Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Krusty on November 03, 2011, 01:23:33 AM
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Working on the ground work for a new skins catalog resource for skinners and just for general AH users, I am trying to decide on a good compromise between preview image SIZE and preview image RESOLUTION (i.e. storage vs conveying the details in the skin).
Here are 4 preview examples (900x550 each):
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109e4_3.jpg
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109e4_5.jpg
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109f4_3.jpg
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109f4_6.jpg
I have them in the angle and lighting I want and am going through the bf109 screenshots I took so far (93 bf109 skins alone!) and I am worried the quality I'm saving them is offsetting the higher file size. At around 70kb each, it adds up.
On the other hand I can reduce the resolution and up the quality a bit to make the details better.
Thoughts/opinions?
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If the idea is to just show players what the colour scheme basically looks like then you could safely make the images a fair bit smaller than that to save space. However if you are also trying to convey the quality of the skin, (weathering, rivet detail etc.) then the more detail the better.
Thanks for attempting this Krusty, I'm sure it will be appreciated by a lot of AH players. If the overall size is going to be an issue perhaps HTC could host it, maybe on AH Wiki?
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what kind of fie size limits are you dealing with?
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I don't think it will be too much of an issue, but in general I try to be mindful of larger images.
I did want to try to convey some of the detail on the skin. I think that helps one appreciate it and/or if somebody is undecided it may help them come to a decision on what to fly in-game.
I will try down-sizing to only 800 pixels wide when I get home. I want to nail down the format before I go through hundreds of skins and make hundreds of screenshots, only to need to do it over again ;)
Dicho: No limit per se, just general preference and practice makes me keep the size down. Say each image so far is 70kb, and say we have 300 skins... That's 21MB of just screenshots (not counting if I want thumbnails!).
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lol, I just noticed here:
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109e4_5.jpg
totally wrong caption! I'm still making templates, copy/pasting layers, etc. I never edited that text before re-saving the file.
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Krusty what if you did 2 images for each skin...A large over all view that is smaller in size, and then a close up with the detail of some part of the plane, this oic the same size as the large image but much more detail.
just an idea....but ya its cool what you are doing :aok
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nakatomi tower wasnt that the tower bruce willis blew up in die hared? :aok
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hehehe, technically it was "Nakatomi Plaza" (which wasn't the building so much as the address) but "tower" describes it better and rolls off the tongue so much better.
Plus less chance of it being taken at the time I chose it.
Yippee-kaiyay, and all that.
Ink, I am leaning more towards thumbnails you can click on the more I think about it. I haven't got the interface designed yet, but I think it'll be a little like my skins page (only without flash) in that you click an image and it pops up. For now I have a lot of leg-work to do getting the screenshots and saving them. I would like to show an insert or detail of art if there is special art on the hidden side of the screenshot.
For now I've played around with the quality settings... Going any lower than "5" in photoshop's JPG settings really makes it go blurry and blocky, so I resized it down to 800x490 each and have been saving them with "5" quality and optimized. They're coming out to about mid-50kb range each now. I think I will live with that for now.
Examples:
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109g2_2.jpg
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/109g2_12.jpg
I think that leaves most of the detail intact. It lets you see kill markings, nose art, script/text, as well as the paint on the skin.
I got some more done tonight. 62 down, plenty more to go!
I'm wondering if I should upload them as I go just so there's a browsable directory while I'm working on it, or if I ought to just wait until the full webpage is completed.
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those look good. :aok
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those look good. :aok
I agree.
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I like the idea of thumbnails/shortdiscription/<click>pop-up and I think its just great what you are doing. It is badly needed ..imho
HTC shoud have this on their downloads/skin area.
Thank you for all of us,
:salute
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I think the ones you posted last are best Krusty..
Good project man. Thanks in advance.
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Well I tried to get some layout/format mocked up based on some code I developed for my personal skins page. Only problem is some of the code I wanted to incorporate is buried in the flash file. My version of Flash MX2004 somehow became deactivated. I have the code but it doesn't like Windows7 x64 or something. I spent a good many hours trying to research the problem and had to call up adobe tech support. I've been told as of around midnight last night (when I called it a night) I was expecting an e-mail from their activation department.
The page won't have flash, but it will have a couple scripts and being able to see my previous code would help tons.
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Not counting last week (I was working long hours) it took me this long to get through the 109 series. 93 screenshots edited so far.
Anybody know of a program that will go through a list of files (or an entire directory?) and create thumbnails for me?
