This page is for recording the ideas for new features for aMPed 3.3.x 3.4.x etc.

Where a specific feature requires extensive discussion development, create a sub page - you may even use the Wiki Feature template as a basis for adding new features.

Goal

3.3.x (completed)

1. Support MP 1.2.0 (and implement new skin features like cover flow, etc see below).)
2. Add full (wide) fanart option for widescreens
3. Update plugins to 1.2.0 versions
4. Improve widescreen layouts
5. Improve icons layouts
6. Improve overall graphics (image borders, logos, virtual keyboards, weather images, etc.)
7. Weather backdrops based on weather conditions
8. Higher resolution backdrops/fanart
9. Add MPEI update button to home screens (when Extensions plugin is enabled)
10. Details view via right arrow for all screens with long text fields
11. Improve Navigation and add hyperlinks to popular/related plugins and options  in Menus
12. Improve performance by speeding up animations especially on window open/close

 3.4

1. Layout Options
2. Theme Editor
3. New Basic Home layout combining the best of revamped/vintage layouts
4. Link to MPEI  - add a button to installer to open MPEI to install plugins. Since aMPed installer opens config at the end of install, perhaps the easiest option is a button in aMPedConfig to open MPEI?

3.5

1. Install plugins - add a way to install plugins essential for aMPed (like Fanart Handler, InfoService, MovPics, TVSeries) once MPEI supports adding a plugin installer via GUID (so it always finds latest version - i.e hopefully in MP 1.3.0
2. Settings in MP - some way to change aMPed profiles, or settings within MP

aMpedConfig

3.3.1

1. Update Wiki Links
2. Remove Home Screen and 'My' prefix options
3. Remove all My FIlms options (logos, fanart aso)
4. Remove Fanart Handler Config button

Basic Home Editor

1. * *Home Backdrops - remove the code to copy theme backdrops and add new Backdrops folder with Sub Folders for different categories of Backdrops like Travel, Floral, Abstract, Sci-fi/Fanasy, Landscapes etc for use in all Themes.

3.4

Compatibility

1. Check Compatibility of plugins whenever aMpedConfig runs - ideally use the same process as Installer users to display only supported plugins in MPEI
   Update:  It might be better/easier to get plugins to introduce a skin version number for plugin that checks main skin xmls. So this one is on hold as Guzzi is testing this out for My Films.

Layouts  Tab

Add options for different facade layouts - probably just copies diff xml to main skin folder like we currently do for tvguide/video thumbs/covers etc.

Needs some way to select in aMPed Config - such as

1. use the current List layout options for all facades:
   1. No Fanart - selects the current layouts (as listed below)
   2. Fanart - selects the fanart layouts listed below
   3. Scaled fanart - selects the scaled fanart layouts listed below

Note: Change the Wide Fanart layout to be the default layout for widescreen, as it matches the 4x3 fanart layouts. Then the current Fanart layout for widescreen becomes 'Scaled Fanart' or 'Right side Fanart' or something.

1. Icons/Wide Banners:
   1. no fanart -
      1. current layout with text (i.e. plot/actors)
      2. video wall - as in 3.3.1 for Video Thumbs icons - no large cover or media overlay
   2. fanart layout - 2 bottom rows with no text
   3. scaled fanart - right side layout with cover on left
2. Filmstrip
   1. no fanart - current layout with text (i.e. plot/actors)
   2. fanart layout - bottom row with no text but fanart displays
   3. scaled fanart - right side layout with cover on left
3. Coverflow
   1. no fanart - current layout - center screen no fanart
   2. fanart layout - bottom row with no text but fanart displays
   3. scaled fanart - right side layout with cover on left

Themes Tab

Add Theme editor similar to Vintage Basic Home Editor:

To select a theme:

1. List of Themes will show the default themes provided with amped PLUS any themes user has created - if space is needed it could be a drop down box like on the Layouts tab for Basic Home layout
2. Themes are saved in templates. The 'list' of themes is just a list of template xml files in the Themes folder which contain define codes (eg. #bgcolor, #title1color, #listcolor, #plotcolor, etc) aMPed Config just copies the template to a 'Themes' section added to references.xml at the top. Example: Teal theme
   1. User sees a list of all templates in Themes folder (so Teal appears)
   2. Themes skin folder contains Teal.xml template
   3. When user selects Teal theme, aMpedConfig just copies the content to the Themes section at the top of references.xml

To Create/Edit a Theme:

Edit button on Themes tab opens a sample window (to be created) that shows controls that can be modified by the Theme editor.

