How to decompiler the start.dat (Login screen)

Alright class. Today we are going to learn how to disable what I think is the most important piece of the client. The start.dat. Ever found it annoying to have those server menus up there? Element, World, Nature, whatever's cleaver while the only server you need is yours? Well I found it annoying too. Ever find TQs lame background irritating to look at? Almost like it's not even worth my time to login. So that's why I've gone about researching the start.dat. Turns out, it's just a flash movie that is in .dat form. How they accomplish it? Idk and that's not important. So here we go, this is how to decompile it.

VIDEO TUTORIAL COMING SOON!!

Section 1: Software Needed
Alright so the needed software you need is:
A.) Flash Decompiler (Trillix, Flash Decomp. Gold, SoThink.SWF)
B.) A software that can edit raw .swf/.fla files. (Adobe Flash Professional)
C.)Probably Photoshop/GIMP, SOMETHING... other than paint. Trust me, it's just easier to download Photoshop/GIMP.
D.) WinRAR to change the file name. Simply adding .swf at the end of the file WILL NOT change anything.

Question: "How do I get these programs, oh awesome Reaver?"

Good question! You can grab Flash Decompiler Gold from heeyah -> [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
(Flash Decompiler has a bug... that's benefiting! The trial never really runs out! =D)

If you would like Trillix (the best decompiler I've used so far) you will need to either find a cracked version or PORTABLE version from a PIRATE.... that's probably hanging out by the BAY...

You can download the trial of Adobe Flash Pro from this place right her -> [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
(It will automatically download the right version for you... don't you love automated systems? =])

WinRAR is located hereeee -> [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

And finally you can download either the full version of GIMP here -> [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
Or the trial version of Photoshop -> [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

So download those things and tell me when you get done.
Oh wait... this is a forum... never mind!

Question: "But Reaverrrr, these are mainly trials how do I get the real thing??"

Well aren't we greedy pricks. Jk! I cannot tell you how to go about getting full versions of software but let's just say that I'm a true PIRATE that always hangs out at the BAY....
(I swear to god if you don't get it by now, I will personally find you and slap the fawk out of you.)

Section 2: Grabbing your start.dat
If you haven't already figured it out by now, this tutorial is how to change your start.dat... aka login screen. So if you have no idea what a start.dat is or where it is, go to your client folder, go through data > main > copy Start.dat > paste it on your desktop.

So for me it's: Desktop > Conquer2.0 - Aurora > data > main > I then scroll down to find Start.dat > I then right-click > I click "copy" > I go to my desktop > I then right-click the desktop > I finally click "paste"

NOTE: It's very important you back it up. What I did was after I copy/pasted to my desktop, I just pasted again and it created "Start - copy.dat"

SECONDARY NOTE: AGAIN YOU WILL NEED WINRAR IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE FILE NAME

Open up WinRAR. If you don't know how, go to your start menu, all programs, find the WinRAR folder, click WinRAR. From there, navigate to your desktop folder. FROM THERE, find your start.dat... click on it. Hit F2, then change the .dat to .swf

*Congratulations, you've now completed 1/5 of your job*

Here's a screenshot of me using WinRAR to navigate to the desktop:

Spoiler

Section 3: Decompiling/Basic edit
Alright so by now you should at least have a decompiler installed. If you don't, come back when you do. Open that decompiler (I have both Trillix and Flash Decomp. Gold so I will go through both versions. Starting with Trillix) and wait until it opens.

Trillix: You will need the full version to work with Trillix so remember that.

Spoiler

Okay so first step, make sure your opening screen looks like mine!
Image:

Code:

[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/vfcp7d.png[/IMG]

Next thing you need to do is, in the left hand menu there are some folders. That's called the "File Explorer". Using the above one, you find your desktop folder. Once you are there, use the lower window to find Start.swf, then double-click it. THEN, go to the right-hand side and you'll notice a label that says "start.swf" and a little + symbol next to it. Well click that shizz! It'll expand your entire view of that .swf! For the concept of this tutorial we'll go through the basic first step you can do. Changing the image of the login screen.