I tried it with SUPER(C) but it's geared towards video, and it kind of had a fit. I'm just looking to save some time by not going in and manually resizing every file to thumbnail for preview purposes.
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Not counting last week (I was working long hours) it took me this long to get through the 109 series. 93 screenshots edited so far.
Anybody know of a program that will go through a list of files (or an entire directory?) and create thumbnails for me?
I tried it with SUPER(C) but it's geared towards video, and it kind of had a fit. I'm just looking to save some time by not going in and manually resizing every file to thumbnail for preview purposes.
Just for looking at? Explore? aka windows explorer ...view.. thumbnails? Would that work?
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No I mean to actually create thumbnail smaller sized pictures, not just preview the bigger files.
So that I have 2 files, one as xxxxxxx.jpg and one as xxxxxxx_thumb.jpg (or GIF or whatever).
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irfanview, fast and free. I use it often for many quick photo things, cropping, resizing, etc.
File> Batch Conversions> check advanced options under the output format. Then select resize and enter your parameters.
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No kidding?? I have that! I just didn't know it could do that!
Ever since MS screwed animated GIF display in picture viewer on Win7 I've been using that as my default picture viewer. It has some annoyances with the interface but overall not bad.
P.S. Where are my manners? THANKS!!!
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Bit of a preview, I suppose...
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/
NOTE: Only the following sub-links work:
109e4
109f4
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
I have a lot more images created and I still need to go though and fill in the code for each sub-page. I've got over 170 images (plus an equal amount of thumbnails) and I'm only on page 4 of 18 for my printout of the HTC downlods page.
[edit: added 109f4]
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Excellent!!
I downloaded 2 109 skins I didnt know were in the game.
Perfect,
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I'm going to be trying to get this done before HTC releases the next skins update... I want to have the baseline dates down ASAP so that when updates are released people can see which are new (one of the most requested features, over the years). I know a couple folks have got their e-mails back on skin submissions so that means I need to put in a lot more work, and fast!
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Wow, this is great. I like being able to see what the skin looks like.
I use to use Hammer's page, but it has become outdated on many of the skins.
Thanks for all the work Krusty.
:salute
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Excellent work Krusty & badly needed. I'll never understand why they don't have the same thing on this site. I hope you stick with it, finish and maintain it. :salute
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Added all the menu links, but they don't all work yet.
Added the following:
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
[EDIT: These were there from previous update:
109e4
109f4
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
/EDIT]
That's all the 170+ screenshots I have so far, need to take more, edit them down, then update those planes' pages once the images are ready.
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I'll never understand why they don't have the same thing on this site.
Heh, I understand all too clear. It might be easier to maintain if already in place, but believe-you-me it's a HUGE chunk of time and effort to get that initial page underway! I do all my own scripting and on and off it took me a week to get a working page in order with the preview image and the image box and the way it loads the different planes.
On top of that I've spent a number of nights working photoshop. Remember, 170+ images! I'm only on page 4 of 18 on my total list! If you scroll down HTC's skins download index I'm only at the B-17 right now. I'm going more or less in order down that list for reference guide.
Please, if you see any problems or typos in names or planes or anything, let me know. Don't report menu links that don't load yet, as those pages are being back-filled in as I finish them up.
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Added a few more.
The list as it stands:
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g (new)
b239 (new)
b24j (new)
b25c (new)
Note: As I update this I'll most likely just tack the new ones onto the bottom, regardless of alphabetical order.
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added b25c to the list. Can't wait to get back to the fighters. Bombers take more work.
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Added
B-25H
B-26B
B-29
B5N2
Boston3
C202
C205
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
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Added
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
Full list (tally to date)
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g
b239
b24j
b25c
b-25h
b-26b
b-29
b5n2
boston3
C202
C205
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
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Nice work Krusty.
This is very nice for reviewing skins.
Thanks for the effort.
<S>
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More to come tonight and over the weekend. Part of it is workflow issues, and I'm starting to figure out the best way to do it efficiently.
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http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
Many hours of new additions.
Added
f6f5
firefly
fm2
g4m1
hurri1
hurri2c
hurri2d
i16
il23
ju87d3
ju88a4
ki611c
ki67
ki84
Full list (tally to date)
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g
b239
b24j
b25c
b-25h
b-26b
b-29
b5n2
boston3
C202
C205
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
Also made some programming changes. Forgot to add F6F-5 to the menu (rectified now). Changed it so that clicking any plane link minimzes the menu rather than leaving it where it was, on top of the new page it loaded, until you scrolled off of it.
