Atifkazia 222 Posted June 19, 2016 so im back with skin questions.. i find it very interesting..so i have watched felida's tutorial of changing the aurora loading screen.. and all is going pretty well but i have a problem now.. i want the aurora logo to overlap the background image.. as shown in felida's tutorial.. here i have attached a pic.. but my image shows with the background of the aurora logo..i have attached my pic as well.. so i have to make my aurora logo without any background..how to do it? also any suggestions on what to software to use to edit the aurora logo.. currently for trying im using paint.. its work is not very clean.. also does the aurora logo need to be 900x235 .. or any other ratio would work? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swizzy 2084 Posted June 19, 2016 You make the logo image background transparent, and the same in xuitool Sent from my SM-G903F Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 19, 2016 You make the logo image background transparent, and the same in xuitool Sent from my SM-G903F yeah i knew i had to that but didnt know how to do it.. googled tried few methods didnt work.. finally paint.net worked.. and here are my creations thanks to felidas tutorials.. now i have learned how to edit the loading screen.. but sometimes i exported the binary still when opening again gives error failed to open document.. then i have to start the whole process again.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 19, 2016 Your error shouldnt happen.. when you leave the portion you are working on open in xuitolls, then export to binary, xuitools will say "such and such has been modified, would you like to reload it?" Say yes.. lol And also.. for your image editing needs, try gimp.. basically is photoshop but free Edit: you are making sure you are exporting binary and not "save as" right? Exporting produces .xur and "save as" does .xui.. which would cause your error of not being able to open it.. Edit2: about resolutions.. you can use any size for any image you want.. as long as it is 1280x720 max.. anything bigger wont be shown completely.. due to 1280x720 being the max display 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 19, 2016 Yeah i am very sure i am exporting binary not doing it save as.. Yes when i do it right it gives me a message saying it has been edited outside the tool and do you wanna reload it something similar to this.. And yeah i do say "Yes" it reloads it again..but sometimes this message does not show up.. So i can replace the aurora logo in the loading screen with any image below 1280x720 and it would work..right? And i also watched your aurora main screen video... whats the use of making the background move and loop... Whats the use of it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alph4 Polar 47 Posted June 19, 2016 i use gimp 2.8 and make changes inside xuitools is a whole big big world keep it simple the more skins that you do the more you learn good luck,keep trying.best wishes advice:use google to search .png images that will make your work a lot easier and faster 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 19, 2016 i use gimp 2.8 and make changes inside xuitools is a whole big big world keep it simple the more skins that you do the more you learn good luck,keep trying.best wishes advice:use google to search .png images that will make your work a lot easier and faster Thanks, i am trying to learn more and more.. Well one thing i can say it is not simple.. Now i see how much work you and the other skinners put into it.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 19, 2016 Yeah i am very sure i am exporting binary not doing it save as.. Yes when i do it right it gives me a message saying it has been edited outside the tool and do you wanna reload it something similar to this.. And yeah i do say "Yes" it reloads it again..but sometimes this message does not show up.. So i can replace the aurora logo in the loading screen with any image below 1280x720 and it would work..right? And i also watched your aurora main screen video... whats the use of making the background move and loop... Whats the use of it? 1: you can use any size.. just that anything over 1280x720 will be cropped to only show the section of it.. it's easier for you to try it, and see what i mean lol.. 2. the purpose is to show you how transitions and everything work.. all of which is doable all the way thru the skin.. not just the loading part ;-) i use gimp 2.8 and make changes inside xuitools is a whole big big world keep it simple the more skins that you do the more you learn good luck,keep trying.best wishes advice:use google to search .png images that will make your work a lot easier and faster and if you are using GIMP, just export image to .png ;-) works as a file converter too ;-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 20, 2016 so, i am moving to editing the next part of the skin.. that is Aurora_fileManager ... when i load it i dont see anything its just plain white.. how do i get it to show like the loading screen? edit: now what i did was added a new background and added sound to skin by following Felida's tutorial.. and made a skin.meta using swizzys meta generator repacked the skin and copied it to my xbox and now it just gets stuck on the aurora loading screen? also another thing how long can the music.wav file be? any limits? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swizzy 2084 Posted June 20, 2016 Is it stuck in the loading screen with your skin? and what skin did you use as a base? (it's important that the skin matches the version of Aurora you're using, otherwise things may be missing or renamed causing these issues) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 20, 2016 Is it stuck in the loading screen with your skin? and what skin did you use as a base? (it's important that the skin matches the version of Aurora you're using, otherwise things may be missing or renamed causing these issues) Yes it gets stuck at the loading screen with my skin.. I used aurora 0.5b default skin as a base.. And i am also sure that i selected 0.5 when making a skin.meta file.. Well i will check it again tomorrow or later if i have time.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 20, 2016 Yes it gets stuck at the loading screen with my skin.. I used aurora 0.5b default skin as a base.. And i am also sure that i selected 0.5 when making a skin.meta file.. Well i will check it again tomorrow or later if i have time.. Send me a copy of your skin.. ill take a look at it.. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 20, 2016 Felida thanks for your help so far.. i really appreciate it... for some reason in my custom skin three folders were missing.. and i think that caused the issue.. so now i have fixed it.. is there any way that i can change the loading status font's color? it is not really visible.. by loading status i mean in the aurora loading screen at the start it shows "processing coverflow scripts" and "building content list" etc etc... and also how to make the aurora_filebrowser to show in xuitools.. when i load it its not properly visible.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 21, 2016 Felida thanks for your help so far.. i really appreciate it... for some reason in my custom skin three folders were missing.. and i think that caused the issue.. so now i have fixed it.. is there any way that i can change the loading status font's color? it is not really visible.. by loading status i mean in the aurora loading screen at the start it shows "processing coverflow scripts" and "building content list" etc etc... and also how to make the aurora_filebrowser to show in xuitools.. when i load it its not properly visible.. Use the same technique i shown in the video.. on how to make aurora_main.xur shoe in the video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 21, 2016 already tried it.. here is a screen shot of what i see(i can see something while im in the 15 frame) or is it supposed to be like this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 22, 2016 You have to learn what the transitions mean, frame 15 is the end of the transition to it.. then you have the normal frames.. then you have the transback transition Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gavin_darkglider 1562 Posted June 23, 2016 Honestly, I really dont like skinning Aurora, or FSD for that matter, but it isnt rocket science(lol). the biggest issue I have with it is the time line setup, which is cool for visual effects, but a little much if you ask me, for basic commands(Like launching a game, etc....). Take it from someone with some clout in the scene(though not as active as I once was, and never a graphic artist), but I could care less about visual effects, and care more about usability. In all fairness, I am not trying to discredit all of the work people do on skins, but I am more about usability then about visual effects, and while I love the top of the line video cards(Mainly because they will hash more passwords, faster than any CPU), there is nothing quite like a simple DB, that you can search, which Aurora is, but I would also be happy with an UnleashX(Favorate og xbox dashboard) dashboard for the 360, if it would work, and support link. As for your issues, all of them are doable, and most of the theme people can and will help you out(Begalegal, felida, etc.). While I solved the problems with the FSD plugin themeing, it was more because I enjoy puzzle, not because I cared about the theme. Same with the cheat manager, which I think when I have the time, to copy the latest version from my old computer, I will upload it as a final version soon. For those that dont know, I finished the final version of the cheat manager over a year ago, and never got around to releasing it, mainly the only new feature is the ability to generate and FTP files to the xbox, or other systems that support FTP directly. Will try to do that later this week, but as I need to go through my old hard drive to put it all together, it wont be tonight. With this release, I will also release the code under the GPL, as I think that all software should be free(Big Supporter of Linux, though that was built with VB.NET 2010), after a point and I would love to see how the community will advance it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 23, 2016 Honestly, I really dont like skinning Aurora, or FSD for that matter, but it isnt rocket science(lol). the biggest issue I have with it is the time line setup, which is cool for visual effects, but a little much if you ask me, for basic commands(Like launching a game, etc....). Take it from someone with some clout in the scene(though not as active as I once was, and never a graphic artist), but I could care less about visual effects, and care more about usability. In all fairness, I am not trying to discredit all of the work people do on skins, but I am more about usability then about visual effects, and while I love the top of the line video cards(Mainly because they will hash more passwords, faster than any CPU), there is nothing quite like a simple DB, that you can search, which Aurora is, but I would also be happy with an UnleashX(Favorate og xbox dashboard) dashboard for the 360, if it would work, and support link. As for your issues, all of them are doable, and most of the theme people can and will help you out(Begalegal, felida, etc.). While I solved the problems with the FSD plugin themeing, it was more because I enjoy puzzle, not because I cared about the theme. Same with the cheat manager, which I think when I have the time, to copy the latest version from my old computer, I will upload it as a final version soon. For those that dont know, I finished the final version of the cheat manager over a year ago, and never got around to releasing it, mainly the only new feature is the ability to generate and FTP files to the xbox, or other systems that support FTP directly. Will try to do that later this week, but as I need to go through my old hard drive to put it all together, it wont be tonight. With this release, I will also release the code under the GPL, as I think that all software should be free(Big Supporter of Linux, though that was built with VB.NET 2010), after a point and I would love to see how the community will advance it. imma have to pick apart your comment to throw my 2 cents in here.. haha but yeah: 1. TIME LINE - there isn't a time line.. lmfao.. its the frame count.. and it isn't apart of aurora, it's actually apart of the xb itself.. 2. Aurora and UnleashX are EXTREMELY similar.. if you really think about it.. Aurora is just more ascetically pleasing.. UnleashX has the dropdown menu-ish type navigation, this is in aurora, just has been changed to button presses, instead of scroll and press A. i "could" go on listing the similarities.. but i think most will get my point.. 3. Aurora DOES have less customization when it comes down to skins and what is possible, but this could easily be changed in 0.6b (IF it has).. and that's where i draw the line at hating skinning.. lol.. there is only so much you can do without breaking aurora.. which i hope gets solved.. but could be the way it is coded with coverflow, and whatnot.. which is nice, dont get me wrong.. just would be nice to NOT be so dependent on coverflow so other stuff can be done, such as a minimalist skin.