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Enhanced Bezel and Artwork Support for Vertical Arcade Systems

LaunchBox for Windows

šŸ“‹ Summary

Improve support for vertical (portrait) arcade setups by enabling automatic use of top and bottom bezels, marquees, and control panel artwork for vertical MAME games.

ā— Problem

When using a vertical screen setup:

  • Vertical MAME games display with no bezels or artwork

  • The screen shows only the raw game image, leaving unused space above and below

  • Existing bezel setups are primarily designed for horizontal displays (left and right bezels)

  • Vertical specific presentation feels incomplete compared to horizontal setups

Other frontends (e.g., CoinOps) enhance vertical games with integrated artwork, creating a more immersive experience.

šŸ’” Proposal

Add enhanced support for vertical arcade systems:

  • Detect when a game is vertical orientation

  • Support top and bottom bezels instead of left and right

  • Allow inclusion of:

    • Marquees

    • Control panel artwork

    • Custom vertical layouts

  • Integrate with existing bezel systems or allow dedicated vertical artwork packs

šŸ“¦ Benefits

  • Improves presentation for vertical arcade cabinets

  • Makes better use of screen space on portrait displays

  • Brings parity between horizontal and vertical setups

  • Enhances immersion with arcade style artwork layouts

šŸ’” Notes

  • Should work alongside existing bezel project integrations

  • Could be optional or auto detected based on screen orientation

  • May require theme or bezel pack support for best results

Posted by miremare Ā·
Status: Open To Community3 comments

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Comments3

  • AstroBob changed status to Open To Community
    Teamā€¢

    Mar 23

    Pinned

    Hi there!

    Thanks so much for submitting this request and for taking the time to explain your use case ā€” that context is always super helpful.

    Iā€™ve gone ahead and fleshed out the main idea using the info you provided, and Iā€™m opening it up to the community for further discussion and feedback. Please let me know if this fleshed-out version doesnā€™t match your original intended request.

    Feel free to let me know if you have any extra thoughts, examples, or edge cases you think might be relevant!

    Cheers,
    The LaunchBox team

    • miremare

      ā€¢

      Mar 23

      Looks good than you for looking into it

  • miremare

    ā€¢

    Mar 23

    Currently horizontal systems are prioritised and any vertical games are displayed with bezels left and right .( this is when using a landscape screen )

    When a full or part mame set is imported , they are scraped under arcade. Once complete if you select ā€œvertical systemsā€( and play on a portrait or vertical screen) , currently approx 1300 titles , and play a game , itā€™s just the plain game , no top and bottom bezels or marquees on a vertical system .

    Coin ops do a good job at spicing up vertical games on a vertical system.

    They have marquees , control panels built into the bezels for each system.

    There are only a few titles they have done and it would nice to have the same feature when set up through launchbox

    Photo 3 is my horizontal cab , once scraped , and bezel project downloaded.

    Photo 2 is the vertical system running a vertical mame rom ( once scraped ) there is nothing at all just the game screen.

    Photo 1 is what coinops offer , they have incorporated marquees into bezels for a few games only , makes a difference and looks nice