About My Image Packs Here on Patreon
Tired of janky, faded, pixelated, non-identical, or even incorrect artwork that automatically downloads inside your emulator frontends when you import ROMs? Maybe you're even seeing chunks of missing covers? Well, I have a solution - My complete image packs!
Here is an example of the quality boost you will get from my image packs by becoming a Patreon member (Miniboss and above):
Please actually download and zoom the full-sized sample files at the -bottom- of this post to see the differences I mention here. You can only see compressed, automatically scaled images on Patreon, apparently.
The image on the left is from the highest quality image pack currently on the Launchbox forums. Mine is on the right, which is clearer and shows more sharp details (the most obvious spots are the title logo, the stars, and the ship's blue thruster above the "B" in "Virtual Boy").
This other sample shows how the same image pack from Launchbox on the left has an imperfect (still dust-speckled, blurry, missing white borders on the sides of the art) fan-made cover for "Niko-chan Battle," but why? Actual art of the prototype box exists! I took that art and made a new North American-style cover for it that matches the rest of the set a whole lot better.
Check out the cover above. Even at just 1000 pixels tall and a standard 72 dpi, you can see that all details are very crisp in my images, even when stretched by sites like this! Most other existing packs are at 600 px size or below. I use what I know from being in the graphics and print industries for so many years with a little touch of AI scaling that only sharpens and doesn't blob shit out. For titles that are missing original designs, I use whatever best official art exists, clean it up and scale it, and fit it into pixel-perfect box templates so you can't tell the difference as you scroll through your collection.
All images are uniform in a given pack:
"2D box" cover style
1000 px at the shortest dimension
Every picture is the exact same size, down to the pixel
As crisp as possible
Universally compatible 72 dpi .png files
New Images created for prototypes and unreleased titles using crystal clear box art to match
All files match the filenames for the games in the set for easy import or manual replacement
Recommended patch artwork and covers for game-related extras included
These should be virtually future-proof, as they are sharp .pngs. Even if a few years from now, we need images to be double this size to give small previews on devices and screens, they will easily AI upscale and be just as crisp.
For now, the balance of 1000 px and the higher quality PNG pixel data (over JPG) makes for image packs that are gorgeous, but still fast-loading. This is the only way to roll!
Like so.
Here is another sample you'll want to download and zoom to see the big differences.
Even at first glance, you can tell that my cover (on the right) for this Neo Geo Pocket game is less washed out, more color balanced, and crisper than the one on the left that I found in the best image pack available on the Launchbox forums. I also chose to include the European cover, which has more English (that matches the set better).
Here is another example of that pack (left) versus mine (on the right). No download even needed on this one, the quality bump is obvious at first glance. Again, using the English copy.
Usually, folks will combine ROM sets from the monochrome and color versions of a handheld - The NGP/NGPC is a prime example of this since there were only a handful of non-color games released. Since the majority of the Neo Geo Pocket Color image pack has perfectly square art, I did decide to make every cover (including the previously vertical-only monochrome Neo Geo Pocket game boxes) square to look fresh and flush in any emulator front-end.
I sincerely hope this fixes a lot of headaches for you and that you enjoy getting to use the same images that I put into my setups!
Make sure to download and zoom in on the samples below for the full experience: