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i would love to see a website specifically for g1 themes. with images of all themes, all linking back to the developer. as well as all themes and other downloads being hosted on local server, instead of having to use FTP services like megashares etc.
if anyone with web development/programming experience would be interested in assisting me it would be appreciated, and i think a site of this nature would benefit the android global community as a whole.
may i also state that i have a server with enough bandwidth and server space to handle the high traffic volume that follows a site like this.
i see some great possibilities with this, but in order to get it off the ground i will need some help.
I would love to say yes but my web dev skills have never been used in a real environment.
I would like to see something like this get off the ground. Its such a great idea.
although i do not have a crazy lot of time i do have an extra website that i currently do not use. Its good for a little less than a year and i "could" use iWeb or something to put a site together since it would take crazy less time. Its unlimited everything so i could host the .zip files right on it and just have people download from there. If enough people would use it though. I would def have to have everyone's permission though as i am not getting in trouble with people over something like this. if its something some of these Theme devs would enjoy i could use my current site on DreamHost and allow the download straight from the site with Pictures. Could have a page for each one of them too. Let me know as i would be willing to do this so it would be 100% easier to find things.
Email me at [email protected]
I would be willing to put the time in too since i could add an Ad at the top for some income towards the renew cost if necessary. And i do know what i am doing but it would def have to be a use site not just something 10 people use. www.edgewoodcma.org is my newest site i got up and running for a church.
thats pretty much the idea, it doenst really matter which server is used, however i do have a little over 2 years on mine, but it is unlimited just as yours is. however i do not think a page made in iWeb or something will work quite as nicely as something designed for dynamic updating by many devs.
im looking into a PHP CMS engine that will allow devs to name their .zip files and upload with a thumbnail of the theme. and have the site automatically post the new theme with the naming convention used in the .zip and show the thumbnail as a link to the direct download from the server.
i wanted to try and stay away from another forum site, as well. this is the forum site for android pretty much, we may have a discussion area in the theme site, however the downloads and updates will be on another portion of the page as to eliminate the need to sift through threads to find the themes you want.
The reason i posted that i would be willing to make and update the site is so that useless things will be kept out. I would be willing to accept all photos and .zip files in my email then post onto the site so that duplicates and useless things are kept to a minimum. I would also make multiple sections showing what update you are running (i.e. RC33, ADP 1.5, Dude, ect) and a complete breakdown so that it is as easily as possible to do things. The reason i would use iWeb is because of its simplicity. You could update a site within 2minutes for whatever is needed. I could update anywhere in a matter of minutes which would mean more thing up and running. Just an idea though as i too am wishing it was far easier to locate things instead of sifting through hundreds of posts to find the one decent theme out off 100.
that sounds great, will iWeb allow you to create dynamic websites for the dev to upload his work? or will you manage the whole thing as a static database (updated when devs send you their work)?
if you wish to create this, then please do. i shall continue to look for a permanent, maintenance free*, catalogue of themes. but until an engine is created for that purpose your offer sounds perfect. the android community desperately needs someplace organized to find these themes.
thank you for your offer, if you would like any sort of graphic help just let me know and ill do my best.
Dynamic sounds best, you could accept members (ie theme creators) and only have have control over posting themes and updates to their own themes?
We are actually working on this right now. Just purchased themesdroid.com a couple days ago.
We have a dedicated server we are going to be running it on. We are actively developing the site now. Perhaps we should combine our efforts.
awesome, let me know if you need any help, or any server space etc.
id love to help in any way i can.
--peace
It does seem like a good idea, although I have read in the past something about "why have many resources in many places"...one central location for it all is great, so it would have to have many advantages for it to work. I know instant thumbnails would be 1 (forums it doesnt work like that). Local files is another. Purchasable is probably something considerable.
Ive built for big corps before, and know a lot about that stuff. If you guys need help with doing anything I know almost any solution. Something like "if you donate you get extras" or something, and only those that did donate can get certain things. Helps the developers for their time and effort (like the apps, makes sense).
We are currently investigating a couple options for ThemesDroid.com. We have started working on a download site from the ground up, but we are also looking for possible alternatives. Does anyone know of any decent open source CMS/DMS systems? We have not seen anything that was worth a darn, but if anyone knows of a good one then there is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
kronarq said:
We are currently investigating a couple options for ThemesDroid.com. We have started working on a download site from the ground up, but we are also looking for possible alternatives. Does anyone know of any decent open source CMS/DMS systems? We have not seen anything that was worth a darn, but if anyone knows of a good one then there is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you looking for in this CMS/DMS system?
well php-fusion is always a safe choice, there was something new... what was it.. http://expressionengine.com/
Ive always found Joomla to be the most flexible system to date, complicated but it will do 'everything' your looking it to do. It has great theme support as well (great flexibility for customizablity). Very secure too.
