New Unified Megatheme - Other systems

[Unknown50862]

Not to forget it is also possible to run a xbox(360) game on the actual console through HyperSpin.

Is this also possible with the PS3 or Wii-U? If so, I might as well throw those themes together as well.

any pointers on how I can achieve that same "crispness"of the theme's that Gibba did ?

Sure but it requires a couple pre-requisites. Your theme needs to be laid out in a single Photoshop file, your artwork needs to be a decent resolution, and you'll need Adobe Flash.

- Open your theme in Photoshop and resize it to 1080p or greater. The best size is currently up for debate, so feel free to experiment a little. Personally, I use 1440p as my comparisons show significant improvement over 1080p, however Styphelus seemed to have opposite results. Still haven't found out what size Gibbawho uses, though I know it's greater than 1080p. I'd suggest trying a couple resolutions and comparing them in Hyperspin.

- Copy each resized artwork to its own file and save them individually.

- Now resize the theme to 1024x768, this is Hypertheme's inherit resolution and will tell you what to resize the artwork to in Flash.

- Open Flash and create a new ActionScript 3.0.

- Go to File > Import and choose one of the artwork files. Make sure to set it to Lossless (option on the right, forgot it's name).

- Get the size of that artwork from the resized Photoshop file and resize it to that in Flash. I'd recommend resizing the work area as well, but I don't believe it is necessary. A good way to get the size of a layer in Photoshop is to copy it and then create a new file from it. Photoshop will automatically set the height x width to match whatever is on the top of the clipboard.

- Go to File > Export and save it in .swf format.

- You should now have a Flash file of one piece of your theme, resized to fit into Hypertheme. Repeat the process for the other pieces and put them together in Hypertheme.

Also note that you can't do this with the video border, since Hypertheme won't let you use a .swf file. The way Gibbawho got around this, was he included the video border as part of the logo, which is also how he made the fancy animation for it as well. I haven't tried this yet, since my themes were mainly for low-end builds that couldn't handle his extra animations.

I wonder, how much interest would there be in a video of the process? I'm sure it could benefit themes outside of this project, assuming designers use Photoshop to get their layouts in advance.

[KlopjerO]

This is excellent thanks unknown( for some reason sound garden starts playing in my head(alive in the super unknown)) I'll need to change how I've been tackling themes, so far. And need to understand flash better..which is still a source of frustration, as it work so counter intuitive. Kind of like the pen tool

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Styphelus]

As Unknown50862 mentioned, there's a discrepancy in my themes and his themes. Mine show up with jagged edges in his setup and his show up with jagged edges on my setup. We don't know why but because of that, he recreated my themes at 1440 and I recreated his themes at 1080 because that's what looked best in each if our setups- crazy I know!

If someone else could test the themes from his folder and compare them to the ones on my folder (not the handhelds-Unknown50862 did those) and let us know which looks crisper, please do. It could very well be an issue on my end. I'm using a 27" Asus LED at 1920x1080, ATI 7850 video card and 52" LCD Samsung TV 1080p.

Feedback would be appreciated so we can start using one single resolution for all themes.

[KlopjerO]

lol I have such a humble setup.. anyway I edited the MSX theme. How's this Polem?

[PacMan7]

I really like the new MSX. it's not Dark and every thing pop's.

Does the background move ?

[PacMan7]

Here's the Playstation 3 Theme I made. Tell me what you think. The ship on Top Moves in and out if the screen.

[manicshere]

Here's the Playstation 3 Theme I made. Tell me what you think. The ship on Top Moves in and out if the screen.

Doesn't fit the look and style of the other themes which is the point of the unified theme.

As a theme by itself though it really needs a background other than a solid black. Plenty of high quality resources to take from for this era. IMO things just looks thrown in there with very different art styles and color palettes. They don't go to well together and you could easily do with half the stuff or less. Lastly, and this might just be me, but the parts of the theme looks stretched or squeezed?

Don't get discouraged by my comment and feel free to PM me if you have any questions

[KlopjerO]

Here's the Playstation 3 Theme I made. Tell me what you think. The ship on Top Moves in and out if the screen.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38563[/ATTACH]

Doesn't fit the look and style of the other themes which is the point of the unified theme.

As a theme by itself though it really needs a background other than a solid black. Plenty of high quality resources to take from for this era. IMO things just looks thrown in there with very different art styles and color palettes. They don't go to well together and you could easily do with half the stuff or less. Lastly, and this might just be me, but the parts of the theme looks stretched or squeezed?

