If everything else fails: you could write a format string with
$replace($regexp(%popularimeter%,.*\|(\d+)\|.*,$1),255,*****,196,****,128,***,64,**,1,*)
If everything else fails: you could write a format string with
$replace($regexp(%popularimeter%,.*\|(\d+)\|.*,$1),255,*****,196,****,128,***,64,**,1,*)