@malaeus, sorry to say but php-anything is almost always a bad choice, they have many loops/hackable holes.
Xoops is good too. Drupal is good. Or if you have a M$ server (asp), dot net nuke is good, has many add-ons for great flexibility.
Just some suggestions for you guys (btw, all those are free [opensource like android ]
I've been building Drupal sites for years now... if you guys need help, let me know.
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6613/demo1z.png
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3173/demo2.jpg
Started it 3 hours ago, thats how quick and easy it is. Its just a demo to show you what you can do with it. If you like cool, if not I at least recommend you check out joomla, thats what I created that with (there is no "starting from ground up" with it, its just there to "put the stuff in"). That template is free too (there are plenty out there, I also make my own which takes time). Just threw it together because I had the last three hours off from work and wanted to play with it again.
Drupals good, but I just dont think it has the best of plugins, they are ....awkward or something I dont know.
@kdf2883: Something geared towards downloads. Something preferably lightweight compared to Joomla/Drupal etc
@theslam08: I currently have a test of Joomla + DocMan I have been playing with, but Joomla seems like overkill for what we are doing. It doesn't all our needs so we would still have to modify it yet it does a bunch of junk we don't need. Then there's the usual update every week or get hacked bit...
We are leaning towards just doing everything from scratch. I could have a Joomla site up in a day or two or we can give it a couple weeks to build our own system from the ground up. What do you guys think?
for something like this, we may want to try something as simple as wordpress. each post would be a new theme, images and text would include server direct download link. its at least one of the most compatible backbones i can think of.
i have little to no experience in drupal and joomla etc. however when it comes to the design aspect of the website, thats closing in on my specialty.
@slam nice job on that layout btw. especially considering time spent.
Look at the Lock 2.0 themes site. They use WordPress and in my opinion it's a mess.
After surfing at XDA i saw this thread about NES emulator found (here) and tried it out, but soon discovered it fps'ed slow, so i created another clone of from another engine "SharpNES".
The SharpNES actualy runs faster without fps hack i did (2 CPU update, 1 CPU Draw) and gain enormous speed.
No sound (like the other one that i know of)
Only one game (Super Mario Bros 3)...
No save
XNA is hard to make a GUI as advanced as Silverlight so no game-change or save
Well i hope you like it
__ Zip in attatch -> rename as ".xap" and deploy
*edit - added source (forgot)
Wow runs very nice!
good job mate
Good!
Great job! It's amazing!
Oh man, you gotta keep working on this; this is fantastic.
Have to say, great job. No slowdown at all. Are you going to continue to develop this or collaborate with some of the other devs working on NES emulators?
I can't wait till there's a final version. Zelda needs another visit!
I will continue for this project, but this was a small in between job because i could not stand the other emulator (just freaked me out, making my brain explode of all the lagg). My cause of small pause is that im developing a real marketplace app at the time so thats priority 1, although im 75% done with that, later i will update (if not anyone wants to provide an UI under the time).
Zelda, yes, for those that have VS2010 can just recompile it with ".nes" file of any game and change "LoadCart( ... ) in UpdateMenu()", although tested zelda and it runs fast ... slow ... fast ... slow ?!?!
"Are you going to continue to develop this or collaborate with some of the other devs working on NES emulators?"
> Just doing what i like most, dev in Wp7
I wouldn't mind helping with the graphics. I used to use photoshop quite extensively until I stopped for awhile. I'm not sure how the developer tools for WP7 handles certain images (or calls for them I should say), but I can help if need be. I created some graphics for the Gameboy Color emulator on the Zune HD. I get ****loads of homework so I can't commit to doing a lot though.
"I get ****loads of homework so I can't commit to doing a lot though."
Sure, me to :/ Just 17 so.. that makes me go to school + programming..
But as i said, got a priority 1 app that i will sell @ marketplace, so this will wait a while. sry.
Glad u asked.
what the frick... I cant for the life of me change the file format from .zip to .xap.... I'm using windows 7 and I have winrar installed.. no matter what I do it stays as a .zip file... any advice here guys? Can someone just upload the .xap file?
This is ridiculous... I feel like I'm retarded haha
Aaron McCarthy said:
what the frick... I cant for the life of me change the file format from .zip to .xap.... I'm using windows 7 and I have winrar installed.. no matter what I do it stays as a .zip file... any advice here guys? Can someone just upload the .xap file?
