Thread: NEW automobile software -In Development-

You haven't looked very hard. Cobra does just about everything except GPS (AFAIK). Check out the MapPoint activeX stuff which you can use to incorporate into your program. My application does MP3, radio, scheduling, and I just incorporated MapPoint into it. It's open source and you can get an early version from my site (only mp3 and radio).

The only version of Cobra I have actually found is version 2, which, no offense to the author, I didn't really like. Perhaps Cobra 3 is better or the still mysterious Cobra 4, but I don't see much happening lately in that series. I will take a look at your program, but it's going to have to be quite different from most others out there to impress me

The package I am developing is pure C/C++ and OpenGL. No visual basic, no ActiveX. Call me old-fashioned, but that stuff is just asking for problems. MapPoint is really nice for GPS and street navigation, but I need something more versatile and less feature-rich. Street maps are nice and dandy, but sometimes you need more and less, you know what I mean?

Not to be rude, but the sole purpose of your post is to overhype your project. There's no POC/Demo versions or screenshots available, so all we know about it is the hype which you created

Actually the sole purpose of my post was to find out what people don't want in my package. I will settle for what they do want, because the information is still useful. I made no promises as to what I'll actually incorporate, and I have only listed what I've already accomplished. There's nothing ready yet because the package is not yet in the first version, which is due out in early September. I have to keep many features in mind early on in development to reduce rewriting/restructuring of code. The first version is mainly framework, so if I were to write it before talking to potential users, I'd have to work out how to incorporate features into an existing structure rather than how to build a structure around features. To get to the point, by getting people involved now, I can please more of them.

It is possible that my software will never be finished or released and I can't really make any promises at this point. I can only get an idea of what the community wants and try to make something in that image. My testing station is my own car which has relatively nice computer equipment and would seriously benefit from an equally nice software package.

By the way, is this for Windows? There are way too many Windows players already out there. Since you have a knowledge of C++, why not do a Linux port?

Yes I was planning for windows only because I don't know of too many Linux people. Porting to Linux is very easy though and if I find some Linux people willing to do some serious testing, I'd put in the effort to make a Linux version. It seems like most people are running lite versions of Windows, so that's my target OS.


Did you have anything to recommend?

Also, this is not a 'player'. This is not a plug-in for Winamp. This is a full package meant to cover every base. If any external programs are used (like Winamp), they will never be visible to the end user.

The main focus is interface. A feature is only useful if the user can quickly access it. This package is primarly targeted towards the driver, so the interface is key.

I do appreciate your comments & criticism, and I hope that you'll at least humor me for now just in the however rare case that I do succeed in my goals.

Thanks,
Jad

I dont think u have seen C3 or C4. I am sure if u look closely or use the search u will see links to c3..... As for C4 look at this link http://www.mp3car.com/usersites/cp/

Word of advice to you especially if u are planning on releasing this to public... You must make the interface skinnable...make ALL the interface customizable as possible.

BTW, CobraII was a freebee and is in now way shape or form close to CobraIII or even C4.

Okay I see C4 now and it does look nice visually, but it still uses external programs and has that VB look. I don't know why, but that seems to bug me. A skinnable interface is quite impressive though!

I don't really plan on having skins, but rather artistic plug-ins like winamp vis. Each plug-in has access to the interface data and complete freedom to draw anything. Menus and other similar controls link back to the art plug-ins. So basically they are like skins and visualizations combined. The system presently loads and incorporates these plug-ins into the processing, but I don't have a plug-in built yet to display the interface. The one that will be incorporated into the first version will be one of my own creation. I'm a big fan of precedural art and particle systems.

There is someone else interested in the project who's a big fan of 3dsmax and photoshop, so it's likely that another art plug-in will be available with meshes and very stylish textures/backdrops.


Does anyone have some features to recommend?

Thanks,
Jad

Hi Mad Jad,
Do you need a fire blanket plugin? I'm doing pretty much the same as you VC++ but I do hook into Winamp, as I love the visulisations (geiss, milk, smoke) and the Winamp API means that I don't need to write my own MP3 decoder or rip someone else's code.
I've had a look at Cobra, I'm not sure what you mean about 'That VB look', I confess that I am a C/UNIX biggot but I think that Cobra is a pretty tidy bit of code, I'm only writing my own because I'm using a custom interface and Cobra has way more features and flexibility than I'll ever use.

But to answer your question:

I want (ie. I'm writing):
Mp3
VCD/DiVX
GPS (UK street map, postcode to postcode)
Simple playlist management
Base station sync (probably 100mb ethernet, but might go wireless)

I might use:
SMS to voice and vice versa mobile messaging
mobile phone unauthorised moving alarm
parking webcams

Pipedreams:
ECU control when I convert my MGB to V8
Internet/mail (probably cost too much over GSM)

Although I won't buy it, hope that you find this constructive, the trouble is most people who are likely to read your original post are developing their own or want something off the shelf now, my advice is to build a flexible beta release, post it and ask for enhancement requests.

Regards.
~MGP3Car

Congrats on all involved for getting through those first few posts without degenerating into a flame fest

I'll have to kind of throw in with C4M and Gutter myself... This forum is mainly populated with "do-it-yourselfers", and that seems to include the software end as well as the hardware end. You may find *some* people looking to use somebody elses software, but getting money from those precious few will be like pulling teeth Of course, if you can pull it off, right on!

I myself have an idea which is similarly improbable due to the independent nature of our community. I've been writing my own "ultimate power in the universe" carputer software and I thought it would be neat to write the whole thing as a series of libraries. That way anyone could pick and choose which parts they wnated to use, and which parts they wanted to code themselves.

Maybe we could all collaborate (I know, it'll never happen...) on some sort of specification for a series of libraries for things like MP3 playback, video playback, GPS display, ...etc. Then people who want to write their own stuff can do so, but it can still integrate into the software that the rest of us put together...