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Rendering method of menus/buttons

Skarn

By Skarn
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Skarn Member

Skarn

Posted
Posted

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if GameEx supports tiled and stretch regions for it's GUI rendering/themes elements?

e.g.

2cmoq37.jpg

From top to bottom.

A) Original graphic used for button skin

B) How I think GameEx currently renders a button using the graphic and stretched horizontally

C) How using a 'non-stretch region' for the left and right of the original graphic, and then stretching looks.

D) Applying a 'non-stretch region' for the left, top, bottom and right and then stretching in 2 directions looks.

I did not create this image in an art program - I used an application called DesktopX which lets you put images on your desktop as 'objects'.

You can then stretch the image however you like, but it provides these 'margins' which change the way the image is stretched.

Can GameEx do this in it's themes?

The 'ugly' stretch graphics I keep seeing on screenshots is discouraging me from creating my interface using gameEx.

If SpeSoft can consider implementing this kind of stretching that would be awesome.

Thanks.

Draco1962 GameEx God (Top Rank)

Draco1962

Posted
Posted

Can you be more specific as to the theme(s) or graphic element(s) to which you are referring? Have you attempted to create a theme or graphics to use with GameEx?

You made a similar post back in January yet offered little information. Is your issue with the rendering of the selector bars used to highlight text, error dialogues and the like?

  • 3 weeks later...
Necromancyr Ultimate GameEx Guru!

Necromancyr

Posted
Posted

Can you be more specific as to the theme(s) or graphic element(s) to which you are referring? Have you attempted to create a theme or graphics to use with GameEx?

You made a similar post back in January yet offered little information. Is your issue with the rendering of the selector bars used to highlight text, error dialogues and the like?

I don't think there's actually any real complexity here. The question is can GameEx support smart stretching of graphics where the corners are not stretched and only the horizontal/vertical areas are to accommodate changes in height/width.

His past post you linked to actually provided all the information that's needed and in no way provided 'little information' - he asked a straightforward question, no one responded.

And what elements it applies to actually is unimportant - it should apply across all elements where a graphic may be stretched in some fashion.

Draco1962 GameEx God (Top Rank)

Draco1962

Posted
Posted

I don't think there's actually any real complexity here. The question is can GameEx support smart stretching of graphics where the corners are not stretched and only the horizontal/vertical areas are to accommodate changes in height/width.

His past post you linked to actually provided all the information that's needed and in no way provided 'little information' - he asked a straightforward question, no one responded.

And what elements it applies to actually is unimportant - it should apply across all elements where a graphic may be stretched in some fashion.

Based on his original post, while there was considerable detail, he did not provide enough information with regards to a frame of reference, if he was working on a theme, or noting an observation with regards to a specific theme. I know that you have asked about Theme Editor and some very specific questions within other threads and I as well as others will be glad to address them. If you have similar concerns, let's discuss them. If you have an issue with how I responded, I will be glad to take that up with you via PM. We are here to help, but we are not perfect and some times things do not come out quite as intended.

Adultery GameEx God (Top Rank)

Adultery

Posted
Posted

I saw his post too and frankly I had no idea what he was asking either, and trust me man. I'm not new around here.

Some things need to be addressed by the dev. If the question is indeed does it do a smart stretch, then the answer is no. It stretches the entire image, not just the middle.

Keep in mind this is just a hobby for us too, we may be good at skinning but we're not always experts in programming.

:)

headkaze GameEx God (Top Rank)

headkaze

Posted
Posted

The OP is talking about splitting up the dialog graphics into top left, top middle, top right etc. pieces so that images like the dialog don't appear stretched at different sizes. This is a common technique used for UI graphics.

If you see from the attached image I have cut the graphic up into 9 pieces. The centre piece is the only piece that is stretched, the rest stay at their original size.

GameEx doesn't currently support this method of rendering.

post-367-0-71436800-1318456748_thumb.png

Adultery GameEx God (Top Rank)

Adultery

Posted
Posted

Shouldn't it? Is this a PITA to impliment? I can see much cleaner selector bars using this method at the very least.

I worry about stretched images though, not that it's relevant (maybe it is)...

Draco1962 GameEx God (Top Rank)

Draco1962

Posted
Posted

I think that I would much prefer that method of rendering if at all possible. It is a bugger to have to try to compensate for the distortion created and, say I compensate for an image rendered within a 1920x1200, it is not going to look right when scaling down to a different resolution that is not within the same aspect ratio.

Necromancyr Ultimate GameEx Guru!

Necromancyr

Posted
Posted

Apologies if I came off harsh - having a tough week and just...eh. Anyway, they both seemed to make sense to me (the OP's posts) and is actually exactly what I was thinking regarding my stretch questions in the other thread... (and I actually thought in the theme thread that you were the OP for this thread Draco! ;) )

For the selector bar, this basically means it HAS to be made at the absolute max resolution and it will be shrunk for smaller resolutions...

It may also mean shifting between aspect ratios is harder but...need to see how GameEx handles that first.

Adultery GameEx God (Top Rank)

Adultery

Posted
Posted

No worries my friend. Its been crazy around here lately and I may be a little bit off lately.

I do see what you mean for sure. I can see how my own projects would benefit from scaling the way you guys suggest.

That and more customizable media controls are on top of my wish list. :)

Draco1962 GameEx God (Top Rank)

Draco1962

Posted
Posted (edited)

Apologies if I came off harsh - having a tough week and just...eh. Anyway, they both seemed to make sense to me (the OP's posts) and is actually exactly what I was thinking regarding my stretch questions in the other thread... (and I actually thought in the theme thread that you were the OP for this thread Draco! wink.gif )

For the selector bar, this basically means it HAS to be made at the absolute max resolution and it will be shrunk for smaller resolutions...

It may also mean shifting between aspect ratios is harder but...need to see how GameEx handles that first.

No problema! Nah, not the OP but play one on TV! tongue.gif

Edited by Draco1962
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