Tell Us More About The Gui

[Loon]

Like the majority of readers on these forums I'd love to see Pandora become a commercial success. The very idea that a community lead project could lead to a superb UMGPC (ultra mobile gaming PC) just totally rocks.

It's my belief that the commercial success or 'failure' of Pandora will largely rest on the frontend, or GUI, call it what you will.

So my plea to Craig and the Devs is to show us what you've got.

As the release date has slipped a little then why not give the community something to do in the summer?

Let's get the GUI right, together, or at least get it wrong together.

There seems to be a pretty creative bunch who read these pages, who thinks we can design a killer user interface?

I do for one.

 

[MagicPants]

I suggest the gui is not to include too many options, at least not for novice users. Just figure out what most people are going to want to do with the thing and the best way to do it.

Nothing kills a gui like having 5 ways to do the same thing. But honestly the interface to the emulators is probably complicated enough to weed out most casual users.

When you are trying to design something simple it's best to just have one person do it. The community should give feedback about their concerns, but the last thing you need is 50 people arguing over what color to make the "options" button or whether it should be on the top or bottom of the screen.

 

[mindlord]

It's for those reasons that I hope the front end is extremely malleable so it can be up to the user to find a look and feel that suits them.

 

[Esn]

Wasn't there already a huge thread about this? (or two)

To be honest, I'm not too worried about the GUI. I think that the GUI will evolve as the capabilities of the device evolve throughout its lifetime, or if the "official" one doesn't then someone will make a better one. That's how it worked on the GP32 anyway, which was admittedly a much simpler system.

 

[Rayek]

I don't know if this is the one we all clamored for, but it was last time I checked...
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=42218

Then again, it's just a design. I don't know how its being implemented. I'm guessing that they'll show us something when they have something to show.

 

[Loon]

I don't know if this is the one we all clamored for, but it was last time I checked...
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=42218

Then again, it's just a design. I don't know how its being implemented. I'm guessing that they'll show us something when they have something to show.



Love the look of the GUI in your thread link but I'd love to see the real thing even more.

I'd hope there is something to show as if it wasn't for those damn nubs we'd be pre ordering about now.

 

[Rayek]

Love the look of the GUI in your thread link but I'd love to see the real thing even more.

I'd hope there is something to show as if it wasn't for those damn nubs we'd be pre ordering about now.

I'm with you, a screen of what they have so far would be a real treat, considering they've been at work on it for a while now...

 

[D.C.]

Love the look of the GUI in your thread link but I'd love to see the real thing even more.

I'd hope there is something to show as if it wasn't for those damn nubs we'd be pre ordering about now.

I'm with you, a screen of what they have so far would be a real treat, considering they've been at work on it for a while now...


I concur

 

[Rayek]

I concur

One thing to keep in mind, though... They're probably being stingy with the updates because there will be massive threads about how they've gone wrong with this thing or the other, and a few people will want to change something that was virtually done by the time they posted it, hence huge argument threads about what to change so late in the game. And considering that some people are not too happy with setbacks on the forum, its a little understanding that they're not posting every little minor change.

Though, there are those of us who would just like to have an occasional update sometimes with photos... :lol:

 

[D.C.]

Indeed, the recent sentiments on the forum haven't really been encouraging. Maybe they're waiting till the GUI is decent looking so people's response will be more positive.

 

[Rayek]

Well, that could be it... This forum has grown exponentially since I signed up and that brings with it a myriad of people with different wants/needs... It seemed much simpler and straightforward when we were

a: dealing with 150+ or so active daily users
and b: waiting for a product (gp2x) that wasn't community built.

The threads were pretty tame in comparison, I remember feeling that people were a lot more patient.

One thing though, they know they'll have us foaming at the mouth. Imagine a video of a complete Pandora (nubs and all) going through the boot process (so we get to see the BIOS, etc) and loading the GUI. That would be enough to shut anyone up, really.

 

[jmetal88]

Well, that could be it... This forum has grown exponentially since I signed up and that brings with it a myriad of people with different wants/needs... It seemed much simpler and straightforward when we were

a: dealing with 150+ or so active daily users
and b: waiting for a product (gp2x) that wasn't community built.

