Homebrew [Release] Homebrew Launcher with grid layout

[Greiga Master]

I got this, I used the attached banner. Help?View attachment 30116

No need to cut out the titlescreen logo like that. Here's the original image.

 

[dark_samus3]

@mashers - i hope it will be possible in future to enter your gridlauncher via cia app (gridlauncher.cia) like this one:
http://gbatemp.net/threads/homebrew-channel-3d-an-alternative-way-to-load-homebrew-on-cfw.403461/

currently im using themehax on sysnand
and cubic ninja in emunand
but i think its much faster if gridlaucher.cia will be the entrypoint in emunand at the same time, we can exit HB without going back to sysnand.

See the thing is, unless Mashers is using a different payload (I'm pretty sure he isn't) then when THAT (the post you linked to) works its just as easy as replacing boot.3dsx on your SD card with Mashers launcher and you're done

 

[daxtsu]

See the thing is, unless Mashers is using a different payload (I'm pretty sure he isn't) then when THAT (the post you linked to) works its just as easy as replacing boot.3dsx on your SD card with Mashers launcher and you're done

The launcher(s) is/are completely separate from the payloads, so you're correct. If a CIA-based 3dsx launcher gets made, it shouldn't matter what launcher you use for boot.3dsx, unless that other CIA-based project hard-codes the launcher like it does now (it'd be more ideal to eventually have it pull in boot.3dsx though, so one can use whatever).

 

[mashers]

You have no idea how perfect your timing was. The notification arrived *exactly* when I pressed Enter on creating the thread. Here it is: http://gbatemp.net/threads/mashers-grid-launcher-homebrew-app-banners.403632/
@mashers could you add this in the OP?

I've just added it mate. Thank you!

Are you going to make banners work with xml shortcuts?

Yes this is already logged as an issue on GitHub.

I got this, I used the attached banner. Help?View attachment 30116

Looks like the image is the wrong size or the wrong format.

@mashers - i hope it will be possible in future to enter your gridlauncher via cia app (gridlauncher.cia)

As others have said, having a specific CIA for one launcher would be very inflexible. It would mean replacing and reinstalling the CIA when a new version is released. It would be better for a generic 3dsx booter to be made into a CIA (i.e. a CIA which incorporates the hax and then launches boot.3dsx from the SD card). That way the boot.3dsx can be replaced at any point. I have neither the technical ability nor the access to CFW to make this happen though.

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Opinions needed!

I have once again reached the limit of the amount of code which can be added to the launcher. I tried to add banners to folders, and the launcher crashed when launching anything. So I once again need to start removing unneeded code in order to allow new features to be added. I have already stripped out everything which can be removed from tinyxml, and have optimised elsewhere quite a bit (but there is probably more that could be done).

For now, so that I can get folder banners working, I have removed the code which makes the water excite when keys are pressed. This was already optional, but it doesn't seem like an important feature any more. I just want to check with you guys if you think it is important for this feature to be present.

 

[ihaveahax]

Opinions needed!

I have once again reached the limit of the amount of code which can be added to the launcher. I tried to add banners to folders, and the launcher crashed when launching anything. So I once again need to start removing unneeded code in order to allow new features to be added. I have already stripped out everything which can be removed from tinyxml, and have optimised elsewhere quite a bit (but there is probably more that could be done).

For now, so that I can get folder banners working, I have removed the code which makes the water excite when keys are pressed. This was already optional, but it doesn't seem like an important feature any more. I just want to check with you guys if you think it is important for this feature to be present.

I still hold that the screenshot feature is redundant since *hax 2.5 has this feature now. the latest update to it helped crashes that happened when you took too many in one session. if it gets to that point, please consider this.

 

[daxtsu]

I have once again reached the limit of the amount of code which can be added to the launcher.

