Necromancyr

Got the multi-emu and multi-module thing setup and running. That alleviated a lot of my issues. Honestly, I need someplace to vent which should provide some humor and - hopefully - get some answers to things outside the theme editor thread. Don't want to clog that up. What would be useful is what each menu/mod is actually for - like a tree with files. For instance, int he editor there's one item called 'MAME'. That's when a list of mame games is shown. I'd like to copy that layout over to use in my general emu rom list layout, but I'm not clear which ini file actually corresponds with that layout in the editor - all others are named the same. So far, I have MAME decently setup and am working on getting overlays done. The seriously WTF for today is why is the color black being turned transparent for a PNG along with the area that's supposed to be transparent when I open it in the editor. Makes no sense. Make sure you have alpha channel turned on. *headslap*

...I didn't give up and think I figured out a way to do a few things. The damn selector image is pissing me off to no end though - the fact that the same image is stretched for the menu AND the selection list means nothing looks good. It looks like crap on one or the other.

I need a thread to vent about my annoyance at things I can't do in the themeing engine. Right now, the things that baffle me are... - Selector is resized DIFFERENTLY for menu items and list items. - The 'title' text just shows seemingly random shit sometimes (unplayed? Grrrrr.....WTF.) - I can't - from what I see - do ONE screen for the mame 'list' and then do another screen for mame game lists. Which, basically, means I CANT set something clean and nice up for marquees on game lists. (&((^&. Dammit. Seriously. Wait - I can't do different screens for different emulators - only graphics changes? And WTF is the different between 'MAME' and 'MAME select' in the theme editor? - Ok, if you enable multiple emulator/module layouts, one is the 'top level' mame menu and one is for game lists. Nice. And now my 'MAME' screen (which lists the games) is getting a weird, faded, shifted/shadow image of the screenshot behind the actual screenshot. Not a clue where this came from or why it's ONLY on this screen. (And it's not just this theme...wtf...) Also, Giving up for tonight. Just too goddamn annoyed right now. Nothing is working the way it should at all.

What's the format of the numbers in the actual theme.ini file? They don't seem to correlate to the actual theme resolution. (i.e., window=X,X,X,X - what are the x's in relation to?) Also, bug reports for the Theme Editir: 1. Either I'm missing the option or RightJustifyTitleText is always getting set to true by the theme editor. 2. There's no way to set AnimatedSelector to anything other than true.

...same with the fact that all text has to be left aligned?

ok...so...last question for now. Is the inability to position/resize the menubar a 'feature' or a bug? And how the heck can I get it to reposition/resize?

This is basically what I want...wondering if I'll need to setup multiple instances of MAME, etc.

Thanks. I'm using the Galaxian theme but am in the process of redoing it to match my cab...I'll make sure the weather selection is off in that and report back.

Based on the fact that there's a theme contest on, I think updates to the themeing engine is most appropriate. Because of the complexity of the interface, more options need to be available to develop really 'customized' themes instead of what I'll call 'skins' (which is where things really seem to be now). Some new, key features need to be added to get away from the relative 'sameness' of the themes that are currently available (no offense to any theme developers - seems to be limitations of the themeing engine, not your creativity). So, what I view as important, highest to lowest: - Fonts: Independently set fonts size, type, etc., for all text items. - Images: Be able to dictate exactly what images are shown in a particular image place in a theme (e.g. screenshot, title, cab, marquee, etc.) - Stretching: Incorporate 'smart stretching' as shown by headkaze here: http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=10393&view=findpost&p=80020 - Menu Bar: Make the menubar completely removable and skinnable as a popup menu (horizontal or vertical orientation) when a certain key is pressed. (I'm doing a cab theme and this would make it possible to do a cab friendly theme that much easier). Right now, this appears to be bugged (possibly something in the theme editor) as you CAN'T do a list of items to the side of the main game/emu list - it only works as a vertical 'bar' (i.e., you move left to right across the items) and it ONLY gets placed at one x-coordinate no matter where it's placed in the theme editor. Trying to do something like in the Valhalla theme just doesn't seem to work with the editor at this point. - Selector Bar: Allow selector to either move up/down a list as it does now or stay static at one position within a list (i.e., stay at item 10 in a list or in the middle of a list, per theme creators choice. - Docs : The boring one - and again something I may have missed - but any kind of documentation of the themeing engine, what it can/can't do, etc. would be insanely useful. For example, I can't seem to find what the difference between the different theme versions even are (i.e., v2/v4) I'm sure I'll think of more as I keep puttering away with my theme. Also, if any of the above would cause the loss of the mirror video option...ignore them. I have a mirror cab I'm using and being able to mirror the video output is a huge reason I'm trying to use GameEx.

