fully dynamic contents ?

from WinCustomize Forums
salute peers

the concept of Animated wallpapers via video-loops isn't new. VLC (www.videolan.org) can do that for years natively, flipping the "wallpaper mode" switch in it's video-output settings, which works under any win32s OS, not just Vista

It becomes interesting if DeskScape allows REAL dynamic contents - I'm talking about full support to the D3D/directX APIs and subsequent full use of a 3D-accelerators capabilities.

I want to design/code a real-time calculated time-of-day/season-of-the-year/weather live 3D wallpaper, that draws it's information from a weather-forecast widget-API on the dashboard and the PC's time/clock. Imagine a scene like the winXP native "grassy hill" picture w. a couple trees, in which the sun/daylight and moon/night will change, according to the system-time, clouds, rain, snow, fall, spring, everything in motion calculated in real-time through the 3D-accelerators v2 or v3 vertex & pixel shader and such.

Optionally some 3D model of a simple plane or blimp can fly through the sky, pulling a banner which is essentially a clickable RSS-news feed. Or showing a Guy or Woman, reading newspaper which would show the top 1-3 news-headlines from RSS-feed or a frog on a ladder in a glass-jar showing the immediate weather forecast.

As you can see, possibilities are endless.

My question is, what is supported in that regards?

cheers
@
3,186 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Takes a look at Night & Day by Stardock Design.

From the description:
A serene mountain lake scene that changes from day to night based on time of day (works off of your PC clock). This is a quick example of what is possible with triggered Dreams. At 6:30am, your Animated Wallpaper will switch to a daytime scene, and at 8pm, it will switch to night.

I can't wait to see dream technology combined with something like Natural Desktop

What you describe should be possible . . we'll just have to wait and see.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That sounds/reads like it's just switching/exchanging static pictures/video-clips (I'm at the moment under winXP-Pro, so i can't test it out) I'm talking about *real-time* 3D-rendered(!) scenery (more or less "flattened") that does smooth transitions in scenery. In principle like in todays 3D-games environmental renderings. So there is NO "random" pictures/movies flipping/exchanging.

It would be able to go even to the point to show in the far background/horizon, a remote city-skyline if you live near a bigger city, or pine-forest, or mountains, or farm fields, or desert/plains - depending on your Zip code, which can be correlated via NASA's World Wind (Google Earth^2), what's in your vicinity.

So, in short where do I go, whom do I have to murder (/joke) to get detailed API info's/instructions to be able to pull that off via DeskScape ?

cheers
@
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That's just a "quick example of what is possible" with triggers.

So we know DS handles triggers . . and we know it handles video . . and we know it can render on the fly(look at any of the other Stardock Design dynamic dreams).  ;)  I think it's just a matter of time before we see all three.

I wonder what kind of resources that would put on a vid card?
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
So, in short where do I go, whom do I have to murder (/joke) to get detailed API info's/instructions to be able to pull that off via DeskScape ?
End of quote
The SDK has not been released yet.  (:(
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I wonder what kind of resources that would put on a vid card?
End of quote

Quite a bit, but it'll be scalable (turn certain features like shadows on/off or reduce number of rendering objects, use volumetric rendering for clouds or "standard" texturing and such stuff). But the average user, when "on desktop" doesn't utilize the 3D-hardware per sey, and if some full-screen app is going active, it will suspend/turn off as it's already the case w. DeskScape now.

The SDK has not been released yet.
End of quote

Is there word out when it will be ?

cheers
@
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Is there word out when it will be ?
End of quote
I haven't heard a release date (or even if it's complete).
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for linking those Zoomba.

I agree with the OP though . . it'll be cool when blissful dream reads weather data from accuweather or wherever and show the wind blowing extra hard (like it is here) or rain when it's raining.

I don't doubt that SD will be doing something along those lines sooner or later . . I'm just hoping for sooner.  ;)
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Dynamic Dreams:
Winter Snow
Photo Dream
Liquid Dream
Desktop Collage
Desktop Earth
Also, the cube dream bundled with DeskScapes 2.0 preview is a dynamic dream, with the cube being rendered on your desktop in real-time.
End of quote

yah, it's getting there, but not quite still - wish there would be a SDK already out for API interfacing, if all fails I've to make an executable myself and splice it through the DirectDraw as VLC did (see further up/1st post) - but that looks rather ugly, coding wise this workaround.

cheers
@
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What about Flash files? (swf)

Flash a LOT of capability towards making dynamic content and animations. They may not be 3D (unless you use Papervision 3D), but they could be REALLY cool!

I remember a long time ago, a company released a Flash wallpaper application and I wanted it but I didn't wanna buy it so I said the heck with it, but if this was included with DeskScapes, that would rock!

Stardock, consider this for future releases! How hard would it be? Load a SWF, scale it, there you have it!
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've not seen a dream that carries any Dynamic Content. You could create a widget like the ones used with sidebar, or set the background as Active Desktop and run ASP or PHP in the background to connect to http:// content.