Flashificator addon requests/contributions

[Tuddi]

This time it is up to you, the users to suggest what you would like to see in a PRO version of Flashificator.

What kind of options should the user have at the click of the mouse?

Some may want the hotspots to load before the panorama.
Some may want to have a library of control panel buttons to choose from.
Some may want to have different html templates to put their pano into.
Some may want a html and xml editor included for personal customization of the final layout.
Some may want a tour making addition (Tourificator).
Some may want encryption of the files, so theft will not be simple.
Some may want CD standalone output.
Some may want ... etc. etc. etc.

I would like all of the above to be available in the PRO version (some months out in the future), I would also like there to be a bunch of plugins embedded in the program... and Java and Action Scripts for different functions.

In short, I would like the average and expert FPP users to have total control of everything they want to do, in as simple a way as possible.

If you have some special requests/suggestions regarding the layout or functions of the Flashificator, or if you are willing to contribute with scripts or plugins for whatever function, you are welcome to air your voice here, or by contacting me privately through the following email:

http://flashificator.com/Insope_email.jpg

I hope to see a lot of suggestions, and equally hope there are people willing to contribute with their knowledge to this project by supplying scripts, templates, plugins etc. If such contributions are sent, they have to be the original work of the contributor, or freely available and permitted to be used in commercial projects.

Who knows... maybe ... if things do go the right way, I might be in the mood to reward those who contribute with material of interest, with a copy of the final product. No guarantees though.

Would there be interest for the free version to include all the functions of the full version, even if it would not be able to save the project with the settings... or have a darn ugly watermark plastered all over the pano?

... or would it be enough to make demonstration videos of how the software works in real time, and have a stripped down free version for the feel?

Please chime in. I need your input in the same way I hope you need Flashificator. If you have ideas, I hope it will be possible to put them into the program and make FPP-pano-life easier for everyone.

... funny thing is that in the beginning (second week of December) I was only hoping to be able to contribute with something as simple as the free version of Flashificator is now (ok... a little bit better), to get an easy start on FPP.

Since then I want everything to be available from within the program.

I hope you also want Flashificator to include a lot of extras, and if you are capable of - and willing to contribute with interesting material, here is your chance. The "doors" are open from now on, so you still have time to have your say and send your material.

[johnwilletts]

I don't quite understand what you are saying. Do you want to close the Flashificator thread and have everyone contact you privately?

Personally, I think an open discussion is more productive.

PS - I want everything - including pictures of Ukranian ladies like SP

[Tuddi]

:) No, not at all. I just thought it would be good to have requests and contributions here, (or privately if people prefer that), while the other thread can be used for general discussion of the Flashificator.

I would prefer having things out in the open as well, but some people might want to stay off the public radar... and in that case they are welcome to contact me privately.

You want everything... ok... I will try to have that accomplished, but the Ukrainian ladies might want some honorary payment if you are to look at them for extended periods of time! ... but here is one for your free pleasure (http://www.kodak.com/US/images/en/corp/1000words/vera/old_woman_with_umbrella.jpg) :)

[johnwilletts]

You've just made an old man verrrrry happy. I'm going there in April. As my contribution to Flashificator, I'll take a picture of her sister for your handbook.

Flashificator and Patrick's good work are both dependent on FPP. What's Denis' attitude?

[PauloGGPX]

Hi Tuddi,

I'm with John, I want everything ;)
but if I had to put thing is nice list of priorities it would be something like this :

1 - encryption of the files
2 - tour making addition (Tourificator)
3 - CD standalone output
4 - hotspots loading before the panorama
5 - etc. etc. etc.
6 - html templates
7 - a library of control panel buttons to choose from
8 - html and xml editor

for me the file encryption should be the first step, and then the Tourificator as this would give the Flashificator a base of functionalities that you can add up to as time goes by.
That's the way I do things, secure a step them start adding to it ;)

Regarding the Free and Pro versions, for me videos and a stripped down free version is the way to go.

And finaly I'm a Flash (among other things) developer and I'm willing to contribute my HTML/XML templates and help out on whatever I can :)

[Tuddi]

Thanks Paulo, obviously we will have more communication as time goes by.

And John, glad you have good sense in women... (just to make sure, she was the one to the left in the picture)...

Denis' attitude towards what we are doing is full support and encouragement. After all; his brainchild becomes more accessible for more people in more ways, and that is only positive.