This is ridiculous... I feel like I'm retarded haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Un yeah. U need to make file extensions visible by pressing [Alt] in the directory and go [Tools] > [Folder Options] > [View] > [Hide extensions from known files], then ur good to go and rename it.
fiinix said:
Un yeah. U need to make file extensions visible by pressing [Alt] in the directory and go [Tools] > [Folder Options] > [View] > [Hide extensions from known files], then ur good to go and rename it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fact is you dont even have to change the .zip extension to .xap you can deploy the zip just fine
nice work! but im liking tuskas better. maybe contact him and join forces
i cant exit the game using the back button either lol
I 2nd that I can't exit the game. Just have to use the windows button to get the start menu.
Yes, the back button, i used that as [Select] and [Start] button when navigating the emulator without touch navigation (early stages). Probably forgot to delete that code =/
Good ur saying.
About Tuskas, will see how much free time i have, very "real life" busy right now.
Thanks! This is a great first step.
This is an awesome app. I guess the only problem that I have with it is that the controls are at the top thus my hands tend to block much of the screen during game time. Other than that it is amazing...no lag either!
My HTC HD7 isn't unlocked yet so how do i sync/copy the files to my phone?
Do i need my HTC HD7 unlocked to run emulators etc?
thekiller99 said:
My HTC HD7 isn't unlocked yet so how do i sync/copy the files to my phone?
Do i need my HTC HD7 unlocked to run emulators etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to run this emulator on your phone is through side-loading. In order to do with you WILL have to unlock you phone using ChervronWP7 unlocker. There is no other way to run this app. You cant just sync/copy the files to your phone. As of right now its pretty much going to be a hit or miss when you try to unlock your phone. I have two HD7s and I had no problem unlocking either of them. Good luck!
ChevronWP7 Unlocker - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857127
JosepHenry said:
The only way to run this emulator on your phone is through side-loading. In order to do with you WILL have to unlock you phone using ChervronWP7 unlocker. There is no other way to run this app. You cant just sync/copy the files to your phone. As of right now its pretty much going to be a hit or miss when you try to unlock your phone. I have two HD7s and I had no problem unlocking either of them. Good luck!
ChevronWP7 Unlocker - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857127
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried using ChevronWP7 but everytime i try to open the unlocker it goes into an error saying it can't communicate with my phone
hmpf donst work with omnia 7 ?
vNESLight 1.0 is now live, bringing a redesigned GUI, new controls, improved save states and much more. It has also been split up into a fully functional ad-supported free version and a paid version (vNESLight Pro) without ads. Unfortunately that means the xap file will no longer be available for sideloading. Both versions should be up in all of the marketplace regions by the end of the week.
vNESLight (free): http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=3d8e51b8-1884-4aa7-bb2c-2eda47745a27
vNESLight Pro (paid): http://windowsphone.com/s?appid=11ff7758-04ea-42d9-b012-55f90de82b10
Version 1.0 features - 1-April-2012
- Completely new and improved controls + portrait support
- SkyDrive integration
- Fully featured jump list for all your games
- Fast and fluent multiple save states system (swipe to change slot)
- Backup and restore your save states via SkyDrive
- Pin any game to the start screen
- Auto detects the best settings for your device
- Experimental Hardware Keyboard support
- The demo ROMs of Battle Kid 2 and Super Bat Puncher are included
Method 1 for adding games: (SkyDrive)
1) Get ROMs, don't ask me where. (use GoodNES branded ROMs if u have issues with invalid files)
(Optional) zip, or rar all your ROM files to more easily add a batch of games at once.
2) Login to https://skydrive.live.com/, you can use any Live account u like xbox, hotmail etc.
3) Upload said zip/rar file or nes games to SkyDrive.
4) Hit the + icon inside vNESLight, hit sign in to SkyDrive and navigate to your zip/rar or nes file then just tap on it to add the game(s).
Method 2: (via webserver, or direct link from dropbox)
1) Upload the files to your webserver (or dropbox)
2) Hit the + icon inside vNESLight and enter the full link into the Url box and hit add. Support for zip, rar and nes files.
As always thanks for all the feedback and testing done.
@nuduaa for updates on twitter.
this is awesome if the performance doesn drop in the phone. Support!
ubeyou said:
this is awesome if the performance doesn drop in the phone. Support!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's what I'm most worried about as well, wish dev's had Mango already so I could do performance profiling on the phone, but at least it's possible on the emulator.
Nudua said:
Yeah that's what I'm most worried about as well, wish dev's had Mango already so I could do performance profiling on the phone, but at least it's possible on the emulator.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like you're prayers were answered as dev's got it today apparently.
Aye still waiting for the invite e-mail for the Mango rom update, but I've already installed the new tools.
Currently pushing about 20-25 fps without sound atm, it's abit lower with sound.
Will be great to actually do some profiling on real hardware.
