Jason Carr Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Awesome to hear! Thanks Cid. I would expect and hope that most of the content creators just want their work to get out to as many people as possible, since they're providing it for free. My guess would be that the people who would be butthurt about it are the non-contributors (there are of course many more of those people than contributors). It will be a while before we look at possibly adding the videos to the games database, but hopefully we can get there soon. First off I need to add proper support for different types of videos (platform videos and theme videos like this at least). Thanks again for stepping up with all this; I really appreciate it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 This will be the only time i will put my 2-cents in on the mater.. ""-me and it is only my opinion.... if i want it to look like HS then i would just use it... i think we should not do it. and bring are own mix...yes it takes time but thats ok we are only in beta . i would love to see some one add "Marquee" to the table.. but as always its will be good to have it ,, use it if you want it so thanks for the alternative... prop's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriticalCid Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I hear you buddy, but there’s no need to have two FE’s installed and setting both of them up if you can have the ultimate and simple All-In-One solution! :) LaunchBox and BigBox are just so flexible that it takes literally only one button press to change the view from the flashy arcade HS style to the clean and tidy standard BigBox HTPC look. And yeah, it’s just only my little project. I do REALLY hope that some people will come up and create some completely different and pretty themes like Kodi has with all of its Skins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 Yea these will remain optional for the user that want to use them, but we will never forget what got us to the dance in the first place and that is our usability. In my honest opinion, I think we're king at that. I'm not saying we're perfect either, but we strive really hard in this category, so that will never be lost on us. Cid, what settings and program are you using? You said you're recording them with FRAPS? I assume 60FPS and you're not getting any frame drops (not that these are intensive like a game is). What are you editing them in, what codec, container and bitrate (video and audio)? We cam talk about it on steam if you need help with this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriticalCid Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 The problem I had when I first tried to record the themes was that every program I tried gave me false colors after I rendered the videos. Especially green was a lot darker than in the source file. So after a lot of testing and researching I ended up with VirtualDub and some codecs which don’t screw up the colors. My current workflow: - I sort the gameplay videos through duration time and throw every video which has the same length into HyperSpin. I do this because I have built a very small AHK script which switches the themes automatically for me in HS and to get the best result with this method the videos need to have a unified length so that I can adjust the script exactly for them. - I switch my desktop resolution to 1024x768 (the native resolution of HS and its themes) and record the videos with Fraps in locked 60fps (very important because VirtualDub only works frames and not with duration time) and let my AHK script do the work. When I think I have enough I stop the recording, switch my desktop resolution to normal and stop the script. - Because every theme has the same length (more or less) I can batch split the video with VirtualDub into the different themes. - After the split I use the tool “DubJob” to batch add all the videos with my processing settings into VirtualDub and let it render the videos. - I do a quick check on every finished theme if it has tearing issues or remaining bridging errors (happens sometimes because HS always drops various frames when switching the themes). If it has tearing I will delete it and put the theme .zip file to a separate folder because there’s nothing I can currently do about. If it only has bridging error I edit and render the source file manually. - Now I have to rename the video files to its MAME ROMnames and I’m done :). My processing settings in VirtualDub: VideoCodec: x264vfw I played around and tested a lot with these settings to find a good ratio between video quality and file size. That’s what I finally came up with: When I used a constant bitrate in my tests I had the problem that simple themes wasted too much unneeded disk space and the huge themes with a lot of moving images looked really pixelated. And 30+ MB for every theme wasn’t an acceptable solution for me. AudioCodec: AC-3 ACM Codec @ 160kbit/s, 48000 HZ, Stereo Filter: - Alias format @ Rec. 601 and no changes on the component range [for keeping the original colors) - FadeFX [for FadeIn and FadeOut]. Because of the individual frame drops when HS switches its themes I set the first and last 40 frames always to pitch black to hide bridging erros. Then I fade in/out the following/previous 60 frames to have a smooth transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I've been downloading all x265 HEVC videos for all of my TV shows and Movies lately they are an awesome mix of file size and quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranhill Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 CriticalCid said Do you think that the new videos have a bad quality? If so can you tell me what exactly bothers you so that I can fix it? :) hi CriticalCid i've not downloaded the new vids yet, but this was not a criticism of them, just a suggestion going by your statement that you were expecting some bad ones to slip through but if there working out ok then thats good i know this is a big job so hope it goes smoothly for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddingmyst Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 hi criticalcid i downloaded your theme and just downloaded the hstheme videos forgive me for being stupid but where do i put them haha i think your theme looks beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis524 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 If H/S themes become fair game, how about system themes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriticalCid Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I