I was wondering if someone could help me out with this idea for a live wallpaper I had. I just wanted a simple wallpaper that would load 2 or more images and place it on image planes set in a Z space, thus when swiping it would give the idea of parallax.
It would be cool if anyone could create png files with transparency and create their own layers.
Unfortunately though I really have no idea on how to code anything so if some developer with some spare time would consider making something like this I would appreciate immensely!
this would be sweeeet, cant help on the code though, sorry!
VERY sweet idea!
All I know is that the top image, would have to have some transparency, thus be a PNG.
Anyone able to code this!??!?!
I'd be one of the first to donate for this!!!
would also donate for sure!
I'll bite, I needed to kill a few hours. Here's a LWP that supports user generated layers with parallax scrolling:
http://files.clangen.org/parallax/Parallax_0.0.2.apk
It works by scanning the /sdcard/.parallax/themes/ directory. Every subdirectory within this root is considered a theme, and a theme is just a directory of sorted .png files.
A sample theme can be found here:
http://files.clangen.org/parallax/smb1.zip
To install:
1. Download and install Parallax.apk from above
2. Download the sample theme, then extract it to the root of your sdcard. After extracting you should have a /sdcard/.parallax/themes/smb1 directory.
3. On your phone: Home > Menu > Wallpapers > Live Wallpapers > Parallax
4. Click settings, select your theme from the list.
This has only been tested with a N1 running Froyo.
that my friend is exactly what i had in mind! this is really cool!!!!! how many layers can i create?
by the way it works really well on N1 and stock beta froyo
As many as you want, but beware that more than a few will eat up a good amount of RAM, and take longer to draw.
I figured so, but I wasn't planning to use more than 3 with some 4 rare exeptions. This is pure gold!!!
I just noticed that a 480x800 image on a N1 will just stay in the middle of the screen and not even try to move, while a 3360x800 will have a different background for each screen (if you have 7 screens like I do).
Yup, that's right. The images all need to be at least the size of the screen's resolution, and if they're too big they will scroll a lot.
Updated the build to support different layers for landscape and portrait orientations. This is an optional feature. If you want to do this, name all your portrait files [layer].portrait.png, and landscape files [layer].landscape.png.
If layers for the current orientation cannot be found, all images in the theme will be used.
Just put this on my N1 and it is amazing, can't wait to get home and make my own backgrounds
fantasic work man! works on CM 5.0.8 test5 here
gonna have some fun with this
God damnit! I've had this idea ever since I played Oboro Muramasa (AWESOME graphics and an awesome theme) on my Wii some months ago... I finally got some spare time (done with studies) so I was going to learn how to do this.
Oh well... I might as well start looking into either converting some of the game's backgrounds or make my own.
_avatar, I don't hate you, I love you for this app
Although... is there a way to make it more smooth? Using froyo and launcher pro makes my N1 completely lag-free when using a "dead" wallpaper OR the live wallpaper "Game of life". Switching screens with Parallax is a little laggy.
Although... is there a way to make it more smooth? Using froyo and launcher pro makes my N1 completely lag-free when using a "dead" wallpaper OR the live wallpaper "Game of life". Switching screens with Parallax is a little laggy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no lag for for me using the SMB1 theme, but I also don't use LauncherPro. I doubt I can make it much smoother without some serious hacking. Anyone else experiencing lag problems?
Also, everyone please post your themes if you have time, I'd like to check them out.
OrganizedFellow said:
I'd be one of the first to donate for this!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_avatar said:
... Here's a LWP that supports user generated layers with parallax scrolling:
http://files.clangen.org/parallax/Parallax_0.0.2.apk
It works by scanning the /sdcard/.parallax/themes/ directory. Every subdirectory within this root is considered a theme, and a theme is just a directory of sorted .png files.
This has only been tested with a N1 running Froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As promised, I'd like to donate for further development of Parallax
Could you provide me with your PayPal (via PM if you want).
A cool ten beans are comin' your way!!!
here's a tokyo temple theme that I did to test the software.
[check post under this one for link]
It works pretty well on a N1 portrait mode, try landscape and there are a bunch of problems, but I didn't have the second version of the software when I made it.
By the way I noticed that if i make the png files with my mac there are resource fork files that make parallax crash big time.