Did you receive your mango invite? I'm running the official Mango beta on my Focus.
ryotgz said:
Did you receive your mango invite? I'm running the official Mango beta on my Focus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, actually more or less done with the beta version for Mango already, you can seamlessly switch back and forth between the game thanks to the new multitasking.
I'm just trying to figure out how I'm gonna do the UI for the Nodo version.
As for the age old question on how to add roms to the app;
What I've come up with so far is, first you add all your rom files to a zip file called "nesgames.zip" then you open the xap file of the emulator in winzip (or another zip manager).
Finally you can just drag the "nesgames.zip" file into winzip to replace the standard "nesgames.zip" file and voila all your roms are added easily.
Nudua said:
Yeah, actually more or less done with the beta version for Mango already, you can seamlessly switch back and forth between the game thanks to the new multitasking.
I'm just trying to figure out how I'm gonna do the UI for the Nodo version.
As for the age old question on how to add roms to the app;
What I've come up with so far is, first you add all your rom files to a zip file called "nesgames.zip" then you open the xap file of the emulator in winzip (or another zip manager).
Finally you can just drag the "nesgames.zip" file into winzip to replace the standard "nesgames.zip" file and voila all your roms are added easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you get any better performance on Mango compared to Nodo? If you need a tester, I can help out.
ryotgz said:
Do you get any better performance on Mango compared to Nodo? If you need a tester, I can help out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly it didn't really, but it's helped a great deal by beeing able to performance test on a actual device.
I'll get the Mango beta version up in a couple of hours, just need clean up a couple of things.
Ok, just wanted to bump the thread to let u guys know that the beta version for Mango is out:
http://nudua.net/files/vneslightbeta1.xap
Check out the first post for more details (Update #2).
Awesome. Going to download and try it out.
Very nice for the first beta. I'm getting about 26-30 FPS on the games I've tried so far on my Focus running Mango beta 2.
Pros:
I like the way you add games to the XAP.
Multi-tasks
Pretty fast
Cons:
Controls
If you reopen the app (via icon) while its running, it relaunches it from the start. I remember seeing a command that you can add that will make it open like it does from the multitask window.
One thing to note. I saw a post about mango got rid of the 30 FPS limit by adding a new line in the program. But I can't remember if it was just for XNA games or if it included silverlight. Not sure if this would help your or not.
Very good work so far!
Yeah the controls are extremly basic, will definitely make them work a lot better.
Gonna check into resuming the app while it's still running, sounds like a much better way.
Tried getting rid of the 30fps limit, but the problem lies with the cpu, can't run the logic fast enough.
Cheers for the feedback
I submitted this to WMPU and they have an article about it. Hopefully this will get ya some more feedback.
I've been messing with the emulator more and it runs much better than the other NES emulator.
ryotgz said:
I submitted this to WMPU and they have an article about it. Hopefully this will get ya some more feedback.
I've been messing with the emulator more and it runs much better than the other NES emulator.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool cool, yeah I originally checked out that sharpnes based emulator myself, but getting something like that up to par would be a lot of work, considering the original project is so incomplete.
I'm currently checking out various ways to speed up the code even more.
I got my trophy unlocked pretty much just for this... Do you have a list of games tha run fine or is there issues with some games ?
DavidinCT said:
I got my trophy unlocked pretty much just for this... Do you have a list of games tha run fine or is there issues with some games ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since this is a port of mature emulator called VirtualNES, most of the mappers (MMC's) needed to play are already done, so most games should work just fine.
The only problem game I've seen so far has been with Kid Dracula, but it's pretty easy to modifiy any single mapper.
But keep in mind, this is still a very early beta.
DavidinCT said:
I got my trophy unlocked pretty much just for this... Do you have a list of games tha run fine or is there issues with some games ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the games I've tried run fine. Maniac Mansion doesn't display properly in some parts, but I've seen the issue in many emulators.
I see the controls on the first page, I don't have a QWERTY keyboard on mine, is there on-screen controls for this ?
Also for adding/removing games, why don't you look into the USBdriver option ( HERE ). There is addon (works with Nodo and mango) where you can use your WP7 device as a USB drive (same folders as music and pictures), you can create a NESROMS folder in there and anyone could manually add or remove games with out re-deplying the app, just by connecting with USB and closing Zune.
Please hit thanks if this helped !
DavidinCT said:
I see the controls on the first page, I don't have a QWERTY keyboard on mine, is there on-screen controls for this ?
Also for adding/removing games, why don't you look into the USBdriver option ( HERE ). There is addon (works with Nodo and mango) where you can use your WP7 device as a USB drive (same folders as music and pictures), you can create a NESROMS folder in there and anyone could manually add or remove games with out re-deplying the app, just by connecting with USB and closing Zune.
