Can I customize icons for a custom playlist?

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

I’ve created my own playlist for the Super Famicom because I’d like to keep translations separated from the main SNES group. Can I customize the icons and simply use the SNES ones?

From my last question I think I’ve worked out how to import custom box thumbnails (I like to rotate all Japan boxes to vertical so that the spacing is consistent) so we’re good there.

Edit: spoke too soon. It looks like custom playlists don’t connect to any image folder? Edit edit: oops. I needed to add one more folder, my bad. Attaching a screen to show what I’m doing:

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image3785×1622 1.49 MB

#2

find the regular SNES playlist’s icon, make a copy of it and then rename it to match the name of your custom playlist. The icons are based entirely on matching the filename to the playlist name.

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#3

Thanks, got it.

And if I have rom and box thumbnail names matching but they don’t show up in Retroarch, is there something obvious I should look for?

#4

they need to be in specific subdirectories, I think…? and their filename needs to match the game’s name in the playlist, not the game’s filename.

#5

Ah ok. I’ll check that out.

#6

Hmm. I’ll attach a few screens as I might be missing something.

This title isn’t displaying a thumbnail. The title should be the same as the filename:

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image3227×709 215 KB

I copied the image name right from the playlist:

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image3204×1371 1.26 MB

And the following title works just fine:

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image2818×1674 929 KB

Other titles that don’t work so far:

  • Dragon Quest I & II (Japan) (patched)
  • Dragon Quest VI - Maboroshi no Daichi (Japan) (patched)
  • Dragon Quest III - Soshite Densetsu (Japan) (patched)
#7

I tried working with DQ I and II in case name length causes any problems. I tried renaming the label and thumbnail to “Dragon Quest I & II” and refreshed the playlist, no luck. I tried reverting the thumbnail back to “Dragon Quest I & II (Japan) (patched)”, no luck. I tried reverting the label back to “Dragon Quest I & II (Japan) (patched)”, no luck.

Could it be something to do with the image format?

#8

could be, yeah. Make sure they’re in png format (and not just jpgs renamed to *.png, which is shockingly common). Also, I know some special characters, like ampersands, can cause problems and are replaced with underscores or something like that (sorry I can’t be more specific; I don’t mess with this stuff myself).

#9

That’s no problem. It helps to get feedback from outside my own head as well.

#10

Good news. You jogged my brain and I had forgotten that I didn’t save every single one of the images in the folder. Some of them were, in fact, jpgs. I re-saved them as pngs and they do work. There’s a couple-three not working properly now. One might be the ampersand nomenclature and I’m not sure about the other.

#11

As hunterk told you, it is only compatible with png. And the special characters are changed. If you have doubts, it is very useful to search in created lists to see how it changes the name.

Are you on PC? The best option (or the easiest) to add thumbnails is to use ‘Show Desktop Menu’. You load it in the main menu or with F6.

It is just drag the image, the process is automatic, it creates the folders, puts the correct name and converts it to png if it is in jpg.

You can move the panels for convenience.

Drag the image into the box…

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image1293×926 235 KB

Created thumbnail, note that changed : by _

image

#12

Oh wow I’ll try that. I honestly either didn’t know or had forgotten that RA has this mode.

#13

Oh also, I’m on PC but also have an Ayn Odin 2. My desire is to get cross-play working as much as possible using either Syncthing or OneDrive.

#14

I was using Mega, for some time. You can have synchronized roms, saves, states, thumbnails, but playlists need to be done manually.
I edited the directories and put everything that could be synced into a separate folder, and synced only that folder.

Another thing, I see you use unzipped games, yes? Maybe you save some space if you use .zip.

#15

You’re right of course. But I don’t notice any delays much whether zipped or not and I’m using a 1tb micro-sd so not hurting for space. :slight_smile:

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#16

When it comes to emulation, 1TB may be too little. :face_with_hand_over_mouth:
But it can be done either way, whichever way is most comfortable for you.

I have tested games for PURE/Windows up to 7 CD’s (all together in one zip) and load almost instantly, Zip accesses the files directly, 7z on the other hand, if can generate very long load times.

1 Like