Sunday, December 30, 2007

Prototype #3 of 3D Comic Book Viewer


Here is another update of the 3D Comic Book Viewer...

Updates

- Pressing the keys 1,2...9 will jump straight to page 10, 20...90.
- Holding down SHIFT and PageUp, PageDown will jump up / down by 10 pages
- The number of pages, current page, and percentage read so far, is shown at the bottom - note that the look of this will be improved
- You can now view a folder of images ( select the 2nd option from the Open dialog, and select one of the files in the folder ), so it can be used as a generic image viewer
- Press R to rotate the image, and load the next page ( this shows a cool 3D effect )

Download Instructions

Download and extract the files from the ZIP below...

http://www.candointeractive.com/3dcomicbookviewer/3/3DComicBookViewer3.zip

Instructions on how to use the viewer can be viewed in the previous blog posts ( especially the first posting at the bottom of the page ).


Enjoy!

Friday, December 21, 2007

Prototype #2 of 3D Comic Book Viewer


I've updated the viewer with some new features and fixes.

Updates

- Pages are extracted one at a time, which means faster loading times ( thanks Valentin! ).

- Now works with CBR, CBZ, ZIP and RAR - and also CBZs that are named CBRs ( thanks again Valentin! ).

- Better handling of wide pages.

- Use ENTER and RETURN to view the next page, HOME and END view the first and last page.


Download Instructions

Download and extract the files from the ZIP below...

http://www.candointeractive.com/3dcomicbookviewer/2/3DComicBookViewer.zip

Instructions on how to use the viewer can be seen as part of the Prototype #1 posting at the bottom of this page.


Hopefully this will make your comic viewing experience a bit smoother and more enjoyable...

Mal

Again, all feedback ( via the website, or directly ) is much appreciated.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Prototype #1 of 3D Comic Book Viewer


Having recently enjoyed re-reading some of my favourite graphic novels in CBR and CBZ format, I've decided to write a viewer with a few new features that weren't in the few viewers that I was using. This included the ability to smoothly zoom in and pan around each comic book page.

This zooming and panning smoothly is possible as the program uses your 3D graphics card to view the various pages - while ensuring that the image quality is preserved.

I've decided to release prototypes of the viewer during development, to get feedback from the wider community on what they would like a viewer to have also.

Download Instructions

Download and extract the files from the ZIP below...
http://www.candointeractive.com/3dcomicbookviewer/1/3DComicBookViewer.zip

When you run the "3DComicBookViewer" program, you will be presented with an Open Comic dialog box.


Keys and Controls for Viewing Comics

To move on to the next page, use either - left mouse button, SPACE, Page Down or +.

To move on to the next page, use either - right mouse button, BackSpace, Page Up or -.

Use the Arrow Keys and Q and A to zoom and pan around the image.

To open or load a new comic book, press O or L.

Press ESC to quit the viewer.


I hope you enjoy using the viewer, and give feedback on what you would like to see.

While I'm initially going to focus on the viewer ( ie per comic features ), there could also be a larger "Comic Book Manager" development later on.

Of course, I'd also like to hear what people might pay for a quality comic reader product ( if anything! - of course, to be realistic $0 development budget = less resources, some $ means I can spend more resources on this project etc )

I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Mal