BlackBird - New Skin for DDO

[transtemporal]

BlackBird is a replacement skin for DDO by my good buddy Ualac (http://my.ddo.com/ualac/). The main goal of the skin was to have something that melted into the background in dark quests, rather than constantly vying with the action on screen for your attention. As a nice little side bonus, lining up windows is also a lot easier. :)

You can download BlackBird at: http://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/info548-BlackBird.html

To install follow these directions:
Close DDO if you have it running
Find your "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder in your “My Documents” area under Windows
Inside the "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder, create a “ui” folder, with the name all lowercase
Inside the "ui" folder, create a “skins” folder, again all lowercase
Place the zip archive you downloaded into this folder
Right-click the zip archive and choose something like “Extract Here” or whatever your zip unarchiving tool lets you do. Note: if you were lucky to already have a version of BlackBird installed, then delete the old one prior to extracting this new archive. You should end up with one folder called “BlackBird”. The path to your BlackBird folder should be "My documents/Dungeons and Dragons Online/ui/skins/BlackBird". If it isn't, the game won't be able to find the skin.
Start DDO
When loaded and logged in, go to the Options panel, go to UI Settings, and near the bottom of this panel is a dropdown menu called “Current User Skin”. Change it from “None” to “BlackBird”
Play
Go and provide feedback here! (http://my.ddo.com/ualac/2011/04/22/blackbird-ui-uploaded-to-lotro-site/)

Screenshots below.

Windows opaque, bars locked, with hireling window

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00310.jpg

Character sheet, options, default inventory, bars locked, windows transparent

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00309.jpg

Character sheet skills, quest hournal, inventory with details, bars locked, windows opaque

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00308.jpg

Adventure compendium, social panel, bars unlocked, windows transparent

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00307.jpg

MyDDO, social panel

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00306.jpg

Adventure window

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00305.jpg

Auction house, quest map

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00304.jpg

Logout

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00303.jpg

New hotness

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00302.jpg

Old and busted

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00301.jpg

[Memnir]

Love it. :)
This will probably be my 1st installed custom UI.

[slimkj]

Oh brilliant. Nice work. This is similar to the other one I like, rival01, in style, but with more elements skinned by the looks of it. Will be trying it out, thanks!

Have commented on myddo, but is your mate on the forums? Looking to give +rep.

[transtemporal]

Yeah, I'll get him to post in the thread. He definitely deserves the big-ups, it's a hell of a lot of work! :)

[Blank_Zero]

Looks a lot like the Fade2Black, but without the annoying transparencies or Blocked Windows :)

Definitely getting this one.

Edit: Effects the Character Selection Screen as well. WAI?

[Nospheratus]

I can hardly see the selected items on your bars. Perhaps something more flashy could be used. And something that isn't just the border, because if it is only the border, 2 items being used with one in the middle of those could give a false impression.

Other than that, looks quite good. I do agree that the default colour scheme is a hindrance in some darker quests.

[Rasczak]

Looks good. Will give it go so many thanks ;)

[Cinderbeard]

Love it! thanks

[Clay]

I LIKE it!

[slimkj]

Yep, tried it and will stick with it. Very good, ta.

[twix]

Wow,awesome job..i love it !

[Nospheratus]

Tried it and I really like it. The only thing I would change is really the point I made earlier.

Other than that, it's really good! Thanks for it! :)

[Ualac]

hey Nospheratus, i hear what youre saying. if i get a chance ill try and make the active items in the hotbars look a lot more obvious for ya :o

theres an alignment issue id also like to fix up with the autoattack animation for 3bar characters (health+spell+ki) so i'll get an update out with those things in it.

thanks to everyone thats giving it a go, and posting a comment, i appreciate it.

[Templarion]

Nice.

Good job! I like it.

[pasterqb]

My first custom UI... and it is AWESOME!!!

EDIT: I have to agree i can hardly see what gear i have equipped if inventory isnt open but i think i can notice tiny changes so isnt impossible once used to it.

[epopotamus]

very nice

as you and others have stated the equipped/selected items are a bit hard to notice as a first time user (probably easier once you get used to it)
apart from that its perfect, i definitely like the transparency on the hotbars between key icons

[Captain_Wizbang]

Very nice!

The cosmos skin just got replaced!

Nice work. Thanks

[Memnir]

After playing with this installed for a little while - I just simply love it. :)
Brilliant work, and I am most impressed and pleased with the results.

[AMDarkwolf]

Yes, VERY nice and so easy on the eyes.

One negative thing though, there's no real indicator of what u have equipped.(Old default had little things on the 4 sides to show which item was equipped, blackbird don't, other than that haven't seen anything else at ALL negative about it.

[Grimgore]

Installed it today and agree with the rest, it's kick ass (minus the slight lack of seeing actives)! Keeping it as my new default...

[slimkj]

Until an update is released by the author as per above, you could always do what I did and edit Blackbird\Misc\icon_selected_outline.tga to add another square of white pixels inside the existing square. It's a quick & dirty interim thing that makes it easier to spot what's selected. Basically made the border 2px thick instead of 1px.

[gDra]

This is great. Really.

One minor note: http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4743/hpspski.jpg (http://img851.imageshack.us/i/hpspski.jpg/)
It does not fit correctly when you have a character with a HP, SP and Ki bar.

Also, thanks slimkj for the little fix on visibility.

[Zess-wolf]

I loved it :p best skin for me so far, xD

[Ualac]

i've uploaded a small update to BlackBird to the lotrinterface.com site

gDra this should have a fix for the 3bar alignment issue, plus theres some minor adjustments to the active item overlay that everyones been talking about :)

this overlay is still work-in-progress as i'm not convinced its solved all the problems, and green might not be the best colour (tends to blend in with kobolds) but it should make active stuff more noticeable that before.

looks more like this:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/blackbird/blackbird_update_active.jpg

again, thanks for the feedback

[Lerl]

Nice!!! Thanks!!

[Memnir]

i've uploaded a small update to BlackBird to the lotrinterface.com site

gDra this should have a fix for the 3bar alignment issue, plus theres some minor adjustments to the active item overlay that everyones been talking about :)

this overlay is still work-in-progress as i'm not convinced its solved all the problems, and green might not be the best colour (tends to blend in with kobolds) but it should make active stuff more noticeable that before.

looks more like this:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/blackbird/blackbird_update_active.jpg

again, thanks for the feedback+Rep for the amazing work, my friend. :)

[Bal-Sagoth]

for some reason, it doesnt work for me

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/9033/screenshot00361.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/screenshot00361.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[Ualac]

for some reason, it doesnt work for me

hey bal-sagoth, that should only happen if the skin cannot locate the images.

can you try going to your

c:\My Documents\Dungeons and Dragons Online\ui\skins

folder, and delete any BlackBird folder you might have here.
Then unzip the archive into this location, which should create a new BlackBird folder.
Restart DDO and see if its behaving.

If not ill have to try and help you find out whats happening

* if anyone else is having trouble with the updated archive on the lotrointerface page, can you please let me know.
* if anyone has updated successfully then also please let me know.

