well seeing as i have nothing better to do right now, why not do one more blog entry….

did my presentation today…. i think in terms of the presentation itself, it was pretty crap…. i really don’t like presenting in the lab… it’s hard to make eye contact with everyone (or anyone for that matter) and i tend to just read more than i would normally do in the lecture room and then when you try not to read you lose track of what you’re saying and generally express stuff really badly… ah well, too bad! it’s done!

although it was good to see that no one really asked any questions that were exceedingly difficult to answer… that way i don’t need to make any major changes to either site or idea…. speaking of which… that flash video i played today was an older version where i hadn’t put the “stop sounds” behaviour on the frames so the music just kept going…. but the one i uploaded actually stops so that’s ok… it still doesn’t stop exactly where i wanted it to, but by 3pm yesterday i have watched and rewatched that darn movie so many times that it lost all meaning and i just left it as it was -___-”

so yeah, that’s that. coolness ;)

site 3 is as good as done! now all i gotta do is plan my presentation!

today i finished off my flash movie. i decided not to link the videos i found from RealFlight, and instead i managed to integrate snippets of it into my own video. I also dug up an old video my brother made when he was doing his major design project in his hsc year - i don’t know how he made it but i couldn’t separate the sound in flash (so it migt be a tiny bit dodgy - but you’ll hardly notice it!) yeah, so i put bits of that into it as well…. i think it’s ok considering this is my first use of flash in 4 years… so yeah…. that’s all good. oh and i finished tech specs (dunno if i mentioned it previously or not) and the rest of it was already done before today….. yay!

it’s uploaded now cos i need it for the presentation tomorrow, so yeah take a look ^^

yeah i’m trying to get my website finished (or close enough to it) for thursday 1. so that i can use it for my presentation

2. so that i can have an early holiday :P (of course reason 1. is my main reason! ahahahahaaa…)

but anyways, i think whatever my reason i am quite on track to be doing just that. Cos today i finished my features page… i just gotta fill in the iphone tech specs page, finish my dodgy flash animation and link some videos i didn’t make :P (i’ll reference them! and they’re really good videos!) yeah…. getting there.

Oh and here’s my “something random”…. i thought it was really funny and it’s kinda project related. It was in an email i received…

title says it all… i made my ‘features’ heading stand out a lot more by making it an image…

anyways, i don’t think my site 3’s coming along too badly… i mean, it looks ok… it will be informative once i put the features descriptions on it…. it’s got a pretty little gallery… and phony company contact info…. i think that was pretty cool :)

well, i like it - if anyone doesn’t like it, you’re probably not my market! ahahahahaaaa. No but seriously, my users and i think that it looks very much like an RC site. i dunno exactly what it is about an RC site that makes it so distinctively and RC site…. but whatever it is i think mine has it ^^

oh and i finally made some screencaps for my flight/drive game modes…. it was kinda difficult cos i had to photo composite someone else’s heli (it was from www.realflight.com btw!) into a photograph of my front yard… well i think it looks ok… and my screencap for my multi-cam view too - i have a pic of an RC car on the road and then in the corner is the on-board equivalent - it was actually the equivalent cos i didn’t move the car at all :)

 oh and i got rid of the legal disclaimer thing - i didn’t want a deliberately broken link there…. instead, it is now copyrighted as “a ModelTech product”… ;)

anyways, yeah…. not uploaded yet ^^

yeah i made this really cool-looking header for it… well, i really like it…. and one of my users really liked it…. before it was just blue white and grey - it was missing something… you know what it was? it was red. i put in some red for the tag line and that made all the difference :)

speaking of the tag line, that’s another thing i improved. It is now  the “Model i-Control - for serious control” - cool eh? cos it makes sense - “the model I control” and it gives you “serious control” cos it’s just so much better with my design, and it’s your model so you expect a high degree of control over it - or is that going too far with the name analysis? ehehehe  ;)

and then i found it hard to say anything more useful on the main page than what i’ve already had for my previous 2 sites so i reused that info… i mean, you can’t give away TOO much about your product on the main page cos then people won’t keep looking!  so as far as i’m concerned, that’s the main page done :)

oh! one last thing - i put in a little legal disclaimer in the footer - like a “for terms & conditions click here” sort of thing. but i don’t think i’ll have time to write a fake one out, so this link might not lead anywhere - purely for decorational purposes, but you never know, i might put something stupid in there for the heck of it  ;)

yes, so what if i’m making up for all the stuff i forgot to blog now?! :P

anyways, a good point i came across when writing the content for my third site is that my market has changed - again. See for site 1, i was targeting both current and prospective rc users. then for site 2 i changed it cos current users said they wouldn’t use my product if it was a simulator. so i aimed for non-rc users. But then i added stuff to it and the idea itself has changed heaps. and because current users said that they would use it if more features were included to make it a more interesting product, i can now target the original broader market which may be people who love rc and play my game in the times between race meets :) which is cool cos its easier selling to these people… i think…

i need a break from websites.. so i just want to say that there is a reason for my slowed blogging about halfway through semester, and that is NOT because i haven’t been doing anything *shifty eyes*…. No seriously though, it’s cos there’s an opportunity cost involved in blogging - see, there is so much to do during semester that anytime i spend on blogging could be and was spent trying to do the assignments… :) not that it really matters - if i didn’t blog i didn’t blog… hehe

this one is for non-rc users. they’re kinda similar, but with subtle differences in phrasing :)

RC

1. What do you understand about RC? What interests you about it?
2. If you were to get into RC, which mode would you be interested in (aircraft, driving, boats)?
3. Do you think this form of RC would be easy or hard to learn? Why?

