GP2X Improve Gmenu2x Skins Support

[ryosaeba]

I'm planning on improving GMenu2X support for skins.

What I already plan to do is:
* A skins selector, changing the directory structure of gmenu2x so that skins can have their own directory.
* Adding support for 2 files, topbar.png and bottombar.png, that will be drawn on top of the background.

What I want to discuss with possible skinners is: what other feature should gmenu2x have to improve it's skinnability?

 

[pedator]

saludos

* Adding support for 2 files, topbar.png and bottombar.png, that will be drawn on top of the background.

Good idea.
This option make possible to hide the bars in options screens that dont need topbars under the texts.
Then you will have 3 images: topbar, downbar and bg. The bg should be 320x240 and fit all screen. Maybe, the bars could be loaded over the bg and have some type of transparency. isn't it?

The option for skin selection is good too. It seems an advanced feature to implement... only backgrounds or icons too?

I ask you, again :lol: a bg selection option. Maybe you can include this like an option for the 3 images in background...

The png for selection in topbar is not needed, but if you add it i will use it It could be useful too.

The icons for the buttons in downbar: A B X Y, is an option more.

 

[NoidZ]

Well, could you make it possible to place the things like the battery info, volume, clock status etc. etc. wherever you want?(using a .xml orsomething) So you can create a great variety in skins..

Thanks for the effort!!

EDIT: Pedator has some good points there. Mac-style backgrounds

 

[ryosaeba]

Positive, for transparency as that's the cool part of pngs
Ok, for bg selection.
Ok also for icons of the gp2x buttons. I was planning to add them anyway because I needed an icon for the START button.

Anyone wants to contribute those icons? Having an icon for each gp2x button would be perfect.
The size should be 16x16. (at least for normal buttons, could be wider for start & select)

Well, could you make it possible to place the things like the battery info, volume, clock status etc. etc. wherever you want?(using a .xml orsomething) So you can create a great variety in skins..

I miss the point here... Could you explain why it's a good idea? (Really, no sarcasm here)

 

[NoidZ]

I can do that buttons about the missing point... you can put them the buttons anywhere, so you can create skins which have a special place for that icons, so you can make the skin more attractive and gives the user a more natural feel of the whole part. (it's hard to explain, but I do school for this :lol: )

 

[techFreak]

Maybe some animated icons and background... It would be a real eye candy!

 

[NoidZ]

I still don't know how to animate PNG's though, otherwise I would have made the buttons animated. And if you don't like em, you know what to do

 

[ryosaeba]

The icons are nice, I would appreciate a couple of modifications though. I PM'd you about that.

Also, I understand now (I think) about what you were suggesting, but it's not needed because every skin will have it's own directory were they can replace all of the graphics and if the graphic it's not found in the skin dir, then it will default to the standard one.

For example if the graphic file for button A is normally placed in "imgs/buttons/a.png" a skin can replace it by placing a file in this location: "skins/nameofskin/imgs/buttons/a.png"

As for animated icons, I have to decide how a icon should define its timings.
I wanted to develop a library to manage animations in SDL with a graphical tool to create them, but that was for more complex uses, such as in games. It could be useful (and powerful if I implement it as I have it in my mind) in gmenu2x too.

 

[NoidZ]

Icons are done. About the suggestion I had; with that method you use it'll work fine

 

[DaveC]

Do you mean animated icons that would change when you click on them?

Or do you mean icons that would jump around even when not selected? I think this would be distracting.

 

[NoidZ]

Probably when you stand on one, kinda rollover animation. I agree that the second option wil be distracting (except if uses properly)

 

[Shirohagen]

Firstly Ryo, I think GMenu2X is amazng, and i wouldn't want you to interpret these suggestions as criticisms or a lack of gratitude for your work, but you've asked for ideas, so here are some of mine:

The ability to put the main menu bar along different edges of the screen. I'd like to do old skool GUI themes, kind of like what I'd done with Windups on the GP32 (See my sig), so for GEM desktop for instance, I'd put the main menu down the left to look like ordered drive icons on the desktop.

Also the ability to change the font, although I notice a font graphic in there already. I'd like to use Amiga Workbench, GEM desktop or C64 fonts etc. Not sure how this works...

Can we choose how the selected icon is highlighted? The ability to use 2 PNGs, on for a 'rollover' would be good instead of the highlighted block.

Can we choose whether to flash the 'info' icon for readmes? Sometimes it is a little intrusive blinking away.

