Can't you just modify simple registry areas for custom appearance?

[cerino2000]

I have been reading for hours about modifying the appearance of my Alltel Diamond. With the 6900 I was able to modify an xml file of some kind and make the phone look how I wanted it to.

It appears to me that no one is doing that because I haven't seen a thread yet where someone did that do modify the phone. Most appear to use something called TF3D Config.

Why is this? Is the touch flow appearance handled in compiled code that TF3D config cracks or is it that it's easier to manipulate it using the tool as opposed to manually?

Also, what is manilla? The programming language of the TF3D application?

Does TF3D blow away the cities under the weather feature of the phone?

Ultimately, I simply want to modify the appearance of my phone. I saw some Black themes that I really liked and I would like to modify my phone to something similar. Am I unable to do this just by modifying a few xml files?

Thanks!