I'd like to know how to clean up the rest of the template and how to load it as a vanilla mod, though.
The "cleanup" step is needed only for Loader mods. By default, the Loader template file will export most of the bodyparts so that they can be invoked in ActionScript. This is convenient for new modders, because you can simply uncomment a few lines of code and your stuff will appear. But all of these bodyparts get published in your SWF, which "bloats" it somewhat (and increases the load time).
Converting your FLA project into a vanilla mod takes a few minutes of work. But there's no cleanup needed afterwards.
The actual conversion process is slightly tricky. It would take me longer to
explain it than to simply
do it. So if you're willing to share a copy of your FLA file then I can send back a vanilla version. It's also possible to create a vanilla import by decompiling your SWF file, but we usually do so only if the author has vanished. If you'd prefer to keep your source files private, then I can try to walk you through it (or dig up a previous walkthrough -- I think that I've done this before).
As for the RGB slider support, handcuffs don't usually come in a lot of colors, but I have a clothing mod or two that I'd like to know how to use that for.
It boils down to:
- choose some fills within your shape
- it's typical to make them fully black (#000000) so that they'll provide maximum RGB slider responsiveness, but it's not actually necessary to do so.
- designate them as separate Symbols
- assign special names (rgbFill or rgbFill2) to the instances of those Symbols within your mod
- custom scripting
- your fills will be canonically black within your project, but you can assign them a default color which will appear when they're loaded in-game. The vanilla "Gem Choker" exhibits this behavior -- its RGB2 setting automatically shifts to white.
- if your mod type (e.g. body mod, dynamic hair mod) does not correspond to any specific set of RGB sliders, then it will remain black during gameplay. But you can add AS3 script to "wire it up" to particular sliders. In this case, we'd presumably use the Cuffs sliders.
- each "slot" has only 2 RGB sliders. If you want to implement a design with 4 independently adjustable colors, then you'd need to add scripting which "borrows" sliders from another slot (e.g. Gloves)
You should be able to find various working examples of RGBFill mods by searching the
<rgb adjustable> tag.
Here's one. Note the layering in Flash -- the rgbFill layers are (usually) 100% opaque, so shadow and highlights must be layered on top of the rgbFill.
Alternatively, you could upload a copy of your FLA file and someone could add RGBFill features to it.
I heard server load was a concern (when it comes to hosting images, at least), so I didn't want to host anything on-site if I could help it.
Server load is a concern when we're dealing with
"temporary" files (such as reference images) which people never remember to remove. It's a concern when people are uploading
copyrighted images onto the Undertow fileserver and exposing the site operators to DMCA paperwork. It's a concern when people are
rehosting files which already exist elsewhere else on the Internet (e.g. nexusmods), especially when they do so
without the consent of the actual modder. It would be a concern if someone decided to upload a half gigabyte of high-res texture files, as a way of sharing files within a modding team.
When we're dealing with
original content files,
complete and
ready-to-use, being
uploaded by the actual author? We're
happy to store that stuff, and we'd love to see more of it.