Here's 3 themes I made, all of them works in portrait, not sure about landscape, I never use my launcher in landscape:
Tokyo Temple
Bird
Tropical Tank
Anybody else made themes??
_avatar said:
There's no lag for for me using the SMB1 theme, but I also don't use LauncherPro. I doubt I can make it much smoother without some serious hacking. Anyone else experiencing lag problems?
Also, everyone please post your themes if you have time, I'd like to check them out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what technique you are using, but I find the way to get the smoothest scrolling is to run the drawing in a thread with low priority, instead of updating at a constant framerate.
This has the side effect of the wallpaper lowering framerate when sliding your icons, but at least the icons appear just as smooth as a static wallpaper.
I haven't downloaded your wallpaper, but thought I would just point that out in case it helps.
(as an example, the Mario wallpaper scrolls super smooth despite being a CPU hog, but you notice the framerate dive on the wallpaper when sliding from screen to screen)
I've used this live wallpaper since it was made and I still use it. I really like the added depth of field that it gives.
I never noticed any lag except when in the launcher there's a bouncing option enabled. I don't remember how it's called in LauncherPro but on ADWLauncher you go Screen Preferences > Desktop overshoot and you choose something like 10 or 0. I found out with 10 the lag is minimal and the launcher still has a smooth feeling.
I'm getting the following error on my original droid:
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: bitmap size exceeds VM budget
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:468)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:435)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at org.clangen.gfx.parallax.Parallax$Layer.<init>(Parallax.java:49)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at org.clangen.gfx.parallax.Parallax.reloadSelectedTheme(Parallax.java:149)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at org.clangen.gfx.parallax.Parallax.init(Parallax.java:179)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at org.clangen.gfx.parallax.Parallax.start(Parallax.java:105)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at org.clangen.gfx.parallax.SettingsActivity$3.surfaceChanged(SettingsActivity.java:119)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.SurfaceView.updateWindow(SurfaceView.java:538)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.SurfaceView.dispatchDraw(SurfaceView.java:339)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1638)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1367)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1638)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1367)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.View.draw(View.java:6744)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:352)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1640)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1367)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.View.draw(View.java:6744)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:352)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.draw(PhoneWindow.java:1842)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewRoot.draw(ViewRoot.java:1407)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewRoot.performTraversals(ViewRoot.java:1163)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1727)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4627)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:868)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:626)
E/AndroidRuntime(19283): at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Related
If you want draw a .9.png (NinePatch) image in Photoshop just make your image with a 1px transparent for each border and draw with a pencil 1px size black color #000000 the area you want to use for the content and the stretchable area.
Save it with "save for web" in png-8 or png-24 (if you use a lot of color)
in the option check Transparency, matte none, metadata none.
you can check it with the draw9patch tool in the sdk.
get more info about the NinePatch here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/draw9patch.html
f'n thank you
dude ive been going hard on these .9's and found that making them huge compared to normal is doing better, just dropping it down (resize) from the massive one, to the appropriate filesize yaknow. kinda confusing but hopefully it helps, if i get these down its onnnnnn ..
Nice job on a quick explaination of it, oddly enough I was just working with the draw9patch tool working on google's own images that they sort of messed up as well (you're not alone if you mess up on these..they're tricky) To show you what difference a small dot makes, here is an example:
I plan on submitting the fixed images to google's open source project. Basically their own .9.png file gets stretched out oddly when bigger.
Hopefully the above image shows you the difference the border makes.
so its posible to put 2 dots in top\left.. the question is whats the limit?
can i put 5 dots close to eachother or 3 dots conected togather that make a lilte line..?
Barina said:
so its posible to put 2 dots in top\left.. the question is whats the limit?
can i put 5 dots close to eachother or 3 dots conected togather that make a lilte line..?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the MAX is 2 dots, on left and top, anything more and Eclipse starts freaking out and won't compile at all. I used 2 dots because I saw it being used in official android source images for the pull down tray image. Figured if it works for them, it'll work for us.
Also as far as making a LINE, its fine but I'd stay away from full lines on top and left. You CAN get away with it, but it would mean that entire line area of the image will stretch.
in some ways stretch could be better.. thanks its good to know
I have so much trouble with .9s...UGH! This KIND of helps. I dont understand why an extra dot makes a difference or why it's their. So you can't just draw those 2 dots on the left anywhere on the left side? And is there a certain amount of pixels needed to be filled or not filled on the right and bottom?
bretheren
okay,
so i think i am getting it. the image will be stretched via the black lines? kind of like a guideline type deal huh? if i could figure these damn things out it would make life that much easier!
xenio2000 said:
If you want draw a .9.png (NinePatch) image in Photoshop...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow, thank you for this thread!!
