Anyone coding the open source?

[Harbinger]

I have drawn up my daydream for a new MPT interface. Has anyone taken or can anyone take up  the call for coding of a new GUI? I have feasible ideas, which may not require the use of extra programming for the functions, just the interaction of the input with the functions. I want to make sure that someone will actualy set their mind to something better before i throw my ideas into the hopper.

The general plan is to get with a coder, see what he can and can't do, revise my document, then put the ideas on a thread.

Lemme know here or in a Private Msg...

[bvanoudtshoorn]

Here you go. The SVN was last written to on the 19th of March, so I'd say that the devs are very much still dev'ing.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/modplug

What sort of design are you looking at, btw?

[Harbinger]

It's a sleek new hardware skin, as if it were a rack module, with LEDs, dials, but a little more. It's all about making efficient use of space, but making sure the eyes go naturally where you would expect to find what you need. Right now i've just finished the Pattern Page, and i've yet to put together the Sound Page (where the sample and instruments are assembled), as well as the Miscellaneous Page, where all the remaining song settings can be found.
In one of my other posts, i mentioned that i wanted to see all channel data on one page, so i wouldn't hafta keep switching between tabs. I also wanted a 'notepad' feel to it, so i could quickly assemble inspirations and ideas in a short amount of time. I believe i've come up with a workable design, paring down the number of tabs from 5 to 3, conserving space, and making input easy and intuitive (at least to me).
I think many of you would like it, but i absolutely do not want to waste my time throwing ideas in or even transferring the spec sheet to this forum unless i know we have interested and capable coders to refine and assemble it. If we don't, that's okay -- i'll store it with all my other ideas for a more opportunistic time...

[Saga Musix]

honestly, i like the windows look of modplug. reordering the controls might be okay, but I'd hate a skinned MPT.

[anboi]

since it's open source then the best thing is to stick your ideas up somewhere for all to see and if they get a lot of support and someone with coding skills likes them then voila! i always see open source as a big pot of ideas that get filtered through the choices of those few talented enough to code and through the opinions of all the users (which individually don't count for much but in large numbers are enough to influence those mystical coders!) your ideas sound a little ambitious though perhaps - remember it takes a while to even make a single slider that works and there're a lot of decisions along the way about what exact type of slider is required and how to implement that. a whole reskin with large changes to positioning of elements and changing the control methods used to alter values sounds like a very big job.

[bvanoudtshoorn]

It might not be as hard as you think, anboi. If you're still using the stock-standard Windows controls, the compiler includes a WYSIWYG editor for the visual elements, which is essentially drag and drop. So rearranging controls on a page wouldn't be too hard. It *would* be harder to move controls from one page to another, though. And if you're wanting to use completely different controls (which I would discourage, unless there's a definite usability reason for it - people can change the appearance using Windows themes), that *would* be a lot of coding.

[Harbinger]

since it's open source then the best thing is to stick your ideas up somewhere for all to see and if they get a lot of support and someone with coding skills likes them then voila! i always see open source as a big pot of ideas that get filtered through the choices of those few talented enough to code and through the opinions of all the users (which individually don't count for much but in large numbers are enough to influence those mystical coders!)

I've been to many forums where good ideas get bandied about but nobody ever works on them. It ends up being a big daydream melting pot, where all the cooks dream up a great recipe but no one ever turns on the stove (or those that do get in over their head!). I literally do not have the time to 'play', but what i do have are very good ideas that will work for most users, and if a coder is interested and can put in some time, he can speak up....