piraterat
Comment #2 Monday, March 26, 2007 2:09 AM
Comment #2 Monday, March 26, 2007 2:09 AM
Okay fine... I'll let the secret out of the bag... maybe at least I'll get credit for the idea anyway...
What I'm doing (or at least trying to do), is take advantage of the fact that the background is black. If I make the progress bar black, then I can simulate the periods after the word "Connecting" to tick away like a progress indicator (wherein they fill up and then start all over again).
How do I ensure that all colors are in a black progress bar? Is what I'm attempting to do even POSSIBLE? Or was this epiphany really just a misunderstanding of the rules of making these skins work?
If you can help me get all the colors in the bar (by tellin' me what I'm doin' wrong), I'd REALLY appreciate it.
Oh, and one more thing, am I stuck with the 22x8 pixel size of the bar (which shrunk me down to only 3 dots), or can I use a bar that's 150x8 pixels, so I can have all seven dots tick?
What I'm doing (or at least trying to do), is take advantage of the fact that the background is black. If I make the progress bar black, then I can simulate the periods after the word "Connecting" to tick away like a progress indicator (wherein they fill up and then start all over again).
How do I ensure that all colors are in a black progress bar? Is what I'm attempting to do even POSSIBLE? Or was this epiphany really just a misunderstanding of the rules of making these skins work?
If you can help me get all the colors in the bar (by tellin' me what I'm doin' wrong), I'd REALLY appreciate it.
Oh, and one more thing, am I stuck with the 22x8 pixel size of the bar (which shrunk me down to only 3 dots), or can I use a bar that's 150x8 pixels, so I can have all seven dots tick?
unclerob
Comment #3 Tuesday, April 3, 2007 9:11 PM
Comment #3 Tuesday, April 3, 2007 9:11 PM
I think there is a size restriction on progress bars but don't quote me, I've never attempted making anything bigger than 22x9, the progress bar area itself can be as long as you want and you can make your progress bar travel the entire width of the screen (nearly) without getting an error during the bootup process.
You can make the progress bar black but it will erase the image it's running on top of during it's first pass, the bkgrnd image won't get redrawn so you will have removed those periods and you're trying to keep them from what I can tell.
I don't think what you're doing is currently possible but it was a good idea, it's original - I haven't seen anyone else attempt that or mention it.
A person who has come up with the most original progress bars for bootskins is SkinnedAlive, he has taken a break from the site but I'm sure he'll resurface again sooner than later - his bootskins are among the best and he's a wizard with manipulating colors and making images look their best even in a 16 color environment. You should definitely check out his stuff! I believe his email address is on his profile page.
I wish I could have helped you more on this issue. You will ultimately find that experience is your best teacher so keep plugging away at it, the bootskin above is really good, I look forward to seeing more of your bootskin work in the future.
You can make the progress bar black but it will erase the image it's running on top of during it's first pass, the bkgrnd image won't get redrawn so you will have removed those periods and you're trying to keep them from what I can tell.
I don't think what you're doing is currently possible but it was a good idea, it's original - I haven't seen anyone else attempt that or mention it.
A person who has come up with the most original progress bars for bootskins is SkinnedAlive, he has taken a break from the site but I'm sure he'll resurface again sooner than later - his bootskins are among the best and he's a wizard with manipulating colors and making images look their best even in a 16 color environment. You should definitely check out his stuff! I believe his email address is on his profile page.
I wish I could have helped you more on this issue. You will ultimately find that experience is your best teacher so keep plugging away at it, the bootskin above is really good, I look forward to seeing more of your bootskin work in the future.
piraterat
Comment #4 Thursday, April 5, 2007 6:43 PM
Comment #4 Thursday, April 5, 2007 6:43 PM
Yeah, that's what it looks like it's doing on this version I have on-line...
(the one on my computer doesn't animate either -- after I entered every single color into the progress bar by hand, before stripping it down to 16 colors)
Oh well, guess I get an 'A' for effort.
Thanks for replying, and letting me know yer thoughts on this idea; guess i kinda knew it was too good to be true.
Back to the drawin' board...
Guess I'll see what ideas I can get from SkinnedAlive once I figure out what's makin' my PC act up this time...
But like I said, thanks a million for all yer help.
(the one on my computer doesn't animate either -- after I entered every single color into the progress bar by hand, before stripping it down to 16 colors)
Oh well, guess I get an 'A' for effort.
Thanks for replying, and letting me know yer thoughts on this idea; guess i kinda knew it was too good to be true.
Back to the drawin' board...
Guess I'll see what ideas I can get from SkinnedAlive once I figure out what's makin' my PC act up this time...
But like I said, thanks a million for all yer help.
Curranistan
Comment #5 Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:01 PM
Comment #5 Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:01 PM
Hi piraterat,
I expermented with something simular to what you discribe (though slightly different) I broke the size limit(height) of the bar and produced some sort of write errors (looks like a bar code) but was able to cover it with black space on the sides of the bar. I didnt post it becuase I wasnt sure it would work on other resolutions (and becuase it was yet another AYB bootscreen). Anyway dimentiosn of the bar where 250 x 19 pixels (and it does work on my 1600 x 1200 native resolution monitor) so your idea about taking advantage of the background color is not without merit. I also found that if you make the first color of your palette different from the background of the picture it will copy that color over behind the progress of the bar (can make a basic progress bar). I'll go post the AYB boot with weird bar size. In case you are interested. BTW props for trying the moving dots scheme.
I expermented with something simular to what you discribe (though slightly different) I broke the size limit(height) of the bar and produced some sort of write errors (looks like a bar code) but was able to cover it with black space on the sides of the bar. I didnt post it becuase I wasnt sure it would work on other resolutions (and becuase it was yet another AYB bootscreen). Anyway dimentiosn of the bar where 250 x 19 pixels (and it does work on my 1600 x 1200 native resolution monitor) so your idea about taking advantage of the background color is not without merit. I also found that if you make the first color of your palette different from the background of the picture it will copy that color over behind the progress of the bar (can make a basic progress bar). I'll go post the AYB boot with weird bar size. In case you are interested. BTW props for trying the moving dots scheme.
piraterat
Comment #7 Wednesday, April 25, 2007 9:39 PM
Comment #7 Wednesday, April 25, 2007 9:39 PM
Thanks a mil curranistan... I'll see how the AYB of yers looks on my 1024 x 768; and let ya know what I find...
DeMaRo-KeNpAcHi
Comment #8 Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:20 AM
Comment #8 Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:20 AM
this is cool dude cant wait til the guys can apply these type of boots on vista
viktor15
Comment #9 Friday, August 15, 2008 7:56 AM
Comment #9 Friday, August 15, 2008 7:56 AM
how can I install it for Vista? please help. thx
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Comment #1 Sunday, March 25, 2007 1:35 PM
if they don't share the same color palette, you will notice the the bootskin colors get corrupted and you get a funky looking image during bootup.
What effect are you trying to acheive with the progress bar?