The threads were pretty tame in comparison, I remember feeling that people were a lot more patient.

One thing though, they know they'll have us foaming at the mouth. Imagine a video of a complete Pandora (nubs and all) going through the boot process (so we get to see the BIOS, etc) and loading the GUI. That would be enough to shut anyone up, really.

*Sigh* Those were the days...

 

[Esn]

Pffftt. I remember back when it was just Hando and a few other guys, and the GP32 had just come out with 1337 games like "Kisi & Kimi". Get off my lawn, you young'uns.

Anyway, I think they're doing a good thing by keeping quiet. The noise in the bus is already unbearable as it is.

 

[kloplop321]

We need to get a quad layered bus...

 

[jmetal88]

Pffftt. I remember back when it was just Hando and a few other guys, and the GP32 had just come out with 1337 games like "Kisi & Kimi". Get off my lawn, you young'uns.

Anyway, I think they're doing a good thing by keeping quiet. The noise in the bus is already unbearable as it is.

That would have been nice... Looks like I joined about a year and a month after you did.

 

[Rayek]

Pffftt. I remember back when it was just Hando and a few other guys, and the GP32 had just come out with 1337 games like "Kisi & Kimi". Get off my lawn, you young'uns.

Anyway, I think they're doing a good thing by keeping quiet. The noise in the bus is already unbearable as it is.

Heh, Pffftt indeed!

I remember being so frustrated with my PSP that I sold it to a friend who bought me the preorder for the GP2X... Honestly, the crappiness of the PSP drove me to search for alternatives, LOL. I'll never make that mistake again. [To clarify: the mistake of buying a PSP... ]

To the point, though, it's good that they're being silent for the time being, I agree. But I'm still one of the ones who just wants to see something... Not to validate progress or anything so malicious, just because I'm interested in what's going on. And a UI would be awesome to see at this point.

 

[darkbiship]

Well, that could be it... This forum has grown exponentially since I signed up and that brings with it a myriad of people with different wants/needs... It seemed much simpler and straightforward when we were

a: dealing with 150+ or so active daily users
and b: waiting for a product (gp2x) that wasn't community built.

The threads were pretty tame in comparison, I remember feeling that people were a lot more patient.

One thing though, they know they'll have us foaming at the mouth. Imagine a video of a complete Pandora (nubs and all) going through the boot process (so we get to see the BIOS, etc) and loading the GUI. That would be enough to shut anyone up, really.

True and true

 

[Rayek]

Hey, I haven't really thought about this until now, but the change in tone could be due to the nature of the device, now that I ponder it...

Before, we already had a good spread of interests among us; Linux/OSS, retro gaming, emulation, and homebrew... Now we've got a device on our hands that's capable of UMPC-like tasks. The questions on these forums are more geared toward discussing a UMPC rather than a gaming machine, which had always been the case on GP32X until the Pandora.

Not saying its bad or good, just pointing that out, since we're discussing it

 

[emil10001]

Rayek, also consider that this device will likely be more powerful than most of the MIDs announced thus far, with better inputs, smaller, and a LOT cheaper. I'm really excited about the gaming, but I am at least, if not more excited about having such a powerful mobile platform to replace my n800.

 

[Rayek]

Right. I am excited as well. But... Unlike a lot of people who have just hopped onto the scene, this will be my first mobile computer. Ever. I don't even own a laptop, mind. All of that is just a bonus, really. And if the homebrew/emulation scene for the Pandora gets overshadowed by everyone clamoring for UMPC-like stuff, I'll be a very sad person, to tell you the truth. I don't need the Pandora to get in my palm really quick so I can sell whatever other UMPC I have at greater aftermarket value... That's not my priority, and I have a feeling, a lot of the "oldies" just want an open gaming platform, and would be completely satisfied with the Pandora sans UMPC-ish.

And to be quite honest, I haven't see anyone even mention an emulator or a homebrew project on this forum in a while...