Ideally user can doubleclick the control (such as background, button, or text) and a window displays with a color box to choose the color and level of diffusion.

Would be awesome if preview could display the same final/saved version that the Editor does.

Backdrops

Change the backdrops options to a Backdrops section in references.xml instead of dummy controls in common.window.backdrops.xml.  Then aMPed config only needs to edit references.xml

Skin Settings

Currently all aMPedConfig settings are stored in C:\ProgramData\aMPed\aMPedConfig.xml and are not accessible to the skin for visibility conditions. Either import these into references.xml or convert them to global define codes so they can be used in skin xmls.

List Width can also change to this method, e.g. global define #listwidth:410

Overlays

Remove all overlays from common.window.backdrop.overlays. instead add the overlay to the existing control. So

1. menu buttons contain the background as the unfocused button texture
2. list controls contain the background as the unfocused menu texture
3. Plots, etc include a overlay control for background for plot (like Actors does already)

Then there is no longer a need for fanart overlay, backslide overaly, text overlay, top overlay, etc.

Profiles

Need an easier way to select and run Profiles similar to the /sel option

1. add an option to Profiles tab such as: "Display Profiles menu when opening aMPed Config"

Basic Home Editor

Add a new option for Basic Home Layouts that combines the best of both revaMPed and Vintage

1. Button based like Vintage
2. Button sizes like revaMped - so you can have one column on left like revaMPed or multiple columns like Vintage sub menus
3. User can choose to add Plugins (items) or aMPed sub menus to main menu layout same as Vintage
4. Sub menus would be the same as main menu if user selects to use them
5. Editor is basically the same as Vintage with move left/right, Edit, Remove options
6. Backdrops can be added to main or sub menus

aMped Installer

3.3.1

1. Update check for Fanart Handler/InfoService plugins - should be based on supportedplugins.xml now, not hardcoded version.
2. Do the aMPed Basic Home Plugins (Watch, Music, Games, System, New, Extra etc. need to be recompiled for 1.2.0?)

3.4

1. Add dependency check for all versions of plugins supported by aMPed so if user has a version not supported by aMPed they will get a warning message and option to proceed or cancel install.

Skin

The following 1.2.0 skin changes have not been implemented in v 3.3.1 but may be added to future versions if required:(options in bold are priorities)

1. AudioVideoDelay - added in 3.3.2
2. Auto Hide Pause OSD
3. Back Button Control (history)
4. Dialog Animation on Close
5. FFDShow Post Processing
6. File Stack Dialog -  Filename exposed to Skin
7. Filmstrip scrollbar
8. Font Aliases
9. Global Define Tags
10. Image Caching <shouldCache>
11. Image Masking
12. Image Tile Fill
13. Line Spacing in Text
14. Listcontrol Popup Additional Info While Scrolling (won't use)
15. Listcontrol Scrollbar
16. Localized Strings Beginning with Numbers (n/a)
17. Music Now Playing Love/Ban Buttons  (don't use - optons are already on context menu)
18. OSD Subtitle "Forced Only button
19. Progressbar use only middle Texture
20. Spinbutton Control Created
21. Table Layout for Group  control
22. Thumbnailpanel Scrollbar
23. Topbar Visibility
24. Video Info Review
25. Video Pin Lock
26. Visibility Condition System.Date.isBetween (mm.dd,mm.dd)
27. Visibility Condition System.Time.isBetween (hh:mm,hh:mm)