RMC_MERPskin

[GMBazUK]

Version 1 of a reskinning I started sometime ago.
I like to think it has something of the flavour of Middle Earth (whilst at the same time telling you so in capitals!

Its a bit darker and grungier than the stock skin I think.

Version 1 RMC_MERPskin
Attachment 2640

Baz.

[JohnD]

Very nice.

[lachancery]

Love it! I may have to switch to this skin for my game...

(Running it in Middle Earth 1975 T.A., shortly after the Battle of Fornost & destruction of Arthedain.)

[Blue Haven]

Once again great job

[Dakadin]

Nice work GMBazUK! Thanks for sharing it.

[GMBazUK]

Thank you guys for your kind words. I don't intend to change much more as the original skins that FG provides are so thematic by design, but I do want to look at some of the larger windows such as the tokens box (maybe) and the library.
Interesting that your running a campaign in TA 1975 Lachancery. When I started this reskinning it was for my own campaign set around that time.
Just in case your interested, the file size footprint of these reskinnings is at least equal to (or in this instance) less than that of the original, so it shouldn't bog down your game.
Any who, hope you all enjoy it.
Baz.

[JohnD]

Is there a tutorial or something that would show how to create your own skin? I'd love to have a Greyhawk theme for my 3.5e and RMC campaigns.

[GMBazUK]

Hi John. There is a guide in the FG library explaining how the extension goes together. Alternatively, you can change the .ext to .zip and extract my extension to take a look. It's not difficult. What I did was copy (not cut and paste) the image icons and frames from the ruleset that I wanted to change to a new folder which I created in the extensions folder of FG, sub folders called icons and frames were then created to store the icons and frames I wanted to change. I then modified them with photoshop, (or Gimp if you like). The new images (icons and frames and scripts if you have any) are then registered or listed in the extension text file in the folder you made in FG/ extensions.
This root folder in FG extensions doesn't need to be converted to a .ext file (by zipping it and changing the .zip to .ext) and will show up in the list of extension for the ruleset you defined in the extension text file.
Others here know alot more than I about this, but this should at least get you started.
I may put together a video showing this and explaining how to create the graphics, which is more my area, but I can't say when.
Baz.

[JohnD]

Hi John. There is a guide in the FG library explaining how the extension goes together. Alternatively, you can change the .ext to .zip and extract my extension to take a look. It's not difficult. What I did was copy (not cut and paste) the image icons and frames from the ruleset that I wanted to change to a new folder which I created in the extensions folder of FG, sub folders called icons and frames were then created to store the icons and frames I wanted to change. I then modified them with photoshop, (or Gimp if you like). The new images (icons and frames and scripts if you have any) are then registered or listed in the extension text file in the folder you made in FG/ extensions.
This root folder in FG extensions doesn't need to be converted to a .ext file (by zipping it and changing the .zip to .ext) and will show up in the list of extension for the ruleset you defined in the extension text file.
Others here know alot more than I about this, but this should at least get you started.
I may put together a video showing this and explaining how to create the graphics, which is more my area, but I can't say when.
Baz.

Hmm... all that sounds somewhat beyond my skill level to accomplish. Perhaps one day....

[Dakadin]

Hey JohnD,

Don't give up hope. It is actually easier than it sounds. It is just a bit overwhelming at times. Basically an extension just adds or replaces content. Making a skin is actually pretty straight forward once you get the hang of it.

To help you get the hang of it, I've attached an extension that should help you get started. Download it and select it as an extension. All it does is replace the library button and the library button down images. It is just a blue background with the word Library.

Now to see what is involved you will need to rename the file to RMC Skin.zip. I personally would recommend copying the contents to a new folder called RMC Skin in the extensions folder of your FG Application Data Folder. The reason I do this is because it allows you to make changes and see those changes without having to zip it up and rename it again. So it speeds things up until you get your final version.

Ok. You will see a few files and one folder in the extension.

The extension.xml is the only file required in an extension. Here are the contents:

<root version="2.0">
  <properties>
    	<name>RMC Skin</name>
    	<version>0.1</version>
    	<author>Your Name Here</author>
    	<description>Provides the basics of a skin for the RMC ruleset</description>
    	<ruleset>
     		<name>RolemasterClassic</name>
   	</ruleset>
  </properties>
 
  <base>
	<icon name="button_library" file="icons/button_library.png" />
	<icon name="button_library_down" file="icons/button_library_down.png" />
  </base>
</root>

In the <properties> section are details about the extension. You will want to change the name, version, author and description. If you are making it for something other than the RMC ruleset then change the ruleset name. To change these field just replace the text between the tag. For example if you wanted to change the name to JohnD Extension then the name would look like this:

    	<name>JohnD Extension</name>

In the <base> section is where you put the information you want to add or change. It isn't as bad as it sounds. Let me explain how I went about creating this extension. I went into the RolemasterClassic ruleset folder and opened the icons folder. I then looked for an image that I wanted to change. I choose the button_library.png file and noticed that there was also a button_library_down.png file. So I created an icons folder within my extension folder and copied the 2 files into the folder. I then opened each of the files that I copied and changed the graphics. If you use the existing files, it will help you get the size that you want your new graphic to be.

Now that I had the 2 files I wanted in the extension, I need to tell the extension to use these files. That information goes in the <base> section. The easiest way to figure out what to put in that section is to do a search for the file you are replacing. In my case, I searched for button_library.png and button_library_down.png files using the Notepad++ Find in Files function. They were on lines 188-189 of the graphics.xml file. I just copied those 2 lines out of graphics.xml into the <base> section of extension.xml.

The last thing is just to test it within FG.

Most of the graphics can be handled this way as long as you don't change the size of the images. If you change the size of the images you might need to make changes in other sections so I would recommend saving that until you get more comfortable. One thing to be aware of though is there are some graphics where pieces of the images are used. These are in the graphics_frames.xml file.

Hopefully this is clear enough for you to figure out what is going on but if not send me a PM and I will help you through it.