MinimalX

[eatkinola]

Updated to v4.2 - please see change log (download page) and revised PDF (bundled w/download) for details.

 

[eatkinola]

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 0:28 AM, Nyny77 said:

Just an idea, a background by system is possible ? A background Nes, Genesis ect...

 

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 9:32 AM, imdavid555 said:

Adding support for Fanart background would be a great start for System specific backgrounds! I know I requested this on page 4 of this thread lol.

implemented your suggestions -- please see the PDF for setup, it will use your own platform fanart

[AeronNL]

Awesome theme, works great on my 4:3 bartop.

I have a question though.

I installed the theme over a month ago or something, and it had the dark theme enabled (Don't know how to call it, a bit of a carbon look?)

I just updated the theme, but now it has a brushed silver metal look, which i do not prefer.

I have searched for a way to change this back, but i cannot manage to do it.

Can you help me out perhaps?

[eatkinola]

4 hours ago, AeronNL said:

Awesome theme, works great on my 4:3 bartop.

Thanks!  Glad to hear it's working well at 4:3 -- been a few updates since I tested at that res.

4 hours ago, AeronNL said:

I installed the theme over a month ago or something, and it had the dark theme enabled (Don't know how to call it, a bit of a carbon look?)

I just updated the theme, but now it has a brushed silver metal look, which i do not prefer.

I have searched for a way to change this back, but i cannot manage to do it.

Can you help me out perhaps?

Sure, no problem.  You'll need to do a few things to setup the skin which includes the background you want.

1. Apply the skin called "Kevlar".  Look in the "Styles\Skins" subfolder of the theme.  The "!ACTIVE.xaml" file contains the skin that will be applied.  Rename a copy of "Kevlar.xaml" to "!ACTIVE.xaml".

2. The "Kevlar" skin relies on a background image named "Kevlar.png". You need to make sure this image file is in the "Images\Backgrounds\PNG" subfolder of the theme.  If it's not, you can get it by downloading the background image pack from the Minimal-AO downloads page -- it's the file called "Minimal-AO-v4.1-BGIMGS " (or something like that).

3. Restart BigBox.

Let me know if you have any problems.  Thanks again for the kudos!

[eatkinola]

BTW, I meant to also recognize @SNAK3ATER for providing the glitch overlay videos used in the 4.2 update (these are optional but you can turn them on using instructions in the PDF), and also for his other suggestions along the way.  @Grila also continues to provide me with inspiration, now through his Fundamental theme which has a very nice design; I really liked the way he dressed up the boxart so included that effect in my 4.2 update.  And Grila: your blue explosion startup video is phenomenal -- thanks for sharing with the community.

[SNAK3ATER]

5 minutes ago, eatkinola said:

BTW, I meant to also recognize @SNAK3ATER for providing the glitch overlay videos used in the 4.2 update (these are optional but you can turn them on using instructions in the PDF), and also for his other suggestions along the way.  @Grila also continues to provide me with inspiration, now through his Fundamental theme which has a very nice design; I really liked the way he dressed up the boxart so included that effect in my 4.2 update.  And Grila: your blue explosion startup video is phenomenal -- thanks for sharing with the community.

What i'm providing are mere ideas here and there, you're the real MVP bro 

[Sithel]

On 1/16/2017 at 5:48 PM, eatkinola said:

1. Edit PlatformWheel3FiltersView.xaml: Look for these three lines below and delete them:

<coverFlow:FlowControl.OpacityMask>

    <ImageBrush ImageSource="{StaticResource AOUriWheelOnlyMask}" />

</coverFlow:FlowControl.OpacityMask>

2. You will also need to edit two PNG images -- please note this will also affect the Game Wheel 3 view:

wheel3-alpha.png: alpha transparancy overlay, contains the logo

wheel3-accents.png: tintable overlay, also contains the logo

Delete the parts of the PNG image you don't want. You need to be sure to save these images as PNG and preserve transparency. I don't think you can use MS Paint to do this. I use a free program called Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).