[transtemporal]

One minor note: http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4743/hpspski.jpg (http://img851.imageshack.us/i/hpspski.jpg/)
It does not fit correctly when you have a character with a HP, SP and Ki bar.


This isn’t by design. Unfortunately, we don't really have access to the alignment and layout of the graphics, we can only replace existing graphics, so occasionally you'll notice small alignment mismatches and inconsistencies.

To have proper control over the alignment and layout of the ui, Turbine would have to release the full DDO skin definition file and keep it updated when a new Update comes out.

Gosh but it would be nice if we had it. Hint hint Devs. :)

[Ualac]

This isn’t by design. Unfortunately, we don't really have access to the alignment and layout of the graphics, we can only replace existing graphics, so occasionally you'll notice small alignment mismatches and inconsistencies.

To have proper control over the alignment and layout of the ui, Turbine would have to release the full DDO skin definition file and keep it updated when a new Update comes out.

Gosh but it would be nice if we had it. Hint hint Devs. :)

well .. to be technically correct in the above case its something I could fix by changing some graphics, but overall you're right.

to ensure all the bits line up correctly (like the title bars in things like the XP Report window, and the chest loot panels) we need some form of layout control. whether thats part of the SkinDefinition file im not too sure.

I thought LotRO had something along these lines so each of the interface panels could be completely redesigned.

i'd really like this :D

hint .. hint

[Nospheratus]

hey Nospheratus, i hear what youre saying. if i get a chance ill try and make the active items in the hotbars look a lot more obvious for ya :o

theres an alignment issue id also like to fix up with the autoattack animation for 3bar characters (health+spell+ki) so i'll get an update out with those things in it.

thanks to everyone thats giving it a go, and posting a comment, i appreciate it.
Thank you very much! :)

I'm already using it though! I seem to have more trouble seeing selected items that have brighter colours or white on them/on the border. For example, "The Blood Stone" now has a white line around it and I think it's even impossible to distinguish. Another example is a PPP necklace, very bright colours or white make it undistinguishable, or almost.

[Nospheratus]

i've uploaded a small update to BlackBird to the lotrinterface.com site

gDra this should have a fix for the 3bar alignment issue, plus theres some minor adjustments to the active item overlay that everyones been talking about :)

this overlay is still work-in-progress as i'm not convinced its solved all the problems, and green might not be the best colour (tends to blend in with kobolds) but it should make active stuff more noticeable that before.

looks more like this:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/blackbird/blackbird_update_active.jpg

again, thanks for the feedback
Great job indeed! Can't wait to try it when I get home! :)

[Bal-Sagoth]

Well i tried a few things and i found out that i have the same issue with all the skins, ddo cannot locate the images
I deleted the folder and re-unzip it in the ui/skins folder ... nothing
I tried moving all the TGA files outside the subfolders ... nothing
I'm wondering if my problem is OS related or maybe graphic card related
My PC recognizes the TGA files though and i can open them with Nero Photosnap Viewer
Maybe some graphic option in DDO? I have no idea ...


hey bal-sagoth, that should only happen if the skin cannot locate the images.

can you try going to your

c:\My Documents\Dungeons and Dragons Online\ui\skins

folder, and delete any BlackBird folder you might have here.
Then unzip the archive into this location, which should create a new BlackBird folder.
Restart DDO and see if its behaving.

If not ill have to try and help you find out whats happening

* if anyone else is having trouble with the updated archive on the lotrointerface page, can you please let me know.
* if anyone has updated successfully then also please let me know.

[Ualac]

Well i tried a few things and i found out that i have the same issue with all the skins, ddo cannot locate the images
I deleted the folder and re-unzip it in the ui/skins folder ... nothing
I tried moving all the TGA files outside the subfolders ... nothing
I'm wondering if my problem is OS related or maybe graphic card related
My PC recognizes the TGA files though and i can open them with Nero Photosnap Viewer
Maybe some graphic option in DDO? I have no idea ...

i dont think theres an option within DDO that should or shouldnt make it work... and id be surprised if its gfx card related as it is displaying the empty image (that purple grid pattern is the not-found graphic ddo uses)

hmm

can you try this

* remove all the subfolders from your ui\skins folder so its empty
* create a new folder called test
* from the BlackBird archive copy the SkinDefinition.xml file into this test folder
* edit the SkinDefinition.xml file in a text editor and change near the top the bit saying

SkinName Name="BlackBird"

and replace that with

SkinName Name="test"

* now, unarchive the BlackBird zip file into your ui\skins folder. this means your skins folder should have two folders within it. "test" and "BlackBird"
* restart the DDO client fully, load into the game, and choose "test" from the drop down skin option.
* once that has loaded it should look like your screenshot above.
* now in that same menu choose BlackBird
* hopefully it will load the proper graphics

hey. out of interest, when you unarchive the BlackBird zip file, does it create subfolders inside the parent BlackBird one? should have names like hud, toolbars, adventure_panel etc. ?

[Bal-Sagoth]

Nope still doesnt work and yes i have all the subfolders
I repeat i have the same problem with all the skins i tried
I also played around with folder permissions to no avail
... and im about to give up ...
thanks for helping me

[Rasczak]

Skin is working 100% although I think you may want to maybe change the white borders for equipped items to something else more...erm obvious is the only word I can come up with right now.

I'm actually preferring it on a lot of my chars with 10+ hotbars as it melds into the background well so the game itself is more of a focal point. I generally made a lot of transparent themes for that reason so good job ;)


Bal, I'm not sure why it won't work for you unless you have some wierd codec installed for pictures. Are you running any photo or editing software that could have potentially changed the default windows codecs? I know in the past, many many years ago the ACDSee codec I had was a bit odd when I updated to the latest windows and stopped me from viewing the less used formats like TGA and PNG's from my web design folders.

If not, dungeons & dragons/ui/skins/blackbird should be all you need to view the skin. If no skin works for you then I would say it is your backbone OS giving you gyp.

[Nospheratus]

Nope still doesnt work and yes i have all the subfolders
I repeat i have the same problem with all the skins i tried
I also played around with folder permissions to no avail
... and im about to give up ...
thanks for helping me

Do you run your game as admin?

[Cardtrick]

Wow! I think this is the first custom skin I'll be installing. It's very understated and classy.

[Grimgore]

Will DL the new client, I have to say that I am having a great time with it!

[joaofalcao]

A very good one. Simple, yet good looking. As more ppls in this thread, I ll try it.

[AMDarkwolf]

i've uploaded a small update to BlackBird to the lotrinterface.com site

gDra this should have a fix for the 3bar alignment issue, plus theres some minor adjustments to the active item overlay that everyones been talking about :)

this overlay is still work-in-progress as i'm not convinced its solved all the problems, and green might not be the best colour (tends to blend in with kobolds) but it should make active stuff more noticeable that before.

looks more like this:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/blackbird/blackbird_update_active.jpg

again, thanks for the feedback

Want to +1 u again, and wish u had made this years ago(LOL)

And the 'active item' highlight looks fine for now, thanks, very nice :)

And OMG someone slapped a ginormous picture into the thread so everything looks so FAT!