1. Ever used one? RC or actual?
2. If yes, Did you like it? If no, would you like to try one?
3. If yes, what features did you like/not like about it? If no, what features would you think it would need, or would you like to see it have?
4. If yes, Did you find it was a realistic representation of the flying experience?

iphone app

1. Would you like a flight simulator game you can take with you?
2. If iphone app were developed, would you use it?
3. If yes, what would be your purpose for using it? To replace the need to buy, to train, or to play independently? (for you, probably: if you had an iphone and this product would save you forking out $250, would you prefer it? :P)
4. If no, why not?
5. Would you prefer to see a conventional radio interface? Or do you like the idea of utilising iphone features such as accelerometers as a more interactive way of playing?
6. Which features do you think would be most suitable for which radio functions i.e. how would you like to see throttle… controlled using iphone features? (leave out if you want)
7. Is the iphone screen too small for playing? Would another device e.g. glasses be suitable for this application? Suggestions?
8. If there were a chance to interact with other players, e.g. flying with a friend in a shared environment, would you use it?
9. If there were an option to switch between iphone control and a conventional radio interface, would you use it? Do you think it is worth having?
10.  What do you think of a virtual shopping system, where you have to buy spare parts, pay registration fees (for races and events), etc. using virtual currency? Would it make it more fun and realistic in terms of vehicle maintenance?
11. Suggestions?

 after this i gathered feedback by just generally talking to users - kinda like involving them in process - cos i come up with an idea or improvement, seek feedback and comments, then continue… works well :)

you know what? bad idea. i think i’ll stick with trying to work out flash… for now i’ll make the frames…. then i’ll work on the website design and content and then next week i’ll make the animation.

man, tomorrow’s gonna be a total write-off! have to go to a buffet with family at the worst possible time! same time every semester they do this - assignment peak period! argh!

anyways yeah… oh right! questions i asked people in interviews:  (RC user version - i’m gonna run out of space)

RC

1. How long have you been into RC?
2. Ever used an RC aircraft?
3. If yes, what kind was it – heli, plane? If no, which other RC have you used?
4. If used multiple forms of RC, which do you prefer and why? Flying or driving?
5. What type of radio was it/do you prefer? Why? Stick, pistol
6. Channels? 2,4,6
7. How difficult was RC to learn initially? What was easy/hard about it?
8. How important to you think having the [sticks or trigger/wheel] is to controlling the thing well i.e. if I were to replace it with a touch screen, how would it affect your ability to control it?

Flight sim

1. Ever used one? RC or actual?
2. Did you like it?
3. What features did you like/not like about it?
4. Did you find it was a realistic representation of the flying experience?

iphone app

1. Would you like a flight simulator game you can take with you?
2. If iphone app were developed, would you use it?
3. If yes, what would be your purpose for using it? To replace the need to buy, to train, or to play independently?
4. If no, why not?
5. Would you prefer to see a conventional radio interface? Or do you like the idea of utilising iphone features such as accelerometers as a more interactive way of playing?
6. Which features do you think would be most suitable for which radio functions i.e. how would you like to see throttle… controlled using iphone features?
7. Is the iphone screen too small for playing? Would another device e.g. glasses be suitable for this application? Suggestions?
8. If there were a chance to interact with other players, e.g. flying with a friend in a shared environment, would you use it?
9. If there were an option to switch between iphone control and a conventional radio interface, would you use it? Do you think it is worth having?
10.  Suggestions?

ok… i have figured out the real basics of flash… but i don’t think i really like it.. it’s not really doing what i want it to be doing. i do stil remember how to use Animation Shop though… i don’t suppose there are any objections to using that? jsut gotta figure what file formats its supports.. i think it’s avi… i dunno maybe i will use flash.

of all things i backed up onto usb i forgot to bring my proper screenshot designs! argh! which means i can not do very much now.. i’ll need to do it at home and i don’t have flash.. we’ll see how we go… i can always work on website now… i know what i want in my site now… an animated slideshow of screenshots is a must cos that gives it the impression that its a finished, working product, when it’s actually neither ;) the rest just needs to be presented nicely…

i’ve made a menu bar in ImageReady… that seems to be working the way i want it.. which is good… it’s got rollover effects! yay :)

and more stuff i’ve forgotten - how did i manage to forget this ?! - a copy of the questions i used in my interviews with users. i had one for RC users and one for non-RC users… it’s also at home, so i’ll get you a copy soon…. man have my documentation skills gotten crap since last year…. it’s all last semester’s fault! we didn’t need to document at all last semester!

ah well…