Ohhhhhh, THAT'S how it works!
Thank you, xenio2000. Awesome post
near as I can figure (and I may be wrong) but the bottom and right side lines denote the entire content area. the single dots on the top and left define the 1- pixel column or row that is allowed to be stretched. Remember, a line of pixels is not a 1- dimensional line, it has width and area as well.
If you have photoshop, try this. Open up any random picture and make a 1 pixel selection (either vertically or horizontally) and then use the free transform tool and scale it in the direction perpendicular to the selection. For example, if you make a 1 pixel selection vertically across the middle of the image, scale it horizontally, you'll see what I'm trying to get at.
I am curious though, will photoshop automatically recognize the black lines on the sides as defining these areas and automatically append the file name to *.9.png?
nuformzdesign said:
I am curious though, will photoshop automatically recognize the black lines on the sides as defining these areas and automatically append the file name to *.9.png?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cs4 doesn't. you can quite easily *accidentally* delete the black dots without it complaining or even noticing.
to the OP: thanks a bunch! until now editing .9. files have been too daunting a task.
Thanks for both of the examples at the top. I just tried Draw9Patch again and now I'm styling but good. Great job guys/gals.
Thanks a lot
Thanks a lot.
I can finish my theme for desire.
Thanks for the excellent, concise post. Finally able to finish my custom Archos Gen 8 framework!!
Mainly posting this comment to bring this post back into the light of day - far too useful to be hidden away!
I need some help...
I've made a 9.png file and it looks fine on the draw9patch tool, but when I put it in the apk, sign it and install it, it doesnt get stretched properly.
Any ideas?
Attached is the 9.png file
Ok so maybe Im missing something and I feel kinda dumb asking. However after I create the image I input the lines using draw9patch, it looks good, but when I add it to my framework-res.apk and push it to my phone I can see the lines. In other words the image looks fine and stretches out ok, but I can see the black lines I created in the draw9patch. Am I missing a step here? I really hate these .9.png's, they are really driving me nuts. I do thank you though for shedding alot more light on what was a very dim area!
NEVERMIND, duh. Im using xUltimate. Thanx though dude
Been trying to figure this out too - I had a feeling that there was some type of compiling I had to do with these draw9 images but hadn't read about it anywhere else. Thanks for mentioning the xUltimate tool.
Download the xUltimate tool here
I've been going nuts trying to theme the aosp dialer. I finally have (or thought I had) the .9 issues figured out, but now I can't a useable apk. Can someone please help me out here?
Here is the output I get upon recompiling:
-----------------------------------------------------
[*] Phone.apk
-----------------------------------------------------
Recompiling Phone.apk folder...
I: Smaling...
I: Building resources...
res\drawable-hdpi\btn_in_call_main_selected.png:0: error: Resource entry btn_in_call_main_selected is already defined.
res\drawable-hdpi\btn_in_call_main_selected.9.png:0: Originally defined here.
Exception in thread "main" brut.androlib.AndrolibException: brut.common.BrutException: could not exec command: [aapt, p, -F, C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Local\Temp\APKTOOL8821811691438883001.tmp, -I, C:\Users\Matt\apktool\framework\1.apk, -S, C:\androidsdk\platform-tools\xdaAutoTool_V2.0.0_Beta\xdaAutoTool\_INPUT_APK\Phone\res, -M, C:\androidsdk\platform-tools\xdaAutoTool_V2.0.0_Beta\xdaAutoTool\_INPUT_APK\Phone\AndroidManifest.xml]
at brut.androlib.res.AndrolibResources.aaptPackage(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.buildResourcesFull(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.buildResources(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.build(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.build(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.cmdBuild(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.main(Unknown Source)
Caused by: brut.common.BrutException: could not exec command: [aapt, p, -F, C:\Users\Matt\AppData\Local\Temp\APKTOOL8821811691438883001.tmp, -I, C:\Users\Matt\apktool\framework\1.apk, -S, C:\androidsdk\platform-tools\xdaAutoTool_V2.0.0_Beta\xdaAutoTool\_INPUT_APK\Phone\res, -M, C:\androidsdk\platform-tools\xdaAutoTool_V2.0.0_Beta\xdaAutoTool\_INPUT_APK\Phone\AndroidManifest.xml]
at brut.util.OS.exec(Unknown Source)
... 7 more
Done!
