[BG] SGFX Override - Main Menu Override + D.I.Y. Goodies - Read the description carefully.

This is my SEVENTH standalone neurodiversity-friendly SGFX Override.

There are TWO (2) variants of this override. Only ONE (1) can be active in your Mods folder at any given time:

• MainMenuMeltsMyEA - I wear my credits on my sleeve and this is the first time I'm able to put it directly into my work like this. The "Version Info" contains the names of every creator who indirectly led me down this path, in alphabetical order but starting with Neri. Each of these names are interactive and clicking on any of them will take you to the creator profiles of said creator.
• MainMenuMeltsMyEA_VariantQ - Removes all names, including my own because it looked weird to me with just mine, however, I re-configured the "Hijacked" text to bring you back to my creator pag- maybe I should've linked it to the project page? Smarty pants. Next update.

1. STEP 1 - Download "MainMenuMeltsMyEA" or "MainMenuMeltsMyEA_VariantQ".
2. STEP 4 - Download "ArcaneTeaserS02" or head on over to my "Custom Backgrounds" post on Patreon (linked at the end of this description) where I showcase artwork from various creators, with credit. Fair warning, the post is still a bit of a mess.

I cobbled this together using bits of the basic code modifications found in ellesimsworld, LunarBritney, NISANE, and SimMattically's overrides, with some knowledge gained from weerbesu back when I was making my first SGFX override. Since then, I've given this considerably more time than I thought I would - dissecting EAxis' code in an attempt to understand it better and manipulate it further. Learning new things is fun, kids!

This has finally evolved enough that I feel like I can share it around.

Here's a condensed list of everything this currently does:

• Includes my LABRAT fix for Ultrawide Main Menu UI Scaling. Let me know if you encounter issues. Fingers crossed that Ultrawide Main Menu Background Scaling can be fixed - it can, I just need to rewrite the code successfully.
• "Basic" stuff seen in other places, including disabling the "Live Background", adding a transparency toggle (press "S"), and my take on hiding the Household Portrait (with easy options to re-enable it).
• Fun "me" stuff, including extending the transparency toggle so it covers most of the HOME tab and all of the STORE tab, an interactive "Version Info" that I'm quite proud of, changing the hover text and background color for "Version Info", and changing the background color for the "Resume / New Game" button.

For two things - well, one thing really, and I already fixed Ultrawide Main Menu UI Scaling.

1. Ultrawide Main Menu Background Scaling - this one I think I can test by myself now that I understand it better.
2. I think I know how to kill the fullscreen pop-up ads - I cannot test this on my own because I cannot yet figure out how to force these ads to appear every time the game launches, so I'm left just waiting to see if an ad pops up. More eyes on this would be really helpful and I'd be able to eliminate what doesn't work faster than having to wait til I see my next ad. Also, if anyone who understands Scale Form GFX modding or the coding used within would like to chime in, I'd be thankful for the assist, and we can totes share this errwhere so no one ever has to see a pop-up ad ever again!

Both NISANE and SimMattically's overrides contain custom code that should band-aid the background scaling issue, but unless I'm mistaken, they both "stretch to fill", and that ain't it. We need "center and fill", the way the Neighborhood View's background centers and fills.

If you'd like to help with either of these, keep an eye on my "LABS" post over on Patreon, or you're welcomed to express interest in the comments here and I'll upload any LABRAT test files right here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/121758504

This mod is mod-ular! Get it?! Modu- I'll show myself out...

STEP 1 - MANDATORY - GRAB THE SGFX OVERRIDE OR "VARIANT Q":

• The SGFX Override primes the Main Menu for custom backgrounds, but also...
• Permanently hides the Household Portrait.
• Adds a "visibility toggle" hotkey for other UI elements as seen in third-party overrides and hides a whole bunch of junk by default, including - the Marketing/News panel, the HOME / STORE / EVENTS buttons, the Sims 4 logo, the horizontal divider, and the user profile picture and the user greetings and the menu button. By hiding all this junk, I "unintentionally" also hid all the junk in the STORE tab, huzzah!

STEP 2 - OPTIONAL - GRAB A "CAMERA ANGLE PATCH":
"Camera Angle Patches" re-enable the Household Portrait (when toggled) in two camera angles. You have the choice between a cute isometric angle and a boring standard front angle for your Household Portrait - I might D.I.Y. this for you some other time.

• ATTENTION - You must DELETE your localthumbcache.package file whenever you swap "Camera Angle Patches". Your localthumbcache.package is located in your TS4 USER FOLDER, which is the folder that your Mods folder is in.
• "Long Shot" is a closer and lower front-facing camera angle.
• "High Angle" is a tweaked top-down isometric camera angle. It's a bit higher than "Long Shot" and zoomed out just a smidge. I think it looks cute, but maybe it's just the ponies.
• "No Household" is included in my main override but I have shared it as a standalone option for use with third-party overrides that don't hide the Household Portrait.

STEP 3 - OPTIONAL - GRAB MY D.I.Y. CUSTOM BACKGROUND TEMPLATE:

• ATTENTION - This ain't NISANE's or SimMattically's override. You will have to swap your custom backgrounds manually.
• Crop your images to 16:9 (1920x1080) or the closest 16:9 compatible ratio to your native resolution and make your own custom backgrounds! Just ensure my main override is up to date and your backgrounds will always work.
• Custom backgrounds made using this template might work without the main override if you are in Offline Mode because that appears to be how the EAxis code is configured.
• Custom backgrounds made using this template will work with some third-party overrides, but might require renaming for load priority (load order) if those overrides contain their own custom backgrounds - yes, it's this simple. Just rename your PACKAGE to be alphanumerically higher in your file list than the override and it should work. This is applicable to ellesimsworld's template and LunarBritney's "Online Backgrounds Disabled" override, but will not work for NISANE's or SimMattically's overrides because those are different beasts entirely.

STEP 4 - OPTIONAL - GRAB A CUSTOM BACKGROUND BY YOURS TRULY:

• ATTENTION - This ain't NISANE's or SimMattically's override. You will have to swap your custom backgrounds manually.
• Most of my custom backgrounds are in 16:9 (1920x1080) resolution. The few that are in 21:9 were made for troubleshooting while I try to resolve the scaling nonsense.
• I've got a collection of promotional images from various media and artwork from other creators in my custom backgrounds. I love art, so there's a lot of it.

MIRRORS + More - https://www.patreon.com/posts/121348052
MORE Custom Backgrounds - https://www.patreon.com/posts/123893061
LABS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/121758504
Announcements - https://www.patreon.com/posts/109291501
Find me Elsweyr - https://linktr.ee/sejianismodding

We're in the MALWARE SIMPOCALYPSE! Please be aware of the danger and take care.