This is why i wish there was a standard CIA homebrew launcher, for all firmwares, instead of having to use these gspwn hacks (not saying you should do anything about it @mashers, just thinking out loud). Then there would be no code size limit (other than RAM and such). Oh well, one can dream. :/

 

[Vague Rant]

@mashers Personally I like the water exciting, but not so much that I'd be terribly upset to see it gone.

Perhaps another option for making more space available would be making gridlauncher more modular. e.g. Portions of gridlauncher could be split off into separate homebrews so that their code is not included in the launcher itself. Of course, things could still appear in the launcher's menus, much as the updater does currently. I assume areas like the gridlauncher theme editor are probably fairly large and would free up a lot of space if split away.

 

[mashers]

I still hold that the screenshot feature is redundant since *hax 2.5 has this feature now. the latest update to it helped crashes that happened when you took too many in one session. if it gets to that point, please consider this.

Good point. There's quite a lot of code there. I do think that it's easier to take screenshots with the function built in to the launcher since you don't need scrtool to convert it to a PNG, but of all the features to strip out, one which is technically redundant would be the most favourable.

This is why i wish there was a standard CIA homebrew launcher, for all firmwares, instead of having to use these gspwn hacks (not saying you should do anything about it @mashers, just thinking out loud). Then there would be no code size limit (other than RAM and such). Oh well, one can dream. :/

The problem is that this would make the launcher inaccessible for users on FW >9.2. So I would prefer to work within the constraints of the current hax to ensure everyone can use it.

@mashers Personally I like the water exciting, but not so much that I'd be terribly upset to see it gone.

Perhaps another option for making more space available would be making gridlauncher more modular. e.g. Portions of gridlauncher could be split off into separate homebrews so that their code is not included in the launcher itself. Of course, things could still appear in the launcher's menus, much as the updater does currently. I assume areas like the gridlauncher theme editor are probably fairly large and would free up a lot of space if split away.

I have actually been considering moving the entire settings menu into a separate app. This would be a last resort though, as it would be quite disruptive to have to effectively quit the launcher every time you want to change a setting.

 

[ihaveahax]

@mashers Personally I like the water exciting, but not so much that I'd be terribly upset to see it gone.

Perhaps another option for making more space available would be making gridlauncher more modular. e.g. Portions of gridlauncher could be split off into separate homebrews so that their code is not included in the launcher itself. Of course, things could still appear in the launcher's menus, much as the updater does currently. I assume areas like the gridlauncher theme editor are probably fairly large and would free up a lot of space if split away.

I have actually been considering moving the entire settings menu into a separate app. This would be a last resort though, as it would be quite disruptive to have to effectively quit the launcher every time you want to change a setting.

moving all the settings would be very annoying indeed. but I agree with Vague Rant on the theme editor: it's not something that has to be accessed often, so it can be split off into a separate app.

you know this gives me a little idea hmm... I'm not too familiar with grid launcher themes (don't use them myself) but it shouldn't be that hard to poke around the format.

 

[daxtsu]

The problem is that this would make the launcher inaccessible for users on FW >9.2. So I would prefer to work within the constraints of the current hax to ensure everyone can use it.

I know, that's why I said on all firmwares. Having to skirt around with these user-mode hacks using gspwn with these limitations is silly if you ask me. But I'm getting off-topic, so I'll stop.

 

[mashers]

moving all the settings would be very annoying indeed. but I agree with Vague Rant on the theme editor: it's not something that has to be accessed often, so it can be split off into a separate app.

I'll certainly consider this. It should make quite a bit of space as there are a number of functions which are only used in the theme settings (like the slider code). Even creating the menus is a lot of code so could be moved into a separate app.

you know this gives me a little idea hmm... I'm not too familiar with grid launcher themes (don't use them myself) but it shouldn't be that hard to poke around the format.

Are you thinking of creating a custom theme format? If so, I have been considering the same. If the images were stored in .bin format then the PNG code could be stripped out along with libpng, which would save a LOT of executable space. A converter app could then be written to take the existing folder structure and convert it to a packaged up theme with pre-converted images (PNG->bin). This would also make theme loading much faster as the PNG converting and image rotating would already be done.

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I know, that's why I said on all firmwares. Having to skirt around with these user-mode hacks using gspwn with these limitations is silly if you ask me. But I'm getting off-topic, so I'll stop.

OIC, sorry I assumed you meant all firmwares which currently have CFW access

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Are you thinking of creating a custom theme format? If so, I have been considering the same. If the images were stored in .bin format then the PNG code could be stripped out along with libpng, which would save a LOT of executable space. A converter app could then be written to take the existing folder structure and convert it to a packaged up theme with pre-converted images (PNG->bin). This would also make theme loading much faster as the PNG converting and image rotating would already be done.

I actually like this idea so much that I'm going to add it as an issue.

 

[dark_samus3]

Out of curiosity, why move anything... Since the payload is running fully by the time you have the launcher loaded why not use what the payload offers all applications; full memory access, then use it like any other app would so the entire settings menu would get loaded after the payload fully booted the launcher and then would allocate some RAM elsewhere and load settings there

 

[ihaveahax]

Are you thinking of creating a custom theme format? If so, I have been considering the same. If the images were stored in .bin format then the PNG code could be stripped out along with libpng, which would save a LOT of executable space. A converter app could then be written to take the existing folder structure and convert it to a packaged up theme with pre-converted images (PNG->bin). This would also make theme loading much faster as the PNG converting and image rotating would already be done.

actually no, creating another format wouldn't be of much use I think. creating an editor for the existing one though would remove quite a bit of code from the launcher though.

if you'd like to keep the editor in though, that's fine.

 

[daxtsu]

OIC, sorry I assumed you meant all firmwares which currently have CFW access

Naw, *every* firmware, like the PSP's glory days. Having kernel access is much more of a boon than piracy is. Gives you a lot more freedom with memory and what services you have access to.

 

[mashers]

Out of curiosity, why move anything... Since the payload is running fully by the time you have the launcher loaded why not use what the payload offers all applications; full memory access, then use it like any other app would so the entire settings menu would get loaded after the payload fully booted the launcher and then would allocate some RAM elsewhere and load settings there

Actually the menu is populated after the launcher has booted - the first time you open it in fact. The issue is that every instruction you add uses up the available RX memory for the app, which is limited in the current hax. Those instructions need to be there whether you populate the menu on boot or after boot, so the issue remains.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Just uploaded beta 116 to the online updater:

• Adds banners for folders. Same format as app banners. Put them in the folder and call the file folder-banner.png
• Removed screenshots for now to make space for new features. This might come back later, but for now use the home button to take screenshots using the screenshot feature built in to hax 2.5.

 

[Jwiz33]

This is just getting better and better! I don't even need my home menu!
I did find a bug, but I will make a pull request on github for it.

 

[shoemaker]

This is incredibly minor, but the "the homebrew launcher" logo no longer has spaces between the words like it used to (you can see the old look in the screenshots in the OP). Now, it's just one word with homebrew bolded. Personally, I think the older one looked better.

 

[kedest]

Does the online updater simply always overwrite boot.3dsx on root, or does it really know where gridlauncher is actually running from?
I'm curious because my boot.3dsx is the ctrboot manager, and it points to gridboot.3dsx as the actual launcher

 

[Jwiz33]

Does the online updater simply always overwrite boot.3dsx on root, or does it really know where gridlauncher is actually running from?
I'm curious because my boot.3dsx is the ctrboot manager, and it points to gridboot.3dsx as the actual launcher

You can change it in a config file to gridboot.3dsx

 

[SG6000]

Personally I'd be very happy to see the water effect removed entirely.

I mean, it was nice for Smealum to originally put it into the original Homebrew Launcher if only to demonstrate that simple animated flourishes were possible to implement - but it's the very definition of pointless unwanted code in my book.