Anyone able to help with faking up a bogus prototype render? :)

[skeezix]

The woodgrain is nasty, but probably fairly realistic; I'll have to talk to ED, but I imagine doing any sort of case for the thing would be impossible .. excepting perhaps a standard $20 project box in black, with manual holes cut in using a dremel or something ghetto like that

Maybe try a few other textures, charcoal gray or something, just to make it remotely cool looking (this being a fake render anyway); maybe an angle-on shot for the front page thats a few inches high (not enormous), and a smaller one maybe an inch high for the banner or something?

We'll see how long it takes for www.zikzak.ca DNS to float out, and if it works; I put up a default apache install, just to see if it comes up.

Time to hit the sack ..... after some Doctor Who

jeff

 

[Fzero]

Here's a few with a dark grey box

And a little banner effort

Happy to do a banner if you want, with your URL and some specs or whatever strapline you want it to read. If you've an idea on how it should look.

If you want I can add some more 'bits' to the model and do other pics, like a little panel flap looking section at back or something, other ports it might need to show

 

[Fzero]

And just added a VGA port and random panel for ....errhm.... some stuff to go in

 

[WizardStan]

I imagine doing any sort of case for the thing would be impossible

I have access to a 3D printer and laser cutter, if that helps. Get some sheets of black acrylic (or just boring plastic if you want to be really cheap) and make your own boxes. Not anywhere near as efficient as injection moulding but how many are you thinking to make? A few hundred? A sheet of acrylic is cheaper than those project boxes and you'd have all the holes cut and labelled without need of a dremel, just takes a minute or two to assemble.

 

[skeezix]

Damn, I'd kill for a laser cutter (for printing smd stencils) and a good 3d printer - WS gets all the toys


Worry about it later but thanks kindly for setting a bug in my brain

 

[fusion_power]

The wood box looks good. The dark one looks to 16 bit like imho.   To make the design a little bit more retro and interesting without adding to much complexity, it could have an partially sloped top, like an Amiga had for example or the black Atari 2600:

 

[skeezix]

I'm not too worried; I want somethign eye-catchy enough so the website is not dismissed entirely in the first half second the eye sees it .. but at the same time, no need to over promise. I doubt zikzak will have a case at all, and if it does.. it'll likely be a rectangular box with holes in it (but who knows!)

Sorry, tied up all day .. zikzak.ca registered, but DNS isn't sorted out yet.

More time later or tomorrow..

I think I can probably use some of the above renders; not sure if they're the right angle and size and all that, but I'll worry as soon as I get a moment to sort out dns, get a wiki/blog on there, etc

jeff

 

[skeezix]

Woot, www.zikzak.ca came through so I'll start setting something up soon

 

[Fzero]

Kool... You should perhaps register your interest for one of the many new TLD's coming very soon for public registration... Like:


Zikzak.computer


Zikzak.ninja


...the .computer domain would be good for you/this

 

[skeezix]

... and hosting company screwed something up yesterday so domain is down again. I've severed most ties with that group, but still have domain registrar there.. but wow, do they seem to have problem after problem lately.. :/

jeff

 

[WizardStan]

I've been using http://www.topclasshost.com/ for years and they only ever had a problem once where a server's raid drive went out and then while they were recovering it a second one died; backups are weekly, so people lost 6 days of changes. Even though I wasn't affected, they still gave me 2 months free to make up for it.

Of course, my "use" is basically just a remote file server. Your mileage may vary.

 

[skeezix]

I've got a basic site up!

Thanks to Fzero for the renders! I've only used one so far, but will have to slide a few more in. Forgot you did a page header as well .. what do you think of the late-90s 'chromey' look I slapped together?

http://www.zikzak.ca/

Not a lot there; a little self indulgent perthaps; let me know if you guys like the style of it at all, and if it seems neat.

The main ZikZak thread will keep getting updates, and I'll also post the good ones to the zikzak website dev blog now as well; it will at least serve as a place to store the screenshorts, photos, youtube links etc, so I don't lose them (already lost lots.. time to thread dive )

 

[Fzero]

Really nice!

I love your logo too with the little glimmers of spectrum rays

Spotted few minor typos;

---------------------------------

Main page - [wand] should be [want]:

Just wand to hack around

---------------------------------

Developer Blog page - [jopystick] should be [joystick]:

Likewise, testing handling a jopystick

----------------------------

Zik80 Computer/Console page - [ultiamtely] should be [ultimately]

The project is a moving target that will ultiamtely

----------------------------

Zik80 Computer/Console page - [coudl] should be [could]

 and you coudl ignore the Z80 if you want to

----------------------------

Guiding Principles page - [deisgn] should be [design]

Simple; the deisgn

----------------------------

Kool site though, will be good for your projects progress documenting

 

[skeezix]

edit: naah, ignore; I'd love to use more of the renders (and thumbnail and larger like you have), but they're faked up.. needed somethign to make front page look good (which it does; it just looks awful without somethign there.) So lets not waste your tikme by fiddling with details .. we can work on it more when I've got actual dimensions down, and so on.

Thanks for the artwork

Can you change the render so the joystick ports are the 5+4 pin rows, not the PC-style wider (more pins) connect? No biggy, since its all fake anyway, but if it takes 30s to do and you're bored, feel free If it takes effort, don't bother. edit: Or make the renders available in two sizes.. thumbnail and larger like you have. But given they're renders

Sorry, I need to shut up in this thread, dont' want to keep bringing it to the top

jeff

edit: Typos fixed

 

[Fzero]

I changed them to look like this:

And here is a snap of the model with the new joystick ports, tried to match it to the one you used on your main page [432x288px]: