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Amiga Game Selector Theme Creator

PNG / JPEG to a complete AGS theme • NO DELUXE PAINT NEEDED • RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER

🖼️
BACKGROUND PICTURE
drop or click • PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF
will be resized to the theme size
AGS theme background preview
📸
PREVIEW SCREENSHOT (optional)
a capture of AGS running your theme
used for the menu thumbnail
AGS preview screenshot
Theme
THEME NAME
Letters, digits, - and _ only, no spaces (AmigaDOS paths are typed by hand). Also used as the file names.
CATEGORY
Drawer under AGS:Themes.ags/ where the theme is listed. Must already exist on the target install.
DESCRIPTION
Screen mode
AGS MODE
OPTIONS
Hiding the info panel frees the bottom-right corner for a logo (text_width / text_height set to 0).
Panels
PANEL TEMPLATE
None — panels are expected in your picture Optional transparent PNG drawn over the picture, e.g. the panel template from the official AGS Theme Creation Pack.
PANEL BACKGROUND
The flat colour under the file list. The contiguous area of exactly that colour around the list origin is pinned to the reserved index, so the panel stays a clean flat area.
PANEL TEXT
Initialising...
✓ THEME GENERATED
Background as the Amiga will show it
Menu thumbnail
COLOUR MAP (reserved panel entries outlined)
ZIP CONTENTS
⬇ DOWNLOAD THEME .ZIP

What this tool makes

Amiga Game Selector (AGS) is the launcher used by AGS Classic and many ready-made Amiga hard-drive images. Its themes are a background picture plus a small configuration file, and the official way to make one involves Deluxe Paint to rearrange the palette by hand. This page does the whole job in your browser: it quantises your picture to the AGS colour layout, reserves the two panel colours, writes the .conf, .run and .txt files, builds the menu thumbnail and packs everything into a zip with an AmigaDOS install script.

The AGS theme format, as measured

ModeBackgroundColour mapPreviewStatus
AGA low-res640×256, 8 planes, CAMG $29000picture in 128-255, 254 = panel background, 255 = panel text320×128, 6 planes, 64 colours, CAMG $1000validated on AGS Classic AGA v30 and CD32
AGA hi-res640×512, 8 planes, interlaced, CAMG $29004same layout320×128, 6 planes, 64 colours (shown in the top half of the panel; a 256-line thumbnail renders corrupted)validated on AGS Classic AGA v30 (not the tutorial's $20004 / courier 9, which do not start)
ECS640×256, 4 planes, CAMG $29000picture in 8-15, 14 = panel background, 15 = panel text320×128, 3 planes, 8 coloursvalidated on AGS Classic ECS v2.7a

The lower half of the colour map is left to AGS for the game screenshots (lock_colors), which is why the picture only gets the upper half.

How to install the theme

  1. Download the zip and extract it: you get one drawer named after your theme.
  2. Copy that drawer where your Amiga can see it: the shared folder of WinUAE / FS-UAE / Amiberry (usually mounted as PC0:), a CF card, or an FTP upload.
  3. Boot the AGS install, press Escape to reach Workbench, open a Shell and type Execute PC0:MyTheme/Install_MyTheme. If the drawer is elsewhere, pass its path: Execute DH1:MyTheme/Install_MyTheme DH1:MyTheme.
  4. Run Execute AGS:Start_AGS, open Themes, pick your category and select the theme. Or activate it directly with Execute AGS:Themes.ags/Miscellaneous.ags/MyTheme.run before restarting AGS.
  5. For a proper thumbnail, take a screenshot of AGS running the theme, drop it in the Preview screenshot slot above and regenerate: the list and panels are drawn by AGS, so a preview made from the background alone shows them empty.

Tips

  • Draw the panels in your picture as flat areas (or overlay the official panel template): the file list sits on the panel background colour, and AGS shows any stray pixel under the text.
  • Keep theme names without spaces: AmigaDOS needs quotes around names with spaces, and those are painful to type from an emulator.
  • Hide the info panel if you want a logo in the bottom-right corner, as several shipped themes do.
  • The category drawer must exist on the target install; Miscellaneous always does on AGS Classic.

FAQ

What is Amiga Game Selector (AGS)?

AGS is a full-screen game and demo launcher for the Amiga, made by MrV2K, shipped with ready-to-play hard-drive images such as AGS Classic. Its look can be changed with themes: a background picture plus a configuration file.

What files does an AGS theme need?

Five files: the background IFF and its .conf in AGS:Themes/, plus a .run script, a .txt description and a preview IFF in the AGS:Themes.ags/.ags/ drawer. The preview must carry the same name as the .run file. This tool generates all of them, plus an install script.

Why is the theme 640x256 and not 640x512?

The official tutorial describes a 640x512 picture, but AGS Classic AGA v30 actually opens a 640x256 non-interlaced screen ($29000) for its default themes. We measured it on the shipped themes and on a real install; that is the size this tool produces for the AGA low-res mode.

Do I still need Deluxe Paint?

No. The official method needs Deluxe Paint to move the palette into the upper half of the colour map and reserve two colours for the panels. This tool does that arrangement itself: the palette goes to indexes 128-255, with 254 as the panel background and 255 as the panel text.

How do I get a good preview thumbnail?

Install the theme, run AGS, and take a screenshot from the emulator (or a capture from real hardware). The list and the screenshot panel are drawn by AGS, so a preview made from the background alone shows empty panels. Drop that screenshot in the Preview slot and regenerate.

Are the hi-res and ECS modes safe to use?

Yes. All three modes were checked in WinUAE on the real AGS Classic installs (AGA v30 for low-res and hi-res, ECS v2.7a for ECS): theme, thumbnail and install script. Note that the hi-res values of the official tutorial (mode $20004, courier font size 9) make AGS quit silently on AGA v30; this tool writes $29004 with topaz instead.

Are my images uploaded to a server?

No. Everything runs in your browser; nothing leaves your device.

Need a plain picture instead? Use the PNG to Amiga IFF converter, see the Amigas in our collection, or browse all RetroVault tools. Amiga Game Selector is the work of MrV2K; this tool is an independent helper and is not affiliated with the AGS project.

Your images stay in your browser — they are never uploaded to our server

Validated on AGS Classic AGA v30 (low-res, hi-res) and AGS Classic ECS v2.7a