[slimkj]

I'm actually preferring it on a lot of my chars with 10+ hotbars as it melds into the background well so the game itself is more of a focal point. I generally made a lot of transparent themes for that reason so good job ;)
Yep, this is why I'm a fan. 16-18 hotbars open on most chars so this helps.

[Bal-Sagoth]

OS shouldnt be an issue as a friend has exactly the same OS (Win7 32bit Ultimate) with no problem (SP1 installed btw)
Also i run as admin and i changed permissions for this folder still no luck ....
I dont have any picture codec installed (that i know of), only thing codec-wise installed is the K-Lite codec pack, which is a video codec pack

[Ualac]

OS shouldnt be an issue as a friend has exactly the same OS (Win7 32bit Ultimate) with no problem (SP1 installed btw)
Also i run as admin and i changed permissions for this folder still no luck ....
I dont have any picture codec installed (that i know of), only thing codec-wise installed is the K-Lite codec pack, which is a video codec pack

yeah. i agree. i cant see why any codec might interfere with DDO finding and processing targa images.
is there any obvious differences in your OS install to your friends? is windows installed to C drive? i only ask as all the paths in the skin file are relative, and maybe DDO makes assumptions as to where your settings are, though it should use env variables to handle this.

i gotta say its confusing. :confused:

Bal, when i get home from work this evening i 'll see about PM'ing you a custom skin file to test. id like to help you get to the bottom of this.

[Ualac]

Skin is working 100% although I think you may want to maybe change the white borders for equipped items to something else more...erm obvious is the only word I can come up with right now.

hey Rasczak,

the latest zip file in the lotrointerface site has the active icon replaced with the green version you'll see in screenshots in the thread.
im experimenting with some other colours, but for now this seems to make things more obvious.

[transtemporal]

Want to +1 u again, and wish u had made this years ago(LOL)

Heh. Its been kicking around in one form or another for about 3 years but each time it got to a release state, a new module (or now update) would come along and break it. Rather than release something that looked not-polished, we sent the developers back to the coalface to chip away at the corners and turn it into the snazzy interface you see today. U9 may be the first update that hasn't broken it, actually.

[Ualac]

we sent the developers back to the coalface

developers plural? i'll remind you to introduce them to me sometime

but yeah.. im surprised update 9 fits in so well. all the mods caused problems, but it was mod 7 that really made me sad.
once i recovered i knew i should fix blackbird up and get it out there for anyone that wanted it.

[TEcarson]

I've been using another skin that was quite nice, but I just loaded this one up and I love it.

I like the green color for the active items as well...hopefully no more "huh, I ran that quest with my Time Pendant on"!!

:)

[transtemporal]

developers plural? i'll remind you to introduce them to me sometime

I assumed you had an entire division of Korean developers working for you. :D

[Rasczak]

hey Rasczak,

the latest zip file in the lotrointerface site has the active icon replaced with the green version you'll see in screenshots in the thread.
im experimenting with some other colours, but for now this seems to make things more obvious.

Works brilliantly. Thank you

[shagath]

I only just noticed this. Looks very impressive. Thanks and have +1 you both(author/OP). :)

zpfpzps, if you get your mod to work, please upload it to somewhere. This would be even better with that orb.

[Maren_Vond]

+1 for your work

A note: there are 2 xp_bar_e files (one is .psd, the other is .tga). WAI?

[Grimgore]

TY for fixing the targeted item fields. This skin is kick arse!

[insaneuou]

Super hit tyvm.

[Ualac]

+1 for your work

A note: there are 2 xp_bar_e files (one is .psd, the other is .tga). WAI?

aha.. thats a mistake. thought id removed all those psd files. that will get removed next update :o

that update should also include a focus orb with a form of gauge on it (which might make shagath and zpfpzps happier) though im trying to find a way to make it useful yet still fit in with the rest of the skin.

glad people are liking blackbird.

[Gol]

tag for reminder to try it.

[Alex301]

Very nice work. Thank you :)

[simsiim]

Got it, loaded it, now looking at it

I Love it , this is also my first skin or mod for DDO

very clean, makes my screen look so much better, and easier to see other stuff/things/items or what I want to look at

All I can do is type +1, but I will log into Xaat and give you a +1

[NytCrawlr]

Great work!

Gave rep where it is due and am loving it. Using it currently and I think the green for active/equipped items is perfect.

Keep it up!

[Thucydides04]

hey Nospheratus, i hear what youre saying. if i get a chance ill try and make the active items in the hotbars look a lot more obvious for ya :o

theres an alignment issue id also like to fix up with the autoattack animation for 3bar characters (health+spell+ki) so i'll get an update out with those things in it.

thanks to everyone thats giving it a go, and posting a comment, i appreciate it.

This skin is by far the best skin I have seen for DDO. +1 for you.

2 minor suggestions to go along with the above suggestions:

1. When the hotbars are unlocked, the active hotbar has a yellow border, but when I lock the hotbars, the active becomes white like the default software. I think it would be cool if the active hotbar in locked mode replicated the active hotbar in unlocked mode, i.e. a yellow border.

2. Partition the health and sp bars similar to the way the rival skin works. I.e. put hash marks at 25, 50 and 75% for easir identification of how much health/sp etc are left.

[Ualac]

This skin is by far the best skin I have seen for DDO. +1 for you.

2 minor suggestions to go along with the above suggestions:

1. When the hotbars are unlocked, the active hotbar has a yellow border, but when I lock the hotbars, the active becomes white like the default software. I think it would be cool if the active hotbar in locked mode replicated the active hotbar in unlocked mode, i.e. a yellow border.

2. Partition the health and sp bars similar to the way the rival skin works. I.e. put hash marks at 25, 50 and 75% for easir identification of how much health/sp etc are left.

i've just updated the skin on the lotrinterface.com site, and as well as having the prior suggestions implemented, this should fix the missing locked hotbar highlights.

i've also put 25%, 50%, 75% indicators in the health bar and focus orb area as people have asked for. it's tricky as i want to keep most of the UI looking consistent so these may be too subtle for some people.
anyway, let me know.

they look like this in the healthbar:
http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/ui-snapshots/snapshot-healthbar.jpg
and like this in the focus orb:
http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/ui-snapshots/snapshot-focusorb.jpg

i've added some extra files in the focusorb folder with more markings if people want to use these instead.

[Lord-Vega]

Not much else to add that others haven't said already.

+1

Cheers,
bt

[Lifespawn]

love the look of the skin can't get it to come up ingame not sure what i'm doing wrong



made the ui folder and the skins folder inside it then downloaded blackbird chose extract to

browse local disc c/program files/turbine/ddo/ui/skins extract here it extracts i see all the files inside of skins but nothing comes up in game any ideas what i'm doing wrong?

[Lleren]

love the look of the skin can't get it to come up ingame not sure what i'm doing wrong



made the ui folder and the skins folder inside it then downloaded blackbird chose extract to

browse local disc c/program files/turbine/ddo/ui/skins extract here it extracts i see all the files inside of skins but nothing comes up in game any ideas what i'm doing wrong?

