Emulation Project, Art.

[DragonRose]

Hi all, new here, long time visitor first time poster, I've been coding away at an application for the emulation community, the current part in development is for Sega systems (Sony, and Nintendo ones to come)

The application in question is aimed to be a 1 stop shop for emulation and related content for each system.




Heres what the sega CD section has implemented:

--An in depth encyclopedia of information, from videos of the bios bot ups to in depth tech specs



--A complete offline list, which features gameplay clips for 90% of the games, covers, and in depth info



--Emulator support

--Identifier, can scan a game and return the games correct name, region, details, covers and gameplay footage.


--My games, lets users organize the emulation collection, rename games, game folders from multiple methods, add extras to the games folder (covers, details, folder thumbnails etc)





And more. (pics are al from WIP build so any thin that looks outa place is most likely due to that)

My art skills are none existent, and the thought of asking here hadn't crossed my mind as you guys deal with game covers, how ever after numerous people suggested i ask here i thought id post and see, i would like somebody to make logos for the programs, and icons for the exe's.

Thanks for looking, Dragon.

[Hexxxer]

I had actually thought about doing a project like this, I would be very interested in helping out. I can help with both art and programming if need be.

[DragonRose]

Hi Hexxxer, what programming language do you use? Im developing this project in visual studio 08 using the VB libraries, and im fairly new to coding, so im stumped on databases which is a feature thats needed.

The Main logos at current which need doing, are:

Sega CD World
Sega Saturn World
DreamCast World

PSX World
PS2 World

And just need to be representative, for example the sega cd one, can have sega cd with the logo overlayed, or sonic in there etc

Anything is better then my poor version:


PSX one could have the psx pad and psx characters in it etc.

Each one also needs a icon making to be the main .exe's icon file, so psx one maybe a psx with a pad and memory card overlayed etc.

[juan0tron]

I find this very cool. It's what I've always wanted emulation to be: a documentation of history that just happens to be playable. will it be possible to edit such info for individual games manually? Also I'll be the obligatory one to ask, is there a mac version? Sorry I can't do much to help but definitely keep at this, it's looking awesome!

[DragonRose]

In the museum mode, the pictures are all fixed images, the information some can be edited as its stored in files located in the applications folder, which can be updated etc. Theres also alot in the history/museum mode which is not instantly obvious from the screenies like here:



For instance on the game package picture, theres a small magnifying glass, if a user clicks where they see those, then it goes to more in depth info like so:



In the Offline list mode, the covers are all update able by the end user if they want higher res ones etc (all tho i have not included a single crappy low res pic anyway) The cheat database is fully updatable by the end user, along with the game filters (games can be display by genre, or region exclusive, or a mix)

Im also putting in as many settings for the end user as i can, from different layout modes and themes, to custom user skins.

Once i get this sega one done (SCD, Saturn, DC) ill be startign the PSX/PS2 one or the Nintendo one.

[Thaddeus Grey]

Very cool indeed, this may rekindle my interest in emulation. We shall see. Love the Sega CD work  .

[Hexxxer]

hey, I am proficient in C#, C++, Java, VB and a bunch of things that don't really relate. I guess the database thing really depends if you plan on saving it online or offline. What emulator are you planning on using?

[DragonRose]

Its offline, hexxen, so all cover art etc is packaged with the exe's, as the consoles in this one have no new games released, rather then make users download the covers separately.

Databases are a complete mystery to me, as i said not long been coding (only started learnign in February)

But to my understanding all the info i use code to currently trigger, could be put in a database, and triggered with alot less code used int he applications exe, making it faster (important on consoles with 600+ games):

Code: [Select]

        If (lbg1.SelectedItem = "1080: Avalanche") Then
            fs.ImageLocation = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() & "\pics\" & "1fs.jpg"
            bs.ImageLocation = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() & "\pics\" & "1bs.jpg"
            s1.ImageLocation = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() & "\pics\" & "1s1.jpg"
            s2.ImageLocation = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() & "\pics\" & "1s2.jpg"

            serial1.Text = "DOL-GTEE-USA"
            genre1.Text = "Snowboarding"
            name2.Text = "-"
            name1.Text = "1080: Silver Storm"

The Default emulator for the SCD is Gens sureal edition, and for Saturn its yabuse, but the user has the option of using other emulators if they want.