[RESOLVED] Themeing $&^(#@^ Thread

[Necromancyr]

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.

[Necromancyr]

...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.

[Adultery]

You can do seperate layouts for the emulators bro. It's in the theme editor.

Mameselectbak.PNG is for when you select a mame game, the other mame bak is for the menu lists.

As is the case with any software, we do what we can with what we have.

[Necromancyr]

You can do seperate layouts for the emulators bro. It's in the theme editor.

Mameselectbak.PNG is for when you select a mame game, the other mame bak is for the menu lists.

As is the case with any software, we do what we can with what we have.

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*

[Draco1962]

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.

In Theme Editor (assuming you are working with a Version 4 theme), look under Edit>Options>Settings Tab> and check Enable Alpha Channel. This will cause GameEx to use alpha channels instead of pure black as a transparency.

[Necromancyr]

Got that. Next WTF is something I think that's not fixable. Either I accept it, or remove Image2 from the start page.

For the MAME item, Image1 is a logo and Image 2 is a screenshot. For Last Played/Favorites/etc., Image 1 is a screenshot and Image 2 is a marquee. The issue comes from the relative size of one over the other and that they shift in position when scrolling down the list - which I really don't like. Optimally, for what I'm trying to setup, Image 1 would be the marquee and Image 2 would be the screenshot. It would also be cool if Image 1 was the logo from the system (emu) the last played game was on, but that would possibly require alternate logo's for systems to match marquee sizes or the like.

I need to think on this more to determine how to get it to look good...trying to decide. The start page I'm working on 'works' now but I'm not entire happy with it and I think because of how it is (i.e., just a menu of items to go deeper into) with no real 'use' tied to it, I may have to do something a bit out of the ordinary...which I think I just got an idea for.

Unrelated - is there a way to turn off or change the 'swoop in' transition that screenshots and graphics do? And I KNOW I saw this somewhere - but is there a way to have all emu's listed on the start page?

[headkaze]

Calm down Necromancyr you'll end up having an aneurysm.

[Necromancyr]

Calm down Necromancyr you'll end up having an aneurysm.

Already had two. Heheh...

Honestly, love the program and the features - just hate that there's some backwards stuff with the theme system. I understand why it's like it is, just hoping to get around certain limitations someway.

[Draco1962]

Lots of trial and error - with a dash of fixes and upgrades here and there. Mix together well in a bowl of engenuity with a few heaping cups of creativity. Pound into a loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 2 weeks and you, too, can create a theme!

[Necromancyr]

And an aneurysm!

One thing I'm trying to figure out - if I want a emulator to show something other than title screen and snap for the images, I'm thinking the only option is to just not set those graphics/art as existing for that emu, correct? I'd like to have the cart and screenshot/movie show...

Also, are manual collections available that match naming conventions? Would love to have manuals on my personal setup but...not sure if it's a download and rename individually type of thing. Grabbed a bunch of arcade manuals in a torrent, but they appear to not at all be named like MAME rom names.

(Also, def. need to shut off that zoom in effect...anyone know if it's possible?)

[Adultery]

For the first: just point your titles path at your carts and your carts path at titles, go into text/language, customize these two fields respectively (carts change to titles, etc), enable English (custom) as the language. Good to go.

There's a way around damn near anything. Just gotta find it.

For two: try the download service utility included in your GameEx install folder under the start menu. It does a scan, search, and rename no matter what your rom names are.

And for the triple play: Turn off the page transitions under display options. Alpha paging maybe?

[Necromancyr]

Awesome, thanks. I was figuring the answer you gave for the first one was the answer, but didn't realize how to do it without losing something (i.e., I'd like to keep all the art on the individual game screen). Being able to customize the text should fix it fine. Nice. However, it does mean the theme needs some user customization if it gets distributed but that's the way it's going to be I guess.

I'll check that download service utility - didn't realize emumovies had manuals also.

And the third item, unfortunately, doesn't control the logo zoom effect that occurs on non-game list menus. I think it's just coded to do the zoom thing...maybe.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Draco1962
This thread is marked as Resolved and is now closed. If the problem re-occurs, please start a new thread.