Same thing I was doing wrong at first

It has to be inside the My Documents folder path, not inside the game =D


Find your "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder in your “My Documents” area under Windows
Inside the "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder, create a “ui” folder, with the name all lowercase
Inside the "ui" folder, create a “skins” folder, again all lowercase

[Lifespawn]

Same thing I was doing wrong at first

It has to be inside the My Documents folder path, not inside the game =D

ahh ok thx i reading comp ftl just passed it off as a mistype lol

[Backley]

for some reason, it doesnt work for me

(screenshot showing all skinned UI elements with bad image data)
What is your "My Documents" folder named?

This looks similar to this thread:

Greek windows, as any non-english-language version of windows, does NOT name folder "My Documents" like this. In greek windows, for example, is "Τα εγγραφα μου". This is a confusion for DDO which is expecting the skins to be under the folder c:\Documents and Settings\*User*\Τα εγγραφα μου\Dungeons and Dragons Online\uu\skins\Info Blue (Where *user* is the name of your default users folders). This apply in windows xp in which I had the problem.

If you rename folder "Τα εγγραφα μου" into "My Documents" and have a clear restart on pc and on client too, problem is solved.

Hope I helped, as from now I am a happy Info Blue skin user :)))


P.S. Ante se eswsa pali :)))

So, DDO looks for the xml file for the skin in the local version of My Documents, but tries to use the hard-coded name "My Documents" for the image files. Renaming your version of My Documents to "My Documents" would work, or make 2 folders (your original version plus one named "My Documents" and put the skin in both).

[Pape_27]

could this be done in purple?

[Gimpinator]

Awesome work! I noticed you neglected a screenshot of the initial character log-in screen, which looks lovely. :-)

[transtemporal]

Awesome work! I noticed you neglected a screenshot of the initial character log-in screen, which looks lovely. :-)

Thats cos I'm lazy, lol. :)

Ualac - the health monitor thingy is still a bit subtle dude. It should be easy enough to see at a glance without removing my attention from the big nasty boss trying to kill me. The differently-challenged among us need to squint and turn up our hearing aids to see it.

I might have a muck round with making a similar mod for party health bars for my cleric. Maybe a flashing animation at 10% that says "Hjeal meh!"

[pasterqb]

I dont know if it is just me but if you have a health bar, ki bar and sp bar with auto attack off it looks a little off cause part of the sword isnt aligned. Although if you have auto attack on it looks fine

[transtemporal]

I dont know if it is just me but if you have a health bar, ki bar and sp bar with auto attack off it looks a little off cause part of the sword isnt aligned. Although if you have auto attack on it looks fine

Correct. The addition of the Ki bar alters the size of that frame component by a couple of pixels, which in turn throws off the alignment of the images. Might be fixable though.

[ariel7]

I really like this skin, have it on both desktop and laptop. Rock on. +1 and such.

[Ualac]

Correct. The addition of the Ki bar alters the size of that frame component by a couple of pixels, which in turn throws off the alignment of the images. Might be fixable though.

damnnit.. guess i'll have to make a multi-class to actually check this :(

chances are the autoattack anim is repositioned differently than the non-autoattack image. if thats the case its unfixable until i get layout controls.

i'll take a look tho

[Thucydides04]

i've just updated the skin on the lotrinterface.com site, and as well as having the prior suggestions implemented, this should fix the missing locked hotbar highlights.

i've also put 25%, 50%, 75% indicators in the health bar and focus orb area as people have asked for. it's tricky as i want to keep most of the UI looking consistent so these may be too subtle for some people.
anyway, let me know.

they look like this in the healthbar:
http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/ui-snapshots/snapshot-healthbar.jpg
and like this in the focus orb:
http://my.ddo.com/ualac/wp-content/blogs.dir/87036/files/ui-snapshots/snapshot-focusorb.jpg

i've added some extra files in the focusorb folder with more markings if people want to use these instead.

This is awesome. Your skin is absolutely outstanding and I appreciate your work.

[Kaeldur]

At last I get to get rid of that freaking girly Cosmos skin. This one is very nice, been using for about a week.

Two thumbs up for whoever made it. :)

I miss the more precise health bar markers from Cosmos (every 5% and then one stronger one at 10% and others at 25%, 50% and 75%), but the markers present in BlackBird are good too.

I like how easy it is to align the hotbars, and the "selected item" and "selected hotbar" indicators are very well highlighted, which was a problem I had with Cosmos.

Every screen I've seen (and I've seen most by now) using this skin is very well made and very professional looking.

[transtemporal]

damnnit.. guess i'll have to make a multi-class to actually check this :(

chances are the autoattack anim is repositioned differently than the non-autoattack image. if thats the case its unfixable until i get layout controls.

Its actually not misaligned when you first log in, but it becomes misaligned after you turn on or turn off autoattack. Its one of those things I chalked up to the layout controls. Pretty lousy tester huh? :D

[Myrddinman]

Same thing I was doing wrong at first

It has to be inside the My Documents folder path, not inside the game =D


ahh ok thx i reading comp ftl just passed it off as a mistype lol

LOL...I did the same thing too :D

I've been playing with this skin for about a week now and I love it!!! +1 isn't enough!

[Razcar]

The best DDO-skin so far IMO. I've switched to it on all my chars. Cool looking, non-intrusive, well made. Great work Ualac, +1.

[Sorcerio]

My first post on the forum and I just wanted to say thank you for making this great skin! It's the only one worth using in my opinion. I made a couple of slight tweaks: the hotbar equipped item indicator and the offline friend "LED". Made the offline look like the little light is just turned off instead of red. If I can share these files with anyone, let me know.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3448/hotbar.jpg http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/7801/friendoffline.jpg

[Arlathen]

Great work, and is now my own first installed custom UI :D

Got the pack before the Update to include the subtle health bar indiciators, so will have to update later :D

[Pithrin]

First custom UI skin for me as well. Downloaded it this afternoon and giving it a try out in game. I like what I see.

Thanks for all the work!

[Autolycus]

BlackBird is a replacement skin for DDO by my good buddy Ualac (http://my.ddo.com/ualac/). The main goal of the skin was to have something that melted into the background in dark quests, rather than constantly vying with the action on screen for your attention.

Thanks for the skin. I downloaded it a few days ago and, so far, it is my favorite of two skins I use.


As a nice little side bonus, lining up windows is also a lot easier. :)

I noticed it was a lot easier lining up windows than other skins. Why is that?

[transtemporal]

I noticed it was a lot easier lining up windows than other skins. Why is that?

In locked or unlocked mode, the frame for the bar is only one pixel wide, and its a clean squared edge. Whereas, the default DDO frame varies between 2 and 3 pixels wide (depending on whether its locked or unlocked) and it has a slight bevel.

I don't know if you've noticed with the default skin but you can actually have bars that look like they're lined up when unlocked but when you lock them, you can suddenly see misalignments and gaps between the bars. It's not a big deal for most people but luckily Ualac is as retentive as I am, lol.

Please don't forget to rep Ualac for the skin btw folks, its all his work. I'm just the PR guy. :)

[Autolycus]

I'm enjoying the skin, but I've run across a problem with the trade window. I can't read certain things, such as whom I'm trading with, because they seem to be the same color as the background.

