Tweaked SDArcade Vertical Layout

[FrizzleFried]

Being the guy who loves to tinker... I just had to dive in to the SDArcade's layout and tweak the settings a bit.

First off, being my ArPicade is being used in an arcade cabinet with standard res monitor, felt the size of the preview images was a little small. I wanted to somewhat mimic the overall "look" of the stock SDArcade ... but with Bezel artwork turned on... with half of the images to the left and right of the main snap being cut in half or so. To do this, I increased the overall size of the snap images by 20%. I also had to increase the size of the preview frame as well.

Next, I added the game name hack that behrmr posted on KLOV... and moved it to below the snaps. I also reduced the size of the font by 2.

Finally, I reduced the size of the pulsing font by 4 ... and sped up the pulse effect by 400%.

I think I like the end result.

ATTRACT1.jpg (116.83 KiB) Viewed 7182 times

...though knowing me, I'll end up tweaking more (damn OCD).

[FrizzleFried]

...and I knew me.

Updated version includes YEAR & MANUFACTURER line.

I think i'm done now.

ATTRACT2.jpg (120.18 KiB) Viewed 7177 times

If anyone is interested in these updates, I can either post them so you can add them to your LAYOUT file, or I can provide the LAYOUT file itself. You will also have to edit or replace a 2nd file for the box to appear right.

[dee2eR]

Awesome, if you post it up I'll include it in the next release.

Did you start from the version that works with both hori and vert? (I really should just publicly post that one)

[FrizzleFried]

Awesome, if you post it up I'll include it in the next release.

Did you start from the version that works with both hori and vert? (I really should just publicly post that one)

I did not... I started with whatever came on my SD card... it was pre-game-name mod...

I'll post it as soon as I am 100% happy.

[FrizzleFried]

OK...

Here's the final look...

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ATTRACT_2.jpg (66.81 KiB) Viewed 7152 times

ATTRACT_1.jpg (69.83 KiB) Viewed 7152 times

You can can download the layout here: https://mega.nz/#!TZ5hWSZD!Mjmn3MNibpNX ... q1KQKiwqvE

Please note ... I claim ZERO credit for this layout. This layout is simply a tweak of an existing layout ... nothing major or groundbreaking was added ... if you like the look/feel, feel free to use it. If not, thanks for trying it out...

[FrizzleFried]

I've updated the file slightly...

1. When the front end first loads ... whether it be when first powering on or when returning from a game, the "wheel" (the logo art) was about 12 pixels lower than it should be. As soon as another game was selected, the problem went away... but I noticed on the image above that the Galaga 88 logo was a little lower than it should have been. I took that photo as soon as the cab powered up. Moving to the next game then back fixed the issue... I discovered a setting that needed adjusting.

2. I removed all the old "CREDIT/FREEPLAY" display code that was replaced with the GAME NAME... if there was really a need, I COULD add this back in... move the select game with joystick message up a little and drop the credit/freeplay info below that.... but on a home unit (which I have)... it's not necessary. If you really want this functionality, shoot me a PM and I can see what I can do.

3. I removed the Ozzy MP3 file that the original distribution (or at least the one I received) had in it. It took up 80% of the file size. If you want music... just drop a few MP3's in the MUSIC folder and turn it on in the layout settings section.

4. CONTROLS - You can adjust the controls for your front end... I changed mine so left and right go one game left or one game right and up and down go five games left and five games right...

Here is the link to the new version: https://mega.nz/#!TZ5hWSZD!Mjmn3MNibpNX ... q1KQKiwqvE

The link in the original post has been updated as well.

[xefned]

So if we download your latest version, does that mean the controls will already be configured so left and right go one game left or one game right and up and down go five games left and five games right? Or does that always need to be set through the menu system?

I tried doing this last night and messed up my controls so badly, I had to reinstall Arpicade from scratch.

BTW, I used the "Kickman 1.1" distribution, and it looks like you've made several other improvements so I will try this regardless and find out... Some of the wheel images in earlier SDArcade themes need improvement.

EDIT: nevermind about the wheel images. I see they are completely independent of the Attract Mode theme. I will need to find a better set of wheel images or create my own.

[xefned]

I'm just guessing but it looks like the answer is "no."

Control setting seems to be located in /home/pi/.attract/attract.cfg
The section labeled "input map" might be worth messing with. I figure I can't break it any worse than I already have. I just don't want to re-write my SD card needlessly over and over again because I can't understand the config interface.

Code: Select all

input_map
	select               LControl
	select               Return
	prev_display         Left
	next_display         Right
	down                 Down
	down                 Joy0 Down
	prev_page            Joy0 Left
	next_page            Joy0 Right
	select               Joy0 Button0
	select               Joy0 Button7
	back                 Escape
	toggle_rotate_right  R
	toggle_rotate_left   E
	up                   Up
	up                   Joy0 Up
	right                Right
	right                Joy1 Button6
	left                 Left
	configure            Tab
	configure            Joy1 Button8
	random_game          Joy0 Button4
	default             back	exit
	default             up	prev_game
	default             down	next_game
	default             left	prev_display
	default             right	next_display

OK, I just overwrote those last 4 lines, simply swapping "_game" and "_display." Here goes nothing...

[xefned]

For the record, what I tried above does not work. Don't do it. You'll just end up unable to go "up" in the Service Menu, making it impossible to switch to low-res vertical.

Back to the SD burner...

[gt7766c]

Thanks for the update. I’m using a similar setup and gave up on trying to turn “right” into change game by one game. My kids just learned the other way and we’ve been fine.