adman007 Posted January 21, 2017 Posted January 21, 2017 Hi all, I'm just starting out with converting my MAME themes to 16X9 widescreen, but I can't seem to figure out an easy way to convert the SWF files without causing bad things to happen. What's the best way to do this? Are there any tutorials out there that I'm not seeing?
Avar Posted January 21, 2017 Posted January 21, 2017 A chunk of the themes have already been converted. In general, any still image that's SWF is likely to have been converted. If it's a flash file, you need to convert it, then edit every image in every frame of the flash file, then reposition every element. It's a bit more of a painstaking but fun process and every flash theme requires a slightly different approach to properly convert. I'm sorry I didn't make it to flash conversion vids before I started on the official hyperspin tuts. Step 1 though is converting the SWF via Sothink SWF Decompiler. After that you just edit the flash like any other, scaling all elements then selecting all elements/frames in the same animation chains and positioning them for 16:9, a lot like we do with static themes.
adman007 Posted January 21, 2017 Author Posted January 21, 2017 Thanks Avar. Your other videos have really helped me out a ton. I've been mainly trying to deal with the animated SWF movie files. The other art has been coming along pretty easy using your method. The way I've been testing it is by importing the SWF movie into flash, selecting all frames and art and then reducing the X value to 75%. Then adding back the loop if needed. I've found thought that some animations don't seem to show up when I import the file. If you use the decompiler, will that still keep everything intact?
Avar Posted January 21, 2017 Posted January 21, 2017 Yes, for the most part. Sothink SWF Decompiler is pretty fundamental to the process afaik as any attempt I made w/o first converting the SWFs resulted in visual gibberish. I wanna say that like... 90+% of the flash files I converted turned out completely fine and every now and then one might have a strange but workable quirk. Your approach sounds right and you'll quickly pick up on the lil details as you work. Masking layers can be a pain at times but are workable, and most people don't use them in a way that makes converting them difficult. Also, be wary of any heavily rotating elements. The odd theme might have elements that, due to our inability to physically modify the actual images beyond the ARs, will need to have a new element superimposed over it to hide a blemish or imperfection (an example of this is the Firetruck theme conversion, where I added 2x old-timey fire hydrants in front of where the hoses would be otherwise cut off. I haven't had my nose in my setup for a while but if there's any specific themes you're after I may have them converted already so feel free to gimme a shout.
adman007 Posted January 21, 2017 Author Posted January 21, 2017 Whoa, Sothink works really well. I'm actually amazed how fast it is. Pac-man is done :-) Thanks so much! I can see how each will have its own challenges...that is the fun though.
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