iDrive F01 -Alpha Release- !!Question to skinners - Post 40!!

Bimmerstyle · 02-23-2009, 02:40 AM

iDrive F01 is finaly finished!

It's a basic skin based on the new BMW iDrive system. I tried to give it an OEM look and feel. Not too many buttons and features, just the basics, this way keeping the layout as OEM as possible.

Keep in mind that it's only the second skin that i've made and the first one I suit capable of being released. So please be gentle!

Whats included:

-Audio
-Video
-Radio (not yet tested, lost my HQCT module...

)
-GPS
-Picture Viewer
-File Copier (by JohnWBP)
-File Updater (RRUpd8 by Enforcer)
-Mixer & Equalizer screens
-A RRConfig screen
-Skin Browser
-A help screen with some usefull info
-iList

What's not included:

All the fancy stuff. Changing backgrounds, lables, buttons, Media database,... I simply haven't got the knowledge yet to put them all in and they would clutter the skin too much.
Also at the moment no plugins that depend on the internet are included. I don't have an internet-connection in my car so I don't need them. It's possible however that I will include some more screens and plugins later on.
Also phone is not supported. I tried endlessly the various plugins available but can't get any of them to work as they should. At the moment I'm completely fed up with phone related stuff. I kept the button in the skin however and there are empty Phone.skin and .jpg files so people who want can create there own phone screen based on those.

Some Info:

RRUpd8 plugin is not included. Please get it here.

The File Copier is allready set up for my personal needs. I don't have the knowledge to make everything possible to setup from in the skin but I made the skin files easy to change and there is some help info in each of them. This way you can set different paths and locations pretty easy.

The GPS skin is designed for PC Navigator 7. With other navigation software the screens will look weird. In the skin folders is a folder named GPS Images. There are two subfolders in it. One contains the PC Navigator screens the other the screens for other software. You can simply copy the ones you want in the skin folder.

The radio screen is not yet tested with an actual radio module. Everything should be working ok but if there are problems please report them.

The skin needs the "Arial Narrow" font. It's included in the !FONTS-folder for those who don't have it allready.

Also read the Help & Information screens in the skin. There is a little more usefull info in them.

Important: The auto Day/Night switch feature availlable in RR won't work with this skin. It will leave active overlays running when switching when they should be closed!

Thanks:

This skin wouldn't be made if it wasn't for some help of some people:

Enforcer: For the RRUpd8 plugin and answering my often stupid questions on these forums since day one!

JohnWPB: For the File Copier and the inspiration I got by looking at the DFX skin files and trying to make sence of them.

EL_Camino: For the overlay plugin

BlueZX3: For creating the new RR-Config program and skinner tool. Setting up and skinning RR was never this easy!

And of course.... Guino! For creating and keep on supporting the excellent piece of software that is RoadRunner!

Thanks Guys!

The most recent screens I've made aren't exctensively tested so please report any problems. That's why it's an alpha release.

Version: 23/02/09
First Alpha release of skin.

New Version: 26/02/09
Changes made:
-Added Skin Browser
-Corrected Spelling in Help screen
-Added line in help screen
-Different style of bottom buttons in skin browser (test)

Download here!

Enjoy!!

Some Screenshots: (resized to match a 16/9 monitor at 800x600)

Bimmerstyle · 02-23-2009, 02:41 AM

Some more:

Bimmerstyle · 02-23-2009, 02:41 AM

Reserved

Enforcer · 02-23-2009, 06:06 AM

Nice one, will give a test.

treetop777 · 02-23-2009, 07:39 PM

Very nice! Everything is working right out the box. Gps uses the overlay, nice touch.

Maybe the bottom controls will be difficult to see in the car; "on" effect would be nice.

Might be worth hacking - and that's a compliment!

Enforcer · 02-23-2009, 08:05 PM

Circles is spelt wrong in the help section.

Bimmerstyle · 02-24-2009, 01:15 AM

@treetop777:

Thanks! I'm glad everything works fine.

