Program used to make themes for RetroFE

[hojo]

What program is used for making themes for retrofe or even hyperspin? I noticed that many of the themes for retroFE that I have been finding tend to be very simplistic or lack information I want to display.

An example the publisher and developer of games are often different and I would like have the info available in picture form. (example, Donkey kong country was developed by Rare but published by nintendo).

[phulshof]

RetroFE themes are simply xml files, so with a text editor and the manual you should have few problems.
For what you want, simply define a reloadableImage for each type: developer and manufacturer, and make sure your meta xml files actually contain the needed information.

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[phulshof]

As an example, from the default Aeon Nox theme:

    <!-- show manufacturer image -->
    <reloadableImage type="manufacturer" mode="common" alpha="0" width="500" maxHeight="85" x="20" y="1070" xOrigin="left" yOrigin="bottom" layer="15">
        <onExit>
            <set duration=".25">
                <animate type="alpha" to="0" algorithm="easeinquadratic"/>
            </set>
        </onExit>
        <onMenuEnter menuIndex="1">
            <set duration=".25">
                <animate type="alpha" to="1" algorithm="easeinquadratic"/>
            </set>
        </onMenuEnter>
        <onMenuExit menuIndex="1">
            <set duration=".25">
                <animate type="alpha" to="0" algorithm="easeinquadratic"/>
            </set>
        </onMenuExit>
        <onHighlightEnter menuIndex="1">
            <set duration=".25">
                <animate type="alpha" to="1" algorithm="easeinquadratic"/>
            </set>
        </onHighlightEnter>
        <onHighlightExit menuIndex="1">
            <set duration=".25">
                <animate type="alpha" to="0" algorithm="easeinquadratic"/>
            </set>
        </onHighlightExit>
    </reloadableImage>

 

A quick explanation:

reloadableImage implies that it is different for each menu entry, and as such should be (re)loaded whenever a new item is selected.

mode="common" means that the art should be pulled from the _common collection. This prevents the need  to have a set of manufacturing logos for each collection.

The main line also contains the location (x/y), size, and alignment settings.

The default alpha (transparency) is 0, which means invisible. The onMenuEnter animation makes it visible when you enter the 2nd menu (the collection).

The rest of the text is simply animation settings, to make the item fade in and out on menu enter/exit, program exit, and when selecting a new item.