pbowmar Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hi, I'm testing a new tutorial format and I need feedback! Please go to: http://embrace-movie.net/winktests/index.htm then come back here and give feedback please! All comments, harsh or not, are welcome. Don't hold back! Of course, the index page is nothing like what it will ultimately be, and the graphic design on the tutorial's main page is a work in progress, but comment on whatever you like. Cheers, Peter B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johner Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Is there a setting to automatically proceed through the little yellow information boxes, after a certain delay or something? I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole with them popping up at different locations on the screen. Otherwise, pretty cool. Just curious, what is the perceived downside of audio? File size? I'm a little surprised that adding audio adds that much to the file size. With voice data, can't you lower the sampling rate, make it mono, compress the heck out of it, etc. to get file size down? Or is the translation capability? Or ability to proceed at one's own pace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenong Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I agree with johner about the whack-a-mole bit with the pop-ups. Hopefully there's an option to proceed automatically after a delay. However, I can see the benefits for beginners as they can proceed at their own pace, try something different at that stage then continue with worrying about pausing or missing something. Nice one Peter! Cheers! steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbowmar Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 Good call on the Whack A Mole. I can't get it to pause then continue with that button, but I can do one of the following, let me know what you think I should try: -Remove all continue buttons, and put a X (2-5) second delay. If you want to go faster you can use the Play button on the playbar at the bottom to move faster through it. -put the big continue button in the same place on the screen so you are always clicking the same location instead of hunting. In this case you'd still have to click to continue As for audio, the main advantages are trivial editing of the information if something changes, and internationalization. It's also much much faster to scan through for information you want with text than it is with audio. Also, people who are not so fluent in a language can still make a tutorial and someone fluent in the language can easily edit it for typos etc. File size is also smaller which is a bonus Cheers, Peter B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netvudu Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 (edited) I think it Edited January 5, 2008 by Netvudu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewlowell Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 does the flash work on 64-bit linux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynbo Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Nice format for qucik stuff like the example shows I kinda like Whack a Mole, but its probably better to have the delay and then move on. I like it, its fast. Thanks for this -Lyn- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafal123 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 (edited) hmm IMO it should be rolled into the docs - stuff like that, Peter I think it should be cool if tutorials would look like those from ZBrush tutorials, where all the lecture shows in app area, so when one from tut say something or do something it happens in houdini, he create the ball and the ball is created in H you can zoom it, pan it, etc and then click to go to the next lesson, what do you think about it? ha p.s just wanna to add that in that kind of tutorials everything happens on one screen, I mean no need to change view between H and tut page and again, all happen in one time front to your eyes and of course you are more focused thanks that heh Edited January 5, 2008 by Rafal123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Amion Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Good stuff. The Whack A Mole navigation is a bit weird since it forces you to locate the next button. Perhaps a hint that the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewlowell Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 For "in software" documentation it looks like a good scheme. On the audio topic, while some people are auditory learners I wouldn't overestimate the value of voice/audio with tutorials. I personally think the written word is much more powerful and accurate, I've seen tons of voice tutorials (not necessarily for Houdini) where the person is just mumbling and the information is somewhat nonsensical or at least unorganized / sometimes unnecessary or off-topic. So, I don't think voice is necessarily an effective way of getting across accurate information. Typed wack-a-moles are definitely very specific and accurate. If this wasn't for software documentation and GUI features I would have to think there's a danger in this method also. BUTTONOLOGY (term for teaching button clicks and order of operations instead of applicable theory) would be a very easy trap to fall into with tutorials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 (edited) hi peter, i like the format. i wonder whether with more complex topics audio will be necessary, but for now i dont think it is. i dont really have a problem with the whack a mole issue either.. although i guess as suggested you could have fixed place navigation buttons and highlights to draw your attention to the relevant area. clicking to proceed is good IMO - self paced. hoping we get to see more Edited January 6, 2008 by mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Nice. I'll throw in my vote for the fixed place button idea. Also I'm not sure the black text on yellow bg is so good, it's a little too contrasty. I realise the idea is to make it stand out more, but if you darken the non-important areas (as people have suggested) then it might be possible to tone it down without losing its sense of importance. