HELP NEEDED: Adding a dedicated "Games" library section to ALT Home Menu
#1
I am new to XBMC and this is my 1st attempt (and 1st post) at modding a skin, so I apologize for my "noob" questions. I am no skinner by any stretch of the imagination. I am more like a sad parrot tryign to copy what it hears. However, I was a user of Boxee for PC and did this mod successfully there, but I am failing dismally with the Xeebo for XBMC. With Boxee PC it was as easy as editing the Home.xml file by pointing onclick to launch respective plugin, change label name, and icon and add the icon to Media folder. With Xeebo, I am way over my head. Wiki has been somewhat helpful, but Confluence it is based on seems much easier that Xeebo.

Goal:
1. Add a "Games" menu item with icon to the Alternative Home Screen Menu. "Games" menu item will use the Advance Launcher Plugin to access my games library. Please note, I am not interested in adding the Advanced Launcher plugin as a favorite on the Homescreen. I would like a seamless, dedicated place with my Live TV, Videos, Pictures, etc. To achieve this, i have decided to replace "Favorites" with "Games." So i went looking for "Favorites" in the .xml files to replace with "Games" and that is where I am at a loss.

Problems:
1. Icons - I was able to extract the Textures.xbt file in the 720p/media folder. I found the icons needed are 48x48 and 112x112 .png's, so I made a Game icon in those sizes and put it in the 720p/media folder with the Textures.xbt file. I edited the .xml files to point to this game icon, but it did not take. Either I have edited the wrong .xml files or I suspect you cannot have both a Texxture.xbt file and .png icon outside of that package within the same 720p/media folder? I tried putting the extracted icons from the Texture.xbt file in the 720p/folder with my game icon, but that did not work at all. Icons came out crazy looking. And I ahev no idea how to add my game icon to the Texture.xbt file. Extracting the damn thing took me almost an hour to figure out how to do (Note++ with xbmc .xbt plugin).

2. Onclick - Am I even on the right track by editing the .xml for the onclick of this "Game" section to launch Advanced Launcher Plugin? Here is what I came up with:
<onclick>RunPlugin(plugin://plugin.program.advanced.launcher)</onclick>

3. Which .xml files need to be edited? The Home.xml does not appear to have anything referencing the "Favorites" to replace with "Games." Here are the .xml files I did find which I think needs to be edited:
- Custom_51_Main_Menu.xml
- includes_home_default.xml
I looked into just about each other .xml file in the 720p folder and could not find anything else needing changing. I was surpised that the "includes_home_default.xml" had the "Favorites" but the "includes_home_alt.xml" did not, since the Alt Homescreen is the one I will be using. At any rate, I edited these 2 .xml files by replacing "Favorites" with "Games" and pointing it to Advanced Launcher. However, the Alternative Home menu nor the Default Home Menu changed. Clearly I am missing something. Label still shows "Favorites", icon still same, and nothing launches.

Here is an example of the change I made to the "Favorites" by replacing it with "Games" in the .xml file:

<description>Games button</description>
<visible>Control.IsVisible(8104)</visible>
<width>220</width>
<height>74</height>
<control type="button" id="8104">
<posx>0</posx>
<posy>0</posy>
<width>220</width>
<height>74</height>
<texturenofocus>menu/menu_center.png</texturenofocus>
<texturefocus>menu/menu_center_on.png</texturefocus>

<onclick>RunPlugin(plugin://plugin.program.advanced.launcher)</onclick>

<onright>56</onright>
<onup>8103</onup>
<ondown>8105</ondown>
</control>
<control type="image">
<visible>!Control.HasFocus(8104)</visible>
<posx>0</posx>
<posy>0</posy>
<width>74</width>
<height>74</height>
<texture>icons/icon_menu_games.png</texture>
<colordiffuse>grey</colordiffuse>
</control>
<control type="image">
<visible>Control.HasFocus(8104)</visible>
<posx>0</posx>
<posy>0</posy>
<width>74</width>
<height>74</height>
<texture>icons/icon_menu_games.png</texture>
<colordiffuse>green</colordiffuse>
</control>
<control type="label">
<visible>!Control.HasFocus(8104)</visible>
<posx>66</posx>
<posy>0</posy>
<width>144</width>
<height>74</height>
<aligny>center</aligny>
<label>1036</label>
<font>font23</font>
<textcolor>grey</textcolor>
</control>
<control type="label">
<visible>Control.HasFocus(8104)</visible>
<posx>66</posx>
<posy>0</posy>
<width>144</width>
<height>74</height>
<aligny>center</aligny>
<label>1036</label>
<font>font23</font>
<textcolor>green</textcolor>
<scroll>true</scroll>
</control>
</control>

So, I seem to be way off track because the icon is not changing, the label is not changing, and the onclick is not launching Advanced Launcher. I have been at nearly 8 hours sadly and I am getting nowhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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#2
Have you tried a skin that has gaming already included, like Cirrus Extended Version 3?

See:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=153704

and screenshots (admittedly from version 2), including ones related to gaming at:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?pid...3pid802989
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Reply
#3
(2014-01-08, 18:45)elusien Wrote: Have you tried a skin that has gaming already included, like Cirrus Extended Version 3?

See:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=153704

and screenshots (admittedly from version 2), including ones related to gaming at:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?pid...3pid802989

@ elusien, thanks for suggestion. I think that is going to be what I need to do. I am wondering if I really want to fix up an old car that is not being supported anymore or just buy a new one. I really liked the Boxee-esqe UI of Xeebo, but there are som nay other skins that support what I am trying to do right -out-of-the-box so looks like thats the way I should go. Might still try to tinker with it, but with Hitcher gone, Xeebo not being updated for Gotham, guess it is time to move on.
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HELP NEEDED: Adding a dedicated "Games" library section to ALT Home Menu0