I'm trying to do the same thing for PlatformWheel4FiltersView but I don't see the code you have listed above in the wheel3Filters view like the example above or the wheel4filters view that I'm trying to do. I have the .png edited, just the platform list don't appear to go all the way up. I've tried removing some of the OpacityMask code that I see but nothing changes the wheel showing at the top. Great work on the theme btw !

[eatkinola]

14 minutes ago, Sithel said:

trying to do the same thing for PlatformWheel4FiltersView but I don't see the code

This changed in more recent versions -- tried to make it easier to customize the vertical wheel.  Look for the following set of resource elements in "AOStyles.xaml".  You can either edit these directly in AOStyles (this file is very fragile/picky) or override these resource elements in your skin (which I recommend).  The active skin is "Styles/!ACTIVE.xaml".  Anyway, back to AOStyles ... look for this block:

    <!-- EFFECTS: FADE/HAZE EFFECT FOR PLAT/GAME VERTICAL LOGO WHEEL -->
    <!-- ...CAN BE USED TO DE-EMPHASIZE THE PLATS/GAMES NOT SELECTED -->
    <!-- ...SPECIFY OPACITY FROM 0 (TRANSPARENT) TO 255 (OPAQUE)     -->
    <!-- ...CAN SPECIFY OPACITY SEPARATELY FOR ABOVE/BELOW SELECTION -->
    <!-- ...CAN TURN ON/OFF FOR EACH PLATFORM/GAMES WHEEL VIEWS 1-4  -->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW1 = (AOCtrlWheelVertHazePlain_ON/OFF)-->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW2 = (AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON/OFF)-->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW3 = (AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON/OFF)-->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW4 = (AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON/OFF)-->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeColorTOP = (ALPHA VALUE 0-255)        -->
    <!-- ...AOCtrlWheelVertHazeColorBOT = (ALPHA VALUE 0-255)        -->
    <System:String x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW1">AOCtrlWheelVertHazePlain_ON</System:String>
    <System:String x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW2">AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON</System:String>
    <System:String x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW3">AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON</System:String>
    <System:String x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW4">AOCtrlWheelVertHazeTitle_ON</System:String>
    <Color x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeColorTOP" A="30" />
    <Color x:Key="AOCtrlWheelVertHazeColorBOT" A="30" />

To get the effect you want, change the value for "AOCtrlWheelVertHazeW4" to "AOCtrlWheelVertHazePlain_ON" if you want to keep the haze/opacity effect.  If you don't want the haze effect but want the wheel to extend all the way to the top of the screen, use "AOCtrlWheelVertHazePlain_OFF".

Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else.  Glad you like the theme!

 

[Sithel]

Works perfectly! Loving the amount of customization you can do with the settings. One other small question but I don't think anything can be done to fix this. The black area around the game name logo I have in the lower right corner, can that be removed possible?

[eatkinola]

8 minutes ago, Sithel said:

The black area around the game name logo I have in the lower right corner, can that be removed possible?

It can be removed.  That's a rounded corner and drop shadow effect intended to be used for rectangular images such as box art -- maybe I should have left it off by default.  To turn it off, go back to AOStyles or the !ACTIVE skin and look for :

    <!-- EFFECTS: GAME IMAGE BORDER (REALLY INTENDED FOR BOX ART)    -->
    <!-- ...APPLIES ROUNDED CORNERS AND A DROP SHADOW TO THE IMAGE   -->
    <!-- ...AOGameImageBorder = (AOGameImageBorder, _OFF)            -->
    <System:String x:Key="AOGameImageBorder">AOGameImageBorder_ON</System:String>

Set "AOGameImageBorder" to "AOGameImageBorder_OFF".

[Sithel]

Thanks @eatkinola. That setting does do what it's suppose to do, remove the rounded edges and drop shadow, but the black area around the logo is still there. Instead of rounded it's just a rectangle.

