Customizing Windows Card Games

[Blizarro]

Is anyone interested in customizing solitaire, hearts, freecell, and spider solitaire?

Either no wants to or its too dayum hard to do it.

I checked around and only found one recent tutorial on how to overwrite the current backgrounds.

I guess im wondering if people would like an app to customize it. Im bored with StartOrbz and I think its time to release my next project.

Let me know what you think.

 

[tbone1321]

yes that would be cool it would be a great tutorial

 

[Blizarro]

Thanks for responding.

It wouldnt be a tutorial. The app is done. Im just polishing everything up.

Doing this wasnt easy. It took days to figure out how to actually add new decks and backgrounds. I had to learn how the cardgames.dll file was used. A lot of trial and error.

I understand why it wasnt done before. To manually mod the files and add new decks took like 30 minutes. That didnt include photoshop time. And thats AFTER I figured out how to do it! I guess thats why nobody has done it.

Coding it wasnt fun either. I borrowed code from so many of my projects. It took about 5 days to code it all.

-Blizo

 

[fritz]

I skinned mine a while back the manual way when someone was asking how to do it. Figured the best way to find out how was to do it. I would have been nice if MS would have added the option to use a custom deck picture.

 

[Blizarro]

Exactly!

 

[niteman27]

Hello blizarro, I've had been doing some browsing into the dll file, now I'm not sure but in order to add more decks choices, you would need to created a new set of data for that new deck, and twik some numbers here and there to acomodate the extra space for the actual deck prints y all 5 jpg files. am I overthinking it or am on the right path some help be apresiated

 

[gladson1976]

Nice work Blizarro. Didn't want to change my card backs, 'cos it was a long process (I know I'm lazy). Now it seems quite easy, thanks to you.

I skinned mine a while back the manual way when someone was asking how to do it. Figured the best way to find out how was to do it. I would have been nice if MS would have added the option to use a custom deck picture.

I remember the thread fritz
http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/108387-how-change-card-backs-2.html

 

[Imperfect1]

Just discovered this thread and I'm so glad I did! I love playing these games on-line, but a lot of the apps appear way too small on the screen. (And zooms and other enlarging links don't help.) Could any of your customizations include displaying the games in full screen mode? That would be great!!!

 

[Blizarro]

Hello blizarro, I've had been doing some browsing into the dll file, now I'm not sure but in order to add more decks choices, you would need to created a new set of data for that new deck, and twik some numbers here and there to acomodate the extra space for the actual deck prints y all 5 jpg files. am I overthinking it or am on the right path some help be apresiated

Wow, I thought no one even cared about this app. I backed it up.

This is no simple tweak. Ms did not want us to add decks.

To add new decks would require creating several xmls , jpgs and cabs. If you have been tinkering with the dll then you will see the standard files and how they are named.

Manually doing this would take hours.

If you want I will slip you the beta, you can add a new deck and then peek at how i did it. It only has one bug. 4 cards show incorrectly. Its a mapping issue that I havnt fixed. I gave up on this app since no one was interested.

 

[Blizarro]

Just discovered this thread and I'm so glad I did! I love playing these games on-line, but a lot of the apps appear way too small on the screen. (And zooms and other enlarging links don't help.) Could any of your customizations include displaying the games in full screen mode? That would be great!!!

This only works on the cardgames.dll file. No online games.

 

[Blizarro]

If there is still interest, then I will fix the one bug and release it. Im currently working on my logon editor and I could use a break from authui.dll.

Let me know.

 

[Blizarro]

I fixed the known issues. Getting those mapping coordinates just right sucks.

To create my own sheet I use the original deck sheet. Then in memory I recreate my own.

Below is my low res sheet and the ms one. Whats awesome is that even though im using my own custom sheets, cardgames.dll still uses the original sheet to paint the other sheet elements that I didnt draw.

 

[niteman27]

Beta tester

Hello Blizarro, As I mention in your Facebook post, I would like to be a part of your beta tester and and may be able to be of some asistands. I'm not much into the hall system yet but I'm not to lost ether, if you like you can contact me and like they say two head think better then one and we may be able to help each other.

 

[Blizarro]

Hello Blizarro, As I mention in your Facebook post, I would like to be a part of your beta tester and and may be able to be of some asistands. I'm not much into the hall system yet but I'm not to lost ether, if you like you can contact me and like they say two head think better then one and we may be able to help each other.

Sounds good. I want to get this app out as soon as possible. I will post on FB when beta testing begins. In the discussions page.

 

[gladson1976]

This is going to be one cool app

 

[Trucidation]

This is great. Back in 95/98SE I download this replacement cards.dll or something which replaced the card faces and backs. XP didn't allow replacing the dll so I lived without. Was a long time lemme tell ya

Btw any idea why they don't simply let us import images to make custom cards/backgrounds?

 

[Blizarro]

This is great. Back in 95/98SE I download this replacement cards.dll or something which replaced the card faces and backs. XP didn't allow replacing the dll so I lived without. Was a long time lemme tell ya

Btw any idea why they don't simply let us import images to make custom cards/backgrounds?

I was once told by an ms employee that the reason they hate customization is because of customer support.

MS CSTMR SRVCE: Sir, please click on the blue button.
USER: What blue button? All I see if a purple one. Is that it?
MS CSTMR SRVCE: No, its blue. It should be on the left bottom.
USER: NO, mine is purple and is on the top right.
MS CSTMR SRVCE: Are you on the right page? The background should be a blue screen with green plants sprouting out.
USER: No. mine is of pretty little kitties.

LOL, I still remember when the ms employee used this to explain to me why they hate customization. I was laughing. SO true.

If you guys really want to try this. I will post the beta, its not like CardDecko is going to kill your install. Harmless customizations.

There is only one minor thing I gotta fix and then I can release.

 

[derekimo]

This thing works great Blizarro, CardDecko by ~Blizo on deviantART



Thanks buddy!