Please hit thanks if this helped !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The controls in the emulator are touch only, as for the controls mentioned in the post at the top are for the Silverlight 4 version, I'll clean up the original post so there's no confusion.
USBdriver looks pretty interesting, but I really don't want to complicate things.
And there's no reason why you can't add your ~50 most favorite NES games from the get go.
well here are some of my ideas on how we could possibly hack this phone:
1.Dig in-
we try to get into the phone's files as deeply as possible and see what we find. if it's something worth investigating, we change this around and see what happens.
2.Silverlight-
We somehow code a javascript app that is actually a microsoft silverlight plugin for the browser. then, i can finish the gui i was making in silverlight and test it on the phone, since the original gui was also made in silverlight.
3.file system explorer
i might be able to use the ftp client to download a file system explorer, or, by some miracle, we code a working file system explorer in javascript.
4. java vm-
once i do some super heavy research on the java vm, its requirements, its functions, and how they are programmed into mobile devices, we could figure out a way to get one on the kin and just make java apps for it.
5. Flash
i, for one, may be able to deal with just having flash, but due to the downloading problems of the phone, this one seems headed downhill.
if anybody else has any theories or ideas for hacking this phone, just post it and ill test it out and tweak it for hopefully good results.
P.S.- i typed this all on the kin. i don't recommend lengthy messages like this with the kin because it makes your fingers sore.
Do it.
Good Idea!
DO IT!
This forum is saturated with off-the-brian ideas. We need someone to figure something else out. We have hit a wall pretty much since the release of KINO. The only advancement we have made on this phone is that I can now backup and restore contacts.
When I say "We" I mean JohnKussack all respect to the man ofcourse.
think positive
well john's not the only one who can do things. if everyone thought like that post then we wouldn,t even be able to do that. the more people that try to do what john does, the more things will get done and the more out-of-the-box ideas will appear.
Welcome to Part II of the basics of ROM building.
If you have not had a chance yet, please check out this link. This should be followed after all of the "files" are gotten from the first part of this Trilogy of tutorials. Okay enough Lord of the Rings, the true trilogy (nerd reference may be criticized below, I preferred the matrix until the third one lol) I digress.
So, we have the files we downloaded them, Red bull/Rockstar/Monster/Bawls, whatever your legal poison. Let's set up working directories.
Organization is critical to the development process. I mean, I only realized this after I started modifying. I mean wow, it was so much easier once I started to record notes and logs.
To begin, always go to a root of a hard drive
Create a folder called
Rom
Tools and then create a new folder called Smali and APKTOOL
Multimedia and then create a new folder called Pictures and Sounds
So we have created 5 folders, do you need 5? No. Do you need 20? It doesn't matter, do what you are comfortable with. It is about staying organized.
Take the ROM you have selected from the first Basics Rom Tutorial. I assume for (hint hint) simplicities sake you chose a DeOdexed rom version of the Sprint S3 MD4 rom. Freeza Thank you. It will be in a zip file
Called: MD4_update_FULL_DeOdex.zip
Rename it to MD4.zip, feel free to call it whatever you want (remember feel comfortable). I will refer to it as MD4 from now on for simplicities sake.
So you have 7-zip installed right? Uh Oh, check, make sure that is ready to go before we start.
I cannot go into that tutorial because....well come onnnnnnn is it really that hard to press next 10 times or less ?
Extract all the files to MD4_Version_1
Oh yeah, we will be making hundreds of versions if you want. Trust me later down the line, after each mod is good, you can just continue naming them in increments. But version control should always be implemented in case you mess something up. So the logic is:
Make 1 mod or set of mods, try mod, if it works keep using that version as your base version and keep going until you are ready to try it again. Mind you it is time consuming but the only way you truly learn this backwards art of reverse engineering.
So lets look at this disaster. I mean it's overwhelming so do not think you are King of the Hill or Any hill. Maybe a mole hill because this a very complicated system in front of us.
Let's analyze the anatomy, BTW, I do not even know what everything does or is, but by all means, ask questions and we will find out. A forum is meant to voice opinions and feedback to those opinions.
The root folder has 2 folders and 2 files
META-INF
system
boot.img
installbusybox
The META-INF folder is extremely important. It contains useful information about signatures and is very necessary for android to" say its official software" remember the idea of this folder, not its contents. I do not mess with this META-INF but there are so many all over the place down the road that we will need to know it plays an important role.
The system folder has every file that we are going to modify, we will hit this folder harder than a head crab being hit by another "delay" at Valve.
The boot.img is an important file for booting up android. We will not be touching that right now. Can you? Sure but hell, don't bother with it for this tutorial. If you know all about ROM mods like some of our bad-ass developers ( yes Cyanogen all of you are badass), Stop reading get to better pastures.
