I don’t imply to brag, however my Steam library is trying fairly good nowadays. No, it’s not the variety of video games I personal, my Steam stage displaying how a lot cash I’ve throw into the digital void, or a string of Counter-Strike 2 skins that I maintain like securities. My Steam library seems good as a result of I spent just a bit little bit of time tweaking the paintings for video games that I’ve put in.
You would possibly already know that Steam lets you set customized paintings to your video games. Hover over any recreation in your library, right-click, and observe Handle > Set customized paintings to use absolutely anything to the grid, hero, and icon photos of your Steam library. Even with a couple of dozen video games — most PC avid gamers I do know have a library within the a whole lot — it might take you hours doing this for each recreation in your library as you seek out paintings, set up it in your PC, and set it inside Steam.
There’s a higher a manner that’s not solely a lot quicker but in addition so much simpler. And it’s known as SGDBoop.
Boop your paintings
In case you personal a Steam Deck and have experimented with emulation, you’ve most likely heard of SteamGridDB. In case you haven’t, let me introduce you. It’s a library of customized property for video games with a whole lot of 1000’s of grids, hero photos, logos, and icons for each Steam and non-Steam video games and purposes. Along with the unique property for a recreation, SteamGridDB takes neighborhood submissions for customized paintings, and there are a ton of choices — notably for well-liked video games like Elden Ring.
I’ve used SteamGridDB up to now, however primarily for including customized paintings to non-Steam apps. I used it so as to add paintings to video games I used to be emulating, in addition to paintings for video games I owned on different platforms like Diablo IV and Alan Wake 2. I knew I might obtain paintings for different video games and set every little thing up manually, however that was an excessive amount of of a trouble to even contemplate. Then, I found SGDBoop.
SGDBoop is an utility constructed by the SteamGridDB group that works shockingly properly. As an alternative of manually downloading every picture, right-clicking by means of your library, and setting the customized paintings, SGDBoop lets you set customized artwork for Steam and non-Steam apps with the press of a button. Even higher, it organizes all the customized artwork right into a folder inside your Steam set up, permitting you to use the customized paintings to different units (extra on that later).
The app — should you can name it that, it’s extra of a instrument than something — is offered for Home windows and Linux, and it’s labored flawlessly for me in Chrome. All it’s good to do is run the installer, select the Present a check popup button on SteamGridDB’s website, and also you’re off to the races. From there, you possibly can seek for any recreation on the SteamGridDB web site and click on one in all two buttons when hovering over it. One applies the customized artwork with Boop, and the opposite pulls up a dialogue permitting you to decide on the place to use the customized artwork if it’s for a non-Steam recreation.
It’s an enormous timesaver, and you’ll see your modifications mirrored in actual time. On Home windows, everytime you apply customized paintings with Boop, you’ll see it present up in your Steam library in a matter of seconds. SteamGridDB even has animated paintings you possibly can apply to your Steam library. Do you know Steam allowed you to show animated paintings? I positive didn’t.
Extra intelligent than you suppose
SGDBoop can be a good way to save lots of time if all it did was obtain the customized paintings and apply it to your Steam library by means of its automated script. It’s a bit of extra intelligent than that, although. As an alternative of manually setting the paintings, SGDBoop ties the paintings to the Steam app ID of the sport you’re customizing.
Each app on Steam has its personal ID, and that’s how Steam references completely different apps throughout the utility. Halo: The Grasp Chief Assortment, for instance, has the app ID of 976730. Valve names folders inside your program information after the sport you’re searching for now, however beforehand, it could solely set up video games by their app ID. Regardless that you by no means work together with the ID, it’s nonetheless the way in which that Steam ties all the data to a selected title inside your library.
SGDBoop makes use of that to its benefit. In case you apply customized paintings with the instrument to a Steam recreation, it downloads the file and organizes it below the right app ID. That’s what permits SGDBoop to be so quick. Furthermore, it lets you experiment with completely different paintings. I can sit and apply completely different grid photos to Halo: The Grasp Chief Assortment all day lengthy with out worrying. As an alternative of downloading a ton of information I’ll need to sift by means of later, SGDBoop simply replaces the right paintings file with the 976730 app ID.
These information are saved inside your Steam set up, as properly. In case you’re like me and haphazardly obtain information to random folders, you’ve most likely encountered a scenario the place you set customized paintings — reminiscent of your desktop wallpaper — solely to delete the folder later and have your paintings go together with it. With SGDBoop, you don’t have to fret about that. It solely retains the information you’re really utilizing, and it shops them inside your Steam set up.
The massive deal for tying paintings to the app ID, nevertheless, is flexibility. You may set all your customized paintings and carry it with you to any set up of Steam. Possibly you’re shifting from one PC to a different, or you’ve a laptop computer and PC you need to apply your paintings throughout. All it’s good to do is go to Program Information (x86)/Steam/userdata/[UserID]/config and replica the Grids folder to a different Steam set up. Restart Steam, and all your customized paintings will present up tied to the right video games.
You may even switch every little thing over to the Steam Deck. It’s a little bit of a trouble monitoring down the precise folder on SteamOS, however I used to be in a position to switch my grids folder over with none points.
In case you’re trying to spruce up your Steam library a bit, notably for video games that you simply all the time have put in, give SGDBoop a shot. It’s free and intensely straightforward to make use of, and it’ll prevent literal hours should you’re making an attempt to replace your full library with customized paintings. For me, I’m slowly updating video games that I’ve put in as I’m going, and I like booting up Steam now to really feel like I’ve one thing that I can name my very own.