I still have half left to go. The majority of which are US Pursuit-series planes. I'm up to the La5 but had to stop due to lack of sleep (lol!)
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up loaded any of the new skins?
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Negative on that front. To best record what has changed I need to get the baseline "before" picture in place. Plus without the skins download page updated it makes it much harder (looking in the hangar for all the names) rather than copy-pasting the text.
This is all stuff from before the update.
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Negative on that front. To best record what has changed I need to get the baseline "before" picture in place. Plus without the skins download page updated it makes it much harder (looking in the hangar for all the names) rather than copy-pasting the text.
This is all stuff from before the update.
copy that....looks good btw
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Thanks for all the hard work krusty :aok
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http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
Added
la5fn
la7
lanc3
m4a375
m4a376
me163
me262
mossie6
mossi16
n1k2
p38g
Full list (tally to date)
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g
b239
b24j
b25c
b-25h
b-26b
b-29
b5n2
boston3
C202
C205
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
f6f5
firefly
fm2
g4m1
hurri1
hurri2c
hurri2d
i16
il23
ju87d3
ju88a4
ki611c
ki67
ki84
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I've had some setbacks, technical, personally (time-wise), and even in morale (had a few really big mistakes that lost a CRAP-TON of work and just lost motivation). However I still want this done.
Note: This is still "catch-up" and not up to date. Some of it still is applicabable but the latest skins are absent and a couple defaults were redone in the latest patch, which I don't show here.
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
Added
p38j
p38l
p39d
p39q
p40c
p40e
Full list (tally to date)
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g
b239
b24j
b25c
b-25h
b-26b
b-29
b5n2
boston3
C202
C205
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
f6f5
firefly
fm2
g4m1
hurri1
hurri2c
hurri2d
i16
il23
ju87d3
ju88a4
ki611c
ki67
ki84
la5fn
la7
lanc3
m4a375
m4a376
me163
me262
mossie6
mossi16
n1k2
p38g
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We appreciate this very much. Been wanting something like this for many years. :salute
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Hi Krusty, again thanks for the work,
just fyi, there is a 2nd skin of the b25c for 2sqd RAAF. Also the Mossie XVI for the RAAF is 87 Sqdn, not 875
Cheers
:aok
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Did you request it get renamed at some point? I copied and pasted from the skins download list and saved it into a txt file to work from (copy and paste is your friend in this endeavour)
It says: mossi16_7 875 Sqn RAAF by FTJR
I'll update it when I get all the blanks filled in. That's when I am going go go in and update the new stuff.
I don't want to start messing with the new stuff yet, though, as I'm copying and pasting a lot and all the dates are 11/20 right now. Don't want to juggle those until the bulk is out of the way (and ... heh.. just noticed I put 11/20/12.. hehe, will "find and replace all" to fix that too...)
EDIT: After a ton of copy, paste, replace all, etc, inside 70+ different files I think I have updated all the dates so none say 2012 anymore. If you spot any, let me know.
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Added:
p40f
p40n
p47d11
p47d25
The bulk that's left are the pursuit planes and the spits.
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Krusty I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.
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Did you request it get renamed at some point? I copied and pasted from the skins download list and saved it into a txt file to work from (copy and paste is your friend in this endeavour)
It says: mossi16_7 875 Sqn RAAF by FTJR
No change but the typo is on my end, if you look closely it actually is an S, at least in the hangar.
Mate, you've put in so much effort, I dont mean to sound ungrateful or petty, I am not, it was just
something I noticed.
Thanks for your efforts.
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The page is looking great Krusty, thank you for all your hard work in putting it together.
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FTJR: No worries at all and I understand. Will try to get it all sorted out eventually. If it's not corrected once I go back over and add the new stuff remind me.
