Image Size? Hmmm...
 

I'm currently working on some custom Skins (to be released at a later date), however I've noticed something that's got me riddled about some of the current base letterbox skins that are already available. I'm well aware of the "Power of 2" staple...coming from WoW and doing a lot of custom image work in that game.

However, almost every skin I've used up to this point has a height that does not conform to this rule. Most common, I see a height around 85 pixels. So my curiousity is peaked...can the sizes be "other" than powers of 2?

Remember, it's the file that has to be power of two, not the actual image itself. The image can be whatever size you want it to be, so long as you have enough transparency around it to make the file a power of two rectangle.

Well yea, obviously transparency is the key in using odd-shaped images in the game, using the mask to create the transparent area. But doesn't that mean, on an image I download from, say, here (take for instance the E3 or Dwarven Bottom Bar), that the image should be 1024x(insertx2pixelhere)?

Both images show at 1024x85 pixels. It just seems odd to me, or maybe I'm missing something? It's not just the "image" portion, the 85 pixel height includes the black alpha channel that contains the transparency.

Also: I should ask as well. When creating a bottom bar, can the width of the image vary? Or is there a limitation based on the "AssetID" that allows it to only be a certain width/height? I'm curious because I'm going to attempt skinning all the way across the bottom of the screen (at 1280px width), and I'm wondering if the image will be limited through scaling/stretching once I apply the skin in-game (can't try it right now, I made it at work and won't get to try uploading it until I get home tonight).

You are correct and my apologies. I made the fatal mistake of 'assuming' something, and had not actually opened up any of the images myself to check. I have now. How very unusual. Well, with power of two being thrown out the window here, I'm no longer sure of any of the usual 'rules'.

That's interesting...I come from the "zomg it must be x2" situation over at WoW, so it seems interesting that the images don't demand similar rules here in LotRO. Has Turbine confirmed image properties/restrictions for Skinning?

Everything we know to this point (that I've been able to find scouring the Closed Beta UI forum) is posted here as well, most notably in the sticky thread in the Tutorial section. The other way to find more info is to look for anything posted by Frosty or agentfive, the two Turbine employees that are posting here as well.

powers of 2
 

afaik, your skins can be just the exact dimensions of the surface on the UI.

*pauses*

Ok, I just spoke to our graphics guru.

On some older cards, the textures are expected to be powers of two. However, the engine will read your texture (of whatever size) and place it (internally) on a surface of the correct size and alpha out the "un filled" portions.

On newer graphics cards, the textures can be any sized, so we just use what's read in from disk.

The end result is that you can make your textures the exact size of the image on screen and the engine will handle it automatically.

-P

Thanks for the details, Frosty. I read somewhere that the Bottom Bar size is 1074x85...so I built my first skin at that dimension and it offset a little bit, so it seems the Bottom Bar handles 1024x85...that seems to be the magical number for that. Does not allow for skinning outside the handled size, so it's a matter of locking down the sizes of each element (which are predefined it seems) and then building with that schematic in mind when mapping the skin.

Any future ideas on allowing mapping outside the size? I tried using an "AbsDimension" xml function inside the mapping tags and it voided the entire SkinDefinition xml file...so that won't work :p Had to try, though!

Or, allowing for the mapping of a "Chat Border"? I can imagine a lot of people would be interested in integrating their Chat Windows into the "Skin" of the UI (mainly the bottom bar, hence why I was tryin to skin all the way across the screen to do that).

I think somewhere there's a list of the elements and their sizes... but it might not have been made public yet (so hard for me to remember where I read things.) but the toolbar is 1024x85.

Mapping outside the size of a graphic (for stretching or compression, etc) won't be available, iirc. And using any other keywords than what we've published is forbidden. The format is mine! All mine I tell you! (ahem) It's a really simple XML format without all the function-y goodness.

I don't know anything about the chat border specifically, or if there is even an ArtAssetID tag for it. There are a bunch of media that we don't (currently) let you replace. I am currently unsure of any changes we will be making through launch.

-P

Is there any way to increase the size of an UI graphic? Say I want to make the Bottom Bar taller than 85. Thanks.