diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5dd7dfb5..c34f363f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -315,10 +315,14 @@ gui/dialogs/UpdateDialog.h
 gui/dialogs/UpdateDialog.cpp
 
 # GUI - widgets
+gui/widgets/Common.h
+gui/widgets/Common.cpp
 gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.h
 gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.cpp
 gui/widgets/ModListView.h
 gui/widgets/ModListView.cpp
+gui/widgets/VersionListView.h
+gui/widgets/VersionListView.cpp
 gui/widgets/LabeledToolButton.h
 gui/widgets/LabeledToolButton.cpp
 gui/widgets/MCModInfoFrame.h
diff --git a/gui/dialogs/OneSixModEditDialog.cpp b/gui/dialogs/OneSixModEditDialog.cpp
index 3982f17d..27315c69 100644
--- a/gui/dialogs/OneSixModEditDialog.cpp
+++ b/gui/dialogs/OneSixModEditDialog.cpp
@@ -142,7 +142,8 @@ void OneSixModEditDialog::on_customEditorBtn_clicked()
 	{
 		if (!MMC->openJsonEditor(m_inst->instanceRoot() + "/custom.json"))
 		{
-			QMessageBox::warning(this, tr("Error"), tr("Unable to open custom.json, check the settings"));
+			QMessageBox::warning(this, tr("Error"),
+								 tr("Unable to open custom.json, check the settings"));
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -151,6 +152,8 @@ void OneSixModEditDialog::on_forgeBtn_clicked()
 {
 	VersionSelectDialog vselect(MMC->forgelist().get(), tr("Select Forge version"), this);
 	vselect.setFilter(1, m_inst->currentVersionId());
+	vselect.setEmptyString(tr("No Forge versions are currently available for Minecraft ") +
+							  m_inst->currentVersionId());
 	if (vselect.exec() && vselect.selectedVersion())
 	{
 		if (m_inst->versionIsCustom())
@@ -240,9 +243,9 @@ void OneSixModEditDialog::on_liteloaderBtn_clicked()
 	}
 	if (!liteloader.apply(m_version))
 	{
-		QMessageBox::critical(
-			this, tr("LiteLoader"),
-			tr("For reasons unknown, the LiteLoader installation failed. Check your MultiMC log files for details."));
+		QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("LiteLoader"),
+							  tr("For reasons unknown, the LiteLoader installation failed. "
+								 "Check your MultiMC log files for details."));
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.cpp b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.cpp
index d6efe3c0..0f379f56 100644
--- a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.cpp
+++ b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.cpp
@@ -51,6 +51,11 @@ VersionSelectDialog::VersionSelectDialog(BaseVersionList *vlist, QString title,
 	}
 }
 
+void VersionSelectDialog::setEmptyString(QString emptyString)
+{
+	ui->listView->setEmptyString(emptyString);
+}
+
 VersionSelectDialog::~VersionSelectDialog()
 {
 	delete ui;
diff --git a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.h b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.h
index e36341db..61fa8ab6 100644
--- a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.h
+++ b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.h
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ public:
 	BaseVersionPtr selectedVersion() const;
 
 	void setFilter(int column, QString filter);
+	void setEmptyString(QString emptyString);
 	void setResizeOn(int column);
 