Better draw9patch program?
xenio2000 said:
If you want draw a .9.png (NinePatch) image in Photoshop just make your image with a 1px transparent for each border and draw with a pencil 1px size black color #000000 the area you want to use for the content and the stretchable area.
Save it with "save for web" in png-8 or png-24 (if you use a lot of color)
in the option check Transparency, matte none, metadata none.
you can check it with the draw9patch tool in the sdk.
get more info about the NinePatch here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/draw9patch.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could really use your help. I read your thread on creating a one-pixel border and I'm fairly familiar with Cs5 but could use some help.
How do I create the one pixel border? I've tried creating another layer but that's not right.
After that, how do I create the pixel lines as shown in your example? I try using the pencil but I'm pretty sure, it's not creating an exact one pixel border.
I can't stand using draw9patch. It takes me hours to do a theme because of it's one pixel-at-a-time limitations. This will save me hours of time. Thanks and I look forward to your reply.
Well after making all those icons I was a little disappointed in how fast my battery was dead from using all those animations and everything. Also the blue squares get bored so I came up with a little more stylish idea. So it looks good as well when I am over at customers.
So I took a new default WAD2 theme (just black screen) and started up all over again, just using the basic items I really use and leave all animation out of it. For two reasons, battery consumption and my X1 is a little to slow to work fast with it;-) During daytime I set this theme as default, simple, stylish, quick and accurate.
It contains in basic just 2 home screens which you can reach sliding upwards or downwards. From those two pages you can enter more pages like applications, weather and games. For applications and games I will add all icons I made in 2 different folders so you can add whatever you're favorites are. I will post them seperately so you can put it on your storage card (because the files are 30MB) If you tap on the time the screens goes off, so saves battery as well.
Applications can handle 24 of your favorite programs.
Games can handle 24 of your favorite games
Calender shows your appointments for the coming week
Weather will show you the weather forecast for the coming 5 days.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIs6dRXGaTc
Here a screenshot of the home pages:
It is 40 MB in total:
wadesktop file is 10MB, press it and select the folder "Lakeridge"-"Wisbar Advance Desktop" - "Themes" to install it on your device. After around a minute a pop up screen tells you it's installed. Now start Wisbar Advance Desktop and change theme. Tap on "search for new themes". After a while a pop up screen appears " Have found 1 new theme". Select the PollPixx theme and in menu tap " Set as Portrait theme". Than tap apply! Enjoy....
The 30MB of Icons can be installed on your memorycard.
As I have a Dutch Rom you probably need to redirect the shortcuts. Easy: Just press long on the screen and choose Author Mode. Than press long on the icon you want to change the shortcut and choose properties. Choose Script on Tap and tap Launch a Programm, now tap edit and select the programm from your device. That's all.
In games and application if you want to change program or game, just select another image and edit Launch a Program to the program/game you prefer. All Icons of the most popular Games and Programs are in the zipfile. If you need another one, just let me now and I will make it for you.
Download zipfile over here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZS2J7YWA
Do you have suggestions to make it better without slowing it down, just shoot;-)
Cheers,
Arnold
THANKs
GREAT
keep the work on
I love it
What program do you use to create themes?
In this case I use Wisbar Advance Desktop (obviously) and for all the icons I used photoshop with some plugins from Nik Software to build.
I now want to create an as clean as possible theme which I can use when I am at work. No animation of barely dressed girls or too much colours, just a uniform easy to use theme for during the day. I will make a movie of it tonight.
Cheers,
Arnold
PollPixx said:
In this case I use Wisbar Advance Desktop (obviously) and for all the icons I used photoshop with some plugins from Nik Software to build.
I now want to create an as clean as possible theme which I can use when I am at work. No animation of barely dressed girls or too much colours, just a uniform easy to use theme for during the day. I will make a movie of it tonight.
Cheers,
Arnold
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Bro.
No problem
Video added.
Just a theme during working hours.
Still under development so if anyone has any suggestions please shoot!