The installbusybox should be there for tools for ROM modifications. It is basically a set of functions that makes Android have teeth. I will not be using it right now but we can keep going. The best tools collected into one so do not delete or modify
Lets get to the meat, the big shabang, the wholy mole(for my Latin friends), the kabosh(for whoever knows what that is)
System
The sub folders are:
app: Contains all the apps that come with the ROM. Remember android operates by utilizing apps for different functions. Modify the files in here can be good and bad, we can make the best tweaks ever here or ruin everything. Be very careful, I have had boot hangs happen to these files
bin: This folder appears mysterious but it contains important files, the binary files. Complexity gets checked right here. This folder is extremely sensitive, I have not modified this folder just yet but when I feel like bricking my phone like a gravity gun dropping combine soldiers, I will get to this asap.
cameradata: Contains important files for camera raw data to JPEG conversion, I do not mod this folder.
csc: This is a jewel, it contains Consumer Software Customization. It has multiple XML files that can be edited and modified critical settings for various functions. Very nice to start your ROM customization here, but not the easiest, lets ease in with another folder first.
etc: This folder contains critical data storage. It has things like the hosts file which will allows you to block ads(cough cough, youtube) and many other files. This folder can brick your phone. Lets not get crazy here...yet
fonts: Pretty obvious, fonts for the ROM, oh and it requires True Type Fonts so contact your local free repository for those.
framework: This folder is an important folder, almost just as important as the app folder
hdic: Language files they are based off the first 2 initials of the language. Not affecting anyone if we are not trying to pinch each ROM's size down to the bare minimum
lib: Library folder, this has files with extension .SO, they will contain libraries of information for different functions. For example, how to take a "Best Pose" picture mode would have functions in this folder as well as other areas of the rom.
media: Contains the most obvious of sounds and a prime location for android universal sounds and bootimages. The bootimages is a touchy subject, the files are Samsung proprietary which makes them useless to us for modification, but we can make the puppet dance one way or another. The sounds, however, are key as we can isolate sounds when the phone starts up, or mute certain camera functions here, we can even make it sound like all of your favorite games(Yes I did, Mechwarrior boot sounds are acceptable, F.E.A.R. sound effects and some DOOM noises added for ambiance and of course Half life 2 noises for complete nerdgasm)
T9DB: This folder contains T9 predictive text in I believe 3 languages: English, Spanish and Korean, can you get rid of 2 of these sure, but expect problems if you decide later you need them. I mean they are not that large in size but at the same time, everyone has their own way of doing things
tts: This folder houses the Text to Speech programs. They suck. I am sorry but they do, SVOX is better, I love IVONA personally. I always like a british women to wake me up and tell me I am late. But that's me.
usr: This folder is not really meant for us to modify as it has to do with the keyboard layout, grammar recognition and customization. Realistically though, I use Swiftkey and call it a day. So do not hate me if I do not bother with mucking around here. It is useful to some I am sure but nothing I want to dabble in. But by all means, it can be useful for setting well Settings.
vendor: Contains library and binary files for certain features from the vendor, I would say camera related but I do not care for this folder just like people really hated the HEV suit announcing all of its amazing features, are you kidding me that was the best part. Yes I fell 100 feet, please let me know about my fracture and how this suit somehow repaired it. It might have well said "Oww". Nothing wrong with that.
voicebargeindata: From my understanding, Svoice related. No need to bother, that feature is about as useful as a Crowbar in a Gun Fight.
vsc: Version Software Control
wakeupdata: Acoustic and Grammar models contains several languages as well
xbin: Has busy box and Super User, a useful tool to become well super.
build.prop: Very sensitive file that is magical and detrimental. There is a lot of false promises on performance with this one. We will dig through this one carefully.
CSCVersion.txt: Should have the model number of your phone
SW_Configuration.xml XML file with more model number configuration
Please feel free to let me know what is understood or not.
This run down allows us to attack the appropriate folders for the next parts
Before we even begin with the complicated mods, let's attack the basic mods first.
The media Folder then go to audio, there is 4 folders
alarms
notifications
ringtones
ui
The first 3 folders you can place anything you want inside. They each correspond to the default ringtones you would like in the phone. I recommend using .ogg files or .mp3 files, you can use Audacity to modify your sounds. Sometimes the length of the sound plays an important role. Short sounds should be kept short for a reason. If you play a noise and its barely half a second, do not make it 4 seconds long because it will sound ridiculous longer than what is meant to sound. Taking a picture while hearing Puff Daddy's Come with Me can be quite awkward but hey its all about your ROM, your choice, your likes. Who the hell is going to tell you that you cannot have a sound of a crowbar whacking a headcrab while in the middle of a busy subway.....besides the police. This works similarly to the situation of ringtones, keep them full blown songs and I have noticed some lag. Do not be discouraged, but most modern phones end the call after about 30 seconds. This time limit has to do with how long the phone is takes to find the phone and ping it. Of course, I safely recommend 45 seconds of your song to cover yourself.