 private
diff --git a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.ui b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.ui
index 58264f24..07e9e73e 100644
--- a/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.ui
+++ b/gui/dialogs/VersionSelectDialog.ui
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   </property>
   <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout">
    <item>
-    <widget class="QTreeView" name="listView">
+    <widget class="VersionListView" name="listView">
      <property name="horizontalScrollBarPolicy">
       <enum>Qt::ScrollBarAlwaysOff</enum>
      </property>
@@ -65,6 +65,13 @@
    </item>
   </layout>
  </widget>
+ <customwidgets>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>VersionListView</class>
+   <extends>QTreeView</extends>
+   <header>gui/widgets/VersionListView.h</header>
+  </customwidget>
+ </customwidgets>
  <resources/>
  <connections>
   <connection>
diff --git a/gui/widgets/Common.cpp b/gui/widgets/Common.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b730d6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gui/widgets/Common.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#include "Common.h"
+
+// Origin: Qt
+QStringList viewItemTextLayout(QTextLayout &textLayout, int lineWidth, qreal &height,
+							   qreal &widthUsed)
+{
+	QStringList lines;
+	height = 0;
+	widthUsed = 0;
+	textLayout.beginLayout();
+	QString str = textLayout.text();
+	while (true)
+	{
+		QTextLine line = textLayout.createLine();
+		if (!line.isValid())
+			break;
+		if (line.textLength() == 0)
+			break;
+		line.setLineWidth(lineWidth);
+		line.setPosition(QPointF(0, height));
+		height += line.height();
+		lines.append(str.mid(line.textStart(), line.textLength()));
+		widthUsed = qMax(widthUsed, line.naturalTextWidth());
+	}
+	textLayout.endLayout();
+	return lines;
+}
diff --git a/gui/widgets/Common.h b/gui/widgets/Common.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fc46e08f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gui/widgets/Common.h
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#pragma once
+#include <QStringList>
+#include <QTextLayout>
+
+QStringList viewItemTextLayout(QTextLayout &textLayout, int lineWidth, qreal &height,
+						qreal &widthUsed);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.cpp b/gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.cpp
index 5020b8b6..33da7130 100644
--- a/gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.cpp
+++ b/gui/widgets/InstanceDelegate.cpp
@@ -19,30 +19,7 @@
 #include <QTextLayout>
 #include <QApplication>
 #include <QtCore/qmath.h>
-
-// Origin: Qt
-static void viewItemTextLayout(QTextLayout &textLayout, int lineWidth, qreal &height,
-							   qreal &widthUsed)
-{
-	height = 0;
-	widthUsed = 0;
-	textLayout.beginLayout();
-	QString str = textLayout.text();
-	while (true)
-	{
-		QTextLine line = textLayout.createLine();
-		if (!line.isValid())
-			break;
-		if (line.textLength() == 0)
-			break;
-		line.setLineWidth(lineWidth);
-		line.setPosition(QPointF(0, height));
-		height += line.height();
-		widthUsed = qMax(widthUsed, line.naturalTextWidth());
-	}
-	textLayout.endLayout();
-}
-
+#include "Common.h"
 #define QFIXED_MAX (INT_MAX / 256)
 
 ListViewDelegate::ListViewDelegate(QObject *parent) : QStyledItemDelegate(parent)
diff --git a/gui/widgets/VersionListView.cpp b/gui/widgets/VersionListView.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b7f45f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gui/widgets/VersionListView.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+/* Copyright 2013 MultiMC Contributors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <QHeaderView>
+#include <QApplication>
+#include <QMouseEvent>
+#include <QDrag>
+#include <QPainter>
+#include "VersionListView.h"
+#include "Common.h"
+
+VersionListView::VersionListView(QWidget *parent)
+	:QTreeView ( parent )
+{
+	m_emptyString = tr("No versions are currently available.");
+}
+
+void VersionListView::rowsInserted(const QModelIndex &parent, int start, int end)
+{
+	if(!m_itemCount)
+		viewport()->update();
+	m_itemCount += end-start+1;
+	QTreeView::rowsInserted(parent, start, end);
+}
+
+
+void VersionListView::rowsAboutToBeRemoved(const QModelIndex &parent, int start, int end)
+{
+	m_itemCount -= end-start+1;
+	if(!m_itemCount)
+		viewport()->update();
+	QTreeView::rowsInserted(parent, start, end);
+}
+
+void VersionListView::setModel(QAbstractItemModel *model)
+{
+	m_itemCount = model->rowCount();
+	if(!m_itemCount)
+		viewport()->update();
+	QTreeView::setModel(model);
+}
+
+void VersionListView::reset()
+{
+	if(model())
+	{
+		m_itemCount = model()->rowCount();
+	}
+	viewport()->update();
+	QTreeView::reset();
+}
+
+void VersionListView::setEmptyString(QString emptyString)
+{
+	m_emptyString = emptyString;
+	if(!m_itemCount)
+	{
+		viewport()->update();
+	}
+}
+
+void VersionListView::paintEvent(QPaintEvent *event)
+{
+	if(m_itemCount)
+	{
+		QTreeView::paintEvent(event);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		paintInfoLabel(event);
+	}
+}
+
+void VersionListView::paintInfoLabel(QPaintEvent *event)
+{
+	int scrollInterval = 500;
+
+    //calculate the rect for the overlay
+    QPainter painter(viewport());
+    painter.setRenderHint(QPainter::Antialiasing, true);
+    const QChar letter = 'Q';
+	QFont font("sans", 20);
+    font.setBold(true);
+	
+	QRect bounds = viewport()->geometry();
+	bounds.moveTop(0);
+	QTextLayout layout(m_emptyString, font);
+	qreal height = 0.0;
+	qreal widthUsed = 0.0;
+	QStringList lines = viewItemTextLayout(layout, bounds.width() - 20, height, widthUsed);
+	QRect rect (0,0, widthUsed, height);
+	rect.setWidth(rect.width()+20);
+	rect.setHeight(rect.height()+20);
+    rect.moveCenter(bounds.center());
+    //check if we are allowed to draw in our area
+    if (!event->rect().intersects(rect)) {
+        return;
+    }
+    //draw the letter of the topmost item semitransparent in the middle
+    QColor background = QApplication::palette().color(QPalette::Foreground);
+    QColor foreground = QApplication::palette().color(QPalette::Base);
+	/*
+    background.setAlpha(128 - scrollFade);
+    foreground.setAlpha(128 - scrollFade);
+    */
+    painter.setBrush(QBrush(background));
+    painter.setPen(foreground);
+    painter.drawRoundedRect(rect, 5.0, 5.0);
+    foreground.setAlpha(190);
+    painter.setPen(foreground);
+    painter.setFont(font);
+    painter.drawText(rect, Qt::AlignCenter, lines.join("\n"));
+	
+}
+
+/*
+void ModListView::setModel ( QAbstractItemModel* model )
+{
+	QTreeView::setModel ( model );
+	auto head = header();
+	head->setStretchLastSection(false);
+	// HACK: this is true for the checkbox column of mod lists
+	auto string = model->headerData(0,head->orientation()).toString();
+	if(!string.size())
+	{
+		head->setSectionResizeMode(0, QHeaderView::ResizeToContents);
+		head->setSectionResizeMode(1, QHeaderView::Stretch);
+		for(int i = 2; i < head->count(); i++)
+			head->setSectionResizeMode(i, QHeaderView::ResizeToContents);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		head->setSectionResizeMode(0, QHeaderView::Stretch);
+		for(int i = 1; i < head->count(); i++)
+			head->setSectionResizeMode(i, QHeaderView::ResizeToContents);
+	}
+}
+*/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/gui/widgets/VersionListView.h b/gui/widgets/VersionListView.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af9b1f6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gui/widgets/VersionListView.h
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/* Copyright 2013 MultiMC Contributors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+#include <QTreeView>
+
+class Mod;
+
+class VersionListView : public QTreeView
+{
+	Q_OBJECT
+public:
+	explicit VersionListView(QWidget *parent = 0);
+	virtual void paintEvent(QPaintEvent *event) override;
+	void setEmptyString(QString emptyString);
+	virtual void setModel ( QAbstractItemModel* model );
+
+public slots:
+	virtual void reset() override;
+
+protected slots:
+	virtual void rowsAboutToBeRemoved(const QModelIndex & parent, int start, int end) override;
+	virtual void rowsInserted(const QModelIndex &parent, int start, int end) override;
+
+private: /* methods */
+	void paintInfoLabel(QPaintEvent *event);
+
+private: /* variables */
+	int m_itemCount = 0;
+	QString m_emptyString;
+};