QT GUI Update Suggestion Thread

[Squall-Leonhart]

The team has had an idea to move to the Cross platform QT GUI system for some time now and this thread is just to ask the users what Dialogues they want changed.

My ideas at the present

Rom browser that uses a tab system for the individual rom types.

Cheat List dialogue screen should be more like NoGBA's, when adding a cheat it should group them by cheat name instead of the E/D items it shoudl just show on and off.
(i forgot earlier to add...)
Cheats should be editable as well, just like NoGBA's.

GSA and CBA should be unified into one button marked as Add Code, seeing as from what i've heard and tested, AR Codes, GSA Codes. and CBA codes are all addable via the Gameshark and Codebreaker buttons.

The QT GUI must have support for custom themes, as it stands, the QT apps i've seen have had issues with showing radio buttons and confirmation button outlines when a non standard windows theme is in use.

obviously the biggest reason to use QT is because of its cross platform support, which will work on Windows, Linux, and i think OSX,
The other reason is that Vista renders GDI via D3D when Aero is enabled and this prevents the menu from showing when VBA is set to OpenGL mode (mixing D3D with OpenGL DOES NOT WORK)
The last, and i say best reason, is that it would mean fullscreen menus would work again without causing a large amount of performance slow down (Layering GDI over a hardware accelerated mode drops the performance a great deal).

anyway, anymore ideas are welcome.

[Dualscreenman]

A nice SVG splash-background would be awesome.

Also, the games for KDE 4 all have configuration windows that I really like. Since the code is open, it should be rather trivial to get a lookalike. (Screenshot attached)

[mudlord]

obviously the biggest reason to use QT is because of its cross platform support, which will work on Windows, Linux, and i think OSX

Yes, Qt4 will work natively on MacOSX

A nice SVG splash-background would be awesome.

Not bad, should be as a background image to the ROM browser? :)

[Dualscreenman]

I was thinking more of a background for the game screen area to use at startup.

[mudlord]

Ah, that makes sense..:)

[Spacy]

Well, since we get the chance to use widgets in fullscreen, we could add a pretty side bar with the most common functions like screenshot, pause, save/load game, maybe enable/disable cheats and so on? The user could show/hide it with one of the F-keys.
This side bar could also be used in windowed mode.

[Dualscreenman]

Love it!

From IRC:

[08:10:35] [JontheEchidna] Or hey, themeable graphics would be cool too
[08:10:54] [JontheEchidna] But Oxygen: Preview Fixed Oxygen Icon Theme Script (http://www.kde-look.org/content/preview.php?preview=2&id=61556&file1=61556-1.jpg&file2=61556-2.jpg&file3=61556-3.jpg&name=Fixed+Oxygen+Icon+Theme+Script&PHPSESSID=d744457a17824bbc34150aeb477994e6)
[08:11:17] [JontheEchidna] Preview Fixed Oxygen Icon Theme Script (http://www.kde-look.org/content/preview.php?preview=1&id=61556&file1=61556-1.jpg&file2=61556-2.jpg&file3=61556-3.jpg&name=Fixed+Oxygen+Icon+Theme+Script&PHPSESSID=d744457a17824bbc34150aeb477994e6)
[08:11:44] [JontheEchidna] Preview Fixed Oxygen Icon Theme Script (http://www.kde-look.org/content/preview.php?preview=3&id=61556&file1=61556-1.jpg&file2=61556-2.jpg&file3=61556-3.jpg&name=Fixed+Oxygen+Icon+Theme+Script&PHPSESSID=d744457a17824bbc34150aeb477994e6)

[Cypherswipe]

What exactly do you mean by "individual rom types? GBA vs GBC vs GB?

The cheats list -NEEDS- an edit button. It is SUCH a friggin pain to have to delete & re-add a cheat just to change it a little. The lack of cheat editting is something most versions of VBA have been seriously lacking so far, or the special VBA-H version had it, and it was great.

I do agree about merging all the GS/CB/etc buttons into a single one. They're way outdated anyway, they date back to when GS and AR were the same, and CB was completely different. Now AR is alone, GS is a CB clone, and CB changed their encryption. Unifying it all into a single "add cheat" button would definitely be a good idea, and reduce confusion for newcomers.

Overall, I like current VBA GUI. The only things I would change are merging the add cheat buttons, adding the ability to edit a cheat instead of having to replace it in order to change it, and replacing the normal cheat search with the one from VBA-H.

[TheCloudOfSmoke]

The cheats list -NEEDS- an edit button. It is SUCH a friggin pain to have to delete & re-add a cheat just to change it a little. The lack of cheat editting is something most versions of VBA have been seriously lacking so far, or the special VBA-H version had it, and it was great.


Seconded. I believe that that was one of my suggestions I made in my suggestions thread. It would defintely be a handy feature imo.

[Dualscreenman]

If the cheat dialog was modeled after No$gba's that'd be awesome. So thirded, I guess?
As an aside it would be great to see the changes made by VBA-H integrated into VBA-M...

[Squall-Leonhart]

What exactly do you mean by "individual rom types? GBA vs GBC vs GB?

The cheats list -NEEDS- an edit button. It is SUCH a friggin pain to have to delete & re-add a cheat just to change it a little. The lack of cheat editting is something most versions of VBA have been seriously lacking so far, or the special VBA-H version had it, and it was great.

I do agree about merging all the GS/CB/etc buttons into a single one. They're way outdated anyway, they date back to when GS and AR were the same, and CB was completely different. Now AR is alone, GS is a CB clone, and CB changed their encryption. Unifying it all into a single "add cheat" button would definitely be a good idea, and reduce confusion for newcomers.

Overall, I like current VBA GUI. The only things I would change are merging the add cheat buttons, adding the ability to edit a cheat instead of having to replace it in order to change it, and replacing the normal cheat search with the one from VBA-H.

| GB | GBC | GBA |

clicking each tab shows a list of the roms specified in the directories dialogue.

[laurencevde]

So, what I would like(haven't tried out vba-m yet):
A per-game settings-editor, including save-games and stuff.
A dialog to start the games configured, without the file-browser(much like no$gba's)

Option to import cheat-files, in any format out there.
Cheat-editing, but in a smart way, eg: I enter a cheat like abcd2313xx, and it lets me change the xx, perhaps even letting me name all of the possible values(01=bulbasaur, 02=ivysaur etc.)

Only the options that make sense to change often should go directly in the menu, the rest should go in a configuration-dialog.

Optional support for kde's libs, like kio-slaves, kde's shortcut-configuration, notifications...

[Squall-Leonhart]

1. Pergame settings editor = VBA-Over.ini + Game overrides menu, which is in the latest SVN Compiles


2. wtf?
3. already possible,
4. Is in the works.

[mudlord]

As an aside it would be great to see the changes made by VBA-H integrated into VBA-M...

I know :p I just need to be motivated enough to sift through VBA-H to see exactly what they changed, and implement them. :)

2. wtf?

I have to agree. laurencevde, could you please rephrase your request about the cheats? Your request seems quite obtuse to me and cryptic.

[Squall-Leonhart]

i wtf'd at ' A dialog to start the games configured, without the file-browser(much like no$gba's)'

[mudlord]

k.....

[laurencevde]

I mean a game-manager, as a way to start (and configure) games.
In no$gba, If you make a text-file files.lst, in wich you put name>file, no$gba opens with a list from wich you can choose your game to start. That way, you don't have to browse to your game each time you want to play, and you can give them nicer names.
Of course, no$gba's list is a bit meagre, but something like that would be nice.

[Spacy]

Editing text files is pretty lame. I use VBA's recent files list to access last used ROMs. (Well, actually I use Ctrl+F1-12)

[Squall-Leonhart]

I mean a game-manager, as a way to start (and configure) games.
In no$gba, If you make a text-file files.lst, in wich you put name>file, no$gba opens with a list from wich you can choose your game to start. That way, you don't have to browse to your game each time you want to play, and you can give them nicer names.
Of course, no$gba's list is a bit meagre, but something like that would be nice.

a rom browser is already suggested, which does exactly the same thing, with less configuration needed.

[laurencevde]

Of course, I don't want to have to edit text-files either, but no$gba's was just an example.
So, yes, it would be a rom-browser, but you should be able to make per-game configurations from there as well.

[Squall-Leonhart]

what need is there for per game configuration?... there is only 1 setting that could need to be changed per game, (Filters).

[Hiei-YYH]

GSA and CBA should be unified into one button marked as Add Code, seeing as from what i've heard and tested, AR Codes, GSA Codes. and CBA codes are all addable via the Gameshark and Codebreaker buttons.

GSSP = CBA, the only difference is that GSSP use encrypted codes while CBA does not.

GS, CB and AR shouldn't be in the same button, this is just stupid.

Generic RAW code, Code Breaker Advance, Gameshark SP, Action Replay.

that's how it should be.

[Squall-Leonhart]

Theres no reason what so ever to have them all in seperate buttons when 1 single button can add the cheats for Gameshark, Code breaker advance and Action replay cheats. doing it any other way is just wasting useable button space for other functions.

as it is, (do some research) Gameshark has been using the CodeBreaker advance method to enter cheats for some time now, since the GSSP method broke.

[mudlord]

Theres no reason what so ever to have them all in seperate buttons when 1 single button can add the cheats for Gameshark, Code breaker advance and Action replay cheats. doing it any other way is just wasting useable button space for other functions.


Indeed.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. Spacy so far as managed to get the open source version of QT to compile with MSVC (heheheheheheheh!), so it looks like Spacy and I will be working on this in the future for sure....

And theres no ETA. Like always, its done when its done.

[Hiei-YYH]

as it is, (do some research) Gameshark has been using the CodeBreaker advance method to enter cheats for some time now, since the GSSP method broke.

wtf you're talking about? go to gameshark (http://www.gameshark.com/) site and take a look at the codes, they are all encrypted. if you decrypt them, they are basically codebreaker codes which doesn't use any encryption (GSSP CAN'T USE RAW CODES), that's because when codebreaker stopped, madcats bought the rights for it's code engine, don't just tell me that i need do some research, because I'm a mod at official codebreaker site and i know what I'm talking about.

