[ipab]

anything new Steve?

[TheSteve]

As far as RLE's go, no.

My memory patching software is comming along well however. Stay tuned.

[TheSteve]

I have made progress on the RLE problem. :)

While I haven't been able to decode them, I can replace them with a bitmap or png as messenger uses the rcimg function and determines the type manually.

[theunknown]

we've known that for a while... the problem is w/o being able to decode the RLE files we (skinners) have problems determining image dimentions and image locations.

-The Unknown

[TheSteve]

Image dimensions are the tough part.
Image locations can be determined by looking at the style for the specific area.

For example, the picture on top of the contact list is mentioned in 4004 -> 947
So we then go to 4005 -> 947 and find the msnlogo element.

element[id=atom(msnlogo)]
{
content:rcimg(255);
}

so since that is rcimg(255), and we know the images are stored in 4000, replacing 4000 -> 255 will replace the msn logo on the window frame.

EDIT: Don't worry, I'll keep trying to decode the format.

This post has been edited by TheSteve: 28 December 2005 - 02:35 AM

[TheSteve]

ipab, on Dec 22 2005, 04:05 PM, said:

*waits eagerly*

Hope this is good :)

I hope people will like as much as those who have already tried it.
http://forums.msnfan...showtopic=13988

[theunknown]

about the locations... not every graphic is referenced in the UIFILE's - an example is the block button, the graphics for its different states arnt referenced anywhere, the CL buddy icons are another. What your saying it for the most part accurite, but cannot be used 100% of the time.

as for your Skinning project, this was an idea i'd spoken to ipab about some time ago... its great to see someone actually putting it together :) .

-The Unknown

This post has been edited by theunknown: 28 December 2005 - 10:33 AM

[ipab]

well yeh, i coudn't get past some hurdles, therefore when wlm came out I just kinda gave up :(. Glad to see someone having the patience in doing it.

[Fizical]

also it will be a real pain breaking everything down one by one without access to the original images when skinning this. while the uifiles tell us what does what we can't be 100% sure of what it looks like originally until we play around with that specific image. meaning that skinning it the first time will take considerable longer then a skin should normally take us.

this new program is interesting.. will be interesting to see how it works with full blown skins.

[-=blu3+3y3s=-]

Hi, people, I think I've found some things that can help you.
It is about the structure of the file. Don't know if you have found this so I put here.

First of all, the header:

52 4C 45 = RLE (begins always by that)
01 (don't know, perhaps for next feature, simple separator or start of the hell brrrrrrr!!!)
08 (don't know, can be 00, 08, 20)
XX or XXXX (it is the lenght of the data. The lenght of the data begins here) I think the max of the data that can be 64 ko. When it is XXXX, inverse to find the lenght.;)
XX ( it is the width of the file)
XX (Don't know. Can be 00, 80, C0, other?? That seems to be a round number like 00, 10, 20,...)
XX ( it is the height of the file)

Now, the data:
In the first time, I have thought that id a matrix color but not at all, it is where each line is cut.
We have 4 cut style.
That always begin by 00, 10, 20 or 30.
When it is 00, we have always a serie of number which is followed like 00 1A 28 3C 46 5B, etc...
The last number is always lower than the overall length of the data.
When it is 10, the lenght of the data is always XXXX. It is also a serie if number but now, there is 2 elements like that 10 1A 00 56 00 8A 00 AA 00 FB 00 16 01 .... Inversed like the lenght of the data.
I don't find for 20 and 30, I think it is when it is a small picture like 1*1,2*2, 1*7....

Now, how to cut line by line:
Now we know where we must cut each line but where we must start and how count?
It is simple, the start is where the data starts ;) so by 00 or 10.
The simplest to show you how to make is to do it on a true file.
So I have selected the RLE file n°264, it is the separatorh.

Here is the data:
52 4C 45 01 00 13 01 30 05 00 06 07 08 09 F8 02 88 03 88 03 50 03 B0 01

Now the cut:
52 4C 45 = RLE
01 00
13 = lenght of the data
01 = width
30
05 = height
00 06 07 08 09 (09 is lower than 13)
0----------> 4 (not the cut, continue Always start by 0)
F8 02
5-->6 (Yeah, the cut is here)
88 03
6-->7 (next cut, start with the number of the last data)
88 03
7-->8
50 03
8-->9
B0 01
9-->end of file

Result:
52 4C 45
01 00
13
01
30
05
00 06 07 08 09
F8 02
88 03
88 03
50 03
B0 01

I have found another thing too, when the lenght of the data isn't near the lenght of the file, that wants to say that the file contents more of one picture in.
That can be another picture (see the RLE file n°472, it is ExpandCollapseIcon. We have inside the plus and minus icon) et part of the same picture.
Each part of the next picture or part of picture starts with the hex FE. We have 4 numbers after who is the lenght of data, the width, number don't know and the height.
Like that:
FE 3B 06 80 05.

Now we know how is the structure of the file, we can decompress the data but this, I can't do it. I hope you understand what I said and I have helped you.;)
In a few days, I will give a zip file where I'm sure the data is correctly cut.

[Stianu89]

Any news?

[TheBlasphemer]

Although the format is still unknown, You can now find an RLE->PNG converter over at messenger-blog.com
See this post for information:
http://www.messenger-blog.com/?p=176

Mind you, this does not decode the RLE format, this merely reconstructs a (quite accurate) PNG image with alpha channel from what the internal messenger library draws.

[Doggie]

interesting, good stuff TB :)

[ipab]

awesome TB :).

[Doggie]

its nice to see progress happening, hopefully soon fully fledged skins :)

[Monkey]

When trying to change some stuff in the _ button file (201.rle) I noticed it works with horizontal lines.
You have a part in 201.rle where it says 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 , the 24 thingy is a transparent horizontal line here. 84 45 FD 09 is right after the 24 stuff and if you replace that with 24 24 24 also you only have a single lined _ button left. :)

84 45 FD 09
this stuff starts with 84 and ends with 09
if you change the 5 in 0 you will only have 1 pixel on that row, when you change it to 1 it will have 2 pixels in the row, etcetra, changing the rest will sometimes make weird black-blue gradients. *-)


Where in 201.rle there seems to be a palet indicated by the B0 (C0 creates pinkyelloworange dots on the normally blue places, other values might make the program fail to create a png of it), in 198.rle there are normal hex colors used: C8D0E8 F8F8F8 8090C8
You can't replace these colors to pure colors like FF or 00, so replace FF with like F8 and 00 with like 08 in your colors.

This post has been edited by Monkey: 29 January 2006 - 02:33 PM

[Doggie]

TheSteve has posted great information on the RLE extension. Go here http://forums.fanati...showtopic=15409 for more, continue the discussion on that page :)