Take note that there are 3 files in these folders that are set to default (ringtone, alarm and notification). We can change that with the build.prop but that's after we mess with the ui folder that contains the User Interface Sounds.
Alert_on_call.ogg: An Alert when you are on call. This should be subtle noise
Auto_focus.ogg: Tricky one, I modified this, still makes an auto focus noise. Clearly a trick has been devised
Auto_focus_error.ogg: Same as above
Call_Connect.ogg: When the call first connects
Cam_Start.ogg: Video Recorder start noise
Cam_Stop.ogg: Video Recorder stops noise
camera_click.ogg: Camera Click noise
Camera_click_short.ogg: Camera Click noise
Camera_empty.ogg: Camera related
camera_focus.ogg: Tricksie this one is, mute and still makes noise, will discuss where noise is coming from
Camera_Timer.ogg: Timer for camera countdown
Camera_Timer_2sec.ogg: 2 Second timer
Charger_Connection.ogg: When you plug in your phone to charging port
Dialer_new.ogg: Tricky one will get to later
Dock.ogg: When you put the phone on dock, useful to distinguish from charger_connection.ogg
Effect_Tick.ogg: I have heard it whilst changing pictures but not sure
Highlight.ogg: I Silenced it, and "I dont know whhhyyy"( Can you guess which comedian said this line and if you know it say it in his voice)
HoverPointer.ogg: I Silenced it, and "I dont know whhhyyy"( Can you guess which comedian said this line and, if you know it, say it in his voice)
Insert.ogg: Google Voice Noise
KeypressDelete.ogg: Default keyboard, I do not use this
KeypressReturn.ogg: Default keyboard, I do not use this
KeypressSpacebar.ogg: Default keyboard, I do not use this
KeypressStandard.ogg: Default keyboard, I do not use this
Lock.ogg: When you press the power button and it instantly locks. This noise will play. Mechwarrior noise here
LowBattery.ogg: Doom low amm noise here to indicate I should have brought a charger becuase my battery is low
New_chat.ogg: Chat software related, I got rid of that junk but thats for another tutorial
PowerOff.ogg: Most people silence this as it is the noise that powers off the phone, I got creative here but you do not have to.
PowerOn.ogg: Most people silence this as it is the noise that powers on the phone, I got creative here but you do not have to.
S_HW_Touch.ogg: The HW indicates Hardware touch, basically the buttons and any touch screen action
S_SIP_Backspace.ogg: Backspace stuff
Sent_chat.ogg: See New_chat.ogg
Shutter.ogg: Silence this for sure if you do not want noise but really silence everything camera related here and it wont be 100%. So just do it
Shutter_multiple.ogg: Burst shot related
TW_Battery_caution.ogg: Any TW has to do with TouchWiz related actions. This one is for battery
TW_Call_Disconnect.ogg: The tricky thing is, some of these are controlled by another piece of software, this one is one of them
TW_Error.ogg:
TW_Silent_mode_off.ogg:
TW_SIP.ogg: Sounds like the default tapping sound for the rom's built in keyboard
TW_Touch.ogg: The default TouchWiz touch noise. Tricky little one this was as I had to verify there was no other location for the droplet noise, it turns out there is, so stay tuned as we dig into the apps and locate where the rest of the sounds are
TW_Unlock_Glass.ogg: Gallery Noises for file management
TW_Unlock_Puzzle.ogg: Gallery Noises for file management, not sure why I heard these exact noises in the gallery app other than they are linked
TW_Volume_control.ogg: The volume rocker button on the side, i mean logically there is only one choice, the Half Life 1 Medical Bay MedShot sound, okay maybe too annoying sure, but bada$$
Undock.ogg: Removing the phone from the dock that so few of us get because you know it doesn't fit my big case, or expanded battery or whatever. You know what, custom solutions are too expensive but trust me people do make the docks that accommodate bigger cases
Unlock.ogg: When you type in your Pin/Password/Pattern, the sound that it makes to unlock
VideoRecord.ogg: Camera video start recording noise, of course, I silenced this one as well
So this takes care of some of the noises, the problem is, Samsung software actually hides the rest of the noises. They are actually hidden away in the APK files in the system/app folder. Do not worry, in future parts of this Discovery channel special on Black Mesa, we will be investigating why they detonated a nuke in the first place if it didnt do anything to stop the invasion. I mean future parts of this series
So where do we go now? Well modify the sounds you want or add the ringtones you want. But something that I felt was important was that certain noises be set when I reboot my rom by default. No I do not want that stupid Samsung whistle! NO ONE DOES SAMSUNG!.