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 23, 2016 You have to learn what the transitions mean, frame 15 is the end of the transition to it.. then you have the normal frames.. then you have the transback transition so i was a bit busy yesterday sorry couldnt post... i have a few questions #1.what are transitions? why are they needed? why cant they just be normal frames? #2.how to change the color of this text? 0000000020160623171010846.bmpin my skin its not really visible... #3. so there are panels on the bottom of the aurora_main screen.. so i was just trying out new things and while doing that i saw that i can change the visual of the panels but i tried almost every visual.. but nothing seems that it is designed for those panels.. except a few.. and those options are like grey,black,transparent,white,glowing or something like that... can i have it like other colors like green etc.. if yes how to do it? #4. 0000000020160623171022747.bmp so i have attached the image of file browser.. how do i change the green color to any other color for ex. red.. (ignore the yellow box) #5. can i make the font bold? not in specific place but all over aurora... im sorry if im bothering you Felida with some noobish questions.. and @Gavin i know most of the problems are fixable but i dont know how to fix them thats the main problem.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 23, 2016 1. MOST of the stuff you want to change, is within aurora_skin.xur just which specific part.. all depends.. as there is somethings used for multiple purposes.. but here is a hint to help you.. if something calls for a visual, you can bet that it's main portion is within aurora_skin.xur such as text colors and whatnot.. 2. I nor gavin are extremely gifted to knowing all the in's and out's of the skin to recall a specific part when someone asks.. and even then.. we might not have the info at all.. i usually am on here to respond and help.. but i've far long moved out of the skinning stage due to my lack of interest/limitations/limited knowledge 3. i am by far anything from being close to an "expert" on the subject matter.. all the stuff i learned, was trial and error.. my video tut's were made due to swizzy asking me to post em for other people.. wasn't asked by the team, or am i affiliated with the team.. that being said, you have the answers you need.. from the videos and from me telling you in this post about the last piece of the puzzle.. now it's up to you to learn the in's and out's of the skin by trial and error, like the rest of us, not to sound mean or anything, but more so it will be WAY easier for you to do, than me to unpack a skin, and search for individual things.. as it would still be trial and error done by me.. and i dont have the motivation to do so much anymore lol.. EDIT: transitions.. they are what happens when you press start, back, Y, what ever, and something changes and the menu shifts.. they are "normal frames" and can be edited to not have them, or what ever.. the default skin is how Team Phoenix wanted their skin to be.. and their transitions mapped.. all of which is easily done.. but just keep in mind what they are.. as they are linked to certain things.. for example the transition to quickview filter select is different from going into the file manager transition.. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atifkazia 222 Posted June 23, 2016 ahh, now i see i am loading the aurora_skin to show the main screen file browser etc.. so if i make any changes in the aurora_skin it will happen in main screen, file browser etc as well... right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 23, 2016 ahh, now i see i am loading the aurora_skin to show the main screen file browser etc.. so if i make any changes in the aurora_skin it will happen in main screen, file browser etc as well... right? to a certain degree yeah.. you can think of that as where the "main" info is stored for the skin.. everything references back to that.. like what you were asking about the bars and how to change colors of them, they are control panel grey/white in the skin.XUR.. just cant recall "EXACT" names of them.. as there is a LOT of stuff in there.. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gavin_darkglider 1562 Posted June 23, 2016 1. TIME LINE - there isn't a time line.. lmfao.. its the frame count.. and it isn't apart of aurora, it's actually apart of the xb itself.. 2. Aurora and UnleashX are EXTREMELY similar.. if you really think about it.. Aurora is just more ascetically pleasing.. UnleashX has the dropdown menu-ish type navigation, this is in aurora, just has been changed to button presses, instead of scroll and press A. i "could" go on listing the similarities.. but i think most will get my point.. 1. Time line/Frame count, it is about the same if you ask me, as you put them in an order, and tell them how long to play and when to transition, I would call that a frame time line, as it doesnt just count frames. 2. As for aurora and UnleashX being close to the same, I dont see that, other than the fact that they both launch games. Dont get me wrong, I love Aurora, and in alot of ways it is easier to customize, and comes with more features than UnleashX ever did, but I loved that dash back in the day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
felida 1653 Posted June 23, 2016 1. Time line/Frame count, it is about the same if you ask me, as you put them in an order, and tell them how long to play and when to transition, I would call that a frame time line, as it doesnt just count frames. 2. As for aurora and UnleashX being close to the same, I dont see that, other than the fact that they both launch games. Dont get me wrong, I love Aurora, and in alot of ways it is easier to customize, and comes with more features than UnleashX ever did, but I loved that dash back in the day. 1. as i stated, lol.. all those transitions can be removed.. it's xuitool that has it.. not aurora.. lol.. but i do see what you are saying.. but it is better to have an not need that to need and not have ;-) 2. how does that not look like like aurora somewhat? lmao.. Aurora does have more features.. dont get me wrong lol.. i guess "proper" way to phrase it, is Aurora is a beautiful progression from past experience.. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites