EmulationStation mod

lilbud

@mattrixk I would like this to become a possibility

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mattrixk

@lilbud So you'd just use up/down/left/right to highlight games, with background image changing depending on what game you have highlighted, and then when you want to change systems, you can eiter scroll to the top bar and use left/right, or just use the L1/R1?

You'd have to add in some form of text counter so if the file name became too long it would just turn into '...' instead of running over.

This just about does away with the need for a System View entirely, but I would still like to have it because I like the idea of seeing System information and images on the System View.

Edit: I just realised you would have to make the box art holder square to that it accommodates all 3 box art shapes: square, portrait and landscape. Or I suppose you could code 3 different layouts and use them for the specific systems, but that sounds like more work.

SimonBelmont

@ben_thatmustbeme I suppose it depends on how you view the Raspberry Pi. If it is a tiny Linux computer that you just happen to hook up to your TV, then using XML files makes sense. You're going to be viewing and updating them fairly often so it's important to be human-readable.

My dream for the Pi is as a customizable console. You edit some files initially to get it running, but from that point forward it's a console. 10 foot UI with no tiny text that you have to stand right next to the TV to even see. No keyboard to edit said tiny text. No ssh'ing into it to edit files. Maybe a web app that you access from your PC or tablet if you really have to edit data not conducive to a 10 foot UI.

I think there is a case to be made either way. The Pi is meant to be a project board after all. You are meant to tinker. But I don't want to... I'll gladly tinker in source code but once it is compiled and running I really don't want to be that close to the raw data. I just want to use it and play my retro games.

jacobfk20

I just finished getting my ES fork caught up with RetroPie's. I have uploaded a test build you can grab. I must highly recommend you backup before copying it in though. Grab it from my google drive if you're brave enough to test. Please try to submit issues at github https://github.com/jacobfk20/EmulationStation-RPiE. You can just leave them here or email/pm me. Include that you're using the test build.

@lilbud This design reminds me of the xbox dashboard. I really like it. Does this already exist, or did you throw it together?

@mattrixk That is a long list! lol. No worries though, I love lists. Do you have this somewhere else so I can have it for reference? I'm currently trying to figure out my next step. Though adding tags and favorites could be it.

XML is a language too!

lilbud

@jacobfk20 someone posted it on the old forum. Said he was a Java developer interested in working with ES. Nothing came of it except for concept art.

jacobfk20

@lilbud Ah, I get ya. Making something like that wouldn't be hard from what I've already done. I may end up adding options for themers to add a system list (like the one in that pic) anywhere they want and give them more grid options such as grid tile spacing, changing the missing box art image, or force grid tile size.

herb_fargus

@jacobfk20 would be best the other way around- rebasing your changes against the retropie fork rather than rebasing retropie's changes against your repo, that way a full history is retained rather than just 13 commits.

e.g. https://github.com/HerbFargus/EmulationStation/tree/gridview

jacobfk20

@herb_fargus Yes, github still confuses me. Now it does a little less. Thank you.

herb_fargus

@jacobfk20 Its always confusing at first - plenty of things about it still confuse me ;) always more to learn

lilbud

@jacobfk20 Upon running your new test build, It deleted all of my game lists. But kept the images. making every entry in ES the default box art, (the nes cart that says ROM)

mattrixk

@jacobfk20 said in EmulationStation mod:

Do you have this somewhere else so I can have it for reference?

I have posted some ideas elsewhere, and gotten some ideas from other people, but I've been meaning to make a list like this for a little while now, and this post finally gave me the opportunity. It would be nice knowing how to code this stuff so I could give it go myself, but I'm going to stick with front end development for now.

jacobfk20

@lilbud I'm sorry I just single handily destroyed your gamelists. That kinda bums me out but thank you for being brave and trying it. I'm going to try a fix it now.

lilbud

@jacobfk20 I'm just lucky I put off moving my MAME roms on to the pi. Good thing I waited, I have a whole set of 1400-something

PokeEngineer

@lilbud

Why don't you just copy them onto your Pi instead of moving them?
That's what I do just in-case something bad happens, like having your gamelist deleted for instance...

jacobfk20

I reverted the test build back to the last build on google drive to make sure no one else destroys their gamelists.

lilbud

@RetroPieNerd Thats what i meant, wherever the roms were, nothing will save me if my gamelist is deleted.

PokeEngineer

@lilbud

Oh, okay.

herb_fargus

@jacobfk20 I was looking through your code and I saw a few references to directlaunch. is that something that you reincorporated? If so were you able to address the crashing issues mentioned here? https://github.com/RetroPie/EmulationStation/issues/37

Also my C++ is a tad rusty so trying to decipher each feature added in the one commit is proving difficult ( but just for reference on my branch here I was able to add basically all the features except I left out the gamepad stuff and wifi/network stuff as for my own builds I don't really need them- especially since I use my PC with emulationstation.)

In case you're interested the following is an example of a module for the setup script the branch I've done. It won't work with your current build as you don't have the emulationstation.sh file

http://pastebin.com/7cjQtQJt

InsecureSpike

now i know this is probably a long shot but, with updated code and changing from xml, to another database, would it be possible to add a feature like in attract mode, where the rom folder content gets re-generated upon page/menu selection, so emulation station doesn't need restarting when adding new content.

jacobfk20

@herb_fargus I built on top of Aloshi's main branch that still has directlaunch. I can understand trying to go through the code and finding what is used with grid view and what is not. I think I will just make a branch that is for grid view as well and get it as bug free and polished as I can and keep other features in other branches.