GSSP = CBA codes encrypted (Needs a type 9 seedgen master code in order to be used)
CBA = Normal CB Unencrypted Codes
AR = Totally different encryption and use 16 digits for 32bit writes while cba/gssp uses 12 for 16bit writes only. CBA/GSSP and AR are totally different, again, using the same button to enter different code types is retarded.

[mudlord]

Thanks for the detailed information, Hiei-YYH. Guess then we better preserve the buttons. OR, the cheat buttons can be in small subbuttons from the larger one (providing Qt has the controls for this, havent checked yet).

[Squall-Leonhart]

Mudlord, ignore Hiei, he doesn't have a clue what we are talking about at all.

you can add Gameshark, CBA and AR codes from either the Gameshark or Codebreaker buttons, hence theres no need to keep them seperated. (AND THEY WORK). this has been the case since 1.6, since in 1.5 GSA was broken (which is was it was called back then btw).

being a mod at the stupid codebreaker site doesn't mean he has a clue about how the cheats work in VBA.

[Hiei-YYH]

being a mod at the stupid codebreaker site doesn't mean he has a clue about how the cheats work in VBA.

i commented that just because you said to me that i should "research", give me a break. don't try being an smart ass, because you don't know anything more than me when it comes to code hacking.

infact, VBA doesn't even support GSSP cheats, something which needs to be looked into. (tested with Firered/leaf green, all codes fail to have any effect.)

ok sir smart, gssp works if you use the seedgen enable code as the first code. and the codes DO work. if they aren't working, there are many reasons for it, the basic is you're using a different version or you're not smart enough to know which version you have?

here's a video that i made just now for firered, first battle in game. using EXP code. see the code working? :lol:

http://forums.ngemu.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=156267&stc=1&d=1201876516

OMG, i have 999 master ballzzzz... :dead:

[Squall-Leonhart]

Add the cheat via CBA and you will find that it still works.

ok, Hiei,
your confused it seems.

The add button just adds the codes, it doesn't determine whether they work or not, nor do they really judge the code used since the GSA cheat enter box was broken.

Since then, its been set to just use the CBA box, which you can see if you try to add an incorrect length code.

As tested, GSSP and GSA cheats (and action replay) all work via the Code breaker button, and in reverse, in the Gameshark advance button.

This just means that you have 2 buttons doing exactly the same thing, which is mostly useless.

The cheats themselves appear to be read from the cheatlist itself.

the goal is to remove 1 button, and in its place, put an Edit button.

[Dualscreenman]

If anyone wants to ever implement an svg splash, they can use this one I made, even if only as a placeholder for something better.

[Hiei-YYH]

Add the cheat via CBA and you will find that it still works.

ok, Hiei,
your confused it seems.

The add button just adds the codes, it doesn't determine whether they work or not, nor do they really judge the code used since the GSA cheat enter box was broken.

Since then, its been set to just use the CBA box, which you can see if you try to add an incorrect length code.

As tested, GSSP and GSA cheats (and action replay) all work via the Code breaker button, and in reverse, in the Gameshark advance button.

This just means that you have 2 buttons doing exactly the same thing, which is mostly useless.

The cheats themselves appear to be read from the cheatlist itself.

the goal is to remove 1 button, and in its place, put an Edit button.

I just don't like AR codes being entered in the same button as CB/GSSP

[mudlord]

Hiei and Squall: Can you's two please take your arguing to another thread please? This thread was meant to be about the new GUI in development, and instead I see a slinging match over cheats.

Dualscreenman: Thanks for the SVG, I'll take a look at it later when I read up more on Qt4 class structure.

[Squall-Leonhart]

its related to the points of the topic.

in my opinion, having 2 buttons that do the same thing, is a waste of space, that could be better used with another button that provides edit functions.

[TheCloudOfSmoke]

If anyone wants to ever implement an svg splash, they can use this one I made, even if only as a placeholder for something better.

Is it just a gradient from blue to white?

[Dualscreenman]

With the word VBA-M centered on it.
...but now that you mention it, it seems that it is broken and will only render fine in Inkscape. :(

[Spacy]

Ah, I already thought you did a pretty lame job on that one xD

[Dualscreenman]

Well, I fixed it. It was just Inkscape being gay and not displaying the svg like it would have been anywhere else. It turns out that the text box has a black background. Making the bg transparent fixed that. It's nothing too fancy, but at least it's not broken. ;P

I also made a mockup to show what VBA-M would look like with the splash background:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c355/Woremar/mocksplash.png

Now if only I could code better...

[TheCloudOfSmoke]

Black looks better IMO. Splash screens like the ones in ePSXe and Kawaks looks gimmicky.

[Dualscreenman]

This one, imo, is much better. It will appear a bit darker on the off-white colored VBA-M window, though if it turns out it needs to be darker/less transparent that'll be easily accomplished.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c355/Woremar/splash.png
I'd upload the actual SVG but I'm having trouble with the attachment system right now...