Don't get discouraged by my comment and feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Unknown has Posted Unified themes of the current and for last generation of consoles, in the Unified Megatheme thread.

[leperwdup]

Thanks guys some great work happening here keep it up

[THK]

I know I stole that vid border and used it on a Dreamcast theme I did way back in 2009.... it doesn't fit this theme at all, any square border with a metal/chrome texture and some bevel/emboss would be 10 times better.

[PacMan7]

I made it a year and a half ago. Thanks for the comment manicshere. I redid it tell me what you think ? Unknown I like what you made keep up the Great work.

Relic this should be what you wanted.

[Unknown50862]

I made it a year and a half ago. Thanks for the comment manicshere. I redid it tell me what you think ? Unknown I like what you made keep up the Great work.

Relic this should be what you wanted.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38587[/ATTACH]

To be fair, all the themes I've done are Gibbawho's designs, the creator of the unified project. I'm merely taking his Photoshop files and turning them into themes.

For your work though, the point of the unified themes is that they all follow the same layout; video center with common border, logo centered at the top, console on one side, and mascot on the other. Yours doesn't really fit any of that, so it's missing the "unified" part of the project. If you look at the themes in this thread and the other main thread, you should get an idea of the pattern.

[PacMan7]

I see what your saying Unkown58862. I just leave it to you guys then. I will put it in my FTP folder if any one wants the other style.

[Styphelus]

They all follow the same layout; video center with common border, logo centered at the top, console on one side, and mascot on the other.

LOL! You would think that after so many themes with the same layout, it would be really obvious.

[PacMan7]

It is obvious but no one had up a PS3 theme and I made one for PS3 and Xbox. All I wanted to do was share what I made awhile back.

[KlopjerO]

Gees, I come down with my morning coffee and I actualy see activity in this thread. Hoping to find some feedback or a compliment maybe... Instead I find a hissy fit. I would like some feedback I can work with. Video borders resizing a bit, how about the backgrounds? What about the choice of mascot?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[manicshere]

I made it a year and a half ago. Thanks for the comment manicshere. I redid it tell me what you think ? Unknown I like what you made keep up the Great work.

Relic this should be what you wanted.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38587[/ATTACH]

Still needs another BG in my opinion , but it's clearly an improvement. When it comes to themes and artwork it's great to have a selection. Something to choose from.

[manicshere]

lol I have such a humble setup.. anyway I edited the MSX theme. How's this Polem?

Don't know the MSX well enough to have an artistic feel for it, but like what you have done with it so far.

I have a suggestion for the BG. Bring a bit of dynamic to it by breaking the parallel lines and have the logos follow a similar pattern as seen in gibbawhos themes. Still iffy about the gradient, but I'm actually warming up to it. It suits the content of the theme.

Enjoy your coffee

[relic]

well i think it looks better with a widescreen tv in it and the chars seems to fit better now as well

im refering to the ps3 theme sparky did

[KlopjerO]

Have been busy with flash these past couple of days. and with some results

Commodore 64 background - https://db.tt/uDp1fkkI

feedback would be great I mean I know it's not much to look at, but it's a start. I coudn't see any weird jumps in the scrolling so I think it looks okay.

[Polemicist]

Flash rocks and if I saw that smiley face on the top of my morning coffee violence would ensue.

[gibbawho]

I love where you're going with these. My only suggestion so far is go a bit bigger with some of your artwork. Its tough to find a size balance when you're working with different size/aspect logos from theme to theme. Just try and minimize that negative space.

Good job on the animated backgrounds so far. Looks like you're learning it pretty well!

Also, if you're wanting to match them better to mine... snag my high-res video border. I can send you a psd of it... although you'll have to do my flash video border trick to actually display them in theme.

[AlexDC22]

Have been busy with flash these past couple of days. and with some results

Commodore 64 background - https://db.tt/uDp1fkkI

feedback would be great I mean I know it's not much to look at, but it's a start. I coudn't see any weird jumps in the scrolling so I think it looks okay.

haha freaking nice brother...youve have cought on fast.

just keep at it brother...that animated BG looks very good

Regards

Alex

[gibbawho]

BTW don't let the criticism get you down. When i first started doing themes i got some real harsh backlash on some of it.

THK literally called an old Wii theme of mine "the worst of these i've seen" once

Gets your skin thick and makes you better. Cherish it.

[relic]

i love the idea of animated flash backgrounds