Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[JustinChase]

Besides the metamorphosis SDK, what else do I need to make a skin.  I'm sorry if I sound ignorant, but in this area, I am.  I am in no way a programmer, but I am not computer illiterate either.

The metamorphosis info from the Developers Zone has good info about the commands and such, enough that i can play around until I sorta figure it out, but i just don't know where to begin.  Do I need to own Photoshop (or equivalent), to make the overall design, or should I just start trying to modify someone else's skin which is close to what I want (this seems VERY time consuming) until I get exactly what I want?  Does someone with some free time want to make a quick $20 to do it for me?

Sorry, I just want something I have not found, and I don't know how to do it myself.  If anyone can give me a primer on how to get started, I think I can wing it from there, although I'd much rather save the time and learning curve and just pay to get it done.

anyway, thanks for looking, and I'd appreciate any help you can provide.

PS  What I'm looking for is a small, thin bar that will sit on the top of my windows bar (just like the blade pn skin for playing now), be always visible, show the previous track, and allow it to be rated, the current track and allow for rating it, the duration of the track and current position (either with a slider bar or time codes), and maybe have an option to dock/undock a visualization window on the upper right side (this is not critical, but would be kinda cool), and navigation buttons to go forward/back a track, play, pause and stop.

It doesn't seem like it should be too hard, especially if I can just mooch off the blade skin, i just don't have any idea how to get started.

Finally, due to issues with my system that i cannot seem to get ironed out (mainly for lack of time to try), I would prefer if it was a mini skin, not a playing now skin.  I love the playing now plug-in, but it is slow to respond to rating selections, and the visualizations have this constant, regular pause every 3 seconds or so, and it just doesn't work for me.    If a playing now skin is the best way to do it, I can dig some more into why the plug-in causes me these issues, but if i don't have to that would be nice too.

Again, sorry to be so long winded, and thanks for reading.

[JustinChase]

29 views and no one knows

[DJ_Hazelwood]

Hi!

I've made only some simple mini-me skins, so i don't know exactly what is possible and what is not.

But as far as i know, you can only use informations of the current playing track, not the previous (or next) track.

And i don't know if a rating-function would be easy to implement in the mini-me.

Sorry that i can't give you more help.

[JustinChase]

Thanks DJ, but 'how' did you make the skin?  Did you use Photoshop, or is there some 'tool' i'm not aware of, or is it just a matter of coding in all the 'variables' like position, etc in an editor of some sort?

I'm just trying to find out where to begin.  I don't necessarily need the complete 'this is how you do it from step a to step z' tutorial, I just want to know how to get started.

Anyone?

Please.

[DJ_Hazelwood]

Yes, you need a program to design all the graphical parts of a skin.

You can use photoshop or another tool of your choice (i'm using paintshop pro) to create the different parts of the skin.

When i made my first skin i started with a copy of an existing skin-directory.
Then i replaced the graphics step by step, changed the positions of the buttons and the different display-parts (main-window, eq-window, playlist-window, ...).

I think this is the easiest and fastest way to start.

[paulr]

Justin,

TheGimp is a really nice alternative to Photoshop, and it's open source, so it's updated all the time!

http://www.gimp.org

[cascius]

JustinChase,

I use photoshop and a text editor. I find it best to start by copying and then modifying an existing skin.

[JustinChase]

Thank you , thank you, thank you.

I'll try to find some time this week, or maybe this weekend.  I really appreciate the tips.

[EpF]

Total beginner questions - what is Metamorphis?  Can I download it?

[JustinChase]

That much I do know.  It is the 'tool' to make the skin.  It can be downloaded from this page.  Look near the top of the page.  You will see some links just below the banner, one is called "MC DevZone".  That link contains the metamorphisis skinning download.

Now, beyond that, I really have no idea.  I'm hoping to make some free time soon, but so far, no luck.

[EpF]

Thanks JustinChase - I bet I have less of a clue than you!  The idea really appeals to me though...

I went to the DevZone, but the link to the skinning engines seemed to me to be a help file/explanation - I couldn't find anything to download...  Am I missing something?

[JustinChase]

Yeah, I said download, I actually meant hyperlink to information, sorry, my bad.

Good luck, and maybe we can figure this out together.  I know there are a ton of people on this board that will help, i just have to get started, so I know what to ask for help with.