Backdrops in mame2003-plus

Riverstorm

Ok, I guess I wasn't sure when you referred to bringing competence to the table. I thought I had brought some, something anyway, as I hold your overlay and artwork in high regard and use a lot of it in all my builds. :) The original backdrop calculations were incorrect so I tweaked and formatted the output to exactly what was required for the .art files.

The formatting was kind of tricky but I've used Excel enough over the years that I didn't need to look it up. It took two parts. One is knowing the functions at your disposal and the other is understanding the syntax of putting it altogether. Unless you use Excel I don't think it's immediately obvious how the final output will display =ROUND(SUBSTITUTE(TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(B11/D2,"."," "))," ","."),5) but that is what's needed for each position coordinate in the .art file.

I know there's more than one way to skin a cat here and everyone comes up with cool and unique formatting and style. I think we could easily tweak some formulas and add an option to invert x/y when at 90 or 270 degrees vs inverting dimensions. Maybe even pick up those lost pixels.

I've spent a lot of time in DAT files and I can do some pretty decent DAT manipulation with DatUtil and other 3rd party software but for backdrops I don't think it would be needed. If you're working on one or two or even three BD's at a time I can easily pull all the clones for you but knowing they function like samples you only need the parent in most scenarios.

I read the artwork link posted and I think 0.107 on up has a whole lot of awesomeness going on but below that version I think relying on meleu's script for folks using rotated, cocktail, etc. and choosing which version to use based on selection such as 1) Pac-Man (3:4) or 2) Pac-Man (cocktail) etc.

Anyway you're usually very easy going and friendly but the longer the thread was off topic it seemed your answers became shorter and shorter until you kind of just stopped answering unless it was thread related.

It seems going off topic and thread drift are somewhat proportionate to a persons personality. I get it as I have some siblings you would swear grew up in another household. :) Some go with the flow and some can't tolerate it all. I figure if there's good information being shared I don't mind sidebar chatter and conversation in any thread I post. I enjoy the tidbits I learn about others.

I do undertand devs like to stay on point to retrieve relevant information quickly. On the other hand I figure we as end users get to take some liberties. It was just that one post lead to another and another and another. I had no idea it would take so many posts to understand a filter or shader was needed for the final touchup to make vectors look proper. Anyway I am very sorry we went so far off topic for so long but I really feel some good information was shared and learnt.

UDb23

@Riverstorm said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

but the longer the thread was off topic it seemed your answers became shorter and shorter until you kind of just stopped answering unless it was thread related.

Actually my answers' length recently is just related to the time I can dedicate; so not related to being more or less on topic.
I'd loved to take a longer holiday for xmas and new year but there were some matters
to manage at work..and 2019 started at full steam.

Sidebar chatter (I wasn't aware of this english expression; always learning) is more than welcome to me and it's interesting to know about other countries' people's point of view and daily life.

more than one way to skin a cat

poor kitty ! (another new expression to me) :-))

UDb23

@Riverstorm @markwkidd working on a "commented" complete list of backdrops.
Should be ready this weekend.

@meleu could you be interested in enhancing your overlay script to install backdrops also ?
Of course I can provide you all necessary information. In principle same approach of overlays, just different locations to copy the files on the Pi. Of course would require additional "backdrop command" in the info.txt file.

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - I apologize I am not communicating very well and it's not a big deal at all, so no worries. I think you do amazing work and definitely take your time and don't think anything is a hurry. I am always 2 steps behind on things I would like to implement on the Pi so nothing is a hurry honestly.

"There's more than one way to skin a cat" is a proverb. It means there are many ways to do something, there are many ways to achieve a goal. The oldest known use of the phrase dates back to 1854, in the work ’Way down East; or, Portraitures of Yankee Life by Seba Smith. However, there’s more than one way to skin a cat has its roots in older, similar phrases such as there are more ways to kill a cat than choking it with cream, found in the 1830s. It seems that originally the animal in question was a dog, as a seventeenth-century proverb is there are more ways to kill a dog than hanging.

