Print

[LepPpeR]

and too add to this, it will indeed become the default skin for Craxtion MultiGame Wizard now Featuring MXM.

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (housefreax @ May 6 2003, 09:15 AM)

Is there a windows app to make skins ?    like for EvoX

Heh heh... notepad, Video Vegas and Photoshop?

The power and flexibility of MXM skins comes at the cost of complexity. I'm not sure who's up to the task of building a windows-based app to preview skins.

If I find the time, maybe I'll look into something to at least handle parsing the XML files for somebody.

[BenJeremy]

Oh, I'd like to add... I had a few ideas for skins, too. If you have some ideas, feel free to post them here.

* An emulator skin, sort of "Mario Land" style, bright and airy, with video game characters all over the screen

* Halo skin

* Improvements to the Matrix Skin (better font choices, for example)


Also, a few things to remember:

* The ability to use just about any font must be tempered with the knowledge that not all fonts contain full sets of characters, nor are they necessarily all that readable (Imagine a menu in Olde English style fonts)

* Keep bandwidth in mind when using video backgrounds and elements. Also, what works on one hard drive, might drag or get choppy in another, or not work at all on DVD (so target your skin)

* I put information on my menus, and the default is bland, this is because they are intended to demonstrate more than anything else.

* Delays are your friends... they are also synchronized (see the Matrix skin for a good example).



Feel free to list your own desires for gadgets and modifiers, too...

I have some music related modifiers and effects I hope to incoroprate in the future:

* MusicColor modifier: Pulsate the color to the beat of the soundtrack played

* MusicVisualizationEffect: Gadget to display a number of visualizations.

[koldfuzion]

I am definitely interested in any homemade skin tools for mxm.  If you have one.. please send to me or tell me where to get it.

If no one has the balls to make one, I might give it a try. (providing the XBMP CVS releases stay to a minimum.) Provided I know the skin options are going to remain for a while.

[bartdesign]

If it isn't already    The skin tool is a good idea. Sureley more beginners will try to skin. Only the artwork doesn't do itself

BjB

[Xzigx]

I'll be submitting my latest creation soo.  It is however x-rated and was requested by a few people.  It is my first attempt and I'll be trying different things in order to produce a few like BJ requested.  I am also curious if anyone else has designed any yet and if so what how are they turning out?  I will also be submitting a couple of ideas for BJ for the new log, that is if he is still interested in that???

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (Xzigx @ May 11 2003, 09:58 AM)

I'll be submitting my latest creation soo.  It is however x-rated and was requested by a few people.  It is my first attempt and I'll be trying different things in order to produce a few like BJ requested.  I am also curious if anyone else has designed any yet and if so what how are they turning out?  I will also be submitting a couple of ideas for BJ for the new log, that is if he is still interested in that???

Sounds good... I look forward to seeing your creations, as well as any ideas you have.

[Xzigx]

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ May 5 2003, 11:47 PM)

I would love to make the default skin a bit more exciting.... there are TWO skins to design, really. FIRST: A basic, low resource skin comprised of no more than 900k worth of files (WMV, JPG, PNG, WAVs...) or less. Try and use the many features and gadgets that are built into MXM. this will become the new "Default" skin included with MXM. No, you can't use the JSRF/GT2K background (M$) SECOND: Create a skin done entirely WITHOUT resources. Just the MXM_Skin.xml using the internally available gadgets. I know some of you are up to this challenge!

for the second part of this, would font's be allowed???

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (Xzigx @ May 15 2003, 06:04 AM)

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ May 5 2003, 11:47 PM) I would love to make the default skin a bit more exciting.... there are TWO skins to design, really. FIRST: A basic, low resource skin comprised of no more than 900k worth of files (WMV, JPG, PNG, WAVs...) or less. Try and use the many features and gadgets that are built into MXM. this will become the new "Default" skin included with MXM. No, you can't use the JSRF/GT2K background (M$) SECOND: Create a skin done entirely WITHOUT resources. Just the MXM_Skin.xml using the internally available gadgets. I know some of you are up to this challenge! for the second part of this, would font's be allowed???

Well, there's a built-in "default" font. Ideally, a resource-less skin would use the default font for any onscreen text.

[Xzigx]

Gotcha.  

[masahiko]

will there be default folder and lock images (for the resource-less skin), or will the skin just do without? if there are, should we make them or can you give them to us?

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (masahiko @ Jun 18 2003, 11:30 AM)

will there be default folder and lock images (for the resource-less skin), or will the skin just do without? if there are, should we make them or can you give them to us?

Hmmmm... good question.

OK, if you have very tight image files, I can include them internally and make them available through the internal file mechanism.


...and good suggestion.

[BenJeremy]

[thetruethugg]

They match nicely to Masahiko's..  As for a script looking one, you could maybe 'borrow' an idea from M$.  And do something similar to their .ini file icon..

[oswald]

BenJeremy... those icons are gorgeous!