BoXXi BoXXi

Xion... A new skinnable media player

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Xion... A new skinnable media player

skin it with just a .psd !!!

http://xion.r2.com.au/
from WinCustomize Forums
A new skinnable media player arrived on the scene in August, say hello to Xion. This is a very capable little player, but by far the most interesting thing about it is it's skinning format. To skin this player you simply create the interface in Photoshop, making sure all the different elements are on individual layers, (which many of us do anyway) and then you give the layers specific names and just dump the .PSD file in the skins folder of the player...... That's it!!!! The software does the rest and converts your layered .PSD into a skin.

This is surely a step forward for ease of skinning. No code to write, no XML to battle through, NO SLICING UP OF IMAGES!

I made two skins within an hour of downloading the software, and they work perfectly. So well done to r2 Studios, the creators of Xion, they really have an innovative Player AND skinning system here. It even supports animation too.

I hope some of you guys will support this player and make a few skins for it. They deserve to have some success, and I think you will enjoy skinning it.
43,794 views 53 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi Cliff, Can we upload skins to the official Xion site, or just DeviantArt? If you let me know how to get them on the official site I will send some over. Thanks for a great skinning system, has it been used in any other applications? Did you develop it, and if so how did you make the player use .PSD files?, I'm fascinated by this!
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The idea of skinning with PSD's is excellent, however this player just isn't doing it for me at all. the Library and Playlist menu's aren't very informative at all, unlike Foobar2000. My computer isn't the newest, but it does run at 1.5Ghz and whenever a move a window around or close a window the music hangs/skips in Xion which sucks. Another issue for me is that when you display the Xion player itself, everything else in teh background freezes and you can't control any of it unless you minimize the Xion player. Terrible! Why is it like that? I've already made a skin for it and it works almost perfectly. Still some adjustments to make on that. When it isn't skipping/hanging it sounds excellent, but I'll continue to use Foobar.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi BoXXi,

Yes you can send them to me using the Contact page. Just choose 'Skin Submission' from the drop down box and attach your skin file.

Thanks for the great feedback on the skinning system

No it hasn't been used in any other applications. Yes, I developed it from scratch for use with Xion. To figure out the PSD file format, I managed to find some old version 3.0 publicly released file format documents and from there I just figured out the rest by trial and error.

All up the development of Xion has taken about 4 years of my spare time development. The skin system taking up the most time.

I coded Xion in pure Win32 using C++.

Cliff
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi FordGT,

Another issue for me is that when you display the Xion player itself, everything else in teh background freezes and you can't control any of it unless you minimize the Xion player


Which version of Windows are you using?

Did you see my response to your forum post on the Xion forums?

Cliff
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
its a bit buggy but otherwise its pretty coo! i got the skin with the wobbly speakers and it is so cute! looking forward to creating a skinning for it in PS, what a great concept that is! I can't wait for stardock to implement PS formats for skins too
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
its a bit buggy but otherwise its pretty coo!


If you find any bugs, could you let me know by posting in the official forum

I hope to keep on improving Xion in the future and with your feedback I will be able to do just that.

Cliff
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sounds good! Looks good! I am having a problem playing CDs, though. What am I doing wrong?
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
what a clever idea. designers can actually create something without knowledge of the often confusing code backend?
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cliff, Is there anywhere that I can purchase a Pro version of Xion, or at least donate to it's development in some way? I really like the work you've done on this thing, and would like to help out. I will also be sending some (hopefully, high quality) skins in the near future. Keep up the good work, I will certainly keep spreading the word.
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK, I just submitted my skin! It's my very first skin for anything. Finally, a program that's easy to skin for
Reply #37 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I opened a Xion skins section at my website Link, so if any of you have a cool skin you would like to share, please don't forget my website
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I LOVE THIS PROGRAM ITS WHAT IVE ALWAYS WANTED!!!!!!!
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi everyone!

I'm glad you are all enjoying my player and skin system!

Cliff, Is there anywhere that I can purchase a Pro version of Xion, or at least donate to it's development in some way?


Thank you! I am thrilled to hear that you would like to send a donation. You can do so on my Donation page.

I run r2 Studios is my spare time, and every little donation helps me to keep it up and running and providing quality freeware for everyone!

Thank you all!

Warm regards,
Cliff
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cheers Cliff.... I sent a bit of cash. Worth every penny.
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Looks like a cool program.
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If you guys made a skin and want to share it with others, I created a section for it a little while back and already contains some Xion skins, you can submit it here Link
Reply #45 from WinCustomize Forums Top
New version released today.
Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Havnt skinned it yet...but you can be sure I will!...screw WMP and winamp.This is a skinners dream.Xion will be the default player skin for my premium themes.  
Reply #47 from WinCustomize Forums Top
hmmmmmmm...maybe.  

Reply #48 from WinCustomize Forums Top


will it thump?
Reply #49 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thump?...uh,my Boston Acoustics are pretty small...but they are enough to annoy a neighbor.  

Reply #50 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WOW IR... haven't tried Xion yet...but that skin looks incredible your suite just keeps looking better & better.

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