Update V1.1: MUASKINNER GUI !!!

[nba2kstuff]

yes Noelemahc, it's actually an easier and quicker process using the program because, you can just use Photoshop or PSP, and just save your image as a BMP file with the normal colors. the program will then automatically do that BGR/RBG flipping for you, and also the mip map generation using Direct X. so you dont need a DDS plugin or a hex editor  either.

however, you can create yur own DDS file, and use that as input instead of  a BMP, and just use that to do the import. you'll have to do the RBG flipping yourself tho. and you still need to specify the info in the  CFG Edit/View file of course. we didnt get that far to decode the header of the IGB to figure out how to automatcally figure out where the DDS mips are. in my other programs for Electronics Arts games, we decoded the file formats completely so we could automate that process fully.

for the next version let me think of a way to automatcially calculate those ofsets for you when the mipmaps are adjacent. maybe if we say like -1 in the offset column, and the program will know to calcuate the next mipmap offset automtically based on the size of the last one.

i still think the program removes a lot of tedious steps in the hex editting and calculaution process but still allows you detailed low level acess if you want it at that level.
i think for general (non expert users) who want to try their hand at modding, it should help and be fun !

see how it works for you Noelemahc and see if it helps to streamline your workflow process next time

peace and keep up the great modding work!

[Joshco]

it's actually an easier and quicker process using the program because, you can just use Photoshop or PSP, and just save your image as a BMP file with the normal colors...

... think for general (non expert users) who want to try their hand at modding, it should help and be fun

This is what is appealing to me, since I'm a definitely a non-expert modder but I am a Photoshop expert... Can't wait to try it tonight.

Josh

[Noelemahc]

Got a problem here. Got a whole lot, ackshually, but I'm a stubborn maniac.

1. The CFG file has to have all the entries in alphabetical order, turns out. Ouchie. Didn't know that, I did.
2. The prog refuses to import anything fer me. If I use a BMP, nothing happens; if I use a DDS, it only inserts the first DDS and crashes, failing to modify the mips. What gives?
Are you SURE there are no prerequisites, like getting nVidia's command line DDS converter or anything?

[nba2kstuff]

For #1) actually i dont think you have to have anything alphabetically sorted in the CFG file. however, it might be case sensitive. ie. watch the lowercase and uppercase in the filename that you put there. it seems to load all the files i tried. Just try browsing for that filename, and hit the load button. if it displays the image in the box it got the info from the CFG file. otherwise, the offset for the main image could be off and the image wont display. or it's not getting the filename. Is there some error message that is coming up briefly flashing you can tell?

for #2) you shouldn't need any other utils to run it. it uses Direct X (which should be installed with the game) to generate the mips.  however you might need the support DLLs supplied here:
http://www.nba2kstuff.org/nba/download/2006/support_wDOLFFIN.exe.htm
try installing that as it's extra DLLS that might not have been installed with Direct X in your system (also mfc.dll).

do you have the example lines in your CFG to try and the test files to check?
i can check here and see if it gets it. i'd recommed using the BMP file as input instead of the DDS as it saves some steps and a better test.

[Noelemahc]

Just that hud_head_0201 line you composed, pasted into the END of the CFG. Causes the error message of the file not being defined in the CFG unless it is put in an alphabetical order. Bleh.

And the DLLs didn't help none, either.

Is there some error message that is coming up briefly flashing you can tell?

For the first, it simply shows your standard "file not defined in CFG" message. For the second, the readout in the command line window flashes past too fast for me to make anything out. Oops.

[Noelemahc]

Bleh. For no apparent reason, the skinner itself, when used via the command line, works A-OK. Ah'm confused.

[nba2kstuff]

yes the reason most likely is depedning on how you installed the program. for the previous versions it was recommended to copy it to c:\windows. however, the GUI version  maintains its own copy of muaskinner.cfg in its own installed location.
if you edit the muaskinner.cfg from the menu File->CFG Edit, or File-> CFG View menu in the skinner UI program, it will work, for sure. if you manually edit the one from the command line in c:\windows, only the command line version will work.
you must have editted the copy of muaskinner.cfg in c:\windows, instead of using the File->Config Edit, or File->Config View menu option to update that CFG file.
it's not that hard, and way easier than manually hex editing a binary for sure, especially for standard users.

[Noelemahc]

however, the GUI version  maintains its own copy of muaskinner.cfg in its own installed location.

That would've been a sound explanation if it was the command line one giving me grief and not the other way around, mate. In case you didn't understand it, I edited the GUI one's CFG file via the GUI itself (I very much like to avoid putting stuff into the Windows dir if I can). Refused to change ANYTHING. So I found where the GUI has the CFG (in the bin subdir, turned out) and edited it again. And then it simply ignored entries appended to the end of the list.
Still doesn't explain why the file insertion via the GUI failed.

[nba2kstuff]

you may need an extra carriage return at the end of that file after you append a new line to it (blank line). perhaps that is why that is happening.
i've never had a problem adding a new line to the end of it.
maybe its the text editor you are using? i use ultraedit. what is the text file editor you use? if you can  upload your version of the file CFG and IGB i can check here if i get the same error also. maybe there is a bug there i dont see.
also, in the next version i'll try to add as many file offsets as i can find and verify to it so general users wont have any problems with it tho.

edit:
the other thing you can check, is if you use the File->CFG View menu option, notepad should pop up. do your edit, and do a Save As, and see if it edits the file? it is a simple edit and it should get that, unless there is something being missed in there?

[Noelemahc]

I use Notepad by default, and that's what the program gave me. The carriage return is something I didn't think of, though. Gonna try it later, see if that works out. Anyway, the command line version works for me and that should suffice for now, neh?

[nba2kstuff]

noel, your one of the most adept developers here. you should be able to get it to work so others can do it easily. i wrote that progam for you to make your job easier and as a by product to help less experinced modders to have some fun to do it easier.
please try to get the UI to work when you can? so we can have something easy and working for general users?

[sariks]

Fanx !!!!

[thetommyboy2002]

Hi, I've been using the GUI MUASkinner to make Hud and Icon files, and it's a big help.
However, the icons are proving to be a bother.
I can extract/export the art file without trouble.
I then save as a .BMP with the 32bit A8R8G8B8 option set, and import it without any error messages, and it looks like its supposed to, both in TextureFinder and in MUASkinner. So far so good.
I start the game, and as soon as I select the character the icons apply to, the game crashes to desktop.
This happens with more than one character and more than one icon set, so I'm pretty sure it's not an error I'm making. If I revert back to the original icons, everythings fine, so obviously it's something I'm doing wrong, but what?

These are the values in my .cfg file, and they look OK to me(I had to alter them slightly from the Doc strange ones to get them to look OK):
drstr_icons.igb,RAGB,256,256,6217.
warbird_icons.igb,RAGB,256,256,6215.
lukecage_icons.igb,RAGB,256,256,6216.

I save in photoshop as a 32 bit BMP (A8R8G8B8), assuming that MUASkinner flips the channels around like it should.
Am I saving in the wrong format, or with the wrong settings?
Anyone else having this problem?

[thetommyboy2002]

Nevermind, I found what I was doing wrong, and now it works fine.
3 cheers for NBA2K!