have recorded new themes (now 289 videos) and because I don’t want to derail this thread furthermore I’ve opened a new one: https://www.launchbox-app.com/forum/images-and-videos/the-hyperspin-theme-recording-thread Please post any questions and discussions about this topic only in this thread from now. Also I have found out that almost every theme has an info file with the credits in it. Now I can give everyone the credit he/she deserves. It's quite a long list of names but everybody should be mentioned if we want to do this right :) @alexis524 Platform videos should be added soon. I hope jason doesn't forget to add platform video themes as well. @Jason I read in the YouTube comments that you want to tweak the video theme view. That’s why I want to show you my ideas I have for it: The image is just edited with my fabulous MS Paint skills, not an actual view I’ve built. As you can see I would suggest splitting the left side of the view into a wheels and a game details section (maybe make it optional for all the hardliners who only want to see the art). My little test view also looked pretty rough so I think that a small frame to separate the 3 elements would look a lot cleaner and more unified. Also something to think about: It would be necessary to have a video tier system for this particular view. I would suggest something like this: 1. Video theme 2. Gameplay video 3. Screenshot – Gameplay etc. But this should only take account on the video theme view. The others standard views shouldn’t play the video themes at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 Edited and added themes that have their own threads now! If you have a theme create a thread in the new theme subforum now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerszr Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 alexis524 said If H/S themes become fair game, how about system themes? this needs to be a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpop Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 CriticalCid will you be working through the themes system by system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awaken Jenova Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 My favorite system ever is the Super Nintendo! I found a bit of art (light marquee) after searching and decided to try and build a theme around it. If anyone likes how this looks or has any suggestions please let me know ( : Super Nintendo Kiosk Theme (Test/WIP) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowblind Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Nice theme, jenova. I would consider removing the orange dots along the left-hand margin, though. They kind of clutter up the left space. I'm also not sold on the text directly about the SNES image, but it does give it a sort of retro feel, so I don't mind it much. Thanks for sharing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awaken Jenova Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Yup I agree ^ I think I might need to place them somewhere else or remove them...they were kind of added at the end of me putting it together. I also have the original text but it is not that great a resolution so I tried to recreate it a bit. I may tweak all this later on and get it to flow better while still looking like the kiosk. Thank you for your input and it is appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beatlemaniac19 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 CriticalCid said I have recorded new themes (now 289 videos) and because I don’t want to derail this thread furthermore I’ve opened a new one: https://www.launchbox-app.com/forum/images-and-videos/the-hyperspin-theme-recording-thread Please post any questions and discussions about this topic only in this thread from now. Also I have found out that almost every theme has an info file with the credits in it. Now I can give everyone the credit he/she deserves. It's quite a long list of names but everybody should be mentioned if we want to do this right :) @alexis524 Platform videos should be added soon. I hope jason doesn't forget to add platform video themes as well. @Jason I read in the YouTube comments that you want to tweak the video theme view. That’s why I want to show you my ideas I have for it: The image is just edited with my fabulous MS Paint skills, not an actual view I’ve built. As you can see I would suggest splitting the left side of the view into a wheels and a game details section (maybe make it optional for all the hardliners who only want to see the art). My little test view also looked pretty rough so I think that a small frame to separate the 3 elements would look a lot cleaner and more unified. Also something to think about: It would be necessary to have a video tier system for this particular view. I would suggest something like this: 1. Video theme 2. Gameplay video 3. Screenshot – Gameplay etc. But this should only take account on the video theme view. The others standard views shouldn’t play the video themes at all. @CriticalCid Amazing work man! My only requests are can you add the ability to add the buttons (i.e. Rating, Favorite, Completed, Portable, Broken etc.) at the bottom of the game details menu? Also, do you know if it's possible to be able to switch the clear logos on the left to plain text like the standard Big Box theme? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriticalCid Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Like I said it’s just a MS Paint mockup on how I wanted to create this theme. But now that Jason plans to add this as a standard view there’s no need for me to learn XAML and to do it myself. Now I can use the time which I would’ve needed for learning that stuff to record and edit the actual HS themes. So if you have wishes for it you should tell them @Jason like I did in the post you’ve quoted :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Updated the main post with https://www.launchbox-app.com/forum/big-box-custom-themes/oldskool-polaroid-banners-optimized-1080p-backgrounds-more#p20644 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GonjaT Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I am really enjoying this new theme feature on big box..... Messed around on the comp for an hr or so making some icons and organizing/downloading platform images. Not to bad I don't think! You rock @Jason and this community! Keep up the great work, and I cant wait to see what else gets created. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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