GuiHints for the Pyra

[rygD]

Believe it or not, I am not trying to argue completely against them.  I just think it makes more sense to wait to see if they are needed.  Since several of you have decided they are, I have a couple questions.

Can they be made to not take up much screen real estate and still be legible/easy to identify?

Can they be added to the smileys here?

Actually, can we add the Pandora ones to the smileys here now?

 

[Binky]

Actually, can we add the Pandora ones to the smileys here now?

Sounds like a very good idea. Does IPBoard support that sort of thing?

 

[bzar]

If it does, I'm certain it'll completely spam the "smiley" bar. Not that it would bother me

 

[levi]

Can they be made to not take up much screen real estate and still be legible/easy to identify?

The Pandora ones don't seem to large to me, while are still legible.  Will that size do?

 

[bzar]

They are quite well scaling. I think Christoph.Krn paid attention to that when making them. So they could be made smaller.

 

[_wb_]

Also relevant in this discussion: my idea to do this (have GuiHints in some standard location) for both the Pyra and the Pandora, to make it easier for Pandora/Pyra devs to automagically show the correct GuiHint images.

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15778-pandorapyra-applications-usrsharepandyra/

(This technique could even be used to lazy-port Pandora/Pyra specific stuff to the PC, by making a PC GuiHints package that has images that look like "Home" for ( A ), "Left Ctrl" for SELECT, etc.)

 

[rygD]

If it does, I'm certain it'll completely spam the "smiley" bar. Not that it would bother me

I was only thinking of ABXY since those seem to be the most likely to be confused.

Can they be made to not take up much screen real estate and still be legible/easy to identify?

The Pandora ones don't seem to large to me, while are still legible.  Will that size do?

I am just thinking of how much space will be wasted if I connect the Pyra to an external display.  That is what I was trying to say earlier when I first mentioned being able to change the size (I am going from memory, I will check later tonight to clear up confusion if it arises or matters).  The problem that I see is there isn't a one size fits all solution, afaik.  What is a good size on the internal display may seem massive on a TV, which is fine if you are across the room, but not so great if you are using it as a desktop monitor with the intention of making the most of the resolution.

I guess my answer is "Maybe".

They are quite well scaling. I think Christoph.Krn paid attention to that when making them. So they could be made smaller.

If they can be easily adjusted on-the-fly somehow that would be nice, otherwise whatever most people feel is the optimal size on the Pyra display (as was done with the Pandora) is probably the best bet.  Side question: Will we be able to easily zoom in and out on the desktop/windows?  I am thinking of how you do it in Android, and it is probably a discussion better suited for another thread.

Also relevant in this discussion: my idea to do this (have GuiHints in some standard location) for both the Pyra and the Pandora, to make it easier for Pandora/Pyra devs to automagically show the correct GuiHint images.

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15778-pandorapyra-applications-usrsharepandyra/

(This technique could even be used to lazy-port Pandora/Pyra specific stuff to the PC, by making a PC GuiHints package that has images that look like "Home" for ( A ), "Left Ctrl" for SELECT, etc.)

I thought that was mentioned already, and I prefer that option to including them in each package (sorry if that is a terminology fail, I am in need of sleep to help with thinking and remembering and paying attention and stuff).

 

[Christoph.Krn]

Bundling the images.. thats a pretty good idea. Need 'em in svg and raster

What would be the reasons for requiring both SVG and raster versions? (See "* Why aren't guihints made in a scalable file format, such as SVG?" in the NAQ at guihints - preview01, 02)

Can they be made to not take up much screen real estate and still be legible/easy to identify?

On Pandora, the size is optimized for optimal viewability on the built-in screen, but like bzar said, a certain amount of leeway in terms of scaling, distortion, and such is built into the design. See Pandora Microbes, which is making use of that in its in-game screen, where screen real estate is at a premium.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

Okay, so not technically OS development, but will there be a new set of GuiHints (or at least an update for the new buttons)?

Could they be included in the OS too? So programs could refer to them without the need to redistribute?

I'll probably not do it before I have the physical Pyra.

But, if anyone who's already working on Pyra software now wants to use guihints, you can contact me by pm or via email at the forum username that I use here at posteo.de
It would help me with the preparation of development to have potential real-world use cases.