Hacking Windows' Solitaire to mod card's textures?
 

Is it possible to do this? I only like the design of 5 of the 12 default decks. Where is this damn thing "installed"? I wonder if you can mod the textures? Or would you need to "hack" it? Didn't anybody ever tried doing this before?

Why not? Are there better Solitaire software out there? I know there are other variations. Crap like Spider and Freecell. I only like this default one. It's called Klondike or Patience. I want my own textures on those cards. :cry:

Unfortunately there is no easy way to change the decks in Windows Solitaire, Freecell, Spider, or Hearts. If I'm not mistaken, all of these use the cards.dll file found in the \Windows\System32 directory, and this file doesnt really contain the pictures itself, rather contains the functions needed to draw the graphics in the game.

Roger that.

Thanks. :up: :know:

I did a Google search and couldn't find anything at all indeed. Tough.

OK I did a little looking around myself, here is what I found if your interested:

http://www.developer.com/net/vb/article.php/3303671

http://home.comcast.net/~ammaxamma/Cards.htm

http://www.catch22.net/tuts/cardtut.asp

Hacking Windows Solitaire
 

Thanks to your article, referencing the cards.dll file...i have found a way to change not only the backgrounds of the cards, but the actual cards themselves. Long ago, i hacked Spider Solitaire, changing all the menus, cards, sounds, etc...since then, in the IT world, i have discovered many people playing solitaire or spider solitaire that shouldn't be...so rather than deleting solitaire from their computer, i thought i'd go in and change all of the cards, so that the system things that it's the 2 of spades, but to the user, it looks like the 7 of diamonds...making it nearly if not completely impossible for them to play the game.

I don't have time to go into great detail on this right now, however, google the program "Resource Hacker". download it to your pc. there's nothing to install...just extract it into a folder on your pc. open the program.
go to "File" and then "Open" and browse out to "cards.dll" located in the C:\windows\system32 directory. once loaded, you'll see under the bitmap folder all the resources (card images). right click on the bitmap folder, click 'Save all resources' and save that somewhere on your pc. all you need to do then is open the file in any program that can edit .BMP and then replace the old images with the new ones and save it.

it really is a lot easier than i make it sound. if you have any questions, shoot me an email at ntlx06@yahoo.com i'd be happy to help you out.

i have had a lot of fun with this and i hope you can too!

What an interesting thread. I played Windows Solitaire for awhile and decided it cheats. I seem to get extraordinarily large amount of doubles (both red eights in a row), and it seems to actually plan ahead to give me the worst possible cards. I have better luck with real cards, as Windows seems far worse than random luck would dictate.

Now, how cool would it be to have a GWX - Solitaire of Death? :rotfl:

This thread delivers on an epic scale!!!

:rock:

Yep no kidding, that game loves to give impossible combinations (and for all we know it may even pick the cards as you flip them over). I also loose way more often then I would playing with a real deck.