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09-13-08, 02:55 PM   #1
dragongirl411
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ButtonFacade: questions about creating custom skins.

Hi there. I posted these questions in another forum and didn't get any responses. Hopefully I can get some help here.

1) Am I correct in thinking that the backdrop and normal artwork are the only 2 layers that create the actual button skin, and the other layers are more for effects? I'm trying to keep this all straight in my head for when I create the artwork in Photoshop.

2) I tried modifying the height/width of the hotkey, count and name in the lua file, but this doesn't seem to do anything to the text in the game. Is the only way I can actually change the size of this text by changing the scale of the action bar?

3) No matter what action bar addon I try, I can't skin the micro menu. Am I doing something wrong or is that just how it is (I am able to skin the bag bar)?

4) Here's the big question...My button skin is round and because of this the corners of the icon stick out just a bit beyond my button. Is there a way to mask the icons to hide the corners (see attached s/s)? This also occurs on the pet bar for the pet abilities that are in use (the flashy effect)

Thanks in advance for answers to any/all of my questions.
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09-13-08, 04:20 PM   #2
Elloria
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1) Ive picked apart other skins and that is all ive found. That and gloss of course.

2) You can change the coords of the text if im not mistaken

3) Sorry But im not sure about this part. Ive never seen any other mod skin this part either. I wonder if its protected?

4) What about the icon size? did you do that one? I remember next to the code it says its resized to get rid of the silvery edges can you maybe try that?

btw thats one sexy skin there :P I want!
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09-13-08, 06:44 PM   #3
Seerah
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3. It's because those buttons are not square. There is no method to skin them in ButtonFacade. If it was planned before jjsheets left, I don't recall.

4. You need to resize your button so that the corners disappear behind the texture.
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09-14-08, 09:02 AM   #4
dragongirl411
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Sorry if I posted this in the wrong thread :P

And thanks for the replies.

4) Yes I did try resizing the icon, but the problem is that if I make it any smaller, then there's a leak inside the button.

I was looking at BF_Trinity, specifically the Hex skins, and there's no icon corners sticking out and no leaks inside the button so I figured there's gotta be a way to mask off those corners.

I'm going to try asking Maul how this was done. If I get a response I'll post it here.

Edit: if JJ left, did someone else take over ButtonFacade?
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09-14-08, 12:31 PM   #5
Seerah
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Originally Posted by dragongirl411 View Post
Sorry if I posted this in the wrong thread :P

And thanks for the replies.

4) Yes I did try resizing the icon, but the problem is that if I make it any smaller, then there's a leak inside the button.
I'm fairly certain I recall discussions that this is how it is done. You can look at the other round BF skins if you like.
Edit: if JJ left, did someone else take over ButtonFacade?
Nope. At least not yet.
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09-15-08, 07:34 AM   #6
dragongirl411
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Well, I'll play around with it some more and see if I can't get it all straightened out. I guess the next step would be to go ahead and release it and let others test it out.

Thanks for the help all
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09-15-08, 07:43 AM   #7
dragongirl411
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So I just checked, and I did receive a reply from Maul. Here's what he had to say:

"There is no masking of WoW graphics in the sense of traditional graphics editing.

First, I go through pain-staking sizing and resizing until the icon is as large as it can be without peeking out the outside edges. I do this with the button at a scale of 3 (very large )

Second, once I get the icon to the size I want, I see how much of the "squareness" is exposed on the inside of the skin. Once I do that, I created an alpha layer to "blackout" those areas. Again, this can be a pain-staking process to get right.

You can also see this "blackout" alpha layer technique in the round skin of CyCircled/Button Facade, except they do it on the outside of the button. If you look closely, you can see the black ring on the skins. That black ring hides the corners that extend beyond the outside edge of the skin.

I prefer the technique I use (inner black mask/ring) as it gives the buttons a 'crisper' look, imho."

So I guess I've got some tweaking to do. Of course I pick a more difficult shape to work with for my very first button skin. But I've learned more by doing it this way

Thanks again to all that helped.
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09-18-08, 07:51 AM   #8
Maul
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The menu buttons are just not put together like action buttons. In the last beta build of Trinity Bars (not released) I did manage to get the menu buttons skinned quite nicely. It requires adding new texture layers and moving the current ones around. So, it is possible.

Currently, in Macaroon, I am trying to "trick" button facade into skinning the menu buttons properly. I have been somewhat successful, but its not 100% yet (about 75%)
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09-18-08, 09:03 AM   #9
Elloria
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Hey that sounds really cool. good luck on getting it to work. Can't wait to sink my teeth into a new version of your great bar mod.
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09-18-08, 06:04 PM   #10
dragongirl411
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Originally Posted by Maul View Post
The menu buttons are just not put together like action buttons. In the last beta build of Trinity Bars (not released) I did manage to get the menu buttons skinned quite nicely. It requires adding new texture layers and moving the current ones around. So, it is possible.

Currently, in Macaroon, I am trying to "trick" button facade into skinning the menu buttons properly. I have been somewhat successful, but its not 100% yet (about 75%)
Keep me posted, I would be interested in finding out if you can do this.



Originally Posted by Elloria View Post
Hey that sounds really cool. good luck on getting it to work. Can't wait to sink my teeth into a new version of your great bar mod.
lol...."can't wait to skin my teeth"....lol

Hey Elloria, did you release your teeth skin?
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WoWInterface » Developer Discussions » General Authoring Discussion » ButtonFacade: questions about creating custom skins.

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