Is there a way around this or does the skin have to be changed?

[transtemporal]

I'm enjoying the skin, but I've run across a problem with the trade window. I can't read certain things, such as whom I'm trading with, because they seem to be the same color as the background.

Is there a way around this or does the skin have to be changed?

You can see if if you squint and tilt your head to the side. :)

Yeah, there's a bunch of those instances in the interface. I believe this is because parts of the interface are actual text (as opposed to a graphic) and the colour of the text is controlled by the stylesheet, and unfortunately we don't have access to change the stylesheet. So not a lot we can do about it sorry (except petition Turbine to make the stylesheet available). :(

[thegrindre]

Can you tell us what's going to happen when upgrade #10 hits us between the eyes???

Thanks,

[TheRealest]

BlackBird is a replacement skin for DDO by my good buddy Ualac (http://my.ddo.com/ualac/). The main goal of the skin was to have something that melted into the background in dark quests, rather than constantly vying with the action on screen for your attention. As a nice little side bonus, lining up windows is also a lot easier. :)

You can download BlackBird at: http://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/info548-BlackBird.html

To install follow these directions:
Close DDO if you have it running
Find your "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder in your “My Documents” area under Windows
Inside the "Dungeons and Dragons Online" folder, create a “ui” folder, with the name all lowercase
Inside the "ui" folder, create a “skins” folder, again all lowercase
Place the zip archive you downloaded into this folder
Right-click the zip archive and choose something like “Extract Here” or whatever your zip unarchiving tool lets you do. Note: if you were lucky to already have a version of BlackBird installed, then delete the old one prior to extracting this new archive. You should end up with one folder called “BlackBird”. The path to your BlackBird folder should be "My documents/Dungeons and Dragons Online/ui/skins/BlackBird". If it isn't, the game won't be able to find the skin.
Start DDO
When loaded and logged in, go to the Options panel, go to UI Settings, and near the bottom of this panel is a dropdown menu called “Current User Skin”. Change it from “None” to “BlackBird”
Play
Go and provide feedback here! (http://my.ddo.com/ualac/2011/04/22/blackbird-ui-uploaded-to-lotro-site/)

Screenshots below.

Windows opaque, bars locked, with hireling window

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00310.jpg

Character sheet, options, default inventory, bars locked, windows transparent

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00309.jpg

Character sheet skills, quest hournal, inventory with details, bars locked, windows opaque

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00308.jpg

Adventure compendium, social panel, bars unlocked, windows transparent

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00307.jpg

MyDDO, social panel

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00306.jpg

Adventure window

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00305.jpg

Auction house, quest map

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00304.jpg

Logout

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00303.jpg

New hotness

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00302.jpg

Old and busted

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/transtemporal/Blackbird%20Skin%20for%20DDO/ScreenShot00301.jpg

Would like to offer my official thanks mate, have been using this for a few months and love it. The hotbars meld easily into each other and the black is easier on the eyes than the searing white of the standard ui skin.

Its also much easier to tell what you have equiped with the green on black highlight. Reminds me of the original x-box's colors, they go good together.

[transtemporal]

Can you tell us what's going to happen when upgrade #10 hits us between the eyes???

Thanks,

Should be fine. We do a smoke screen test when a new release comes out, just to see if anything in the interface has obviously changed. Not in this one though, thankfully. By chance, the last few releases have blended quite nicely.

I have noticed something that might be new though...

[thegrindre]

Well, I've DLed it and installed it and I love it just fine.
Great work!

[Warbler]

I have noticed something that might be new though...

I like spoilers and you have to tell us please =)

[laeris]

Love it, really good job making this and appreciate all the time you've put in.

Only thing I miss is my %'s/markings on the HP/SP bars... back to guesstimating ... :p

[wigthemaster]

this is amazing.

~Wig

[Bekki]

Love it. :)
This will probably be my 1st installed custom UI.

I think this says it all...

That is awesome, I will be downloading this....
Thank you!

+1 rep...

If I could give more I would.
That is sweet!

[Havran]

best skin ever... nice and clean...

[Nospheratus]

The skin is great and I'm using it for a while now (love the lastest update to it btw :)). I would like to make a request.

A friend of mine is using this skin, but has a problem with directions :)
I believe i saw at some point someone posting an image in which the minimap had directions (N/E/S/W). Would it be possible to create such an image for this skin or direct me to it?


Thank you,
Nosph

[thegrindre]

Been using this mod for about 2 weeks or so, now. Can't really find anything wrong with it. It's virtually perfect!
Although, I would like the 'function' thingys a little more prominent. Like the minimize and close thingys in the upper right corners of a window. They are a little hard to distinguish and find.

[dakkon75]

I love the blackbird skin but I have some questions regarding the new UI in update 11

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/dakkon75/ScreenShot00171.jpg

This is the new UI

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/dakkon75/ScreenShot00172.jpg

This the new UI with the blackbird skin activated.

I personally don't like the new picture look due to the fact that now it doesn't line up with my bars the way i have them set up like this.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/dakkon75/ScreenShot00163-1.jpg

[Blank_Zero]

Some Stuff

I agree, this might need some recoding since the Static UI is getting some changes.


Edit: Draz, where were you in those SS's?

[junior_w]

Edit: Draz, where were you in those SS's?

I may be wrong, but it looks like the Catacombs entrance.

[Ualac]

hi all users of BlackBird.

i have to admit, i'm currently away from home/country on business, so haven't had a chance to notice that Update 11 was there, let alone see what is does/doesn't break in the skin.

and it appears to be quite significant in terms of what has changed (from the screen shots above) so I cannot estimate how long it will take to fixup any issues, plus my time is very limited over the next month, however, I will try to get it back in shape ASAP

ualac

[guzzlr]

Hope your time constraints are easing and you find time to work on this! Love the skin, and hope to use it after Sep 12th.

Thanks for your hard work.

[Veriden]

hi all users of BlackBird.

i have to admit, i'm currently away from home/country on business, so haven't had a chance to notice that Update 11 was there, let alone see what is does/doesn't break in the skin.

and it appears to be quite significant in terms of what has changed (from the screen shots above) so I cannot estimate how long it will take to fixup any issues, plus my time is very limited over the next month, however, I will try to get it back in shape ASAP

ualac

Best wishes and safe travels.

[Tenchi]

Beautiful. Glad somebody bumped this.

[Bechtinger]

Best skins I've seen so far! Hope youll get back home soon :P

[Keybreaker]

For the most part the Blackbird skin seems to work ok with update 11. Except for health bar and party status bars...

Can anyone help with explicit instructions on how to disable/remove the Blackbird overlays for u11 health/status bars?

Thanks.

[Bechtinger]

Yes, everythings working, but the hp/sp part is the worst part of the new update... The new default UI is the worst thing ever added

[Razcar]

For the most part the Blackbird skin seems to work ok with update 11. Except for health bar and party status bars...

Can anyone help with explicit instructions on how to disable/remove the Blackbird overlays for u11 health/status bars?

Thanks.

Do like this - open your C:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\Dungeons and Dragons Online\ui\skins\BlackBird folder.
There take a copy of SkinDefinition.xml if you mess up the original.

