[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] EndoSurf:
For ages I've wanted to be able to give something back to the XDA community, and finally I've managed to find something :D

I don't know why, but I'm addicted to play SPB puzzle..... but it doesn't take long to finish up the puzzle packs which leaves you with bugger all.

So... to cut to the chase, following is a tutorial on how to make your own puzzle packs.

You will need to download the Just for fun Pack file:

http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/ext/puzzle/packs/SpbPuzzleViewsWidePack.cab

Ok on to the fun....

1. Extract the contents of the cab to your PC

2. Rename the file Vieww~1.001 to Views.zip

3. Extract the context of views.zip

4. Create another folder on your PC, for example MelbournePuzzle

5. In the MelbournePuzzle folder, create another folder called small

6. Copy the 3 .MSK files to your MelbournePuzzle Folder

7. Copy the 2 .txt files to your Melbourne Puzzle Folder

Ok, I believe the MSK files determine the shape of the puzzle, these 3 are of the extreme difficulty, so are quite small pieces.

The index.txt is a tab delimited file that sets up the puzzle pack

The overview_en.txt has the picture and pack descriptions.

The next step is to grab a bunch of picture that you want to use for your puzzle pictures.

In a picture editor, you want to resize them all so that they are 1324 x 1500 and are 96DPI

Save your pictures in to your MelbournePuzzle folder

You also need to create the "small" version of this pictures that go in to MelbournePuzzle\Small

Open up your first picture, resize it to 121 x 182 @ 96DPI and save it to the folder with the same name

You also need one more picture for your intro.jpg which is saved in to the MelbournePuzzle folder, this picture needs to be 200 x 200 @ 96DPI

Open the index.txt file.

*name*	Melbourne	intro.jpg	1	Views Wide123
*level*	Rialto	01.jpg	mask1.msk	Small/01.jpg	11	B2FCFF	66E4E9
*level*	Tram	02.jpg	mask2.msk	Small/02.jpg	12	B2FCFF	66E4E9
*level*	Flinders Street	03.jpg	mask3.msk	Small/03.jpg	13	B2FCFF	66E4E9
*level*	City at Night	04.jpg	mask1.msk	Small/04.jpg	14	B2FCFF	66E4E9
*level*	Art Centre	05.jpg	mask2.msk	Small/05.jpg	15	B2FCFF	66E4E9

The first column describes the following data, the first line always is *name* the rest are *level*

The Second column is the description

The third is the Large Picture you created (first line is intro.jpg)

The Fourth Column for the first line is black, for the rest is points to the MSK file that creates the puzzle shape and size.

The Fifth column for the first line is blank, for the rest it points to the small image created. These are the thumbnail images.

The 6th column is the description pointer in the overview_en.txt file

The last column... Well I have no idea what this one is for, so I left the default values and haven't had any issues as of yet.

Save the file.

Crack open the overview_en.txt file

[1]
Photo's of the best city in the world, Melbourne!
Difficulty: Extreme
[11]
Picture of the Rialto, Previously the biggest biggest building in Australia. It has since been eclipsed by Eureka towers.

Author:
No Idea
License:
Probably has one
Source:
Google images

[12]
A tram. One of the public transport methods available in the city.

Author:
No Idea
License:
Probably has one
Source:
Google images

[13]
A picture of Melbourne's Flinders Street Station.

Author:
No Idea
License:
Probably has one
Source:
Google images

[14]
A photo of the city at night.

Author:
No Idea
License:
Probably has one
Source:
Google images

[15]
The Art's Centre.

Author:
No Idea
License:
Probably has one
Source:
Google images

Each [ # ] links to the description number column in the index file.

It is pretty self explanatory. I have not experimented with removing the Author,License etc.. fields. I am not sure if they are requried or not.

Edit your descriptions to match your pictures and save the file.

Now that you have everything completed, zip up your MelbournePuzzle folder. Rename it to MelbournePuzzle.pak.

For testing you can copy this file to your Windows Mobile device, under /Program Files/SPB Puzzle

You will also have to add a key to the registry:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Spb Software\Spb Puzzle\Packs]
"EndoPuzzle Melbourne"="\\Program Files\\Spb Puzzle\\Melbourne.pak"

Fire up SPB puzzle and your new puzzle pack should appear.

To distribute you will need to create a cab, CeCabMgr makes this a simple task. (http://www.ocpsoftware.com/download.php)

Notes:

I am assuming the using other puzzle sizes will be the same process. You will need the different MSK files, and you MAY need to resize your images differently. Have a look at the .PAK file and see if the image dimensions and DPI are different. They need to match.

I also do not know if you can mix puzzle difficulties. I cannot see why not as it just links to MSK files.

I do not know if you can create your own MSK files, I assume that these files can be created in an image editor (autodesk?) and you can create your own puzzle pieces to match the dimensions of the image.

I've attached my completed MelbournePuzzle Pack, I hope someone else enjoys it. This is my proof of concept pack, it isn't perfect...