[Aifos]

first of all i must say sorry for the discution we had. I´ve been thinking, and YES, a Gui will help make things easy and faster for all of us, on basic FPP stuff. But i still think that for more advanced features, it will be necesary to understand the FPP syntax, and some coding technics... It is the case of web site developing... you have lot of programs that develope a web site with a few clicks, but if you want something special, with dinamic features, and more, you must learn some programing. And Flash... it is a gui, but for really good sutff, you must learn AS3 or 2.
If my suggestion help, what i really need on a gui, is a and xml editor on the same plataform than the pano projection. the library sounds good. And a better editor plugin will help do things much faster.... something like take the spot, drag it where you want and drop it... and parameters will appear at the xml editor section (that would be really nice).
and encryting files is urgent!

see you arround tuddi. ;)

[cheathamlane]

You've just made an old man verrrrry happy. I'm going there in April. As my contribution to Flashificator, I'll take a picture of her sister for your handbook.

Flashificator and Patrick's good work are both dependent on FPP. What's Denis' attitude?

Hey Old Man ;)

Before embarking 100% on flashpanos.com, for the plugins, I dropped Denis a note about it. His response (paraphrased) was ":) Wow, so many third-party plugins already? I'm happy to see that!".

Even though Denis isn't very active on the forums, I would hope that he monitors the forums -- and also that he would say something if he objected to all the flashification going on.

Tuddi, when are you going to open a proper flashificator forum?

[Tuddi]

Aifos, you are forgiven my child! ;)
I agree totally, that the individual customization of panos can ONLY be done by people who eat and breath codes every day. There is no question about that at all.

There will be a hotspot dropper. You take the hotspot button/image, drop it into the preview window and it will automatically write the parameters into the xml file when you log out of the hotspot window.

That's the only way it should be... in my opinion.

Even though Denis isn't very active on the forums, I would hope that he monitors the forums -- and also that he would say something if he objected to all the flashification going on.

Tuddi, when are you going to open a proper flashificator forum?

Is it grumpyness I detect... or just good old friendly sarcasm? :)

I am sure Denis monitors the forums, and he would - as any other administrator - have no problem in stepping in and object to there being too much flashpanos.com plugin production going on in here :) ... or Flashification.

He hasn't. From my communication with him, I have understood that he is glad there is so much going on around his program. More options, more potential clients.

I understand that it is not very favorable to you if I include plugins in the Flashificator PRO, without charging anything for the plugins... but it will benefit the users .... unless of course, if your plugins are better than what I can provide, you have nothing to lose, rather; you would gain.

All the "Flashification" that goes on here, is aimed at the FPP community. I want FPP users to know what is being done for THEM. There are many people who do not buy FPP, because they are not willing or able to sit down and do the coding. I have found posts here in the forums, where purchasers of FPP are advertising for coders to take on making the pano work. These people have bought the program, yet are unable to use it due to their own limitations or lack of will to do any coding. I have also come across people on other panorama discussion forums, expressing that FPP is the best there is, but due to the complexity, they stay away. I used to be one of the crowd staying away due to the same issue.

With the Flashificator, newbies can get started without problems. With ideas, help and contribution from the community, many more functions can become available in the Flashificator, making it so much easier for everyone to use FPP, and thereby incresing the number of people buying and using it.

More potential clients for Denis, you, me... so it's not all that bad "Flashificating" in here.

When I will do forums for the Flashificator?
No plans for that at all. I think this is the right place for the discussion. It's here the FPP users are. It's here I direct other panorama interested people to come.

FPP is the best flash panorama solution, and Flashificator is intended to make FPP more accessible to more people... so what better place than here to have the discussions?

I do not rule out making forums for it later on, but as of now, I don't see any need for that to be done. Guess you'll just have to learn to live with me and the Flashificator... :)

[cheathamlane]

Is it grumpyness I detect... or just good old friendly sarcasm? :)

Ha, Tuddi -- well, it was neither. :) It was just a straight up question. But, since you mention it...

With ideas, help and contribution from the community, many more functions can become available in the Flashificator, making it so much easier for everyone to use FPP, and thereby incresing the number of people buying and using it.

More potential clients for Denis, you, me... so it's not all that bad "Flashificating" in here.

Well, I agree to a point. I come to the FPP forums to interact with other people about the use of FPP.