Anyway, just some ideas, although GMenu's biggest asset is it's simplicity, so I'm not sure to what extent these ideas may make it more complex.

®

PS: What are the icons you are using on the preview screenshot?

 

[NoidZ]

Those ones you could get from the file-archive I thought. Could be wrong though..

 

[fusion_power]

Hi.
I'm new here.

First, I have to thank Ryo again for his superb menu.
And second, I have to thank pedator for his superb Liquido-skin. My whole GP2X is "liquidoized" since the skin was available.

I think, the Gmenu is nearly perfect. The Idea with the manuals are really nice for example.
There are only some minor "bugs" in the Menu I think. Like I suggested to Ryo via PM, the Text letters shouldn't "break" through the BG graphics like in the GMenu options-screen (start-button) with the Liquido skin. But the Idea with the seperate Top-Bar could solve this problem completely.

Yes, and I also like a simple menu. I dont know if it would be easy with all the suggested features here like multiple skins and so on. Many Files and many to replace. (To not overwrite all my old Gmenu-Settings like graphics and links I usually have to replace every file seperate when a new Gmenu-version comes out. A easy "Update" Feature would be nice )

Oh, there was a little (transulent) problem with pedators Liquido-font in the new Gmenu 0.8. But I could fix that quick for myself. ^^

 

[pedator]

I thinked about the topbar. a more customizable topbar will give us more options... by now we have only the option for put an icon and then play with the alpha/color selection. Extending the idea of the png for selection in this bar.... a "thematic" png for the selection could be more nice. For example, I select the emulators section and the background image of the bar changes and shows me a thematic photo with snes-nes-mame-gba-etc. B)
In this way, if the zone for a section could be resizable, it give us more options in design. We are not limited in the size of this zone. We can divide the bar in the needed zones. I need only space for 1 icon (my big icon), or 2 or 3 or 4, etc....

Other option for making a nice bar could be the transformation in an animated bar... that scrolls left to right and viceversa according to pushed R or L, like the flash menus do. This seems complicated :blink: but is a idea for make something animated

well, i link a image that explains these concepts... it's a study case




The other ideas, are more simple and realizable

Possibilities for changing the images used in confirmation dialogs, alert windows, and popup windows for links options. At least, for changing the colors used...

Maybe a background image for the keyboard screen...or option for put a centered image under the keys that could be a keyboard...

I think too that the blinking info icon is intrusive. The blinking is not needed.

Thanks Ryo for listening our moans

---
Hi fusion_power. you have a exquisite taste

 

[Shirohagen]

Nice ideas, but please do be careful! Adding more and more graphics, doesn't necessarily make it better, the elegence of GMenu at the moment is it's simplicity, and if it acquires loads of eye candy and animation it could quite quickly lose it's main strength. I think just because those functions existed, it wouldn't lead to a lot of very pretty skins...

I guess all those things are good, so long as the option remains to switch them off and keep it simple. Less is more...

®

 

[ryosaeba]

I thinked about the topbar. a more customizable topbar will give us more options... by now we have only the option for put an icon and then play with the alpha/color selection. Extending the idea of the png for selection in this bar.... a "thematic" png for the selection could be more nice. For example, I select the emulators section and the background image of the bar changes and shows me a thematic photo with snes-nes-mame-gba-etc. B)
[...]
I think too that the blinking info icon is intrusive. The blinking is not needed.

Thanks Ryo for listening our moans

---
Hi fusion_power. you have a exquisite taste

The style described by your picture seems too complicated to implement. It could be done but I think the effort would be too much.
But I think that there could be a compromise.
What could be done is:
* Defining the number of sections displayed at one time in the top bar and enlarging the png for the sections so that they take the full space of the section.
* Adding an option to make the section icons scroll when the section is changed.
* Moving skin related config options in a skin config file (e.g. the colors that are now defined in gmenu2x.conf)

There should also be a different graphic for the top bar in the selector / browser / text reader etc... (only one for all of them)

So you think that I should remove the blinking or the info icon?

 

[Shirohagen]

How about using a GIF for the info icon? That way people can make it either static or blinking easily themselves. they can have it fade, revolve, blink or stay static, whatever they create the frames for...

®

 

[ryosaeba]

GIF is a crappy format, and it's proprietary too...

 

[pedator]

blinking is a cheap and dirty effect fade effect is more elegant and less intrusive. Maybe in these new versions blinking do the work well, people seeing icon sure. Blinking is very showy. fadein-fadeout (like Liquido3D icons) or static is best in the future.