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More => Old Versions => Media Center 12 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: xen-uno on April 17, 2008, 11:53:08 am

Title: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: xen-uno on April 17, 2008, 11:53:08 am
I've been changing the background color code 303030 (dirty black) to 000000 (true black) in main.xml as it looks much better (see for yourself). Would it be possible to make a permanent change there at the source?
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: gappie on April 17, 2008, 12:00:05 pm
its not so hard to save it for your self. go to the program files from jriver, MegaSkins. rename the bluesteel folder (or better: copy and rename the copy). open the main xml and change the skin name to for instance "bleu steel xen uno". you will find that one back in the skin list. and it will not be overwritten when reinstalling/updating.
 :)
gab
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: DarkPenguin on April 17, 2008, 12:17:50 pm
I've been changing the background color code 303030 (dirty black) to 000000 (true black) in main.xml as it looks much better (see for yourself). Would it be possible to make a permanent change there at the source?
I disagree.  I prefer the 303030.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: xen-uno on April 17, 2008, 12:29:19 pm
That would work fine if skin code is static which by now probably is. Guess I'll have to do that since I can no longer delete or edit dissenting posts. Ah ... those were the dayz. However ... if you agree with the change then let your voice be heard! Power to the people right on.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: Doof on April 17, 2008, 04:07:36 pm
Can't you base a skin off of another skin and just override the stuff you want to be different?
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: Matt on April 17, 2008, 08:27:08 pm
Can't you base a skin off of another skin and just override the stuff you want to be different?

This would be a good approach.

BlueSteel is a tricky one to work with because it doesn't use alpha / PNG files.  Instead, it's one big bitmap that was cut into pieces.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: xen-uno on April 18, 2008, 01:59:07 am
That's a good idea. That seems to imply that there could be performance (display speed) differences between skins ... true? I've been Blue Steeling forever ... thus I wouldn't know.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: Mr ChriZ on April 18, 2008, 02:41:21 am
Sometimes I have found different shades look different on different screens.
My original intention screen looks far better on CRT's because of their better ability to deal with
shades of grey.
Comparitively the new one I'm working on has been developed on LCD, and looks rubbish on CRT, probably
because it's showing shades that I didn't intend to be there.
It can be worth playing with MC's brightness/contrast effects for skins.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: xen-uno on April 18, 2008, 02:30:44 pm
Good point on LCD vs CRT. Up til 6 months ago I was using a 19" CRT (refreshed @ 75 Hz). Now I'm using a 24" WS LCD and the dirty black that was OK before is not now. Viewing whites on a LCD is very much like staring into a florescent tube which is eye straining (no stretch there ... LCD backlights are 60 Hz fluorescents). So I like everything as dark as possible.
Title: Re: Request for Blue Steel change ...
Post by: xen-uno on April 19, 2008, 12:43:12 pm
Yep ... the Blue Steel clone does stick ... thanks. Total skin size (in MB) is indeed a display speed indicator. The smallest (Aruba & Z) do display faster than the largest (Blue Steel). So I think I'll mod the Z skin to something like BS ... Nokturnal Z sounds good.