Request - Pre Determined Image Profiles

[Lunatics]

Instead of asking which images should be downloaded for the roms that are going to be imported everytime, there should be some pre determined profiles such as "Minimal, Maximal, User Defined"  somewhere in the settings.

[neil9000]

8 minutes ago, Lunatics said:

Instead of asking which images should be downloaded for the roms that are going to be imported everytime, there should be some pre determined profiles such as "Minimal, Maximal, User Defined"  somewhere in the settings.

The image types you choose are remembered for future imports. So you can just check the images you want to download, and those will be remembered for every future import.

[Lunatics]

2 minutes ago, neil9000 said:

The image types you choose are remembered for future imports. So you can just check the images you want to download, and those will be remembered for every future import.

Does this also apply to the free version? If it does then as a newbie I'd say there should be at least previewing of image type examples so users can know which is which and avoid downloading unwanted images since it takes way too much time to download images especially when you have large collection. By the way does LB use the same image for several categories or download and manage them individually?

[neil9000]

2 minutes ago, Lunatics said:

Does this also apply to the free version? If it does then as a newbie I'd say there should be at least previewing of image type examples so users can know which is which and avoid downloading unwanted images since it takes way too much time to download images especially when you have large collection. By the way does LB use the same image for several categories or download and manage them individually?

If these image descriptions are not good enough for you then i dont know what to tell you, they say EXACTLY what the image type is.

[fromlostdays]

16 minutes ago, Lunatics said:

Does this also apply to the free version? If it does then as a newbie I'd say there should be at least previewing of image type examples so users can know which is which and avoid downloading unwanted images since it takes way too much time to download images especially when you have large collection. By the way does LB use the same image for several categories or download and manage them individually?

It applies to free version.

You can preview images here on the database itself: https://gamesdb.launchbox-app.com (but honestly, as said above, the descriptions are right there)

I don't think that launchbox uses the same image for several categories, but honestly I don't understand this question. I can't think of an example of where it would, except that if you have a game in a system and put it into a playlist, the playlist entry will use the same images as the system entry.

Lastly, if you originally meant to say that you shouldn't even get the option of the checkboxes on a per system basis, that wouldn't work because different systems use different type of artwork. Mame/Arcade uses fliers, Windows/Steam uses banners etc. Having the choice about what you download, every time, is optimal behavior. 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by fromlostdays

[Lunatics]

1 minute ago, neil9000 said:

If these image descriptions are not good enough for you then i dont know what to tell you, they say EXACTLY what the image type is.

Dude ok you can pick which images you want to be downloaded from that huge list but you only see few categories for image types on the page where you browse your games. For example in the list you mentioned above there are "Front, Back, Reconstructed and 3D" categories but if I pick "3D" does it mean it includes Front and Back since it should be 3D? Where are fanarts supposed to be shown? Should I download both normal and reconstructed images and which will be shown if I do so?
@fromlostdays the point here is I don't want to download unnecessary images which I probably won't browse in the game list but at the same I want to make it minimalist but easy on the I when I browse my games.
Here's an example for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

As you can see above you can simulatively view 3D cartridge boxes there, if there was such an option in LB, I'd only pick that option and skip every other categories.

[fromlostdays]

That's actually pretty nifty looking!

To speak what I think is your general question, you could tell launchbox to only display box art for every system, or only clear logos or whatever you want. What's weird is that last screenshot looks identical to launchbox's options, only its called Image Group...

In this way, if you just wanted to download box art, or 3D box art, you could set all your systems to just display that. However, there are hundreds of systems, and not all have boxart (some don't have any art).

Things get a little more tricky if you ever want to use Bigbox though, as Art types are embedded in the themes there.  

Edit: Since I personally don't use launchbox (prefer bigbox) for anything but set up, I keep mine in "List View" and that's why you don't see any artwork displayed for the games. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by fromlostdays

[fromlostdays]

Let me give you some general advice about how to get the most flash in launchbox with the least amount of artwork downloaded.

First, pick what you want your games to display per system. I say per system here, because not all art is created equal in this regard. Nintendo and Sega and popular systems typically have beautiful box art sets, even 3D box art sets, but the box art for MAME/Arcade is sized differently and generally doesn't look good (to me) displayed in Launchbox.

So pick one per system. My experience is that the most consistent art is clear logos (which I use for mame instead of box art).

Next, download Fan Art- Backgrounds. These will display as the background in launchbox when you select a game.

Stuff like screenshots will display in the details panel if you select a game, but its something you can skip. Reconstructed anything you can basically skip. 

So we're talking one set of images to display per game, and the backgrounds. That would be maximum look with minimum download. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by fromlostdays

[Lunatics]

8 minutes ago, fromlostdays said:

Let me give you some general advice about how to get the most flash in launchbox with the least amount of artwork downloaded.

First, pick what you want your games to display per system. I say per system here, because not all art is created equal in this regard. Nintendo and Sega and popular systems typically have beautiful box art sets, even 3D box art sets, but the box art for MAME/Arcade is sized differently and generally doesn't look good (to me) displayed in Launchbox.

So pick one per system. My experience is that the most consistent art is clear logos (which I use for mame instead of box art).

Next, download Fan Art- Backgrounds. These will display as the background in launchbox when you select a game.

Stuff like screenshots will display in the details panel if you select a game, but its something you can skip. Reconstructed anything you can basically skip. 

So we're talking one set of images to display per game, and the backgrounds. That would be maximum look with minimum download. 

Oh thank you your opinion sounds neat. If downloading every media file wasn't taking too long time especially if you have large rom collection I'd download them all and customize the view then.