Added:
p47d40
p47m
p47n
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http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
Added:
p51b
p51d
panther
panzr4f
panzr4h
ptboat
sbd5
sdk251
(note the panzers and panther just have defaults for now... too many changes since my last skin download, none of the descriptions match, I have to revisit them and update after I get the latest updates)
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http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
Added:
seafire
spit1
spit14
spit16
tiger1
tiger2
Full list (tally to date)
109e4
109f4
109g2
109g6
109g14
109k4
190a5
190a8
190f8
190d9
110c4
110g2
ar234
a6m2
a6m3
a6m5b
a20g
b17g
b239
b24j
b25c
b-25h
b-26b
b-29
b5n2
boston3
C202
C205
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
c47a
camel
d3a1
dr1
dvii
f4f4
f4u1
f4u1a
f4u1c
f4u1d
f4u4
f6f5
firefly
fm2
g4m1
hurri1
hurri2c
hurri2d
i16
il23
ju87d3
ju88a4
ki611c
ki67
ki84
la5fn
la7
lanc3
m4a375
m4a376
me163
me262
mossie6
mossi16
n1k2
p38g
p38j
p38l
p39d
p39q
p40c
p40e
p40f
p40n
p47d11
p47d25
p47d40
p47m
p47n
p51b
p51d
panther (just default, revisit later)
panzr4f
panzr4h
ptboat
sbd5
sdk251
EDIT: Just as an FYI that's 27 planes/GVs added this weekend alone. Over 700 screenshots total so far, and as many thumbnails, and 91 different menu options (planes, GVs, boat, etc) total so far.
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Got the screenshots for spit5, spit9, spit8, t341945, t3485, ta152, tbm3, tempest, typhoon, yak9u and yak9t all done, and partially cropped. Will be putting those out pretty quick in the next couple days, and then working on the new stuff as soon as I download it all.
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http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins
added:
f2b
jeep
lvta2
lvta4
m3
m8
m16
m18
ostwind
spit5
spit8
spit9
t3485
t341943
ta152h
tbm3
tempest
typhoon
wrblwnd
yak9t
yak9u
That should be EVERY plane/GV in the game accounted for with the exception of the Storch and Me410.
If you see any broken links let me know. I will now need to update Aces High to get the latest skins and update then will go through again and add the new stuff.
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Excellent work Krusty. :aok
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Holy cow... Just did a properties browse of the website files on my HDD: 1,756 files total, just shy of 60MB :D
Whew! Now the upkeep should be much easier.
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That's exactly what players need here.
Thank you
:salute
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FYI: The update wasn't all that big... over a dozen new skins, but not 2 dozen (rough estimate). I've got my hand-written list and will go around skin by skin to update them. After that point, please notify me of any mistakes/errors/typos, as it should be 100% done. As for names, I am going off of what is listed on the skins download page.
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I also have a 492BG Mossie XVI in the game, difference between mine and Greebo's is mine is black underside, no invasion stripes and Q is the code letter.
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I also have a 492BG Mossie XVI in the game, difference between mine and Greebo's is mine is black underside, no invasion stripes and Q is the code letter.
Funny thing, the old skins download page had that as the _8 slot and credited to cactus. I even have it printed out! Must have been corrected, and I'll update it to reflect your name.
That is your skin, though. I can see the black in the screenshot.
http://www.nakatomitower.com/ahskins/images/screenshots/mossi16_8.jpg
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I can see Cactus on the hotline to get it changed out. lol.
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Thanks for your work on this, Krusty.
If I understand correctly, you will be showing a static image? If so, I hope you are going to avoid the "fisheye lens" effect. Best way to do this is capture the skin viewed with "zoom" toggled on.
MH
<EDIT: Well they look reasonably un-distorted, so I assume you are using this technique...>
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It's a standard distance (default) with the zoom adjusted to fill the screen with the proper amount of pixels. I wanted to get it large enough to appreciate each skin (at least "begin to appreciate" them).
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once you are completely updated will there be a way to do a mass download of all skins in one folder to put into my AH folder so i dont have to wait for them to DL in game or do a line item DL from the AH home page?
i dont know how much effort that would take to create so i am not sure if it is something that is or isnt a reasonable thing to ask about......but either way thanx for the work you have done so far, i am enjoying looking at all ur purdy pic's! great page!
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Sorry, can't do that. The files are deep-linked to HTC (not hosted on my server). Also, the problem with packaging them is the same as with HTC's problem with packaging them... Packaging takes a lot of time, effort, and space. When 1 skin is updated you have to re-do a 3GB file and break it into chunks all over, etc...
It's not practical. There is a plugin you can use in conjunction with FireFox and the HTC skins download page to download ALL files with a set extension (in this case *.res) and some folks have said that works pretty well. I would just recommend downloading them in-game over time, or if you want to do it via the web, just do 1 plane at a time and work your way down the list. Split it up. Make a post-it reminder which plane you left off on.
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well thanx for the info, the rest of the page is still great eye candy :salute
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Small bump but only for update purposes. I dragged my feet on updating the first lot of skins, from back in January. Those have been all updated. I downloaded some 70-80-odd skins tonight and will be working on getting those in as well.
I will update my sig with a date showing where it stands (so you know at a glance if I've done anything new).