System Metadata Files for ES-DE
This repo contains XML files that add system metadata variables for use in themes created for ES-DE
The files leverage ES-DE variables to allow the values to be used in any theme agnostic of how the theme is structured.
It also includes a _default.xml that can be used as a temporary fallback for when new systems are added to ES-DE
Each file provides the following metadata variables:
systemDescription - A description of the systemsystemReleaseYear - The year the system was released (when available)systemReleaseDate - The date the system was released in ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) format. If only the month and year was known then the format is YYYY-MM. If only the year was known then the format is YYYY.systemReleaseDateFormated - A formated version of the release date in Month Day, Year format. If only the month and year was known then the format is Month Year. If only the year was known then the format is Year.systemManufacturer - Represents the original Manufacturer of the system.systemHardwareType - A value to represent the systems type (e.g. Console. Portable, Computer, etc...)systemColor - A hex value to represent a systems primary color (can be used for things like backgrounds or navigation highlights)systemColorPalette1...4 - 4 different hex values to represent other colors that can be used for a system (useful for things like color bands)systemCoverSize - Represents the common aspect ratio for a given system's cover artwork. Can be used to customize the size of grids and carousels that display cover art.
- Current set of sizes:
4-3, 1-1, 3-4, 1-2, 3-5, 5-7, 243-340, 257-229
- Using these values you can define width/height for just this set and those sizes will apply automatically to a given system.
Usage
- Download the latest release of this repo and place it in a dedicated folder in your theme.
- I recommend a dedicated folder like this:
/_inc/systems/metadata-global/
- This approach will make it easier to update when changes are made.
- Include a reference to files at the top of your root theme.xml file
- As an example; I add the following includes in my themes:
<include>./_inc/systems/metadata-global/_default.xml</include> - default file for fallback use cases<include>./_inc/systems/metadata-global/${system.theme}.xml</include> - the system specific xml file
- Reference a value using the variable names listed above
- For example if you wanted to add system specific colors to a UI element you would refernece
${systemColor} for that value
Contributions
- If you see any existing values that should be updated with more accurate data; please submit an issue or PR to this repo. Make sure to include the system, specific change and the reason for the change in your request.
- If you have an idea for a new variable to add; please submitt an issue to this repo with details of the variable and what it could be used for.
Examples
| CodyWheel |
CoinOPS |
 |
 |
Implements: systemDescription, systemReleaseYear, systemManufacturer and systemHardwareType |
Implements: systemDescription |
| Colorful (Revisited) |
Colorful (Simplified) |
 |
 |
Implements: systemColor, systemDescription, systemManufacturer, systemReleaseYear, and systemHardwareType |
Implements: systemColor, systemDescription, systemManufacturer, systemReleaseYear, systemCoverSize, and systemHardwareType |
| Diamond |
Epic Noir (Next) |
 |
 |
Implements: systemManufacturer and systemReleaseYear |
Implements: systemColor, systemDescription, systemReleaseYear, and systemHardwareType |
| Showcase |
SimCar |
 |
 |
Implements: systemDescription |
Implements: systemDescription |
Credits
- Some descriptions, release dates & manufacturer details were sourced from the wikipedia entries for each system
- Some descriptions were sourced from ckau-book
- Some release date and manufacturer details were sourced from the Launchbox platforms list
- System colors were sourced from the great work done by viking from their work on the Colorful theme for Launchbox and @rogs123 from their work on the NSO Menu theme for ES-DE
- System Cover sizes were sourced from examples on screenscraper.fr
License
Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
You are free to share and adapt these files as long as you provide attribution back as well share any updates you make under the same licence terms.