[eatkinola]

30 minutes ago, Sithel said:

but the black area around the logo is still there. Instead of rounded it's just a rectangle

Was able to replicate this bug -- thanks for pointing it out.  I'll correct it with the next update.  There's not an easy fix via AOStyles ... I'll need to fix the views also.  I should have an update out very soon -- anything else you found and want me to try and fix?

Edited February 4, 2017 by eatkinola

[Sithel]

Glad it was a bug and I wasn't losing my mind lol. I'm messing with settings here and there but so far I can't think of anything else that has come up. It's been running great

[eatkinola]

Updated to v4.3. Thanks @Sithel for bringing that bug to my attention. Also, included in the update is an alternate version called Minimal-AOX accessible from the same download page. AOX is designed to be a little more compact; I would have just included these alternate views in the main theme, but I ran out of views.

[Sithel]

Working perfectly! Thanks!

[Belmont]

I have a similar problem. Ever since updating to the latest version, boxes with transparency shows up in a black box. It looked better before (4.0-ish). Is this as designed? Anything I can fix on my end?

Edited February 12, 2017 by Belmont
Added picture

[eatkinola]

53 minutes ago, Belmont said:

Anything I can fix on my end?

Yes, you can fix it easily.  Look for the following line in "styles\AOStyle.xaml":

   <System:String x:Key="AOImgMainBorderR">AOImgMainBorder_ON1</System:String>

Either change this line to the following (from _ON1 to _OFF) in AOStyle, or add this line to "styles\Skins\!DEFAULT" (the applied skin):

   <System:String x:Key="AOImgMainBorderR">AOImgMainBorder_OFF</System:String>

The rounded border really only works well for rectangular images.  I'll probably leave it off by default in the future.  Sorry the update caused trouble.

[Belmont]

Excellent I really dig this theme. Very nice work!

I'm definitely partial to 3D boxes myself, so having that on doesn't really do it for me. As long as it's easy to toggle, it's all good!

Thanks a lot!

[AeronNL]

On 30-1-2017 at 6:00 PM, eatkinola said:

Thanks!  Glad to hear it's working well at 4:3 -- been a few updates since I tested at that res.

Sure, no problem.  You'll need to do a few things to setup the skin which includes the background you want.

1. Apply the skin called "Kevlar".  Look in the "Styles\Skins" subfolder of the theme.  The "!ACTIVE.xaml" file contains the skin that will be applied.  Rename a copy of "Kevlar.xaml" to "!ACTIVE.xaml".

2. The "Kevlar" skin relies on a background image named "Kevlar.png". You need to make sure this image file is in the "Images\Backgrounds\PNG" subfolder of the theme.  If it's not, you can get it by downloading the background image pack from the Minimal-AO downloads page -- it's the file called "Minimal-AO-v4.1-BGIMGS " (or something like that).

3. Restart BigBox.

Let me know if you have any problems.  Thanks again for the kudos!

Sorry for the late reply, havent been around for a while.

Thanks for your help, will check things out this week!

Keep up the good work!

[eatkinola]

4 hours ago, Xer0graV said:

Awesome skin Eatkinola! Could I please bother someone for some help? How was the color of the text circled here changed from black to white? It is not modified by changing the DECO, MAIN, or EMPH parameters of the skin files. Thanks.

@Xer0graV: Thanks for the question.  Are you using the latest version of the theme?  This is what I get when I edit !ACTIVE.xaml to the following:

<SolidColorBrush x:Key="AOMainFontColor" Color="Red" />
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="AOEmphFontColor" Color="Black" />
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="AODecoFontColor" Color="Black" />

You should be able to easily change the font colors.  The latest version of Minimal-AO is 4.3.  Please ensure you're using the latest version.  You might also want to unpack a fresh install of the theme, but be sure to save any skin files you modified in case you want to restore them.