Now edit SkinDefinition.xml in Notepad (right-click, Edit)

Now put in rem (<!-- and --> ) tags around these lines, like in the example below:


<!--
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_brass_background" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_2bar_background.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_brass_foreground" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_2bar_foreground.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_3Bar_brass_background" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_3bar_background.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_3Bar_brass_foreground" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_3bar_foreground.tga"/>

<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_glass_overlay_health" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_glass_overlay_health.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_glass_overlay_mana" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_glass_overlay_mana.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_fellowship_background" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_fellowship_background.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_fellowship_foreground" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_fellowship_foreground.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="healthbar_fellowship_singleMeter_foreground" FileName="healthbar/healthbar_fellowship_singleMeter_foreground.tga"/>
-->

Then it should use the default graphics.

[Backley]

Do like this ...
Then it should use the default graphics.

Great jury-rig steps Razcar.

To the author: All but the non-Portrait version of the player Vitals Bar is skinnable. You can start from the new files in Info Blue 1.7. List of the concerned files (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?p=4061312#post4061312).

[Cordovan]

For the most part the Blackbird skin seems to work ok with update 11. Except for health bar and party status bars...

Can anyone help with explicit instructions on how to disable/remove the Blackbird overlays for u11 health/status bars?

Thanks.

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

[rest]

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

You could just let us go back to the old UI.

Just throwing that out there.

[slimkj]

Much obliged Razcar. :)

[Ualac]

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

^^ yes please to an updated art pack, and can I add a vote for a full control of the layout/dimensions of the interface panels in the future? I'd really like to be able to start from scratch and tidy up a bunch of BlackBird's layout.

and while we're on the UI topic (aha!) please can we have the UI element positions properly remembered and restored when we logout/login especially on large screens.

[Ualac]

To the author: All but the non-Portrait version of the player Vitals Bar is skinnable. You can start from the new files in Info Blue 1.7. List of the concerned files (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?p=4061312#post4061312).

thanks Backley, that info is greatly appreciated. Will look at it when i get a chance.

[Pape_27]

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

How about releasing a "convert back to the old UI" kit first? The new one is horrible and should never have made it to Live.

[transtemporal]

^^ yes please to an updated art pack, and can I add a vote for a full control of the layout/dimensions of the interface panels in the future? I'd really like to be able to start from scratch and tidy up a bunch of BlackBird's layout.

and while we're on the UI topic (aha!) please can we have the UI element positions properly remembered and restored when we logout/login especially on large screens.

Stop posting! Get back to work!

:D

[Ualac]

Hey all,

Just uploaded an Update 11 kinda-fixed-version of BlackBird to the lotrointerface site for you guys.

As with the other skins theres some things that we cannot yet modify such as the non-portrait version of the large healthbar for example. Hopefully a future Turbine update will enable these to be modified.
(we also can't revert to the old party UI so we'll have to make do with the one we've got)

So there should be updated healthbar panels like so:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/files/2011/09/u11_healthbar_compare.jpg

and there should be BlackBird-esque party healthbars too such as:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/files/2011/09/u11_party_healthbar_compare.jpg

as always feedback, criticism, ideas welcome

ualac

[Rasczak]

Thank you very much. But now we have to wait for the file upload to be approved :/

[AMDarkwolf]

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

Ya'know, just allowing people to use the old party/personal bar thing would solve this problem at absolutely NO WORK on your part. Why not do that huh? Satisfy the maximum number of customers with the least amount of work.

And I hope Turbine realizes how many customers they have lost due to this... And ONLY this...

[Ravoc-DDO]

Great stuff ualac!

But to make a small note, the 25% / 50% / 75% marks in the bars currently come on top, making the numbers look a little distorted at times.

[Zipwire]

It looks great Ualac, thanks for the quick work, appreciate it!
I really dig Blackbird :)

[thegrindre]

I, too, am a Blackbird fan and want to thank you very much for this quick update as well... :-)

[Ausdoerrt]

Awesome, someone finally did the devs' job :D Downloading immediately, thanks a bunch.

[TimoteoDeLani]

I like it - especially that hireling/pet bars match the rest.

The only real suggestion I have is making the background of various sheets (character, inventory, etc) translucent.

[Zaal]

Yeah, I'll get him to post in the thread. He definitely deserves the big-ups, it's a hell of a lot of work! :)

sweet bro!

1st one i ever used and from the install to the implementation, it truly rox.. you got my +1 oh yea!

who is the original dev so's i can ding him a +1 too?

[transtemporal]

Nice fix ualac, very nice!

[Micron]

Thanks a lot for the fix. Been using this skin for a while and love it.

[Blackmoors]

Are we there yet??? Wheres the new skin gonna be available??? I demand answers!!! NOW!!!

Kiding ofc, thanks a lot for your job on this skin, as a designer I must say you have done a very good job and created a skin both very functional and stylish! Cant wait for the corrections to be available for download!

Thanks again and gratz for your work,
Black

[Ualac]

Kiding ofc, thanks a lot for your job on this skin, as a designer I must say you have done a very good job and created a skin both very functional and stylish! Cant wait for the corrections to be available for download!

you can download 'em right now :)

[nivarch]

Hey all,

Just uploaded an Update 11 kinda-fixed-version of BlackBird to the lotrointerface site for you guys.

As with the other skins theres some things that we cannot yet modify such as the non-portrait version of the large healthbar for example. Hopefully a future Turbine update will enable these to be modified.
(we also can't revert to the old party UI so we'll have to make do with the one we've got)

So there should be updated healthbar panels like so:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/files/2011/09/u11_healthbar_compare.jpg

and there should be BlackBird-esque party healthbars too such as:

http://my.ddo.com/ualac/files/2011/09/u11_party_healthbar_compare.jpg

as always feedback, criticism, ideas welcome

ualac

never used a UI before but with this look I'm going to install it ! This is going to be a huge improvement over the new UI !

[Crazeee]

Sweet! Thanks! Was hoping for a new version of the theme when the new update made healthbars look ugly in the old BlackBird. Good job!

[Aganthor]

Thanks for the update! I really love this skin :)

[Sarisa]

Makes running a divine worthwhile again, thanks.

[Blackmoors]

you can download 'em right now :)

Great! Cant wait to be back home and download/install it! +1 to you sir ;)

[Kaarl]

Great! Cant wait to be back home and download/install it! +1 to you sir ;)

Yeah +1 to you sir!

I'm a designer as well and i was sad and bored to use again the default UI. Can't wait to arrive home and install the blackbird again.

cheers.

[thecreechmmo]

I just downloaded the updated U11 Blackbird skin but I have one problem: in the old version the reskin of the hp/sp bar had the sword on it you could click to toggle auto-attack. With the new stupid portrait hp/sp bar, I do not see this ability. Is this a flaw with the new ui or is it something that you forgot with the updated Blackbird skin?

Thanks alot for this update and the skin. I have only ever used one ui skin and your work is appreciated. :)

-theCreecH

[katz]

they removed the autoattack button.

if you still wish to have one, take your "attack" from your feats page and put it on your hotbar

[Chazzie]

Tip of the hat sir :)

Thank You so much for the Update to your skin.