Zephyr & I made a post announcing flashpanos.com (http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=713&highlight=flashpanos.com), but since then (minus responding to the huge amount of initial negative feedback) I have 1) left mention of it in my "signature" and 2) systematically pointed people to the flashpanos.com Web site, where they can leave comments -- or asked them contact me directly with questions.

I see it as unprofessional to hijack the traffic on the FPP forum for a personal endeavor; and I don't see the FPP forum as the place for me to troubleshoot/discuss flashpanos.com plugins.

When I will do forums for the Flashificator?
No plans for that at all. I think this is the right place for the discussion.

I humbly disagree -- see above.

Guess you'll just have to learn to live with me and the Flashificator... :)

:)

Ha, yes... there's room for all here in the deep end, whether we're making plugins or GUIs or both. I'm not concerned by others' attempts to make plugins -- There are many "holes" in FPP functionality which remain to be filled by a smart plugin or two.

[Tuddi]

I see it as unprofessional to hijack the traffic on the FPP forum for a personal endeavor; and I don't see the FPP forum as the place for me to troubleshoot/discuss flashpanos.com plugins.

So we don't see eye to eye on what is the "right" method. I'd find it unprofessional to hijack traffic from here and take people to one of my own domains to have discussions there. That you do it this way, is your choice, and if you think it is the right way, then it is the right way for you.

Both methods work in order to keep people informed and up to date. One is by hijacking traffic TO here, the other is by hijacking traffic FROM here.
What matters, is that the people who can use the given info, have it available without running in circles.

[cheathamlane]

Both methods work in order to keep people informed and up to date. One is by hijacking traffic TO here, the other is by hijacking traffic FROM here.
What matters, is that the people who can use the given info, have it available without running in circles.

No, Tuddi -- what I do is keep general FPP discussion in the FPP forum, and keep discussions about my plugins in my forum. Issues with my plugins are not generally generic FPP issues. By doing this, I hijack nothing -- and keep discussions relevant in both places.

--
By that token this discussion is way off-topic of Flash Panorama Player. Anyone who wants to continue it with me can do so off-list, though my interest is waning.

[Tuddi]

Off topic? Yes, thanks to you. This topic was supposed to be for FPP users to have their say on what features they might want included. Glad you finally saw that.

I have seen users asking for your plugins, ask for fixes bugs etc. They do it in the FPP forums, because ... it's where they got to know about the plugins in the first place. I don't see anything wrong in that. I haven't seen you telling people to stop asking questions about your plugins, so I must draw the conclusion that you don't like my plans of offering plugins at no additional cost in the PRO version of Flashificator, therefore you don't like any Flashificator discussion here.

I might be wrong, but I don't think so.

If you haven't got any suggestions for what Flashificator should look like or what it should or should not include, you obviously have nothing to do in this thread.

Thank you.

[cheathamlane]

Tuddi, dude, this is exactly the kind of response I had feared.

My original question was in a post which was totally within topic of this thread (re: johnwilletts) -- and it was a sincere question; that you took it as a personal affront is beyond my control, but it was not my intention.

Yes, people ask about my plugins here in the FPP forums; there are answers of mine here requesting them to post at flashpanos.com, or to email me directly. I generally try not to engage in long dialogue here in the Flash Panorama Player forum, though, about issues that are not issues with FPP. I find it just "bad form".

As to your plans to offer plugins at no additional cost within your Pro GUI for Flash Panorama Player -- whatever floats your boat, man! :) The more plugins the merrier! Woohoo!

Zephyr and I will soon have a cross-platform (and error-free ;) ) application which will let people create templated tours; custom tours; or tours using our plugins, FPP plugins, or anybody else's plugins they choose. This app will appeal both to the novice FPP user who wants a quick solution and to the more code-friendly folks who like to tweak things.

But, this is the wrong thread for that announcement. ;) I'm off to unintentionally rock the boat elsewhere!

[Tuddi]

Hey... sorry for snapping at you. It's not been a good couple of day's in the project, and that results in me being grumpy. Due to Adobe's built in security protocols making it impossible to continue the project on the more complicated parts, it will be rewritten all over again in a different programming language, and the Mac version will be out of the picture for now.

I look forward to the work you and Zephyr will come up with, and think of it as a good initiative. If you have it in a fail-free cross platform version, I will be very happy for you, and those who benefit from such a platform!

