Carbon Theme Suggestions
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Haha, you guys didn't tell me that the TurboGrafx16 logo looked terrible on that white background. It's really hard to see the "Grafx" part. So I added a shadow :D And here are the controllers... should make everyone happy.
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@pimpmaul69 I'll update the carbon zip file once all these fixes are finished, and then post a link. I'll ask Herb to update the online installer later on. I don't want him to have to do it multiple times.
So far the only features asked for have been Kid Mode support and Lower sound volume on the flipper (or remove it). I think there are 3 versions of Carbon? I only created the main version. Which version do you all use? Centered, Metadata, or no-metadata?
Would you like less meta data? I found most people just need Number of Players, Release Date, and Genre. And of course the goofy description text ;-)
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not a fan of the outlines around the titles and such. I do however really like the solid flat shapes for the controllers, would be awesome for all the settings icons too. Ideally I would have a solid black background and white accents, super minimal design. It will work way better for my handhelds with low res screens too
I use carbon no meta fyi
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@No-Hands-55 That's several votes against the borders. Such a shame, I really liked it. LOL. As for small resolution screens and minimal design, you probably want to check out Pixel :D That theme looks real good on a 3-inch composite display.
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I will give it a shot and see how it looks. I dont mind the emulator screens but im not a fan of the tetris block borders in the list views.
I might just end up making my own simple, minimal black and white theme lol. any suggestions where to start?
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@No-Hands-55 You can use the pixel theme as a base, and change the images in the art folder to something not-tetris.
Try loading the "background.png" in an image editor and just erasing everything and flood filling it with grey. That way you can keep all the logos and system images, but gets you away from the tetris. The grey will allow each system to still have the darker alternate colors. (each system has it's own dye that it adds to the background.)
Then the border images you can just delete. ES will throw some simple log errors that it can't find them, but you don't need them since they are tetrisy.
Ends up looking like this:
The darker you make that background.png, the less color and darker the background will be. Lighter will make the colors brighter.
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Also, ES comes with a minimal theme - it's what appears when you apply a theme with errors. It's all black and white. haha. Try backing up one of the themes' main xmls and making a couple of random changes and saving it. The theme will error and load as a white theme with just black words on the system select, then some flat colors in the game select. It's quite.... minimal. ;-)
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Carbon update with Channel F, WonderswanColor Logo Fix, and Turbo Grafix 16 logo and controller updates:
Carbon Update 07072016Changes have been sent to Herb to update on the downloader. Please be patient as he has many other tasks.
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Carbon update with Channel F, WonderswanColor Logo Fix, and Turbo Grafix 16 logo and controller updates:
Carbon Update 07072016Changes have been sent to Herb to update on the downloader. Please be patient as he has many other tasks.
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So i assume you guys are using the "iforgetthename"2png program to take pics of es theme screens? I cant find any info on how to take a screenshot with the program or where the pics are saved to. Any info would be awesome. I wanna be take some pics of my theme. I use carbon but on 10 of the systems i have custom themes on the gamelist that i make them look like the systems. (Ram limitation sucks) I want to post some pics but cant figure out how to take the screenshots.
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have you thought of making a white based version? I know there was the original "simple" theme, maybe a combination of the 2? but better!
also a side note, my distressed/weathered logos are at your disposal if you'd like to try them, the only issue is they are .png
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@Rookervik Thank you! That is a big help! I didn't know it was all so straightforward as a xml file and folders with images. I will definitely begin working on my own! But for now I am just going to remove the border files and use the Pixel theme because i really like it without just those.
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I am actually using the Windows EmulationStation to create and test themes. It's a lot easier. And way easier to take screenshots. :D If you have a windows machine, or I think linux or mac, too, you can load the themes into the desktop version of ES. It's a little struggle to get the es_systems.cfg created, but I can help.
I am actually planning on making a light variant to the Carbon theme on this major update. So far I plan to:
- Move gamelist to left side, for us left-to-right reading order users.
- Increase size of screenshot/boxart
- reduce metadata to: release date, genre, players, description (unless the only important information is # of players?)
- add support for kid friendly icons ( just for you, @Zigurana :-) )
- add ability to choose the color of the theme elements (overwrite carbon.xml with a different color version)
- add a light variant background that users can point to in the xml
Note: we may think about no longer updating the "Centered" and "No Metadata" variants of Carbon.
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@Rookervik: Thanks! You are the best! </ Tips hat>
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Hey Zigurana, I need you to get in touch with me, somehow, so I can have you test this out and see if the kid friendly stuff works. Maybe IRC?
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Pretty much finished up the element moving and finished simplifying the xml. It's very easy to change the color of the theme now. It comes stock red just as it always has. Just find and replace a color and save it :D Kid Friendly icons are coded in, but I have no way to test if they show up in the right locations.
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@Rookervik said in Carbon Theme Suggestions:
Hey Zigurana, I need you to get in touch with me, somehow, so I can have you test this out and see if the kid friendly stuff works. Maybe IRC?
No problem, I can try it out for you. You can email me at my zigurana@gmail.com adress, lets take it from there.
Alternatively, if you just want to check the placement, you could add the icons as extra's, that way they should show up always, regardless of your ES installation.
For the element names, and a download of the old xarbon theme with icons, see here.
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@Rookervik Here's a small one that is maybe even a quick fix: The ROM images that load in the games list are not centered. I appreciate that their original aspect ratio is preserved (not all themes do this) but lower-resolution images are pushed into the upper-left corner. It would be better if they could be centered.
It's a small thing, but since you are in there, might as well check it out.
EDIT - Come to think of it, maybe this is already taken care of with expansion of the image being displayed and repositioning of that element.
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That is definitely fixed now. I've learned a lot since I made Carbon. :D So rest assured, all the box art will be centered and scaled from that center point.
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@Rookervik Thanks! Carbon is a great theme and keeps getting better!
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