Party Poker - No Avatars or Empty Chairs

[Chip Litre]

I prefer to turn the avatars (seated characters) off when I play at PP but this leaves the empty chairs cluttering the screen. I've discovered how to remove both the avatars and the chairs, now my gamescreen is much more attractive and less cluttered without them.

For PP newcomers this is how to turn off just the avatars: Click the Options button on the lobby menu bar, then, hover your mouse pointer over Video & Audio Options, then, click Characters On/Off. The checkmark will go away and the avatars will not be visible around the table anymore, but the chairs will still be there. (PP veterans forgive me, but I have talked with several avid players who never bothered to figure this out) There is no menu option to turn off the chairs either.

Now look in your PartyPoker/Images folder for a file called table.jpg - open it and you'll see the default gamescreen, minus avatars and chairs. This is exactly what my gamescreen looks like now. PP makes the avatars and chairs appear like this: first the table.jpg image is loaded, then the 10 separate avatar images representing the 10 seat positions are loaded and overlaid onto the table.jpg image, creating the illusion of a poker table with 10 players seated around it. When you turn off the avatars by unchecking the Characters On/Off option, the 10 avatar images are replaced with 10 new images of empty seats. So if we could prevent the avatar/chair images from loading in the first place, wouldn't that work? Could we simply remove the avatar/chair images from the Images folder, or rename them? The answer is no. The software is looking for specific image files to load, if they aren't where they're supposed to be, or their names have been changed, your computer will automatically begin formatting its hard drives. Just kidding! This, of course, won't happen, but the software will not like this it all.

Here's the fix: What if instead of loading empty chair images and overlaying them on the default gamescreen, it loaded images of the empty space in the background behind the chairs so that it looked like there really wasn't anything there at all? (Remember the movie "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenegger?)

So are these "stealth" chair images included in the PP download? No. You have to create them yourself, which I did, or you can email me at chiplitre@yahoo.com and I'll send them to you along with instructions.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

You have too much time on your hands.

[balkii]

hey, can you post a screen shot of this?

[JohnShaft]

Yeah I definitely want to see how this looks too.
A big part of the reason I'm not a fan of Party is because the screen is too cluttered to focus.

[Chip Litre]

LOL! You're right, I do!

[SuitedSixes]

So, in theory, you could just edit these images to be anything that you want?

[Chip Litre]

Yes, in reality you can simply modify the default images, or substitute your own, as long as the new image has the same filename. I will post a screenshot in a few minutes.

[jasonHoldEm]

Here's mine...

http://www.pokerodyssey.com/img/table.jpg

You can download this skin from http://www.pokerodyssey.com/img/skin.zip (right click, save target as). Then just extract to your party/image directory and viola. Don't do it if you don't know what you're doing, use at your own risk, yadda, yadda, yadda.

J

[Chip Litre]

Here is a screenshot taken just a few minutes ago.
http://www.geocities.com/chiplitre/images/PartyTable.jpg

[Alobar]

wow, pretty cool. I'm definately going to do this

[JohnShaft]

Thanks Jason. That definitely suits my minimalist self.

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
viola

[/ QUOTE ]

voilà! /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[OrangeHeat]

Mine has the background solid like Jason's. I had PM'd Mike O Malley about making it a standard option a while back and he said it was a possibility.

It is definitely better on the eyes when multitabling.

BTW - If you do it for party just copy the images into the same folder under Empire poker and voila both have the same skin.

Orange

[Chip Litre]

Sorry about the screenshot not working sometimes. It seems that Geocities limits the data transfer rate for free accounts. When that limit is reached they simply shut-off your data transfer ability for an hour. Nice.

I've posted the screenshot to a new http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/411a0a78_b0c8/bc/images/partytable.jpg?bfCwhGBBM9ithYTk location. Hopefully this will help the data transfer issues.

[GoSox]

Nice Chip, thanks for the suggestion ! Now instead of empty chairs I have 10 screenshots of Shauna Hiatt from Playboy ! Sure makes all that time in between playable hands go faster...

