Changing Home Background Based on Highlighted List Item (v4)

[RedDog]

Is there is an option in the GameEx properties or the Theme Editor where you could set it up so that the Home background changes while navigating the Home List. For instance, lets say my Home List is the following:

• MAME
• Sega Genesis
• NES
• Super Nintendo

When my selection is on MAME, a MAME background is used for the Home screen. Then, If I arrow down to Sega Genesis, the background changes to a Sega Genesis background; and if I arrow down once more time, the background changes to a NES background; and so on and so on...

I tried some creative editing by stretching Image 1 (the Platform Logo) across the entirety of the screen so that it would cover the background as an overlay, but as you arrow down through the list there is a 1 second pause before Image 1 is displayed that causes the default background to not be covered up by Image 1.

I am working with a v4 theme setup (if it matters).

I am also using the GameExMenuEditor to set up the menu (if that matters too).

Thanks.

[DazzleHP]

If i understand your question right, that you want the theme background to change in real-time as you scroll through your system list (?), then no it can't be done - at least not currently. There is probably a good reason for this, and i'll try to explain why:

Imagine for a moment, that you have over 500 systems installed (it's not likely i know, but bare with me), now imagine GameEx has to load all these backgrounds at once, so they are available when you "scroll". Not very efficient and certainly couldn't guarantee equal performance betweens users. One person may have only 3 systems installed and GameEx loads lightning fast, another may have 100+ systems and has to wait 5 mins every boot. See what i mean?

You CAN however have different backgrounds for each system, and even layouts (!) if you enable them in your theme - you'll see them once you have selected/entered each system

Load your theme in the Theme Editor,

Click Edit > Options,

Go to Settings tab,

Check Custom Emulator Layouts and Custom Module Layouts (if you want to re-arrange elements per system)

You should then be able to load different backgrounds for each system/emulator

[tthurman]

I can't verify this right now, because I'm in the middle of upgrading, but I believe Draco's Smoked Glass theme does this, sort of. Realize I don't have anything but MAME, so I don't know about the other emu's, but in Draco's theme as you scroll through, say Atari titles, there is a Atari specific background picture. I recall it was a bit tricky for him to get some of them to take, one in particular wanted to revert to badlands cab picture.

I could be completely off base since I'm going off memory, but you can find out real quick by installing his theme, and giving it a quick test run.

It's been my theme since it became available. Has a cool "X-Ray" of a spinning gummy bear for the working icon when it's updating, it's great!

Could at least inspire some ideas as well as some inspiration perhaps for your own custom theme!

[RedDog]

@DazzleHP - Thanks. I am already using the custom layouts for each emulator. This is what made me come up with the idea. I thought that since Image1 and Image2 could be loaded on a game by game basis while browsing an emulator that there might be a small chance that a similar thing might be supported when browsing the home menu.

However, I do not think that it would be much more difficult to implement since I would not think that every snapshot and title shot in a games list is loaded by GameEx when an emulator list is entered. I think that what I am asking just has not been something Tom has added. Maybe Evolution...

@tthurman - Thanks to you too. I checked out Draco's Smoked Glass and it does not do what I was looking for.

[tthurman]

At best it would have proved a basic substitute for what you're describing, as that wasn't the intent.

Looks like a good one for a features request thread!

[Draco1962]

@RedDog - Have you tried creating a custom background for your emulators (stored in your \GameEx\Themes\THEMENAME\Media path) and using the Custom Background option located under Advanced Emulator Setup in the Setup Wizard?

If you are using foreground images, I would recommend that you create two files as in the example of what i have done for my PC Games emulator slot:

- For the custom background, I named it PC_Gamesbak.png (the bak is used often to denote the background file).

- For the corresponding overlay or foreground image, I named it PC_Gamesbak_foreground.png (GameEx recognizes it as the foreground image to overlay the background image by the similar name PC_Gamesbak).

Not sure if that helps but hopefully gets you part way where you want to go.

[RedDog]

@RedDog - Have you tried creating a custom background for your emulators (stored in your \GameEx\Media path) and using the Custom Background option located under Advanced Emulator Setup in the Setup Wizard?

Yes, I have been using the custom backgrounds ever since I started dabbling in themes.

What I have been doing is creating different backgrounds for each emulator and using a specific color palate that I feel represents each one (like blue for Sega Genesis, Red for NES, purple for Gamecube, etc). Once I started completing some of the backgrounds, I thought to myself "How snazzy would it be if those custom backgrounds were also displayed while browsing the emulator choices in the Home List? Besides giving some additional pizzazz to the Home List, the transition from the Home List to each individual emulator would also be a lot more seamless; but sadly, it does not look like what I am looking for is possible.

It's OK. Evolution is probably not too far away and it will obviously have some very nice new theme possibilities. One of the reasons I am even continuing to work on my GameEx Theme is that I am pretty sure I will want to use the same assets once Evolution is released.

[Draco1962]

I understand where you are going. More or less, a dynamic background that changes as you go through the list of emulators instead of the static default landing page. That would be a neat feature and, hopefully, can be accomplished with Evo.