Cheers,
Arnold
well, eventhough just one person liked it I released it anyway so you can try it out. It's my default portrait theme during office hours.
Enjoy.
Cheers,
Arnold
You use a derivation of my skin...
recognize lot of icons...
lesscro said:
You use a derivation of my skin...
recognize lot of icons...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I used was the "back" Icon, but you know I am a photoshop lover so I can make also one in 4 seconds and that's not a graphic highlight which you can complain about. Switching pages is just in WAD2 as an option which I used. Further on I started over using my own Icons with nothing from you at all. What are you talking about??????
Don't let people think I am just ripping of your theme mister, just download it and you will see it will be all mine which I posted in the icons topic for your theme. As people liked those Icons so much (over 5500 downloads) you might have sold more of your theme, so don't start this discussion, because you will lose on all points my friend.
If you want I change the back Icon, but how pathetic would that be. Further on I can prove the rest is mine, all .psd files are in my computer with the date I made them, so long before you bullsh*t around now.
For christ sake, I even forward people to your site to buy your theme because it is so good, and now you are pulling my leg! Can I at least call this "typical" ???
Cheers,
Arnold
this variant looks free? is it? if so, good for u! You should release a skin for it with WP7 colors too.
Well Midvik is doing the coloured theme and also is rajivshahi, to avoid an overkill of these themes I think I stick with my variant. They do a great job.
Of course what I make is free, that's how it works here at XDA. However, everyone can donate if they like it.
Cheers,
Arnold
lesscro said:
You use a derivation of my skin...
recognize lot of icons...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stop wining because other makes bether theme than you
And free
@ stianbert...
better than me...
Pollpix (correct ?) made a fantastic Job on Ui customization, now he want fly...
That's great... I respect all work creation and idea to develop and unique and very usable UI... that's why he create this version based On metro UI without panel addition...
RC2 coming soon, after watch demo UI... buy me a Juice...
Have Fun...
okay, let's stop the discussion now and go on topic again.
This was the first time I exported a theme, so I hope no one had problems installing it. Still working on some improvements, but I also deleted some already because the theme would be to extended for quick office use than.
Well, at least it keeps me thinking
Cheers,
Arnold
remix
i modded this a little. but the exporting takes a long time without finish.
plz help me with export
swipe up from lock screen
swipe left from main page
Lock screen: swipe down from main page
Swipe up from main menu
swipe right from main menu
applications
games
Calendar, swipe right to go to main page
Weather: update with big button, swipe right to main page
hub animado
someone teaches me how to make animated pictures hub?, (make the images in random step .... Thanks !!!!!
Rock on man..im gunna use your icons on my phone is that ok? not a big WP& theme guy your icons are awsome tho.
And dont let them haters(lescro..or however the hell) talk crap. he is just pissed cuz you have better icons and skills.
AND TECHNICALLY LESCRO(AGAIN HOWEVER) you were basing yout theme of Windows Phone 7 theme so technically your jackin there **** to..so dont start complaining when people do a better job then you.
Of course that is okay, that's why I am posting my themes;-)
Well, I am definately not as good as lesscro and have no problem what so ever with him neither, he is good in modifying I am good in graphics (I earn my living making graphics), but it is great fun make those themes. But it is hard to make an original fresh idea
Enjoy
Cheers
oh, I don'y know anything about animation hubs, Leonardo, maybe you could ask Lesscro how he made that working in his theme. I assume it has some mortscript files in it or something...
Animation
thanks, Pollpix certainly is with Mortscript but okay what about "lesscro" I prefer not having to ask him, I'm afraid to ask him a "donation" to teach me how ... rsrsrsrsrsrsr
is there landscape to this ? btw its beautiful im feeling it.
As we all know, the CoolIris gallery on the Nexus One makes compressed versions of the pictures it has for faster loading times and smoother 3D effects. However, I was not expecting to see the same hideous compression on the wallpapers I download and then apply from the Gallery. They look simply rubbish in the display and that's disappointing. I've attached a screenshot of how this actually looks. The actual wallpaper is actually quite crisp and sharp.
Is there any other way to apply a wallpaper without using the gallery and consequently having it compressed?
Sent from my Nexus One
Try wallpaper set an save from the market. I only saved a bg, but see if it does the trick
dictionary said:
Try wallpaper set an save from the market. I only saved a bg, but see if it does the trick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, still looks compressed. Any other options?
