[EXE Skin] LF2 Stylish

[SG2]

(Note: this is pretty much finished, but I was told I didn't have permission to make a thread in the Releases forum, so if a mod wants to move this, please do so.)

INTRODUCTION
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Hello all, I'm pretty much a newbie and this is my first release of any kind here, but I hope you'll all enjoy it.

I created this custom .exe primarily for use with the mod I'm working on with a friend, but decided to release it for everyone to enjoy. Why would I do such a thing, you ask? Well, to be honest, it's because all the other .exe skins I've encountered have ranged from mediocre to terrible, with clashing color schemes or just a new picture or two added, and some of them just plain don't work with version 2.0 to boot. As a graphic design student, I knew I could do better, so I spent a few days dabbling with the Resource Hacker and creating my own graphic replacements for just about every last item in the .exe. What you'll find is a completely reskinned LF2 with new menu designs, fonts, and a unified color scheme throughout (the colors are based on the default theme for my forums, and in general I find dark color schemes make for elegant designs). I put care and detail into making even the tiniest details look refreshing and new to suit this design scheme. But enough talking, I'll let you decide what you think with some screenshots.

Screenshots (Click to View)

DESCRIPTION
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This isn't a mod. I haven't changed any of the characters or gameplay features in any way. All this is, is the default LF2.exe given brand-new graphics and colors, as well as a pack that includes new small portrait images (ex. davis_s.bmp) to better match the skin. That's it!! Just drop it into your LF2 directory and run the .exe.

Other things I've changed include the removal of all Chinese text from the menus (except the Stage Mode Ending message) and the rewording of several things in the menus, either because I thought I could make them sound better (ex. Select Battlefield instead of Background), or because of the restrictions with the font I was using for titles (ex. Video Capture instead of Recording Info, because the tail on the lowercase 'g' was too long and messed up the menu spacing)...things like that. Everything basically retains its original meaning throughout, though, so this should only be a problem if you really, really, really liked the words 'two-on-two championship' more than 'team championship' or something :P

DOWNLOAD
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http://www.mediafire.com/?eqcfp81pz4bg1j6

CREDITS
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Everything included in this .exe was made and modified by me. The elements that were not changed/replaced are those from the default LF2.exe created when the game is first installed.

MISC. NOTES
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As I said, I started this with the intention of using it for my own mod, and only halfway through did I think 'I should release this to everybody'. As a result, I took the .exe I was already modifying with my own forum's branding and then reverted some things back to LF2 (like the copyright, background images on the main menus, etc). I do think I got everything, but if you notice something that still mentions IGNO/IGNOLand, has a picture of a non-LF2 char, or just something that you think I missed and forgot to change in general, let me know!! Any feedback is welcome, and who knows, maybe if enough people agree on something (like the font choices) I'll make some changes.

[Sonic Boom]

Looks Really Amazing man
If I am gonna play LF2 again sometime gotta be sure to use this exe :P

[Dr. Time]

Looks great.I'll try it out now.

[Ramond]

I really like your style, and this new color scheme also is a welcome change from the ordignarly blue that LF2 is (over-)using. :P

Moving to Releases. Of course you can always update this skin in future but it looks pretty much complete already.

(The only thing that's kinda bothering me is the slightly different color background of the data loading text. Perhaps you could put a little "box" there that matches the color?)

[InPhiKnight]

really cool exe skin. love it!

[Bamboori]

neat!
problem is though that you have to change the char_s pics

[SG2]

Thanks, everyone

(The only thing that's kinda bothering me is the slightly different color background of the data loading text. Perhaps you could put a little "box" there that matches the color?)

Ah, I see what you mean. It's a lot less noticeable on the version with my mod's loading screen, and I just didn't change it for this one. I can fix that up and update the download later.

problem is though that you have to change the char_s pics

Well, you technically don't have to, but it looks a lot nicer if you do. My recommendation is backing up the _s.bmp portraits so they can be changed back if you decide to run an .exe with the original color scheme (like a mod). If enough people would rather not have to replace those, I could always put a border around the areas that use them, so the blue doesn't look as out of place against the black background.

[Lauli]

Nice skin, what's the font you used?

Actually, wouldn't it be possible to store the _s.bmps inside the exe?
I mean, it'd be a little difficult to do it, but... the idea counts, hahaa.

[SG2]

Nice skin, what's the font you used?

There are two fonts used - the funky, jagged one on the menus and such is Leap of Faith; the regular-looking one used in most other places is PT Sans, one of my favorites.

Actually, wouldn't it be possible to store the _s.bmps inside the exe?

I don't think so...there's no place they could go inside the .exe resources, and it would make installing additional characters a problem, because their _s.bmp would go into the regular sprites folder. I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you can do by editing the .exe. I can however draw a border around the areas where they appear if people really don't want to replace their _s.bmps, so the blue background of the originals looks like it's inside' a box.

Speaking of which, I updated the download to do the same thing for the loading text.



^ this is the sort of thing I could do if people didn't want to replace their _s.bmp files. I could even include both versions, so people could choose.

[Electric2Shock]

I would go for it, since replacing all the _s files makes feel like its over.

Whats over anyway?