New Subject: AGS Library Metadata & Customization
TL;DR: I really like the ability to customize AGS metadata and create custom tags but I would like to see AGS maintain a complete local copy/cache of account metadata, tags, artwork and other customizations so the library continues working offline and can be restored if necessary.
It would also be helpful to have:
- A backup/export and restore option for library metadata
- Bulk metadata import through something like JSON, CSV or Excel rather than editing hundreds of games individually
- A way to reset selected games or the entire library back to Polycade’s current default metadata if users manually modify things today but Polycade significantly improves its official library in the future
- The ability to delete personal photos taken through the Polycade camera
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I figured out how to add custom tags through the Polycade online account after reviewing the Polycade updates log and that works well. For example, I can tag games as “Sinden Light Gun” and then filter for them in AGS.
One concern I noticed, though, is that the metadata appears to be heavily cloud dependent. I tested booting the Polycade without an internet connection and the filter categories were blank, including the custom tags.
Is there a reason the account level metadata, tags, artwork/assets and other customizations are not also downloaded and preserved locally as a backup/cache on the machine?
My concern is what happens if:
- the Polycade service is temporarily unavailable
- the account data gets corrupted
- the machine is offline
- longer term, the online service is no longer available
It seems like a lot of manual work can go into correcting metadata, adding tags, changing artwork, etc… so it would be reassuring if AGS kept a complete local copy that could still function offline and be restored if needed.
Is there currently a local backup/export option for this metadata or is it intentionally 100% cloud dependent?
Also, why not provide the ability to upload a JSON file or Excel template to populate metadata in bulk? Going through personal games or manually adding tags and other metadata that Polycade hasn’t populated can be extremely time-consuming when everything has to be done one game at a time.
There also appears to be no way to delete personal photos taken with the camera through Polycade AGS. Photos taken on the unit should not be permanent; the end user should have the ability to remove them whenever they choose.
