Need help with background for MALA layout...

[severdhed]

hey guys, i'm working on a new mala layout for my cabinet..i am getting close to what i want, but i cannot seem to find the right background image.  here is what i have so far (i only have a few roms on my test PC, so my game list is tiny..but i is enough to get the point across)

can anyone help me?  i like the color and general feel of that background..but i would like something thats a little more  "arcade" and a little less "grandma's kitchen wallpaper"

plus, i'm open to suggestions for other changes for the rest of the layout.

i need to work on the "start" button image..but i just couldnt find a good pic of a black start button that would work

[mrclean]

not sure but personally i stole shocks blue fade for this one http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84054.0

[severdhed]

i looked around a bit and finally found something that i like...it may not be the final choice, but i like it.  i made some changes to the layout as well...i need to change a few things yet, but i am feeling better about the layout now...




what do you guys think?

[mrclean]

it reminds me of Hyperspin .. just switch front ends ;-)

[severdhed]

i tried hyperspin, however it is just too much work to get everything setup.  i messed with it for a little while, but i couldnt seem to get it to show the marquees and snaps from my mame directory.  the only way i could get it to work was to put the files in some files named "artwork 1, artwork 2, etc....  plus it seemed a little slow during the transitions.

dont get me wrong, i liked the interface, it looks very professional, and i liked those advanced themes...however until i can download a pack that has most of the themes, it just wont work.  i dont really want to take the time to set up those nice themes for all of my games.   

i like mala because it is very easy to set up and get working, and very easy to customize.  i'll continue to mess around with hyperspin, but unless i can find a way to make it use the default mame locations for image files, it is no good for me.  i dont want to have to move all of my images around just to try it out, and then move them all back if it doesnt work.   perhaps im just an idiot and i missed something...so i'll keep looking

[cmoses]

I like the look.  Have you considered putting the game list on the left hand side?  I think it might look better.

[severdhed]

here it is reversed...i also added a texture to the tranparent blue areas, and changed a few other little things...

[mr_doles]

How did you get pictures instead of names for the titles.  I am assuming it involves definable.  I really like that look.  It has been bugging me that Mortal Komabt II comes after Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4 in my list. 

[severdhed]

How did you get pictures instead of names for the titles.  I am assuming it involves definable.  I really like that look.  It has been bugging me that Mortal Komabt II comes after Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4 in my list. 

in the mala layout editor, double click on the Game List, at the bottom there is a check box marked Image List...check that.  then there will be a drop down to choose snap,marquee, or control panel

as for MK2, use the mala gamelist editor, find your entry for Mortal Kombat II and change it to Mortal Kombat 2, then it will show up in the proper order

[mr_doles]

Not sure how in the heck I overlooked that.  Where's the Homer Simpson "Doh" animation when you need one.  Thanks I will do that tonight.

[evitagen]

Quick question:  When you change Mala to show the marquee's instead of the title... what does it do when there is no marquee for the game?  Does it just show it in a normal font at that point?  In other words, does it automatically do the work for you and show both the marquee titles and regular text titles?

[severdhed]

No, if there is no marquee, then it just shows no image at all.  so, i guess if you are going to use it, you better have most of the marquees ready to go..at least for the gamelists you use frequently.  i think in my all games list, i'm sure there are some that don't have marquees..but i can always go look for the missing ones..or if you are like me and dont care if they arent 100% arcade accurate,  you can make your own for the missing ones.

and to go back to the original topic...what do you guys think so far?  what needs changed?

[mr_doles]

I think that it looks really good.  The all games font looks a little hard to read but that could just be the picture shrunk down to fit here.

What does the background behind the snap look like when you have a vert game like pacman or DK?

Also do you have any NeoGeo games like Art of fighting where the marquee is taller then it is wide.

[severdhed]

here is how it looks with a vertical game:



i'll have to check to see what happens with a neogeo marquee....usually what i have done in the past is create a new marquee for those games

[ivwshane]

What res is your screen running at? The font looks a little too thin to me but if it's readable on your screen then that's all that matters.

I like the overall idea but the colors scheme and background isn't working for me.

If you are going to go with a pac man themed logo then I think the rest needs to coincide with that as well.

What if your background consisted of a pac man maze with no pellets? You might have to up the pics transparency so it doesn't dominate the screen and adds a more subtle affect to it.
You could then outline areas like the snaps and selected list using either something similar to what the maze is made of or by outlining it with pellets.


I think the top of the screen could then duplicate the area similar to the top of the screen in pac man (black with white font).

Something kinda like the attached (very rough)

[severdhed]

i'll have to give that a shot when i get a chance.    i am running this cabinet on a 19" LCD at 1280x1024...the font is very readable