Bump. Anyone?
link me the full size picture (upload somewhere) and i'll try a few things here.
The only solution i have found, was to add the wallpaper i didnt want compressed to a launchers default wallpapers. I use ADW, so I replaced the default adw wallpaper with the htc sence wallpaper (the static one). Had to make sure it has the same file name as the one its replacing. I originally did this using metamorph, but that stopped working, so I use "App Manager 4.5" (google it). I copy the AWD Launcher's apk file and use app manager to unzip it, I then replace the wallpapers I want and use app manager to recompile the apk making it usable on the N1 again, and it works like a charm.
The sense wallpaper no longer has the hideous compression it has when applied through the gallery, I was hoping this would be solved with froyo's release, if only to be applied to wallpapers only, but I guess not, till then, this is the method I have to use for the wallpapers which are affected.
I use "My Gallery" to avoid the wallpaper banding issue. It by-passes the 3D Gallery when choosing an image to be set as a wallpaper. The troubles with "My Gallery" are 1) it cant crop the image to fit the phone resolution. So large images must be pre-cropped. 2) The image organization is horrible. It doesnt have any function to go to specific directory. It'll just dump every image it could find on the SD or internal mem. If you have loads of images, there'll be a lot of scrolling involve.
No icons, no wallpaper, no images of any kind. I've seen themes that used images of text to get the aesthetic down, which is still cool, but it seems like there's room for a launcher with a super tiny footprint that also looks sweet. Of course, if I've missed it, and this already exists, I'd love to be corrected.
Icons: plain text but could be include the ascii round of characters, maybe even the full unicode set?
Folders: Like any other asciicon. You could add a smaller ascii symbol to the lower right/left hand corner to signify it was a folder not a program if you really wanted. You could create a folder with ascii art.
Wallpaper: ASCII art. Not a photo thereof, actual ASCII. Would need the ability to alter color and perhaps alpha to avoid confusion with foreground.
Widgets: text output only. Input fields would be reminiscent of a terminal input. Associated buttons would be dealt with a la asciicons, with ascii symbols.
Customizability: on par with ADW or LP.
I'd pay for that ^. Would anyone else? I realize these days with super phones, live wallpaper and 3d carosels are more sexy, but there are a lot of hacked devices running froyo that are still light on specs and plain text can have a nice sharp retro appeal. It seems like there's a potential market there for an enterprising developer.
Is there a launcher whose theme engine could produce a plain text only setup? Would the footprint be significantly reduced by such a theme?
What this lacks in popularity, it makes up for unanimity. 100% in favor. An enterprising developer could just charge me and that one other guy who likes the idea a fortune each and still turn a profit! Any takers?
One last New Year's bump.
Hi,
I'm currently learning Android programming and studying Launcher2 code. In near future I will be starting a launcher which will have a pseudo-graphic text mode (remember Turbo Pascal?) with minimalist (16x16?) icons, some simple widgets, notepad/folders (which will work like resizable and stackable windows), and a commandline mode (can be configured to mimic either DOS or Linux, but with some builtin shortcuts and functions for Android usage). It doesn't have a name yet. I will certainly announce it on xda when any usable version will be finished and tested on at least a few devices.
mhzesent said:
Hi,
I'm currently learning Android programming and studying Launcher2 code. In near future I will be starting a launcher which will have a pseudo-graphic text mode (remember Turbo Pascal?) with minimalist (16x16?) icons, some simple widgets, notepad/folders (which will work like resizable and stackable windows), and a commandline mode (can be configured to mimic either DOS or Linux, but with some builtin shortcuts and functions for Android usage). It doesn't have a name yet. I will certainly announce it on xda when any usable version will be finished and tested on at least a few devices.
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Sounds interesting, I look forward to it. Are you gearing the text mode to have a super small footprint, or is it more for nostalgia's sake?
fortunz said:
Sounds interesting, I look forward to it. Are you gearing the text mode to have a super small footprint, or is it more for nostalgia's sake?
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Mainly for nostalgia's sake and "I just want it on my phone so badly and no one did it before" sake, though I know few people who could use it. I wouldn't release the project open source but it will probably free for ever. I won't include all dos/linux commands, of course (keep it simple and not bloated), and i will simplify/shortcut some things for android usage (like, running apps from CLI just by their name, not any going-in-depths-to-system-folders stuff), though I shouldn't spoil everything already lol. Also I still have a 2.3.7 device...