Still a big fan..... Chazzie :)

[Zaal]

you can download 'em right now :)


+1^∞ and beyond! :D

[transtemporal]

sweet bro!

1st one i ever used and from the install to the implementation, it truly rox.. you got my +1 oh yea!

who is the original dev so's i can ding him a +1 too?

Ualac is the developer, ding him, he's posting around here somewhere. :)

[Zaal]

i dung him too :)

[PNellesen]

Just wanted to say thanks to the guys who created this skin. It has made my healing duties post-U11 somewhat less painful, primarily due to the non-opaque background on the party HP/SP bars.

+1 to all involved :)

[jcTharin]

It's a shame that you cant change the party hp bars back but this will make healing party's much less painful. thank you so much. I might actually play my cleric now.

[die]

ive ran into a problem, last month i did as the post say's and it worked, down loading blackbird.

now i just did a complet re-install .. and yes i backed my dnd folder up with keymapping screen shots and ui.

now none of my skins work ive uninstalled and re-installed black bird 4 times now made new ui folder new skins folder .. still nothing and the address is dnd folder ..blah blah ..

[Cleanincubus]

ive ran into a problem, last month i did as the post say's and it worked, down loading blackbird.

now i just did a complet re-install .. and yes i backed my dnd folder up with keymapping screen shots and ui.

now none of my skins work ive uninstalled and re-installed black bird 4 times now made new ui folder new skins folder .. still nothing and the address is dnd folder ..blah blah ..

Skins are broken at the moment. Something with U11.1 screwed them up.

[sacredguyver]

ive ran into a problem, last month i did as the post say's and it worked, down loading blackbird.

now i just did a complet re-install .. and yes i backed my dnd folder up with keymapping screen shots and ui.

now none of my skins work ive uninstalled and re-installed black bird 4 times now made new ui folder new skins folder .. still nothing and the address is dnd folder ..blah blah ..
Don't worry, it's not just you. EVERYBODY's skin/UI settings got broken when patch 11.1 released. Hopefully there's a hotfix coming soon to address it and a few other things.

[transtemporal]

Yeah sorry guys, there's a bug with the 11. 1 patch that is disallowing custom skins. Have raised a bug report for it and bugged the usual suspects. Not a lot we can really do about it though, you might have to put up with the old interface in the meantime. :( Watch this space...

[thegrindre]

I still haven't been able to get it to work with this new U11, yet.

:-(

[Cernunan]

Ironically, I logged onto Lamland tonight, low and behold my blackbird skin was working just fine :D

[Jendrak]

So once again they break something with an update/patch (big surprise there :rolleyes: ) and now were gonna have to wait for U12 before they fix it....... Shenanigans!!! I call Shenanigans! :D

but seriously, not gonna be happy if I gotta use the broken UI for another month or two this should be fixed BEFORE U12 imo.

[AMDarkwolf]

Gah its very difficult to play with the default color scheme, that added to the annoying cooldown flash is giving me a headache.

I want blackbird back ;(

[EustaceTrevelyan]

Gah its very difficult to play with the default color scheme, that added to the annoying cooldown flash is giving me a headache.

I want blackbird back ;(

Me too! I really never had a big problem with the stock UI, but it never wowed me. After the U11 change, i was browsing the forums and heard about BlackBird and gave it a try, and never looked back. So clean, now my fave UI. Not hating on turbine, but they really need to start working with UI developers, and make sure that any update doesn't break them.

While a lot of people really could not care less about the UI, the ones that do are quite passionate about it:)

[jpcupp]

Just downloaded Lamannia to test a few things, and the latest version of Blackbird does work on there.

Looks like we are going to have too wait for U12.

[Backley]

Looks like we are going to have too wait for U12.Which is Wednesday.

[hyenaboy]

And then I hopefully get my Info Blue Back :)

[Ualac]

And then I hopefully get my Info Blue Back :)

wrong thread! :p

seriously though, the skins worked already on Lamannia even with update 11.1. it was only the live servers that for whatever reason no longer worked with custom skins.

therefore we wont know if U12 fixes custom skins until it actually goes live. and i for one arent holding my breath.

[TimoteoDeLani]

Custom skins work on live again. Obviously need a small update to Blackbird for the 11.1+ party bars - somewhat messed at the moment.

[Jendrak]

Was just curious when we can expect the update UI?

And yes i understand it just hit live but was looking for more along the lines of "next week" or "when i get a chance, maybe next month" yad yad yad and not an exact date.

[Ualac]

Was just curious when we can expect the update UI?

And yes i understand it just hit live but was looking for more along the lines of "next week" or "when i get a chance, maybe next month" yad yad yad and not an exact date.

i ought to be able to get tomething together in .. ooh... maybe a couple of minutes. let me take a look.

[X3R0]

i ought to be able to get tomething together in .. ooh... maybe a couple of minutes. let me take a look.

Was just starting up GIMP to do that, but if you're already on it I won't waste my time :P
Love Blackbird and want to get rid of this nasty U11.1 beige UI ASAP

[katz]

WOOT~! mt favorite skin. can't wait

<3

[Ualac]

okey,
i think i have it all sorted out. the updated skin has been uploaded to lotrointerface.com and the archive is getting verified, so as soon as BlackBird reappears here:

http://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/cat37.html

download it and let me know if anything strange occurs!

ualac

[jpcupp]

Thanks for the quick update. It is very much appreciated.

I know for me, as well as many others playing DDO has been painful without this mod.

[TimoteoDeLani]

Update looks pretty good, but I'm finding that the SP bar in the party list is fading into the dark background a bit too much. I think there needs to be a little more contrast.

Maybe make the element borders in the party list slightly less dark - or change the blue to be slightly lighter.

[Innara]

Ah, finally they work again. Thanks :)

[Clay]

Yes! Thank you for the quick update!

[Arlathen]

Fantastic Work. Happy to see the Skin back and working again :)

[lhidda]

Great job. Thank you soo much.

[Blank_Zero]

Still looking like Large Portrait being enabled messes up the large vitals bar. Everything else checks out nicely though!

[Calebro]

Still looking like Large Portrait being enabled messes up the large vitals bar. Everything else checks out nicely though!

I'm not having any trouble with it.

[Blank_Zero]

I'm not having any trouble with it.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong then. I'll try reloading the client shortly to test...

[Hordo]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong then. I'll try reloading the client shortly to test...

It works fine for me, but then again, I'm uber. :D

[Blank_Zero]

It works fine for me, but then again, I'm uber. :D

With all that time spent in the backpacks of others, it's amazing you aren't making your own UI skins Hordo. :)

It's all working now. Apparently, restarting fixes every issue ever.

[Hordo]

With all that time spent in the backpacks of others, it's amazing you aren't making your own UI skins Hordo. :)

It's all working now. Apparently, restarting fixes every issue ever.

I was working on one at one time, but turning every symbol into a soulstone was too big a chore...