Quick Note: When I originally started I thought the way you removed the annoying server icons was by making a transparent image and saving over the old image. So instead of a rectangle server icon, you'd make the same size image with an entire layer of alpha. JUST alpha. Well that's not how you do it. You CANNOT use a decompiler to remove any menus. You can however use it to edit images.

So minimize your decompiler and open up either GIMP/Photoshop. From there open up any image you want *bigger or equal to the size of 1024x637. If it's larger than that, you will go to the menu at the top "File | Edit | Image..." and you will click Image. You will then click on Image size. (I believe in both Photoshop and GIMP you can press CTRL + I) Then edit your Width/Height values to 1024x637. Save it as whatever name you'd like, but I usually name my edits after the original file, which in this case would be image10.jpg.

Save it to a memorable stop then maximize/un-minimize your decompiler. On the right-hand menu click the + symbol next to images.
Image:

Code:

[IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/2a4pon4.png[/IMG]

That's what your screen should look like then. Now find "image10" or "Image 10" and click it. Then at the top-LEFT hand corner of the screen, click on "Edit" in the menu. Then click on "Images". On the bottom left you should have a "Properties Window". It should also automatically select Image 10. If not, select it. From here you will click the folder icon in the properties window and navigate to wherever you saved your image. Find it and then double-click it. It should instantly change your login screen to your new one. If not, go back some steps and follow along.

*Congratulations, if you've gotten this far it means that you have a custom login screen. Most people stop here, but if you want it truly custom and to make it that there's NO server select, continue with the next sections. Otherwise just skip to the last section.*

Flash Decompiler Gold:

Spoiler

Open up your Flash Decompiler Gold and make sure your start screen looks like this:
Image: [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

Then in the left-hand side of the screen you'll see a menu called "File Explorer". Navigate to the desktop where you have your start.swf and double-click it. At this point my Flash Decompiler crashed but eventually it doesn't so you may have to repeat the process.

NOTE: With Flash Decompiler Gold, SAVE AS SOON AS YOU GET THAT NEW IMAGE IN. Just trust me.

Once you load the start.swf it'll appear in the middle as a little movie. (How cute the little birdy flying around =])

Go to the RIGHT-hand side of the screen and click the + symbol next to "start.swf", if it's already expanded do that for "Images(34)". Then click on Image 10.

Minimize flash decompiler and open up GIMP or Photoshop. From there open up any image you want *bigger or equal to the size of 1024x637. If it's larger than that, you will go to the menu at the top "File | Edit | Image..." and you will click Image. You will then click on Image size. (I believe in both Photoshop and GIMP you can press CTRL + I) Then edit your Width/Height values to 1024x637. Save it as whatever name you'd like, but I usually name my edits after the original file, which in this case would be image10.jpg.

Minimize photoshop/GIMP and re-open the Flash Decompiler window. Right-click on Image 10 and then select "Edit Images". It should bring up a pop-up menu that has your original image (the conquer image) at the top and a blank image below it and finally a "Browse" button. Click the browse button, navigate to wherever you saved your picture and double-click it. Then click "Ok". From there just hit "Save" in the LEFT-hand menu.

*Congratulations, if you've gotten this far it means that you have a custom login screen. Most people stop here, but if you want it truly custom and to make it that there's NO server select, continue with the next sections. Otherwise just skip to the last section.*

Section 4: Decompiling the .swf file to be editable by Flash
This is where the customization really begins.

Trillix:

Spoiler

Flash Decompiler Gold:

Spoiler

Section 5: Converting your new .swf back to a .dat and then shoving it in the client
Ahh yes.. the second easiest and final part of this tutorial. Open up WinRAR, navigate to your desktop. Find the .swf file and then hit F2. Change .swf to .dat and then hit enter and then close out of WinRAR. Go to your desktop, copy the start.dat and then navigate through your client folder like this. "[Conquer server name here] > data > main" and then paste it in the main folder. You're finally done! Open up your Conquer and see how it looks!

Video Tutorial For Trillix: *Non-Existant*

Video Tutorial For Flash Decompiler Gold: *Non-Existant*

Hope this helped!
- Reaver~