I don't think "sidebar chatter" has much origin. It's more like when they had sidebar windows on web pages and you could chat "on the sidebar" usually it was just small talk or similar like "idle chatter" which is also a proverb. It's like small talk "woven" into the conversation of the original post.

Clyde

@Riverstorm @UDb23 Although German, I know about "there is more way to skin a cat" for quite a time now. It always was one of my favourite English proverbs. 😸

Riverstorm

@Clyde - I find the origin of some proverbs very interesting. We use them all the time without really knowing how they came about. When I look them up sometimes it's pretty surprising and some times gross how a proverb or common phrase started. :)

Clyde

@Riverstorm Same here! :D

Riverstorm

When I run the BD and overlay together in Space Invaders it covers my second digit credit so it always shows as 0. It's not a show stopper but just doesn't look right as it sits perfectly behind the rock. Are you guys seeing the same thing? Here's a snap below to show it.

meleu

@UDb23 said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

@meleu could you be interested in enhancing your overlay script to install backdrops also ?

sure.

post what you have in mind on the rpie-art issue tracker: https://github.com/meleu/rpie-art/issues

UDb23

@Riverstorm Yes, I'm aware that current SI overlay does not fit perfectly with the backdrop.
Started some weeks ago to vectorize a high res scan of SI's bezel. Almost finished.
2 reasons:
a) all currently available bezels (including MrDo's) are ok but provide little detail (just check the borders of the game area "window")
b) The final vector version will enable to generate various resolution and aspect ratio specific bitmap overlays at top notch quality.

Please be patient; you'll soon get the most accurate SI bezel+backdrop ever ;-)

UDb23

@Riverstorm said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

I find the origin of some proverbs very interesting.

Yes, and also etymology is very interesting to me.
Maybe already know, just an example, the origin of the word "Kaiser" (@Clyde you should know) ?
If not, hint: same origin of Russian word "Zar".
Cheating by using wikipedia not allowed :-))

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - Ok, I can definitely wait for the unveiling I just wanted to make sure you knew it. Those darn space rocks always getting in the way!

Wha, no Wikipedia! Wikipedia and I are tight. I use it so much I make an annual contribution. ;)

UDb23

@meleu Great, thanks!!
will do.

UDb23

Maybe already know, just an example, the origin of the word "Kaiser" (@Clyde you should know) ?
If not, hint: same origin of Russian word "Zar".

Both words were used to define the "Emperor" (Kaiser in Germany and Zar in Russia)

These both originate from the latin word "Caesar". In ancient Rome Cesar has been such an important leader that later roman emperors used the name Caesar as their title.

Caesar become Czar over centuries in Russia and later just Zar.
Kaiser similarly is just a different, but still very similar, spelling of Caesar.

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - I was waiting to see if Clyde knew. I had a guess and it was wrong to say the least. I can tell you it was clearly wrong! ;) It's a great word it actually sounds like a great name or is that over the top, like naming someone King.

Clyde

@UDb23 @Riverstorm I did know both Kaiser (of course) and Czar, but I didn't know their common history.

@Riverstorm Thumbs up for donating to Wikipedia. I have made it a tradition to donate to one non-profit online organisation at the end of each year. Wikipedia got it in 2017, this time it was archive.org.

UDb23

This weekend I was totally knocked out by flu with high fever; so basically no progress in BD related activity. Getting slightly better now so, at least, I was able to create a shared sheet of all backdrops available for mame that includes a few comments.
It's editable so anyone can update it.

Clyde

@UDb23 said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

It's editable so anyone can update it.

For a moment, I did read "edible". 😄

Get well soon!

UDb23

@Clyde said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

I did read "edible".

lol, in that case it wouldn't last long as shared :-)

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - Take care of yourself. I had the full blown flu about 4 years ago. I was knocked out for 5 days right through the weekend. I had a raging fever on top of something as I couldn't keep nothing down. I had to force myself to eat, drink and move a little. I hate fevers, as I feel teeth chattering cold in a hot room. Any other symptom I can handle. At work we've had no flu or colds this season...knock on wood.