Hacking Animated Banners

[rizzod]

So does anyone know how to make an animated banner? Ive been looking for a tutorial for a long time and have not found one anywhere...

 

[zamlz]

To make your own...Use Benzin will post link later...

 

[SifJar]

You use Benzin.

Here's some decent links for you to read. I advise you read them all and try to understand all that is being said. Then get a copy of benzin (You'll need to compile it yourself. There was a thread at wadder forums with binaries, but wadder forums are gone), download some legal base WADs (can be done with CustomizeMii), extract the brlan and brlyt files (again, use CustomizeMii), convert them to xmlan and xmlyt with Benzin, look at them, study them, work out how they work.

I advise you start with the WADder Base WAD 1/2/3, as they are quite simple animation, and so easy to understand.

Then, start writing your own xmlan and xmlyt files, and converting them with Benzin, then inserting them into channels with CustomizeMii.

Links:

http://wadder.net/wiki/index.php/Editing_Banners_with_Benzin
http://wadder.net/wiki/index.php/Brlyt_Documentation
http://wadder.net/wiki/index.php/Brlan_Documentation

Also, check out this file on the Benzin SVN GIT, it lists all animation types, which is handy:
http://github.com/SquidMan/benzin/blob/master/animtypes.txt (Don't worry too much if this file makes no sense right now, it should later once you understand more about banner creation).

Alternatively, for a more "regular" animation (i.e. something akin to a GIF animation), check out this page:

http://wadder.net/wiki/index.php/Brlan_RLTP

And a helper for that : http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=r3E...9jlbqfea-g2blcg

With this, you just make a bunch of images (like you would for a GIF animation), then convert them all to TPL. Then use the spreadsheet linked above to generate an XMLAN. For the xmlyt, see the WADder wiki page on Brlan_RLTP I linked above.

Hope some of this is of use to you.

EDIT: If this all seems a bit tricky (understandably so, because it is), you could always just use the Base WADs from CustomizeMii and replace the images (TPLs) in them. Just create new images in a regular format (e.g. png), and use CustomizeMii to replace the existing ones with them. It should resize your images and everything, so you don't need to worry about bannerbricks or anything. This way, you don't have to touch brlan or brlyt files. However, you are stuck with the animation in the original channel, you can only change the actual images.

 

[mousex]

123

 

[SifJar]

@SifJar: git is not svn

my bad. thought they were same thing. Off-topic: Whats the difference?

Back on-topic: I may write a guide to banner creation, if I get time, as the documents I linked to are a bit vague for my liking... What do you think, would it be useful? BTW, if I do write one, it'll be a while before its posted, as I have a load of pretty important exams over the next couple of months, so won't have much time...

 

[wilsoff]

Why not edit the wiki? I'd check with icefire on how long he intends to keep them up before spending too long on them though. Or perhaps wiibrew?

 

[SifJar]

Why not edit the wiki? I'd check with icefire on how long he intends to keep them up before spending too long on them though. Or perhaps wiibrew?

Hmm, yeah, that may be a better idea. Think I'll maybe put some stuff on WiiBrew, try and get some good banner stuff on there. WADder wiki doesn't seem to be updated very often, don't think many people go there...I'll see what I can do.