Skins
Customized TR look
Why would you want that?
- Because it will be faster than using the images from your game server yourself.
- Because it will be faster than using the alternative server http://images.the-reincarnation.com.
- To reduce page-load times if you have a slow connection
- To make it look like your good old AM
This page tells you how to set such up. Note that there is also an old method mentioned on the UBB/portal. That one used the FILE:-statement, but for current browser versions this no longer works, neither in Firefox/Mozilla, nor in IE. The reason for this is that allowing non-local pages to use FILE:-statements is considered a security risk. Therefore it is by default disabled in your browser, and you are adviced to leave it that way.
What to do?
- download the image files, from here for example
- setup your computer so it can get to files on your machine using the HTML protocol (have a simple local webserver running)
- setup your TR-account so it knows where on your machine to find the local files.
How much trouble is this?
- installing local webserver: once
- running local webserver: always (put it in windows start-up)
- downloading set of images: occasionally, (when developers change something on that front)
- Telling TR to use local images: once for every mage/server round you play
Installation steps
Get the image-directory
- Download them from above adress.
- Unzip them into a new, empty directory.
- indoing so they make a new subdirectory images.
- These files should contain all images currently in use by the game (sometimes the image file is not totally up to date, few images may be missing - bug the developers on the UBB forum!).
- What I do is open Notepad, and type a small text like this:
- <HTML>
- <h1>MY TR SKIN HOME</h1>
- I extracted my downloaded ZIP files in a subdirectory in here.
- </HTML>
- <HTML>
- and save that as "index.html" (with the " " around the filename, otherwise it becomes index.html.txt)
- in the same directory as where you extracted the zip files.
- having this .html file will help you select the WWW root directory.
- having this .html file will help you test your local WWW server is working.
Make your local machine talk the HTML: protocol
(if you didn't have something like it installed already).
- Download a freeware simple local webserver program. My choice was AnalogX SimpleServer:WWW.
- Install it.
- Start it.
- You may have to tell your firewall this program is allowed to act like a server (preferably only in your local network/TRUSTED zone).
- You will have to tell it what directory to use as 'WWW root':
- Set it to the directory where you just extracted your ZIP files to and where you made the index.html file.
Once it is running,
- Open your webbrowser
- go open this adress http://127.0.0.1
- if you see the text from the previous section, you are all good!
- You may want to have the webserver program start up everytime you turn on your computer. Drag and drop the icon to the Startup-folder in your Windows menu for that.
- Please realise that you open your http:// directory to anyone who knows your IP-adress. You may want to prevent that through settings of your firewall and/or your WWW-server.
Let TR know where your local pics are stored
- Surf to The-Reincarnation page
- Login to your mage
- Go to options
- change the skin directory by tagging and typing new adress: http://127.0.0.1/ [subdir]
- Whether or not you need to fill in the [subdir] part, depends on where exactly you extracted the ZIP file, and what directory exactly you made the WWW-root.
- if you ever want to change it back: go there again, tag change skin dir and blank out the entry.
Trouble shooting installation
It does not work at all
- If you end up with very white TR pages, your browser cannot find a .css file (class style sheet, the layout file for TR pages)
- likely you mistyped the adress of your image directory
- try adding " /images " or even " /images/ "
- watch your caPiTaLs
- it could be you accidently deleted your local mainmenu.css Right click save as.. here
It works except for some pictures
- If you end up with pictures with occasional red cross picture...
- that picture is missing (image files are not up to date/code has changed...)
- right click the red cross icon to see what filename it was looking for
- either make your own 'dummy' replacement
- or go find it on the live version of the-reincarnation: http://guild.the-reincarnation.com/images/filename.jpg and save it from there.
known to be missing pictures
- Own Guild/Allied icons in ranking list. [1]
- locations of pictures..... ____________________unknown so far_________
Advanced stuff
Custom CSS
- In principle, it is possible to customize the .css file (style sheet) to your likings.
- currently (January 2007) there is recoding of the HTML going on (related to translation, pages enigineered as templates rather than old technology). This has resulted in the old .css files (e.g. retro.css from DaveMcW) no longer working correctly.
