Working on updating the rendering engine and communicating with other group members

I think this email sending to all group members would be diary to show what I'm doing this week ---

Hi all,

While I'm working on updating the rendering engine and doing some fixes on it, some important things to say again.

1) Please forgive me to say it again: each of us should at least post 6 diaries by week 6.

2) I will upload the "almost finalized" version of our rendering engine tomorrow. The engine will by default run at fullscreen mode, as Luke wants, it will be smart enough to know users' machine resolution and configure to fit it. If user presses Alt + Enter key, the engine switchs back to 1280 * 800, a classic safe resolution that fits most of machines.

3) The rendering engine now will show a control point ball for first two points to let users know they have successfully add the first two points before we render a knot string starting from third point.

4) Jernej, the size of the button bar for you is determined to be 180 * 800.

5) Phil, the updated engine has been implemented with the XML and database code. Besides this, I have made examples for you to insert button related code so that you do not have to worry about those hard things, such as the alpha blending & rendering state. My intention is to save your time and make things easier for all of others. All code between the comments, // for buttons & // end of buttons, is the implemented button related code. The button framework I used is from a famous xna tutorial: http://alecjacobson.com/games/button-tutorial/   http://www.alecjacobson.com/weblog/?p=539 . This button framework has implemented the Up, Over & Click event handling and color changing. Not only that, it has a very nice advantage that it can recognise if your mouse is over or click the irregular textured area and left other transparent area static. This will be very nice feature for you to draw buttons on the top of Jernej's rope-wood ladder. Hope you will like it.

6) I don't think we need to draw a menu like button bar at the top of the rendering area. As talked to Luke, we only need to draw the essential & important buttons on the right hand side. For those minor operation and short keys, we could simple document it in the user manual.

7) So, what is the next most important thing? We need to look into Jernej's work, check to see how many buttons we could have. We need to make the decision: if we only draw 15 buttons, then which buttons are at this high priority. To work it out, I appeal, each of us, while you are testing and playing around with the rendering engine, please list 15 buttons that you think need to put on the button bar. Please send it back to Tim and CC to other group members by Thursday. So that we can disccuss and make final decision with Luke in Thursday meeting.

Kind regards,
Jun