Lets set the default sounds on ROM start up, we will need to modify the build.prop file
This file contains an amazingly large set of instructions for the start-up of the phone and features in the phone. it is therefore, very sensitive to screw-ups. Hopefully, notepad++ was installed.
Navigate in Windows to the working directory of your ROM in our case MD4/system/ there is a file there that says build.prop
Let's open that up in notepad++, we should see some intimidating pieces of code or more like lines of text that tell the phone what and when to do something.
A caution to all, the build.prop has been synonymous with words like "increase performance", "maximize battery life" and other claims that are unfortunately sometimes not always true, for every mod someone makes to this file, someone traces the code to a Gingerbread rom that is useless on Jelly Bean, or an old reference to ICS(Ice Cream Sandwich),
I would highly suggest we not dabble too much on this. XDA has some great people who have found great information about the build.prop file. This link, user Chris_84 has put a great Wikipedia together on this so I will not try and explain each one. But there are so many other links that can show a post of good tweaks and bad tweaks and useless tweaks that I will not go into. Let's instead focus on our start-up sounds
The build.prop code we will scroll to with the ctrl+f button should be enough for us to get started is
Code:
ro.config.alarm_alert=
ro.config.ringtone=
ro.config.notification_sound=
Each of these do have a word after the equal sign, which means if you configure the correct file in the correct folder(hint hint) alarm, ringtone,notification folders we talked about earlier, all you have to do is add the name of the file exactly as it appears, please only use .ogg files here. MP3 files also work but you know just do it okay. I don't ask Alex why she never made a move on me, I just know she cant have a meaningful relationship with a guy who doesn't even say hi, that's a little creepy but you know and I know she loves Freeman alright.
As an example, just in case my rant did not make any sense,
let's say you put the following sound in the system/media/audio/ringtones folder kick_push_lupe.ogg
you would put in the code the following
Code:
ro.config.alarm_alert=
ro.config.ringtone=
ro.config.notification_sound=[B]kick_push_lupe.ogg[/B]
And that's how simple that is.
So you say you have ranted on too long. Sure I have, but that's not going to be the end here. We will be modifying the rest of this rom business in the more difficult lesson which is part III, that will take the longest because we want to have fun. And I still have some Freduian issues with my role model Gordon Freeman that I need to bring out. Anyway
Also, before I go, you might ask, how do you execute TEST BATCH ALPHA-TRON!.
Go Back to your Home Folder MD4_Version_1/. You should see the folders we discussed earlier
META-INF
system
boot.img
installbusybox
Select all of those files and right click the mouse button to get a context menu from 7-zip or WinRAR and click Add to archive. Make a ZIP FILE ONLY. You can choose to compress the file if you want, I just click fastest compression options available and proceed.
When the zip file is in hand, I take the file and put it on the SD Card root directory. When it transfers(in about 5 minutes), you can open the CWM (clockworkmod) recovery or the TWRP recovery and install the ROM. Sure I did skip some steps here on how you get these recoveries and the like but this tutorial is about ROM modification and the sort not the super basics, you need those to even be reading these. If you need to get those going, let me know in the comments and we can spool that up in part III.
I do not know how many parts this will take, but it is time consuming, i have to research this stuff and recall my notes. I know the spirit of the guide is in the right place but please be patient. I will not fail you Krypton(YES I LIKED MAN OF STEEL, let the downvotes begin, oh wait not imgur).
I appreciate all feedback, do not get me wrong, and I will work whenever I am free to add as many of these parts as I can. I do want to help anyone out who has their own twist on what they want their ROM to do. It is the least I can do to payback this great community and assist one person or inspire one idea. That is all it took for me to get going, the next part will also have a very heavy hand in taking code from other people for examples of mods. I want to say from now, I did not do any of these codes, I used common sense to implement somehow into my own rom mods. They deserve all credit as they are amazing coders/crackers/hackers/whackers/ whatever you name it they truly deserve the praise. I am just compiling their logic into our ROM that we are building together. And has anyone seen the YouTube channel Vsauce, that channel is AWESOME.
Again, thank you. Very, very helpful.
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Sprint Galaxy S3
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This is great. Man u really put this down in a way that is really understandable!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Appreciate it
Thanks guys, seems you are tracking my every word, I posted the other ones it seems you hit those up as well. Appreciate it and everyone, please let me know if something did not make sense, we got a great pool of people that can help out.