PS3 Covers Aspect Ratio Request

[jt-gilkeson]

I just started using webMAN MOD and I'm really impressed with it!
There was one thing that was an immediate let down though - the PS3 covers being squished into squares (not displaying the box art in the correct aspect ratio). My understanding is that the XMB displays only squares and it's automatically squashing these non-square images.

In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Sks7vit58 the guy shows how to get the images and add transparent padding to the sides which fixes the aspect ratio that displays on the XMB for your PS3 Games list in webMAN MOD.

If there isn't a built-in or package solution for this yet (if there is, please let me know), I'd like to request a hopefully low hanging fruit fix for this that will be easy for the community to use:

1. Create and host an alternative PS3 covers package (hopefully just a quick batch process to generate) that has the padding built in - people who want the covers to look right on the XMB could install this package as an alternative of the current Covers for PS3 Games
2. Build in a setting to webMAN MOD that runs a script that will batch update the installed normal covers to add the transparent padding to the sides of them for people who want to enable that (either one time on the source covers, or on a game-by-game basis when the xml rescan discovers the new games).

[jimhew]

I normally add a border to my photos on Microsoft Paint and make them transparent using Photopea online. Easy and quick enough to do once you get used to it. That way I can pick exactly which boxart I want and use that. I make my overall picture size 194x194 pixels and adjust the boxart to fit inside that (194 vertical or horizontal depending on the boxart).

However I'm curious as I'm unable to get them to work for PS3 games. PS1, PS2 and ROMS all show up transparent PNG pictures but wMAN won't show them for the PS3 games. It only let's me display JPG images which are then forced into a square shape. This is using the MM Covers option in setup, I've replaced the MM Covers pack with images of my own but kept them in the same directory.

[ghost]

One possible solution is to create a separate package of PS3 covers that have the transparent padding built in. This package can be hosted and made available for download to those who want to use it as an alternative to the current Covers for PS3 Games package. However, this would require someone to manually create and maintain this package.

Another solution could be to build in a setting to webMAN MOD that runs a script to batch update the installed normal covers to add transparent padding to the sides of them. This can be done either on a one-time basis for the source covers or on a game-by-game basis when the xml rescan discovers new games. This would require some development work to implement and test, but it would provide a more automated solution for users who want to enable this feature.

[aldostools]

I recommend to read the wiki section about Covers. This subject is discussed in details and I recommend tools to create proper cover packs. https://github.com/aldostools/webMAN-MOD/wiki/Game-Paths-&-Covers#covers

The cover packs in the resources repository use semi-squared images; they are not perfect but make distorted image less obvious. It is also known that some images are not 100% correct. They are provided only to help the users to start with something. It is responsibility of the users to setup their games & covers to their like.

I welcome any initiative of create a complete database of covers with proper images.