Genesis Plus GUI Artwork

DcSteve · Post by **DcSteve** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:13 pm

Matisfaction has done some basic GUI work for an upcoming release of GenesisPlus. I would like to get some peoples opinions on it, and if u have time to make your own awsome GUI, please post it here.

Here is what Matisfaction has done so far

Mekanaizer · Post by **Mekanaizer** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:26 pm

Hi.

Just one word: great.

-Mekanaizer-

groundbeef · Post by **groundbeef** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:38 pm

Very nice looking. I am indeed waiting for this emu to be released beyond its current state on PRV 3. I hope everything works our for this emu as it is one of the two emus I look forward to most. The other is the turbo 16 that Quzar mentioned awhile back.

Sir Savant · Post by **Sir Savant** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:03 pm

Looks generic for the DC. Like the Nester GUI. But still good.

curt_grymala · Post by **curt_grymala** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:38 pm

It looks pretty nice, but I know mat is capable of making something even more astonishing. I basically agree that it looks somewhat plain (especially compared to a lot of the SuperFam themes I've seen lately), but it still looks better than most of the things I would put together.

Like I said, though, mat is capable of making it much better than that if he receives some decent constructive criticism.

First bit of criticism from me - with Sonic being somewhat 3D, the buttons and descriptions would look much better if they were somehow made partially 3D.

I also wonder what it would look like with some bits and pieces of screenies from various Sonic games in the background, rather than having a plain white background (although, that may actually make it look worse, so it's more a pondering than a bit of criticism).

Pyrite · Post by **Pyrite** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:42 pm

Looks clean and functional but it could be a little more stylish IMO.

Hobbes T Tiger · Post by **Hobbes T Tiger** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:49 pm

curt_grymala wrote: I also wonder what it would look like with some bits and pieces of screenies from various Sonic games in the background,

Maybe some cut outs from action scenes. So that you can see the action without the background.... if you know what I mean.

Clessy · Post by **Clessy** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:50 pm

curt_grymala
Totally not liking the idea of screenshots in the back ground. Plain colors are the best. Also designs are too. I don't really like menus have have anything in the background but design.

Digital Chaos · Post by **Digital Chaos** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:56 pm

They look good, but I think all the text should be pushed closer to the center.

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:11 pm

Personally, I don't like the logo much. Seems a little to generic.

I've also never been much of a fan of the NesterDC-style menus. They're dead simple to program (which is why the older version of GP/DC used them), but I don't like them very much.

I much prefer the type of menu that pretty much all modern games (and even most 16-bit era games, for that matter) have - where you have a list of choices, one of them is highlighted, and you make a selection using up/down, then press a button to select it. It seems less primitive, for some reason, and it fits in better with the rest of the menus. It seems bizarre to select options on the main menu by pressing different buttons, but select games or options using up/down.

Basically, I'm after something that's reasonably consistent with the menus from commercial Dreamcast games.

Also, just because Matisfaction's been working on it, that doesn't mean that nobody else can. Feel free to come up with some designs. There aren't really a lot of limitations to what can be done with it - the theme engine isn't a simple bitmap background like NesterDC. It should be able to handle animations (animated backgrounds, menu selections, SMSPlus-style animated characters), transitions, random elements (like, displaying a random character every time you go to the main menu, as UT2004 does), and other neat stuff.

Untamed · Post by **Untamed** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:42 pm

Looks okay.

Should say "Select a Game" .

DcSteve · Post by **DcSteve** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:23 pm

doublepost

DcSteve · Post by **DcSteve** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:24 pm

From BA's list of things to do... the bolded is what he needs our help with...

All of the fixable graphics glitches fixed

Sound working, no skipping

Full speed (maybe with a tiny bit of frameskipping if required) on virtually all games

Working ROM database, including settings

Working save support (battery saves only, save states will never be supported)

Working support for GameGenie codes (the code is there, but needs to be hooked up to the menu)

The emulator has been properly tested, and major bugs fixed

ROM database has been populated with correct information, and has been verified

Menu system, working mostly as I have described previously above

A decent theme for the menu

Every part of the emulator is well tested, and works according to my own standards

Post by **ace** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:30 pm

curt_grymala wrote:... with Sonic being somewhat 3D, the buttons and descriptions would look much better if they were somehow made partially 3D.

I couldn't agree more. Other than that, it looks awesome.

Nico0020 · Post by **Nico0020** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:24 pm

so far i have liked the orinigal one best. at least i think it was the orinigal. im more concerned with the state of them emu rather than what it looks like. touchups can be done at the end.

Lyris · Post by **Lyris** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:19 pm

I think it could do with some polish, the button labels look very squashed into the space and are squint. Also maybe scanning the buttons of an actual DC controller at a high DPI would be a better way to get pictures of them - they did this for Sonic Adventure 2 on the DC and it looked really good.

As well as that the GenPlus logo on the menu screen appears more squashed than on the screen before it which looks a bit uneven.

Asides from that I really like it, it's nice and simple and the big Sonic and smaller items work really well. Try adding a white to reallllllly subtle gray in the background as a gradient and see if it looks good.

Saiyan Eye · Post by **Saiyan Eye** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:56 pm

DcSteve -
I got your AIM message, and I would be glad to be of service, just tell me what I can and cannot use on the GUI. Like would I be able to use the "new age" Sonic on the GUI or what? I am excited about this, and I would love to be of service to all of you.

Also, I noticed a typo on the first image... "Choose An Game"

Matisfaction · Post by **Matisfaction** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:06 pm

These are really rough and i didn't know DcSteve was gonna post these, so bear in mind that some of the fonts and mistakes and stuff wont be there if this gets developed to a further stage.

Thanx for the positive feedback tho.

Lyris · Post by **Lyris** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:53 pm

Here are my ideas. The first menu is heavily based on DCSteve's. Remember these are overscan permitting so ignore any "blank" stuff at the sides.

I understand there is a lot of transparency and other visual effects in here that probably won't be possible, so of course if this layout were to be used I'd obviously tone it down and work around when necessary.

The first thing the users see

I've been informed that buttons are out and instead a commercial game style system is being used, where the user highlights options with a directional pad instead of pressing buttons - so you can ignore the A B X Y on there. I'll probably change those to icons relevant to the option, like a disc for the load or whatever.

Notice how there is a game showing through. This would only be there if the user brought this menu up with a game in the background already playing.

I do have this also with an old-style Genesis era Sonic. However the picture wasn't as good quality.

Self-explanitory...
but notice how there's no background here. If the user was playing a game already and selected the Play Game option, perhaps the game could be unloaded from memory to make the selection process as fast as possible. Of course, if memory allowed - we could keep the background..

I want to add something to that big gap in the top right though. Just a simple picture of a CD might work well.

Selecting gives this additional info if available. After that users press A or start to begin playing.

When there's no disc in the drive...

Credits could scroll if there were enough of them...

This would all be animated also. Nothing static!!!
I'd like to put a slowly strobing spotlight in the background when there was no screen shot showing through - either using alpha transparency (correct term?) or old fashioned stippling. There'd be no sharp jumps from one screen to another, just very fast fades and things rearranging around the screen. For example on the ROM Loading screen the box on the right would quickly slide in to view.

Nico0020 · Post by **Nico0020** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:24 pm

Simply amazing Lyris!
I would love to see this apart of Genesis Plus.