PS2 Theme creation question.

[joonbo]

So, I am just barely dipping my toes into creating a theme / editing themes. Basically, want to learn how. There aren't very many IN-Depth tutorials out there (and anything that's in ps2-home is basically inaccessible to me). my question is, is it possible to have the case overlay for apps be different than the case overlay of the PS2 Games? i use apps XCLUSIVELY for POPStarter, and the case overlay I've seen on all themes is the same DVD size one. I'd like to first see if i can edit an existing theme to use the cd sized cases instead of the stretched-out DVD sized cases. but i don't know if that's even a possibility as there aren't any IN-DEPTH tutorials out there.

my question is 1) can it be done? and 2) How do i set that in a conf_theme.cfg file?

 

[gamerman 5000]

I recommend you read the manual.

https://www.psx-place.com/threads/opl-theme-creation-manual.41893/

Regarding your question, the reason why the overlays for PSX covers always appear the same size as the PS2 covers is because the same dimension is being used in a single instruction in the syntax of the configuration file.

The answer is:

Yes it is possible but with the OPL DB version since it has a special section for PSX games so the "mainELM" parameter was added to the configuration file.

Although it should be noted that it is not recommended to use this version because in my case it has been unstable (failures in the SMB connection, freezes, loading failures for the list of games on some devices, especially in the newer versions).

If you are still interested you can take a look at my "Purple Grape" theme for the OPL DB version where I did exactly what you want to do.

Luck.

https://www.psx-place.com/threads/theme-open-ps2-loader-purple-grape.40841/

 

[joonbo]

I recommend you read the manual.

https://www.psx-place.com/threads/opl-theme-creation-manual.41893/

Regarding your question, the reason why the overlays for PSX covers always appear the same size as the PS2 covers is because the same dimension is being used in a single instruction in the syntax of the configuration file.

The answer is:

Yes it is possible but with the OPL DB version since it has a special section for PSX games so the "mainELM" parameter was added to the configuration file.

Although it should be noted that it is not recommended to use this version because in my case it has been unstable (failures in the SMB connection, freezes, loading failures for the list of games on some devices, especially in the newer versions).

If you are still interested you can take a look at my "Purple Grape" theme for the OPL DB version where I did exactly what you want to do.

Luck.

https://www.psx-place.com/threads/theme-open-ps2-loader-purple-grape.40841/

i was aiming to move away from the DB versions, as i want to take advantage of zso support. i simply want to know if i can use a different size overlay for the apps menu (same as you are mentioning the ELM section for DB version) as i said, there are no full in depth tutorials available, (even your app doesn't explain how to apply to different tabs)

 

[gamerman 5000]

I see you read but didn't understand what I'm trying to tell you.
You will never find that "guide" because it is impossible to establish different dimensions in a single instruction.
It's like pretending that the number 4 "is at the same time number 6," do you follow me?

 

[MoogiDoo]

My goodness. I've been trying to find an answer to this question myself for what feels like months now, and I finally find this thread.
I did not want to waste my time trying to find a nonexistent theme.

I did think up a solution that I have not tried implementing though.
If I remember correctly, the games' cover art is able to have transparent portions. So, if this is the case, it should be possible to have the 222x200 game cover and the rest of the image with a transparent fill. This would look pretty terrible with the default OPL theme since the "cases" for the games are made with the bigger covers in mind, but the fix for this would be to find (or build) a theme for OPL that takes this into account and allows for both covers to look good despite the difference in non-transparent size.

So for example, a theme that simply displays the cover art with no border or 3D effect.
I think this is the only possible solution since any edge on the game cases that is not the spine would display as if it was using the larger covers.
I don't really see a possible solution that uses a 3D effect for the cases.

 

[gamerman 5000]

My goodness. I've been trying to find an answer to this question myself for what feels like months now, and I finally find this thread.
I did not want to waste my time trying to find a nonexistent theme.

I did think up a solution that I have not tried implementing though.
If I remember correctly, the games' cover art is able to have transparent portions. So, if this is the case, it should be possible to have the 222x200 game cover and the rest of the image with a transparent fill. This would look pretty terrible with the default OPL theme since the "cases" for the games are made with the bigger covers in mind, but the fix for this would be to find (or build) a theme for OPL that takes this into account and allows for both covers to look good despite the difference in non-transparent size.

So for example, a theme that simply displays the cover art with no border or 3D effect.
I think this is the only possible solution since any edge on the game cases that is not the spine would display as if it was using the larger covers.
I don't really see a possible solution that uses a 3D effect for the cases.

The measurements of both an overlay and without it must always be the same, there is no other way and whether you respect one or another measurement, a cover will always be deformed.

This is a problem that only concerns the OPL developer since the theme will only be a limited theme to the extent that the OPL programming allows it (see OPL DB example).

However, I understand you, but to do that you would have to modify each and every one of the PSX covers, which would be a very long and tedious process when the problem must be resolved by the developer and not the designer.

So my advice would be this:

Never be left with doubt, if you have an idea, carry it out, in the end you will feel satisfied whether it works or not because you tried and gained experience, do not stay with what others say, maybe I am wrong and you could prove it.