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.

GameEx lite is actually working fine - I need to run GameEx, not GameEx lite because I want the LED Plugin though :/ I've disabled the Weather Icon - there's still an item in the More Games & Programs. I've disabled the configuration utility, it's still there. Not sure if there's some hidden way to disable them...or my setup is just screwed up.

Sorry, what I meant was how to setup gameex to pass the proper parameter to CPWizard for different control panels

Ok, everything except for the above helps and gets me where I need to be somewhat. I'm not clear on what's deciding when certain images are used if all possible images for that emulator/rom exist. Basically, what's the prioritization? So, if I'm in a MAME game list and the selector is on Dig Dug and I have a marquee, 3d cab, video snap, title snap, controller image, and flyer image...what determines what gets shown? It seems there should be some kind of ability to prioritize/limit what an image shows. Also, semi-related, are these images scaled or stretched? (i.e., fill whatever the shape is that's made in the theme editor or scale keeping aspect ratio). And, just to confirm - am I correct in that there's only two fonts (including size, type, style, etc., variations) available throughout an entire theme and certain elements are hardcoded to use one of the two fonts?

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.

For some oddball reason, I can't seem to disable to 'additional programs' options in Gameex even though I turned them off in config. What I want is basically 'GameEx Lite' with the ability to use plugins...clean, cab friendly, etc. Can anyone give some guidance?

Issue is figuring out how to do it in GameEx...

OK, been almost a week...nothing? No one knows or is everyone being secretive because of the contest?

Thanks all. And damn. I thought I read that swappable control panels was supported... I'm wondering if I can setup a specific game list for certain games that would pass certain command line parameters to CPWizard making it use another layout....

Two quick things. First, does GameEx have a way to manage multiple, swappable control panels and associate game lists with panels? Second, what's the major diff. between the internal CP viewer and CPWizard?

Kind of - on my points: 1. Ok, so how do you set what the image is used? Am I missing a setting in the normal configuration utility or in the editor somewhere to set this? 2. So, 2 images and the background - anyway to have an 'overlay' image? (Is this the foreground item?) 3. Ok...major reason I ask is to alter what images are shown for each emu (basically ties into 1). 4. So...I can't have a actual graphic - like say an animated pac-man - be the indicator of what's selected? It will just get stretched into a bar? (i.e., it's not the middle 10, 15, 20 pixels of those images that get stretched...?) 5. Gotcha. Also, am I correct in thinking the theme editor doesn't contain all the possible theme.ini settings? (Or am I just missing something I should be able to do in the editor) And thanks for the quick replies!

Few questions on the theme editor. 1. What dictates what is image 1 and what is image 2? 2. Is it possible to add additional images? If so, how? Otherwise, I don't understand the purpose of the 3d cabs, etc., in the config. 3. Can I have unique layouts for different emulators (i.e., backgrounds, logos, etc.)? Right now, in the editor, I'm only seeing the option to have a single 'emulator' layout. 4. The settings for the 'select' bar - is the intent you can have multiple graphics (select 1-15) and it will animate them? What is the Select 1 and select 2 in the layouts then? And how do you do the position for those items in the theme? (i.e., just at the bottom of a box, do they get autopositioned, etc.? If autopositioned, what are the parameters of the positioning?) 5. The description box that 'pops up' when going down a list - is that disabled/turned off via the theme or is that a config setting? Didn't see it in config and unless done right it can be very annoying. Thanks for the insight! I'm within inches of purchasing a full license after just getting fed the hell up with MA...and I like some of the features on here. Just need to make sure I can get it - aesthetically - where I need it for my cab. - Necro