I've found lightning launcher and it's the lightest weight launcher I've found. My 528mhz dinosaur actually feels snappy again after I pared down the options to it's most minimal setup. What's more there are lots of customizations available even for devices that aren't ancient.
It's not plain text, but it is light.
I've been looking for a theme like this for a long time, never found one. It would be cool to have a phone without all the aesthetics. Black screen with only text , or very small symbols.
Hi everybody!
First of all, I am using Buzz Launcher, which means that my "themes" are made following specific parameters such as the grid size, no labels, etc.
But I think that other launchers allow you to customize your appearence as well.
My phone resolution is 854*480.
I had a 720p one but had to send it back, so for now I can't work on that resolution anymore.
So for those having higher resolutions, well I don't know what the result would be on your screens. Except for wallpapers, I guess icons would be displayed well.
Before sharing my files, I'd like to show you what I've done so far and get your opinion: if you like it or not, what I could/should change, etc.
This to get a nice final result.
And obviously I won't and never will sell those resources because:
- I'm using some stuff such as photographs from other persons
- Some icons are directly made from other icons you can find on the Play Store or Google Image
- I'm here to share
To be edited later (once I have posted 10 messages and can freely post direct links):
I. Icons only
II. Backgrounds only
III. Themes: icons + backgrounds
I. ICONS
II. BACKGROUNDS
III. THEMES
Hey!
One of my nicest try so far: a panda theme! (I love pandas)
The panda is partially made from an iPhone game icon named Land-a-panda (see the attached pictures).
Those icons are for HD displays (720p): 144x144. Work fine on lower resolutions.
And I've "made" a few backgrounds too, giving quite a cool result when used with those icons.
Also, because it's quite boring to always have the same face, I just added 2 other kinds of eyes (see Viber and Video Player icons).
What do you think? Worth sharing them?
Any idea welcome
Let's keep up the monologue.
Seems not be be very interesting. Whatever, I'm sharing my work anyway.
Let's begin with the icons:
192 icons (64 app with 3 different kinds of pandas), pretty high quality: 144x144. See the sample below.
And if you are wondering: yes, it took me ages to save each file.
I'll share the Photoshop template once I can post direct links (man that's some weird annoying policy!), so that you can create your own icons without having to wait for updates (as I may not update this theme anyway).
If you give it a try, please share some photos/screenshots
ZIP file size: 3.62Mb
Note: if you find the icons resolution too high (say you want a 96px² size), you can use a (free) software such as ImRe to massively convert the whole folder. It perfectly and quickly does the job.
Laterz
Hey oi!
New icons, "copied" from a screenshot I saw somewhere (I think it's called themer, it's new and not compatible with all phones (not my X720D).
So here we go, 3 samples and the template file (PSD, Photoshop CS5).
The PSD is made as follow:
- A folder with the white pictures representing the icons (that's the part you really need to work on if you want to make your own icons)
- The icon's shadow (layer)
- The icon's color (layer), locked to the edit mode (you pick your color, use the brush tool and paint: it will paint ONLY the visible pixels).
Theme 5: Japanology (again)
The principle of this theme is simple: the background is the main deal, then there just needs to add the app and choose a transparent PNG to make them invisible.
Main problem with that theme: icons cannot be replaced, which means you must always keep the same applications on your screen.
edit: well it seems that uploading pictures isn't working at the moment. My PC or the servers, I don't know. I'l try to re-upload later if it keeps showing a 404.
Hum there seems to be a problem with uploading pictures from the forum. Even after having edited my post 2 times.
Hoho but I found a way to post links without having 10 posts: quotation (I hope you won't mind)
Click on each picture to enlarge it. See the above post for more information about how to use that "theme" (Buzz Launcher); Note that you must create your own date/time/battery widget (as in the screenshot below).
munchou said:
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To prevent spam to the forums, new users must wait five minutes between posts. All new user accounts will be verified by moderators before this restriction is removed.
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Could a moderator do something about that ?
That's really becoming a pain...
Today's icons: ICONS F Black and White
200x200
List:
Alarm Clock
Applications
Calendar
Camera
E-mail
Files
Gallery
Games
GPS
Internet
Notes
Record
Settings
TV
Video Player
And of course the PSD file to add your own ones.
Enjoy!