[Chip Litre]

Now THAT'S a good idea!

[scotnt73]

thank you very much! i love it!

[Sponger15SB]

www.bravenet.com (http://www.bravenet.com)

look at all my stupid screenshots and pictures, they hold up just fine and are easier to upload

[AtlBrvs4Life]

This is great. The only problem I have with it is that the text in the bottom left corner of the screen now blends in. I can no longer see how many more hands until the next level in a SNG. Any way to fix this?

[Chip Litre]

hmmm...I didn't realize it was doing that. Can you email me a screenshot with the area the text should be appearing in circled (use Windows MS-Paint or another app to do this)? Thanks. chiplitre@yahoo.com

[AtlBrvs4Life]

E-mail sent.

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
that the text in the bottom left corner of the screen now blends in

[/ QUOTE ]

You're probably using mine, I sorta hijacked the thread (sorry chip). mine is the one with the dark background, chips is the one with the standard party background which shouldn't cause problems.

I've never noticed this problem because I don't play SNG's, but you can open up the table.jpg file in a graphics editor and insert a (light colored) square in the appropriate area and this will fix your problem (or you could just change all of the "floor" to a lighter color which might be more astetically pleasing). There is no way to change the color of the text as that is set by the program.

Hope this helps,
J

[AtlBrvs4Life]

Actually, your images don't cause that problem on Empire because the text is white. The problem is only on Party.

Edit: Yea that is what I did to fix the problem on party. I put a rectangle that was the same green color as the table behind the text. I didn't realize that Chip had separate images. Is there a link to your images Chip?

[jasonHoldEm]

I changed the background to a light grey for Party, light colors aren't quite as forgiving and I don't think it looks as good as the darker version but it should fix your problem.

http://www.pokerodyssey.com/img/partyskin.zip

/images/graemlins/smile.gif
J

[Keres]

I believe you can also change the images for the cards themselves.

A funny trick would be to switch 2s with Aces on your buddy's machine.

[Chip Litre]

Oh man that would be mean! You better hope he's not playing for real money and he doesn't find out it was you!

By the way I have taken the default PP cardset and added a subtle drop shadow to the bottom and right edges, just enough to give them some depth. I'll send them if you're interested. And no switching them on your friends! chiplitre@yahoo.com

[OrangeHeat]

How about a "Best Skin" Contest???

We could have some secondary prizes (like Miss congeniality):

"Best X-Rated"
"Funniest"
etc...
etc..

Seriously it would be cool to collect a bunch of these on a website so we could switch them every so often.

Orange

[Chip Litre]

I agree that would be fun. A previous poster emailed me this link http://teamfu.freeshell.org/software/ to a site that appears to do just what we're talking about.

[OrangeHeat]

hehe - The odds in place of the dealer is cool. I feel dumb for not thinking of it myself.

Orange

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
emailed me this link http://teamfu.freeshell.org/software/

[/ QUOTE ]

hahaha...that's great, I love the altered congratulations images.

[Chip Litre]

I like Shana Hiatt being the dealer!

[Baulucky]

Diz'iz de kulest zing dat aivever zin.

[bisonbison]

weeee

http://stompandcrush.com/images/skin.jpg

[illunious]

Thanks for the files Jason, I love the new interface!

I have wanted to do this for a while but never got motivated enough, and was a bit worried it would conflict with their T&C.

I am going to do the same thing with the .wav files - ding.wav and reminder.wav get a better sound and everything else is gonna be a silent .wav file.

[jasonHoldEm]

Woah...never thought about doing it that way....another cool idea.

J

[bisonbison]

Here's the blank one. You must replace your entire Images Folder. Please back it up before doing so (http://stompandcrush.com/Images.zip)

[Chip Litre]

Okay this is the 3rd place I've put the "No Chairs" table screenshot. Hopefully everyone will be able to get to it.
View Screenshot (http://www.chiplitre.bravehost.com/partypoker/party.htm)

[sammy_g]

[ QUOTE ]
Okay this is the 3rd place I've put the "No Chairs" table screenshot. Hopefully everyone will be able to get to it.
View Screenshot (http://www.chiplitre.bravehost.com/partypoker/party.htm)

[/ QUOTE ]
Error: Daily Bandwidth Allocation Exceeded /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Chip Litre]

I give up! None of these free sites allow enough bandwidth!

