Team Blackbolt http://blackbolt.x-scene.com Team Blackbolt produces skins and applications for the XBMC community. en <![CDATA[iParty on App Store]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com
During my time away I started writing iPhone/iPad applications one of which is now available in the App Store. The app is called iParty and will strobe the flashlight (where available) and do various effects on the screen whilst playing your favourite music from your iTunes library.

For more information please visit http://www.workmonkeys.co.uk 

Expect many updates and new features to come...

- Peter Tribe (EqUiNoX)]]> <![CDATA[A Small Update to Round off 2011]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com team members are currently working on. 'Currently working on', that phrase itself seems to be lost on some people in this day and age. So I thought I'd take a moment out to explain what that means to us.

When we say we're currently working on a project, it means that it is under development, it doesn't mean that we're hard at work day and night, slugging away to finish it. Contrary to popular belief, we earn nothing from creating these beautiful skins, it's just a hobby. We trialled a donations system to help fund us early on, it was somewhat successful and the kind folks that contributed helped us secure hosting and a domain name for a few years. Now that pot has run dry we all fund this little site out of our own pockets. So anyway, back to the topic at hand, time.

It's funny how as time goes by, you have less and less of it. A few years ago, I myself would happily come home from work after spending close to 9 hours sat in front of a computer working my mind into a pulp and then again sit in front of a computer and get great enjoyment from creating something unique, Ellipsis. These days, the free time to do such things grows further and further apart. This doesn't mean that the project as a whole is abandoned or even delayed. The plan for instance for Ellipsis 1.3 has always been the same, whether it’s worked on daily, weekly or even monthly, the endgame is still the same and it will be done when it’s done. I learned early on with MC360 that creating a date for a project kills it. You lose time to polish things, others are rushed and not really creative and organic anymore. This is why Ellipsis took 2 years to make and will probably take longer to finish. If we could work on it all day every day, it might have been completed in a month or two.

So I guess where I am going with this candid post is to say that we're still here, we still work on things, but we do not compromise our personal lives for this work anymore, they do take a lower priority these days. This means that the going is slow, but it’s our passion and we will finish what we set out to complete, however long it takes us, we won’t give up.

So we’d just like to wish everyone a great holiday and a happy new year, check back often, some day they’ll be more greatness for you to see and be a part of every day.

- Steven J Weir (Blackbolt)
]]> <![CDATA[EqUiNoX Returns, Team Blackbolt are back!]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com EqUiNoX, our team leader had a little sabatical for many months, effectively dropping off the grid. During this time Team Blackbolt was carried by the excellent projects like Xperience and new joining members Hitcher, WingmanZ and Eumel. But the team was never quite whole.

Well very recently EqUiNoX, the lead coder for Ellipsis and the authority when it comes to XBMC interface development, has returned. The cogs have started turning again in the team and the creative juices are flowing. Our team is back and we're getting ready to unleash our best projects yet.

First on the agenda is Ellipsis, our beautiful XBMC interface that has suffered from lack of time and input from its creators, well our neglected project will become our finest I'm sure, we're going to finally finish Ellipsis with all the trimmings it should have once had, our goal is to become the default theme for as many XBMC users as possible, first we have to win over ourselves, we know it's weaknesses and we're going to address them, so keep watching this space.

We're back! ]]> <![CDATA[Release: Ellipsis 1.2.1 (XBMC SVN Rev: 3172)]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com update now via ZIP or SVN.

Very soon Ellipsis should be available from within XBMC's own Add-On download function. We've had a lot of help from TheUni with bringing our Ellipsis skin up-to-code with XBMC's standards. Jezz_X and JMarshall have been instrumental with their invaluable input also, so a big thanks to those guys also, couldn't have done this without you.

You can read the full change log on the project page for Ellipsis here. You can download a zip version of the build here or you can visit the Official XBMC Skins SVN here and build a copy yourself.

If you would like to discuss Ellipsis or if you have any ideas to help improve Ellipsis, then you can check out our sub-forum @ XBMC.org forums right here.

If you would also like to help contribute towards the time and effort we put into Ellipsis, you can donate using Pledgie below:

Click here to lend your support to: Ellipsis for XBMC and make a donation at www.pledgie.com !
]]> <![CDATA[Release: Ellipsis 1.2 (XBMC SVN Rev: 3150)]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com Hitcher and ppic, we've finally fixed the outstanding bugs and we've got full Add-On support in with a whole host of other fixes too. Go update now!

Moving forward, we've decided to approach Ellipsis' development in a more community input based way. We'll be using an public SVN, probably GoogleCode, and we'll be looking for users to get involved.