Sorry again for the snapping, but I just thought it was none of your business to suggest where these discussions should take place.... which it really isn't.

[johnwilletts]

Good to see you girls have kissed and made up - it was fun while it lasted.

So, Patrick-
what a bombshell. Tell us more - where's the thread?

John (http://www.j-a-willetts-esq.com)

[Tuddi]

There are 5-6 different GUI in development by different people, according to Denis. Obviously there is the need for gui's, but maybe the discussions are going on at people's private domains, so none of the target audience (FPP users) know about it? ;)

[cheathamlane]

Hey Tuddi:

No worries!

Sorry to hear about development woes; But, your new direction sounds like it will prove to be more fruitful (and prolly quicker to make, having this first round or two of R&D under your belt).

Other GUIs and developments: no big surprise there! FPP is the heavy hitter in the Flash panorama world. There may be others that come, a la Papervision etc, but they will have an uphill climb when trying to compare in functionality to FPP. And GUIs? There's room for all -- each will have its own slant and areas of interest (eg, market).


More on my own projects, elsewhere, as they come. :) Right now I'm watching my beta GigaPan head take 297 pictures with a Canon SD450. That will be interesting to stitch.

Cheers,

[Helge]

There are 5-6 different GUI in development by different people, according to Denis. Obviously there is the need for gui's, but maybe the discussions are going on at people's private domains, so none of the target audience (FPP users) know about it? ;)

I hope the FPP users know about JATC 2.0 as GUI for making tours for FPP (and SPi-V, PTViewer, PurePlayer) . It is a first beta supporting FPP, but it works for making tours. :-)

rgds,
Helge

[Tuddi]

I hope the FPP users know about JATC 2.0 .............

It looks that way:

http://upload.hraunfjord.org/files/JATCbeenSeenSomewhere.jpg

...............

Patrick. There are issues, and then there are "workarounds". Adobe and their security protocols and security restrictions make sense, but they don't make life easier for those using their software for program building.

It looks as if a "workaround" can be made, with "acceptable" negative consequences, so all is not lost as it did look to me the other day.

Without any doubt, FPP is the only Panorama Flash tool to be taken seriously by professionals in the field of pano photography. The possibilities of layouts and functions are unlimited (or rather; limited only by the person making the pano). More GUI's will be good for the final consumers, since they will have more options to pick and choose from. What I may think is simple, might feel complicated to someone else, and even if that is not the case, we are never going to be able to make everyone happy all the time. The more choices - the better for the users.

Do you have a picture to share of this GigaPan head of yours?

[cheathamlane]

Hey Tuddi:

Here you go:

http://ivrpa.org/blog/495/snapshots_of_a_gigapan_rotating_

Cheers,

[Tuddi]

So this IS the one I read about a few day's ago: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~globalconn/commercial_gigapan.html

Very interesting.

[johnwilletts]

Looks awfully cumbersome to me. I'll stick with my trusted fisheye.

John

[johnwilletts]

I downloaded JATC yesterday. Not the easiest program to install - but the sample looks very good so I'll spend some time trying to get it to work.

John

[cheathamlane]

Looks awfully cumbersome to me. I'll stick with my trusted fisheye.

John

Ha, well it's not just a rotating pan head -- it's software controlled & motorized. Mount your camera, push a few buttons, and walk away.

Its purpose in life is to enable the capture of extremely high resolution images (the "gigapixel" variety). I'd rather let it take 297 snaps at one go, than me having to hit the shutter release that many times. :-P

[hum@no.id]

I'm hint...hint for all developers, but many forget one base concept - full-fledged CURSOR POINTERS (like as-QTVR IFace) for native human Panorama Projector UI.

You know that for hiway (road) absence special pointers or signs - this "that" which can not be - why flashpanorama has this defect???

I do not know where this can be included... in most FPP-body or Flashificator GUI... but this importance anymore not for panographers, but for end-users...
or you think that they much advanced to understand view-controll.

Whom will made this first - will storied personality.

___

request: simple PNG pointers (non scaliable pics): n, s, w, o, n-w, n-o, s-w, s-o and center-cross arrows before clickable design.

[Tuddi]

Thank you for the suggestion hum@no.id

You will find this in the PRO version.... at least I have forwarded your request to the programmer, and he has added it to his "PRO to do" list.