[Theme] Art Book

alphatoanant

Updates 8/11/17

finished logo cleanup - for real this time =)
optimized each SVG to remove extra cruft and hopefully help them render more universally
that work allowed better support for the launching images script that @meleu created (see: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/7193/runcommand-launching-images-for-any-theme)
with the logo updates the generated images look a lot better now
added themes for ti99 and dragon32 (heads up @incunabula)
fixed colecovision theme (I had the folder named incorrectly)

For launching images you can leave all settings as default except "solid_bg_color"
For that setting change it to "get from theme" (aka "Use the system color defined by the theme"). Hope you like it and let me know how it looks.

@adu I have been experimenting a bit with getting better looking images but have more work to do on that front (and yes pixelated is good word to describe what you are seeing). For the screenshots above I had manually curated a few of them in PNG format which is why they look a bit sharper.

An option to try for now is to add a flag of -img_format=png to the strings I have on github. That may help get sharper images without manually having to curate them by hand.

The command I am using also downloads image resolutions more optimized for a 1280x720 screen so changing the sizes there could help - I'll try to play with that next and write back my findings. Just keep in mind that larger filesizes on images (which would occur from using pngs and larger resolution) could start to add lag to the interface. I'll experiment more.

Thank you for checking out the theme!

incunabula

@alphatoanant Thank you, i really appreciate the effort!

duiz

Any chance you could add Sega Saturn and SNES MSU1 to this theme?

There is a svg of MSU1 here
http://zork.net/~st/msu1-attempt-2.svg

alphatoanant

@duiz yes totally. Just added them to github so they will be there when getting latest. I named the msu1 folder "msu1" - let me know if that's what you were looking for. Also thank you for the MSU1 svg; that was a big help.

Pietze

@alphatoanant Your themes are outstanding!

Question: I worked on my own theme (https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/12229/240p-honey-theme-optimized-for-crts/8) and I used the svg logos and the three icons for all-games, favorites, last-played.

Is it alright for you, if I share my themes? I can mention your theme in the read me, if you want.

alphatoanant

Thank you @Pietze

I just checked out your theme and its looking sweet! I especially like how you are handling the system artwork behind the logos - its very nicely stylized.

Yes it's totally ok for you to use the logos and share your theme with them.

For the standard logos (nes, genesis, etc..) I sourced them from Carbon initially and then made changes to make them grayscale. So all credit on those really goes to Carbon.

For the ones I made (i.e. all-games, favorites, last-played, custsom systems) please feel free to use them as is. If I can help with additional logos/updates just let me know (I am glad to)

Thank you for letting me know and awesome work again on your theme.

Pietze

@alphatoanant Wow, such nice words from the guy making all those stunning themes. Thanks :)

Actually my biggest problem is, that every time I save a SVG file with Illustrator the image doesn't appear in the theme. I tried TinySVG, different version...

I will credit you in my readme file and link to your profile.

duiz

I got some more system SVG: PC98, Game com and CD-i

svg.zip

alphatoanant

@pietze I ran into the same problems when starting with SVGs as well. SVGs are... fun =)

If you are interested in trying a different SVG editor I really like using BoxySVG - https://boxy-svg.com/main.html#download. Its free, very focused and easy to use.

One thing that I ran into that could help... Make sure to convert any text you are using in the SVG to a path before exporting. For some of my SVGs that weren't displaying making this change fixed them (I think SVGs reference the font file used for text which is not picked up by ES - so converting it to path removes the need for the reference)

Also this tutorial by @UDb23 was a huge help for me too - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/7357/tutorial-create-vector-logo-from-bitmap
It uses inkscape but the principles discussed apply well to boxySVG too.

Thank you for the credit and your nice words too!

Sashby

@alphatoanant I followed your github instructions but can't scrape anything from the commandline.
Raspberry Pi 3. Installed Sselph's Scraper as per: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-setup/wiki/Scraper#sselphs-scraper-advanced-configuration

HurricaneFan

@sashby Your screenshot shows the scraper started, did you cancel the scrape to get to the command line again? Right after hash.csv it usually starts showing each game rom name and if it found it or not.

You could try adding other console_src sites too, just in case SS site was down.

Example: -console_src=gdb,ss

pjft

I'm not sure if it re-scrapes pre-scraped games, though.

Sander2506

Is it possible to change the movies to ingame screenshots?

duiz

@sander2506 If you go into gamelist and put the path to a png screenshot rather than a mp4 video it'll show up.

Example:
<video>~/.emulationstation/videos/nes/Super Mario Bros. (USA).png</video>

Sander2506

@duiz thnx I will try it.

alphatoanant

Updates 8/15/2017:

added new themes: cdi, gamecom, pc-98, oric, samcoupe, trs-80, ags, astrocade, bbcmicro, channelf, residualvm, steam, stratagus, zmachine

@duiz cdi, gamecom and pc-98 are in place now. Thank you again for supplying the svgs and let me know if those aren't the correct folder names.

Also thank you for the tip on using images in the video tag! I had no idea you could do that and am looking forward to playing with it when I get back. Awesome =)

@Sashby I am away on a business trip and don't have my pi with me to try PS1 scraping. In the meantime have you tried posting in help section (as I gather this is not specific to the theme)? Sorry I can't be of more help right now but when I get back home I'll see what I can work out.

duiz

Here is the SVG for Neo Geo CD
https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/vsrecommendedgames/images/d/da/Neo_Geo_CD_logo.svg

I don't think there is much missing after this one :)

What are your plans for future improvements / inclusions for this theme? I'm excited for what else you can do with it.

alphatoanant

@duiz done and done - folder name is neogeocd. Let me know if that works out.

This is my backlog for next things to try...

adding additional logos (seeing what custom ideas come up)
testing out layouts for a 4x3 version
testing out layouts for a TFT screen version (320x240 res)
seeing what design works for the case of a game on detail/video view not having artwork to display (right now there is an odd blank space)
trying out theme variables to see if they can trim down things further

Before I dive into 4x3 or TFT versions I am going to take a break so I can come back fresh - which is why I am working on logos here and there =)

By the way I just got to test out your tip for using images in the video tag and it works really well. Its exactly what I was looking for in a low power build I am working on for a friend. Thank you!

alphatoanant

I have started on some concepts for a 4x3 version

Video View (NES)
alt text

View View (SNES)
alt text

Video View (TG16)
alt text

Detailed View (NES)
alt text

@barrymossel would it be possible to let me know the resolution you typically run your 4:3 setup at? (1024x768, 800x600, 640x480?)

It seems like these layouts could hold up at those various resolutions but I want to test. Going to try to have a release up on github this weekend under its own repo (likely called "Art Book 4:3").

lilbud

@alphatoanant The title can't be used as a themable element.