[Crazeee]

Love this skin, but now it needs a update... lots of UI changes I don't like (especially the hotbar)

[Keybreaker]

Ualac deserves much praise for the Blackbird skin! It's no exageration to say that Blackbird vastly improves my gameplay experience. The default borders are just too bright, too gold, and too frilly... in a word - distracting. Blackbird is simple, elegant, and most importantly unobtrusive.

I'm actually still using it in MotD as is. The only problem I've seen is a non-transparent artifact in the lower right corner of the new large focus orb. This can be quickly patched by adding the following comment brackets to SkinDefinition.xml



<!-- INCOMPATABLE_MOTD
<Mapping ArtAssetID="Focus_Orb_06" FileName="focusorb/focusorb_simple.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="Focus_Orb_small_cropped" FileName="focusorb/focusorb_simple_cropped.tga"/>
<Mapping ArtAssetID="focus_orb_logo_background" FileName="focusorb/focus_orb_blackbird_background.tga"/>
-->


I hope the OP can update this. If he has left the game, is there anyone out there who can clean up the files a bit? Many of the files are no longer necessary because the default hotbars are no longer bright gold. But most of the border of most the windows remain too bright and too gold.

Thanks in advance.

[Goob]

The hot bars and a few other aspects arent working for me.

[Taverne]

Greetings,

Im just wondering if this BlackBird skin is still working with the new update 20 from November 12th, 2013?

[Thvari]

Greetings,

Im just wondering if this BlackBird skin is still working with the new update 20 from November 12th, 2013?

I'm not having any trouble with it so far.

[gypsythief]

Greetings,

Im just wondering if this BlackBird skin is still working with the new update 20 from November 12th, 2013?

It does indeed, and it's still great:

http://i.imgur.com/xh7wXzd.jpg

[Zzevel]

Greetings,

Im just wondering if this BlackBird skin is still working with the new update 20 from November 12th, 2013?


Not a necro, but a BUMP! .. a guildie of mine did not know that skins were possible. as this is the best, I am bumping the thred for the next generation...

[New-RS-God]

The skin isnt working for me. Followed instructions, but nothing happened.
http://puu.sh/hHDJV/e7a172841a.png

Edit: I installed DDO to a dif location. Had to put the folder in there.
http://puu.sh/hHDW7/69129fa419.png

Works fine now.

[matthewlahair123]

Oh brilliant. Nice work. This is similar to the other one I like, rival01, in style, but with more elements skinned by the looks of it. Will be trying it out, thanks!

Have commented on myddo, but is your mate on the forums? Looking to give +rep. i got alot of skins but they color everything but my hot bars how do i fix this

[Zzevel]

I use the Blackbird skin as well on many of my characters. I notice that if you uncheck the option to "Show Portrait on Vitals Bar" the individual vitals UI seems to fit nicely with the Blackbird skin, and remove the messed-up look of it.

We are hoping to release an update to the UI Art Pack soon, but we don't have a current ETA on when we will be able to fit that work in.

I'm still using Blackird :)

Cordo - any update on when that UI Art pack will be released? :P

[lifestaker]

I'm still using Blackird :)

Cordo - any update on when that UI Art pack will be released? :P

They collectively have avoided any comment of updating the UI template for people to use in making new skins, both in wise cracks and direct asking. Quoting Cordo from 2011 will most likely just label this a necro thread and get it locked.

[Sam1313]

I just downloaded this to install on my new alienware17 laptop as I think it would fit the overall look of the machine. But I cannot get it to work although I followed the destructions in the OP. Is there a workaround or an update I'm missing or something?

[Aliss7]

turbine broke theming when they did a UI update a long time ago and hasn't fixed it since. :(

[Equatis]

There was a change back when Turbine still owned DDO that did invalidate a lot of the UI Skins that had been created by users for the game. But I was using Blackbird at the time and continue to use it today. And I know it will continue to work when The Masterminds of Sharn is released because I was still using it during both the first and second Sharn previews on Lammania and intend to use it during the third Sharn preview scheduled for this week.

[Bloodskittle]

So I've just downloaded and applied the Blackbird skin, it works fine for all my windows and my vertical hot-bars show the ui change, but for some reason my horizontal bars aren't being changed?
equipped items on the horizontal bars get the nice green highlight but I don't have the slimmed down bar design?

[Khornelain]

So I've just downloaded and applied the Blackbird skin, it works fine for all my windows and my vertical hot-bars show the ui change, but for some reason my horizontal bars aren't being changed?
equipped items on the horizontal bars get the nice green highlight but I don't have the slimmed down bar design?

Same here. I clearly notice a nice transparency on my vertical hotbars vs the annoying opacity on horizontal bars. I thought there would be something big on IU customization in last update, but it seems not.

- Khornelain

[katz]

just FYI... the files still on lotrointerface ARE still the old files (so old!), and there have been changes since then. there are skinners working VERY busily, but their work isn't quite ready for an official release on the website. if you really want a more or less properly working copy of blackbird before something gets officially released, go to the DDO discord (https://discord.gg/GVcMqAN), and go to the skinning channel. very cool discussion going on in there. and yes, they've already managed to fix the transparency of horizontal hotbars.

https://i.imgur.com/adLz4feh.jpg
(screenshot taken yesterday)

the "big thing" that was released was they gave us access to the assets again, so we can make new skins again.

[Stoner81]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/720782537387147284/721084655092236319/dndclient64_yyAVq7v4pD.jpg

A lot of advancement has been made to Blackbird so I highly recommand you check out the Discord server for updates on this awesome skin ----> https://discord.gg/GVcMqAN

Stoner81.

[Jinxx]

A lot of advancement has been made to Blackbird so I highly recommand you check out the Discord server for updates on this awesome skin.


What Discord server?

[Cernunan]

Discord demands i make an account
No thanks

[katz]

THIS discord server! https://discord.gg/GVcMqAN

scroll down to skinners sanctum

[Shoemaker]

It's a shame this is only available on Discord. A lot of people don't like and won't use Discord or join that server. Perhaps update/redo it on the LotRO-Compendium, put them on https://ddocrafting.info/ and/or on DDOwiki?

[cru212]

THIS discord server! https://discord.gg/GVcMqAN

scroll down to skinners sanctum

there's like a zillion posts in the skinner's sanctum
where to find instructions?

(probably doesn't help that I am banned on that server for some reason)

[Stoner81]

It's a shame this is only available on Discord. A lot of people don't like and won't use Discord or join that server. Perhaps update/redo it on the LotRO-Compendium, put them on https://ddocrafting.info/ and/or on DDOwiki?

The person who is doing the "new" version of Blackbird has already said that they are not going to put it on the LotRO interface site (personal preference) so that's a bust.


there's like a zillion posts in the skinner's sanctum
where to find instructions?

(probably doesn't help that I am banned on that server for some reason)

What are you after specifically? Let me know and I can help you (assuming somebody else doesn't it first :cool:

Stoner81.

[Stoner81]

Rogue has posted his work here ---> https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/515911-Rogue-s-BlackBird-Modern-Update

Stoner81.

[Cordovan]

Closing this thread to prevent confusion. The updated version of the UI can be found here: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/515911-Rogue-s-BlackBird-Modern-Update