it still detects the 2 dashes I had on C:, wich was the original and evox so I was just able to choose evoxdash from the menu and presto I was back to the evox dash. This is what I wanted but It wont get whats on the MXM.xml MXM WIll be The best Dash, and untill it has ftp capability you can just link evox in one of the menu items and viola! Cant wait! |
THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT!!!!!
Now I know EXACTLY why it will not work as a dashboard!!
I will try and get it fixed, but it may require a bit of work. The problem, now that you've described a few things for me, is simple: MXM expects to "live" on D: but dashboards are launched differently!
Anyway, I will start looking at that as soon as I can. Hopefully, it will be easy enough to fix and get everything working for the next release, after I finish the skinning stuff.
Post by: BenJeremy on March 08, 2003, 10:07:00 AM
| QUOTE (pntless @ Mar 8 2003, 01:39 PM) |
| First off, Thanks for the excellent program BJ and great skin StrongBad. BJ: with wm8eutil, exactly what command are you using? I have tried with a few different videos, and when i try to scroll to that listing in MXM, the xbox locks. |
Here is the line I use in a batch file called "MKWMV.BAT" placed in my path:
| CODE |
wm8eutil -a_setting 64_44_2 -v_bitrate 250000 -input %1 -output %2 |
Just call like so:
| CODE |
MKWMV MyPreview.avi MyPreview.wmv |
Post by: BenJeremy on March 08, 2003, 11:34:00 AM
| QUOTE (pntless @ Mar 8 2003, 02:50 PM) |
| Did exactly as described. Tried it on 2 different computers, one has wmp9 installed, other still only has 8. the premade vids with the generator skin work perfect, load quicker than the jpg's, but the ones i try to make lock the box. Any ideas? |
Dunno... you do have sound in them, right? Even if it's silence, you still need an audio component. Something screwy with the way the decoder works. I put a bit of time into trying to fix it, but came up empty.
Post by: ray12944 on March 08, 2003, 12:50:00 PM
and BenJeremy is right , it was because my original videos had no sound
so I just kept the audio pport open when I captured video even dough
it didnt record the sound