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Jimbob
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This is a simple modding tool for LEGO Racers which makes the process of inserting custom skin textures into the game easier. Using the GUI which is designed to look like the in-game character builder, you can scroll through all the textured body parts in the game (note that some parts don't have textures, but are defined separately in the binary files), select your desired part, and import a custom texture. The application then gives it the correct name and places it in the correct folders on your desktop, structured as an extracted LEGO.JAM file for ease.

 

I made this tool as I discovered that the process of naming textures became laborious, as I had to frequently check my parts list and in some cases decipher which textures matched which character. The Character Skinner is therefore intended to aid this process, and is aimed at both beginner and advanced modders.

 

I would like to give a huge thanks to le717 for helping me on the Python side of the tool, having never used Python before you really helped me. And thank you for your support along the way, despite my frequent nonsensical outbursts whenever I hit an error.

 

Note: There are two keyboard shortcuts to make modification through the app faster. Pressing the Enter key performs the same function as clicking the 'Modify Texture' button, and the arrow keys can be used as an alternative to the on-screen arrow keys.

 

 

Download

Character Skinner v1.1

Character Skinner v1.0

 

Requirements

- 24MB hard disk space

- Windows operating system

- The latest versions of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR

 

 

Installation


Simply extract the .ZIP file and place it anywhere you have read/write permissions. For administrators this includes Program Files; for limited users this is restricted to folders such as My Documents and Desktop. IMPORTANT: Everything inside the Character Skinner folder must stay as-is, any changes to names or folder positions will crash the program. If you wish to hide the folder, just create a shortcut to the Character Skinner.exe file in the root directory. Note: This cannot currently be done, I will patch it in v1.2.

 

 

Version History


Character Skinner v1.1

   - Added higher quality music and sound on/off button

   - Matched 'Close Help Window' text to other text buttons

   - Added file conversion for non-BMP images

 

 

Planned Updates


Note: Items with a strike through have been completed, but not yet updated.

   - Modification of expressions

   - Cycle menu options using up/down arrow keys

   - Mac support

   - Option to save to GAMEDATA and MENUDATA folders individually

 

I have already started work on a Track Skinner, however this will take significantly longer due to the amount of different tracks and textures.

Edited by Slimy Slug
Added a download link for older release
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"This application requires a version of Adobe AIR which cannot be found." what.

*goes back to only caring about LRR modding*

 

Adobe AIR. He uses it for the GUI, and Python (the script frozen into an exe) for the actual work.

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"This application requires a version of Adobe AIR which cannot be found." what.

*goes back to only caring about LRR modding*

Awww, don't give up that quickly. As le717 said, you just need to get the latest version from the website.

 

That message is a little deceiving though, it should say that Adobe AIR needs to be installed, otherwise it sounds like you have a dud copy.

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Fluffy Cupcake

Oooooh, nice!

Could you possibbly add the function of going between what menu option you have selected with the up and down arrow keys though?

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Made in Adobe AIR, does that mean that a Mac Build is possible?

 

Could be. The Python script would need to be re-frozen for Mac, and he'd had to edit the source to make it say .app instead of .exe (unless he is able to add OS detection), so it could be possible. However, since I'm not the creator of the tool, Jimbob is going to hit me with a ladies purse for saying all this.

 

 

It's a Windows game so why would you need a Mac build?

 

Because Prof runs Mac, and  his Windows laptop is Win98 which can't support new programs.

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Fluffy Cupcake

I'm assuming a future update will allow you to get different expressions in too?

I think you missed a part...

Planned Updates

- Modification of expressions

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I'm assuming a future update will allow you to get different expressions in too?

I think you missed a part...

>Planned Updates

- Modification of expressions

 

 

Oh wow. I can't read. Sorry.

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Oooooh, nice!

Could you possibbly add the function of going between what menu option you have selected with the up and down arrow keys though?

Yes, I'm sure I can, good suggestion.

 

Made in Adobe AIR, does that mean that a Mac Build is possible?

It should be, but as le717 said it would require OS detection and therefore a bit of reprogramming in various places. I'll certainly consider it once I've finished the other updates, but for now I'll leave it for Windows.

 

That looks cool, I'll try it out tomorrow.

I look forward to hearing what you think :)

 

It's a Windows game so why would you need a Mac build?

Because Prof runs Mac, and  his Windows laptop is Win98 which can't support new programs.

Ah, I didn't know this. I'll see what I can do Prof!

 

This works really well, well done!

I'm glad you like it!

 

 

And le, stop with the ladies purse already ;)

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RobExplorien

I just tried it, and I was really surprised by this modding tool. This makes the tedious texture naming/adding redundant, I'm very happy with that. I do notice that your tool adds the textures to both MENUDATA and GAMEDATA, will there be an option later for choosing in which of the two folders you want to save it?

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I just tried it, and I was really surprised by this modding tool. This makes the tedious texture naming/adding redundant, I'm very happy with that. I do notice that your tool adds the textures to both MENUDATA and GAMEDATA, will there be an option later for choosing in which of the two folders you want to save it?

I can certainly add that in, thank you for your feedback. Great to hear it serves its purpose well too :) Unfortunately I won't be able to work on this program until Monday though.

 

Doubly thanks for all the comments so far as it will make creating the Track Skinner a lot easier.*

 

O.T.

*On that note, if anyone would like to help me take screenshots of tracks for the Track Skinner, it would really help. Just let me know here or via PM.
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A little update, I have been working on the suggestions requested, however I will not be able to integrate Mac support just yet as it requires downloading and installing an SDK. I'll do that once the main features are finished to make it easier to create both versions.

 

EDIT: I've been updating my progress under the 'Planned Updates' section in the original post, by striking through items that I have amended to the program but not yet uploaded to RRU.

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  • 1 month later...

Update! Apologies for the huge delay, I had it almost ready a few weeks ago and then college started... I wasn't expecting second year to be so much of a step up from first.

 

Anyway, version 1.1 has been released. This fixes a couple of small things as well as adds proper file conversion. Again I would like to give big credit to le717 for his help with fixing my Python script :)

 

Development of version 1.2 has already begun, which will add all updates other than Mac support (sorry Prof, I will try and get it sorted).

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  • 2 years later...

I'm amazed this tool still has someone interested years later! If I recall correctly, it should have a bundled .exe file so that you don't need to install Flash? You will have to install the Adobe AIR runtime though, which is now hosted by HARMAN. I won't be rebuilding it in HTML5 because that'd be a lot of work which I don't have time for, especially with an app that was basically never used xD

 

Funny enough I still have the old project files archived, along with some other tools I had in development, which was fun to look through so thank you for that nostalgia trip!

 

There was this thing which never went beyond the environment tile placement, but it had a nice paint brush system:

 

l14eUBt.png

 

And also this which I believe was actually finished and working? Don't know if I ever published it as custom Trouble in Store levels weren't exactly all the rage.

 

eQP4GXQ.png

 

Edited by Slimy Slug
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As I said, I'm fairly certain this program can't be run as a standalone Flash program using the .SWF, you need to install Adobe AIR linked above to run the executable.

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