The focus for the '1.3' build is View Types and how we display your media to you. The place where Ellipsis falls down the most is the limited amount of views available to the user. So we're going to add as many new view types as we can, all the best ones from all the best skins out there will be added. So check out our website (www.teamblackbolt.co.uk) soon for details on how to get the development build of Ellipsis 1.3 when it becomes available. 

You can read the full change log on the project page for Ellipsis here. You can download a zip version of the build here or you can visit the Official XBMC Skins SVN here and build a copy yourself.

If you would like to discuss Ellipsis or if you have any ideas to help improve Ellipsis, then you can check out our sub-forum @ XBMC.org forums right here.

If you would also like to help contribute towards the time and effort we put into Ellipsis, you can donate using Pledgie below:

Click here to lend your support to: Ellipsis for XBMC and make a donation at www.pledgie.com !
]]> <![CDATA[We need your help!]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com
Recently you may have noticed the site has been going offline quite frequently. This has been due to the high demand of traffic we've always had. But it has started to cripple us and our host now, causing the 'black-outs'.

What we're looking for is a generous person to donate server space for us to run our website and svn from. In exchange for this we'd be happy to credit the donator with a sponsored link at the top of every page of ours and our eternal gratitude.

So if you can help, please do get in touch with us either via Email, Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you.

]]> <![CDATA[Release: Xperience 1.1(FINAL) UI for XBMC]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com Xperience 1.1 is compatible with the latest XBMC Build (Dharma Beta 4), you can now use the addons interface with ease. This is the FINAL version of Xperience unless any other major changes happen to XBMC in the near future. It's time for bigger and better things in the skinning world as our team is working on great things behind the scene. Please enjoy this latest version of Xperience.

As always please report Bugs/Suggestions/Requests in the forums.]]> <![CDATA[Release: Ellipsis Pre 1.2 (Revision 2866) Dharma Compatible]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com Ellipsis, Pre 1.2. It's not the full version of the new update, it's missing a few key components like the Add-On settings and info windows, but the Add-On browser is in there and it's Dharma compatible. But we thought we’d give you guys a chance to test the changes we’ve made.
You can read the full change log on the project page for Ellipsis here. You can download a zip version of the build here or you can visit the Official XBMC Skins SVN here and build a copy yourself.

If you would like to discuss Ellipsis or if you have any ideas to help improve Ellipsis, then you can check out our sub-forum @ XBMC.org forums right here.

If you would also like to help contribute towards the time and effort we put into Ellipsis, you can donate using Pledgie below:

Click here to lend your support to: Ellipsis for XBMC and make a donation at www.pledgie.com !
]]> <![CDATA[Release: Xperience 1.0 UI for XBMC]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com Xperience has now been updated to 1.0 and is no longer in beta. We have also now added the project to the XBMC Skins SVN.

This means that Xperience can be kept up-to-date more easily by XBMC users. This latest build of Xperience, while no longer in a beta stage, does not include the full update to view types that are coming in the future. Also for the first time, Xperience's entire texture library is open for full access.

Please also note that this version of Xperience is not compatible with XBOX, this is due to memory issues. There are no plans for Team Blackbolt to create an Xbox compatible 'Xperience' at all.

Thank you all for downloading! Please remember you can always make suggestions right here on the XBMC forums as well as submit bug reports and even mod suggestions.

You can discuss this release here at the XBMC.org offcial forums.
]]> <![CDATA[Farewell XBOX]]> http://blackbolt.x-scene.com
XBMC (XBMP really) started as a program for modified XBOX consoles. In the following years, XBMC has grown into a multi-platform, multi-architecture media center that runs on most standard hardware. The hardware and legal limitations of the XBOX were always a concern and the Team has instead focused on running on the hardware that most people already have.

But times have changed. The XBOX has hard limits for what it can handle. Some users are satisfied with these limits, and we encourage them to use XBMC there if they are happy. But it is a popular misconception that official XBOX development is still taking place by the team, so we have decided to set it free. We have enough on our plates already, and worrying about a deprecated platform just increases our workload. A few days ago the XBOX branch was finally removed from our subversion repository.

... You can read the rest of the post by Team XBMC here.

With this news, Team Blackbolt would also like to clarify our position. Due to the unforeseen changes with how XBMC now handles skins, we have decided that our last project for XBOX, an Xbox compatible version of Ellipsis, will now be cancelled. We feel that with our limited time, our efforts are best focused on the main branch of Ellipsis and our other projects.

We do however encourage user-created Xbox compatible versions of our skins. But, we will not be supporting this format ourselves in future.

T'was a good ride upon the black box, but it is now time to expand our horizons and look beyond, without limitation. The shackles are off...

Microsoft, thank you.

 
]]>