The bottom controls were done this way intentionally. The original iDrive doesn't have those and this way they don't draw too much attention. At night they are very clear and visible in the car. During daytime it depends. When the sun is shining directly on the screen you don't see them very well. But on the other hand, when the sun is shining directy on my screen I see nothing very well...

The "on" effect however is something I will add to the skin later on. I'm planning on using my steering wheel buttons in a different way as now and then I would need the "on" effect to see where I am when navigating through the menu's.

And feel free to hack it any time!

@Enforcer:

So you noticed...

I noticed it too, but after the skin was uploaded. It's allready fixed now. In the next version I will upload it will be spelt correctly. Look at it this way, now it's spelt like it is in Dutch. So you'll be even learning foreign languages when using this skin!

Enforcer · 02-24-2009, 07:56 AM

I knew there was something else, is there a skin browser in there somewhere?

Sonicxtacy02 · 02-24-2009, 09:09 AM

will you be eventually releasing the .psd's? If this had XM and the media plugin i'd use it for sure.

Bimmerstyle · 02-24-2009, 02:12 PM

@Enforcer:

No, the skin browser was dropped actually to make the deadline I promissed some people. I don't really use it. I always change the skin in RRConfig. But if you guys want one I can include it in the next version.

@Sonicxtacy02:

THe PSD's will be released later on. I have to clean them up a little bit. Now there are a bunch of unused invisible layers left in them made when trying and testing different things. Keep in mind however that I did my grafics work in Paint Shop Pro. Although I saved the files as Photoshop PSD's I don't really know they will open correctly in Photoshop. I don't have a copy of Photoshop to test them in.

Enforcer · 02-24-2009, 05:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bimmerstyle

@Enforcer:

No, the skin browser was dropped actually to make the deadline I promissed some people. I don't really use it. I always change the skin in RRConfig. But if you guys want one I can include it in the next version.

Personally I think a skin browser should be mandatory in any skin, especially ones which are alpha and beta releases. otherwise it's a pain to get out of and back to other skins.

GizmoQ · 02-24-2009, 06:40 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Enforcer

Personally I think a skin browser should be mandatory in any skin, especially ones which are alpha and beta releases. otherwise it's a pain to get out of and back to other skins.

EL CAMINO · 02-24-2009, 07:38 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by GizmoQ

Bimmerstyle · 02-25-2009, 12:43 AM

Ok,ok,ok... Point taken!

The skin selector will be in the next release. It should be ready by the end of the weekend. Since I'm back at work on weekdays (last week I had a week off) everything has to be done in the weekend now.

So far this has to be done then:

-Check spelling of help screens (done)
-Include a skin selector

Other problems so far?

Kardain · 02-25-2009, 09:59 PM

I'm currently running this skin

Here's what I've noticed so far...

I drive w/ Nav on all the time (iG 2009). Cops in my area are ticket-happy, and since my car is a hair's-width from street legal, I don't need another excuse to get pulled over.

With that mentioned, occasionally, music goes into "remix mode" where the last second played repeats itself a few times, then continues on as normal. This issue has never occured with any other skin (and I even swapped skins just to make sure).

I just now caught that there are other skins for non-PC Navigator users... the default one works fine with iG.

Track skip forward/back, there is a lag if the screen is idle after a time. This lag causes fast forward / reverse within the same track until it finally realizes you wanted to skip tracks. Again, not present on any other skin.

I notice the same button issue as previously mentioned. Maybe just a touch more contrast? I know the goal is to mimic the OEM model as much as possible, but sometimes compromise could be made. My solution was to take the night skin and color shift it some towards red (I don't have any blue in my car except for the Lilli's buttons, which if I knew how to change them, I would), so the day skin color shifted is way too bright.

All in all, this is an intuitive layout. I like the "scroll-wheel" part in the music player. Ease of use is a key point in my skin selections, so....

What I would like to see: A web screen (even if it is just the blanks like you did with phone that would be OK) and maybe an app launcher screen... other than that, impressive work

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