Thread: LOTRO Skin Editor

After a very long time, I finally dusted off the cobwebs on this project, and made a new version.

If you are interested in creating custom skins, or maybe modifying someone else's skin for your screen, but don't want to mess with the XML file, then you should check this out. It will allow you to move elements of the UI around, or change the graphics with an easy to use interface.

You can download it here.

Currently you can edit the following panels:

• Toolbar
• Bags (all 5)
• Player Portrait
• Opponent Portrait
• Minimap
• EndTravel Window
• Vendor Window
• World Join Panel
• Deed Log (missing a couple of items)
• Trait Panel (missing a number of elements)
• RK Attunement Panel
• Warden Gambit Panel
• Mount Panel

I am currently thinking about how to implement grouping the art asset list into categories, and having the program remember which panels the user does/does not want to write to the XML file.

This is a work in progress, and as such I am always looking for feedback about it. Want a feature added or changed? Looking for a specific panel implemented? Please, let me know.

oh... thx u =)

This has been updated with some more UI Elements available.

Very nice. Is it possible to put it in to wineskin app? Mac users will thank you

Well, I don't have a MAC so I would not be able to test it at all. That is a pretty big stumbling block for me. I would not want to just attempt to port it and only have feedback from users as a means of debug.

well mb you are right, but in my opinion better to try to do it...

Really nice tool, thanks for taking the time to develop it.

Thanks for developing and sharing this nice tool.

Thanks for this tool! It would be a great way to edit the skins instead of starting the game 30 times to check some changes. Some things I would like to see:

- add all panels to the editor (crafting, housing, legendary items etc.)
- only load the panel you're editing! Currently I see everything and can't really edit anything, because they're overlapping each other.
- there's a small problem displaying the top right title bar graphic. It seems that it shows some pixels more than it should and continues to start over with the same graphic.
- another problem with drag and drop the items with the help of the MoveBar: If two panels are overlapping, it drags both of them! But if you fix displaying only the panel you want to edit, you can solve this, too.
- an option to close the current loaded skin
- load the original graphics if you only have a SkinDefinition.xml without graphics

I'm looking forward to use it if it can edit all panels.

Originally Posted by Farothhen

Thanks for this tool! It would be a great way to edit the skins instead of starting the game 30 times to check some changes. Some things I would like to see:

Thank you, I will address your points below.

- add all panels to the editor (crafting, housing, legendary items etc.)

I have been waiting for the latest SkinDictionary file from Turbine to do this. Now that I have it I have been working on getting some more panels added into the package. This is a very time consuming activity, so please be patient.

- only load the panel you're editing! Currently I see everything and can't really edit anything, because they're overlapping each other.

You can do this three ways actually:

You can do this manually by only having the panel files you want to edit in the Panel Data folder.

You can also hide panels in the editor by selecting the panel you want to hide with the 'Panel Selection' drop down on the right side, then click on the first element in the 'Element Navigation' list. Once the main element has been selected, the visibility property can be changed to hide the panel.

Third, if the panel is a normal UI window with a close button, just click the close button to hide the panel.

At some point I will implement a panel management tool in the editor to select which panels to load.

- there's a small problem displaying the top right title bar graphic. It seems that it shows some pixels more than it should and continues to start over with the same graphic.

I follow the same basic process that I think Turbine does in game as far as drawing. If the art used to draw an element is too small, the element is repeated. Also, I use the data given by Turbine in the latest SkinDictionary file to set the size of elements in the editor. It could be possible the data does not match what the game does exactly. I also use the Turbine ArtAsset bundle to test the editor, so if it is visible on a specific skin, let me know.

- another problem with drag and drop the items with the help of the MoveBar: If two panels are overlapping, it drags both of them! But if you fix displaying only the panel you want to edit, you can solve this, too.

Yes, at some point I will look into hiding the mouse events from the non-focus panels.

- an option to close the current loaded skin

I'll put it on the todo list.

- load the original graphics if you only have a SkinDefinition.xml without graphics

I doubt this is something I will implement. I will not include any Turbine assets in my download, so it is possible not everyone will have the assets. I would recommend downloading the latest ArtAssets package from Turbine, and starting a new skin based on that.

Thanks for the answers! They all seem to be reasonable and I will wait for another version.

Oh, one more question: Do you take the panels from the Isengard UI Skinning Package Update from Lotrointerface? If yes, there are a few panels which crash the UI and differs a lot from the ones in the current game. If not, I would like to have those updated files if it's possible.

Originally Posted by Farothhen

Oh, one more question: Do you take the panels from the Isengard UI Skinning Package Update from Lotrointerface? If yes, there are a few panels which crash the UI and differs a lot from the ones in the current game. If not, I would like to have those updated files if it's possible.

Yes I do actually, however I have not attempted to use them in the game yet. Let me know which panels are causing issues and I will see if there is something I can do to stop them from crashing the client.

It doesn't crash the client, only the layout - I'm sorry. Here are a few pics:



Left: Original theme with a resizeable (!) window
Right: Copied only the original code into my SkinDefinition.xml -> no resizeable window and a lot smaller!



Left: Original theme
Right: Copied the original code into my SkinDefinition.xml -> it brakes the layout!

Until now, I found the error with "ID_UISkin_PaperItemPanel" and "ID_UISkin_ItemAdvancement_For ge_Window". Perhaps there are other panels, but I only use four for my changes and those two made the errors. The copied code is without any changes out of the Skinning Package. An IM to Narrel was send without receiving an answer. I hope he/she will answer in the future...

Originally Posted by Farothhen

It doesn't crash the client, only the layout - I'm sorry. Here are a few pics:

Left: Original theme with a resizeable (!) window
Right: Copied only the original code into my SkinDefinition.xml -> no resizeable window and a lot smaller!

Left: Original theme
Right: Copied the original code into my SkinDefinition.xml -> it brakes the layout!

Until now, I found the error with "ID_UISkin_PaperItemPanel" and "ID_UISkin_ItemAdvancement_For ge_Window". Perhaps there are other panels, but I only use four for my changes and those two made the errors. The copied code is without any changes out of the Skinning Package. An IM to Narrel was send without receiving an answer. I hope he/she will answer in the future...

Yes, I have found a few issues myself. The Barter Wallet does not work for me as well, but I don't appear to have any issue with the Forge Window. Another window I do have issues with is the Social Window, it also fails to resize.

I think the problem with the Forge Window is that the default sizes for some fields is too small causing the text to wrap. It might be that the german client is not able to override the default values.

I have uploaded the latest version of the editor, along with every panel in the SkinDictionary file. I have also started at list of panels that break in game in the description.

Great new version! Thanks! So sad that few graphics are missing in the skinning package.

I forgot to say thanks for 0.61!