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How to change that pesky Bandai logo on the Area Server start-up to something more fancy(with images!)

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 3:27 am
by unnamedauthor
Long title, short post :^)
What you need:
GIMP, WV's Area Server Explorer, and a fancy image

Open up GIMP and make a 512x512 image.
Right-click on the "Background" layer and click "Add Alpha Channel".
Image
Now that you've done that, click on your image, press ctrl-A, and then Delete(not Backspace). If your keyboard doesn't have a Delete key, you can also right-click->Edit->Clear
We have a blank canvas to work with now, so press ctrl-O and find your fancy image. I'll pick one of me. :)
In case your image isn't square already, we'll use the Crop tool (shift-C), checking these boxes on the left so they look a bit like this. You'll also want to check Delete cropped pixels if it isn't already checked.
Image
Then, click and drag your mouse over what you want your icon to be, and once you've perfected your choice press Enter.
Image
Now we'll press ctrl-A again, then ctrl-C to copy it. Hop on over to your blank image and hit ctrl-V to paste it out! If you made your image too large(you probably did) you can scale it down with shift-S.

We're almost there! Click either of the green buttons to your bottom right to anchor your paste into the image.
If you want the fancy rounded corners like the original Bandai logo has, hit ctrl-A, right click, Select, and Rounded Rectangle. There you can adjust the level of rounded-ness. After that, press ctrl-I(capital i) to invert your selection, then delete!

Final steps, I promise! Press ctrl-E, change the file extension to .tga and make sure that RLE Compression is turned off, and put it somewhere you'll remember(your Area Server folder is always a good choice).
Now, make sure your Area Server is turned off and head into the Area Server Explorer. Click File->Open AreaServer.exe, and find... well, your exe.
Click on data\pack.bin, and then File->Open in PACK Editor. Right around the top should be BANDAI.tga. Tap on that, then File->Import and find your fancy image. Then, we just click File->Save to PACK.BIN. All done!
Now we just... close the Area Server Explorer and open the Area Server!
Did you get something about pack.bin? You probably left the ASE open
Image
Have fun!