[zerosports]

Here I've uploaded an image from my setup. Using chip litre's card+nochair mods and the odds table background. Thanks chip for the great work.

PS. got a nice hand in his pic also /images/graemlins/smile.gif

http://users.adelphia.net/~jeffylo/images/clean.gif

[mrjim]

Nice flop!

[kiemo]

Zip the files up and email me them Chip if possible.

[Benal]

off?

[Emoney]

can someone host the no chair files?

[Benal]

Just turn them off..

Options/Video & Audio Options/Characters On/off

[PITTM]

where do i get that odds chart too?

rj

[Emoney]

[ QUOTE ]
Just turn them off..

Options/Video & Audio Options/Characters On/off

[/ QUOTE ]

that only gets rid of the characters. i want rid of the chairs too like the last screen shot posted.

[Benal]

it did it for me.. just like the screenshot

[Benal]

odds chart here... http://teamfu.freeshell.org/software/

[Simon Diamond]

Perhaps this is not what you are looking for, but I'll post it all the same...

http://www.simongreig.com/pics/wom7.gif

Simon

[AtlBrvs4Life]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Just turn them off..

Options/Video & Audio Options/Characters On/off

[/ QUOTE ]

that only gets rid of the characters. i want rid of the chairs too like the last screen shot posted.

[/ QUOTE ]

You need to e-mail Chip Litre for the files. He posted his address in the original post.

[Benal]

LOL oh my!

[Simon Diamond]

In action -

http://www.simongreig.com/pics/pp.gif

She ain't got no chance, sat two to the left of the dirtiest player in the game... Woooooooooooooo!

Simon

[gojacketz]

Nothing like a limousine ridin', jet flyin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin' son of a gun to put you on tilt...

Gojacketz

[shadow29]

Is it possible to switch skins in between sites? IE UB table into party software?

[Chip Litre]

The "Stealth Chair" screenshot and zip files are on a stable webserver now. You can download the mod files directly from here: http://www.niccalo.net/poker/partypoker.html

[Matty]

[ QUOTE ]
weeee

http://stompandcrush.com/images/skin.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]Mine is like that, only without the numbers on the seats, the cards are white, and the rebuy, lobby, and leave table buttons are black with only white text showing. Very easy on the eyes. I'm thinking about making the big fold, call, and raise buttons red so they stand out more. Sometimes when I'm listening to my headphones and trying to count outs on another table, I'll slow a game down by not noticing it's my turn.

I'm trying to get rid of the boxes around the players' names but can't find the image. Can anyone figure it out?

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
the boxes around the players' names but can't find the image. Can anyone figure it out?



[/ QUOTE ]

It's done by the program you can't change it.

[Drunk Bob]

You want cluttered? Download Absolute Poker and take a lookie see!

[Chip Litre]

Yes I know what you mean about AP. Actually I play there quite often, but you have to really pay attention or you'll become disoriented by the visual distractions.

[Chip Litre]

There is now click here (http://www.niccalo.net/poker/partypoker.html)

[Chip Litre]

The "no chairs" files and screenshot can now be found here (http://www.niccalo.net/poker/partypoker.html) Just click on the filename to download.

[Chip Litre]

The files and a screenshot can now be found here (http://www.niccalo.net/poker/partypoker.html) Just click on the file name to download.

[Chip Litre]

The invisible chairs for 7 Card Stud tables have been added to the download file. Now you can make the empty chairs disappear along with the avatars on Hold'em, Omaha, and Stud tables. Click here (http://www.niccalo.net/poker/partypoker.html) to see a screenshot and get the files.

[Chip Litre]

Now the Party Poker "no chairs" mod is available for Empire Poker (http://www.niccalo.net/poker/empirepoker.html)