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisuke Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 It's pretty nice. At times I got annoyed with those buttons but it's easy to forward/rewind in the video timeline so I think it's okay. Good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abvfx Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 the only thing i dont like about this is ( the button thing of course and ) the face you cant save it. Beside that its a nice way of delivering a tutorial. One thing, will you be taking votes on what to cover, boy would i love to see an SSS or fur tutorial. Looking forward to more content. -andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfwood Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I like the format. The whack-a-mole thing pissed me off the first 3 times I had to hit the button but after that I discovered just keeping the mouse over the play button and clicking on it worked the same way as the whack-a-mole, without being annoying. So its all good. (I'd prefer if spacebar or enter would whack the button though.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Amion Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 One thing, will you be taking votes on what to cover, boy would i love to see an SSS or fur tutorial. My vote for a fur/hair tutorial as well. Although if I would get my wish for the most wanted tutorial I would say a tutorial on how to rig a character in Houdini and exporting for animation in external package and then bring back into Houdini. Thinking out loud here but the Zbrush interactive tutorials you talk about Rafal123 do you think that something like that could be done through the Device Chops and Python perhaps? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafal123 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 My vote for a fur/hair tutorial as well. Although if I would get my wish for the most wanted tutorial I would say a tutorial on how to rig a character in Houdini and exporting for animation in external package and then bring back into Houdini.Thinking out loud here but the Zbrush interactive tutorials you talk about Rafal123 do you think that something like that could be done through the Device Chops and Python perhaps? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbowmar Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 Hi All, Thanks for the feedback, I've now replaced the tutorial V2 which has the continue button at the top in the same location always. I decided I liked this better than a timed continue and you having to pause, since I can control the pause to highlight what's important. You can always click the button to keep going and no more Whack A Mole. I've also added a link so you can save the .swf file as requested. Specific comments: Netvudu: Fair comment on the audio and I'm sure SESI will keep doing voice-driven video tutorials. Just curious, do you dislike PDF tutorials too? Everyone learns differently, and all training is a tradeoff of time, expense and quality of education Rafal: Remember, I don't work for SESI, I'm trying to provide additional and alternative training materials. Ideally, everything possible would be given out for free by SESI, but they don't have 1,000 people making tutorials for them My choice of topic for this tutorial was intended to be a small and tightly focussed test, not something I'd necessarily put out "for real" though of course it's still useful nonetheless. SoulVector: I agree about a chapter ending and then going back to the beginning. However, this isn't possible with Wink right now. What I can, and hope to do, is have each chapter begin with its own Chapter Screen, which would have a View Chapter button, or a Return to Main Menu button. I also agree about highlighting important areas. I'll keep this in mind for the future, but it adds a significant amount of labour to the process and frankly, I'd rather focus on getting more information out there. Marc: Colour schemes, I'm completely open to suggestions Wink is great in that once I've settled on something, I can template it and never worry again. As you know from sitting next to me, colour choices aren't my strongest area I would like to nail it down before doing getting into it seriously though. Likewise the main page and chapter pages. All: One of my intentions if this gets going is to have a "suggestion and vote" section for tutorial topics. So, don't bother right now, I'm just getting the technology and basics down, more to come if all goes well. Cheers, Peter B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellchuk Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I've just tried tut v2 out and I think it works fine. easy to use and good pauses. good job. :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netvudu Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Netvudu: Fair comment on the audio and I'm sure SESI will keep doing voice-driven video tutorials. Just curious, do you dislike PDF tutorials too? Everyone learns differently, and all training is a tradeoff of time, expense and quality of education Peter B No, I do like PDF tutorials, the same way I do like this tutorial. I was just stating that I like them MORE when they add voice I think you will agree with me that PDF tuts tend (there are exceptions to this, specially the more you go back in time) to be also on the shorter side, and the reason for it is the same for not reading books at the computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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