Maptext: Get a smaller font size.

ID:1133166
 
Jan 20 2013, 8:30 pm
Keywords: font, maptext, size, small
Problem description: I need to use a smaller font size for my maptext but 
<font size='1'></font>
is not small enough, and I can't get it any smaller. Can anyone give a solution around this problem?
Jan 20 2013, 8:55 pm (Edited on Jan 22 2013, 6:58 pm)
The only way is to double the size of all your graphics. This is what my game does.

http://www.byond.com/games/CandlelitGames/ LegendsOnline#tab=pics

http://www.legendsonline.net/

In other words, I wrote code that takes all the graphics my artist gives me, after we've decided on a strict guideline of how all the graphics are placed within an image file, and generate icon with icon states from it, then more code to expand those to be twice the size (Icon.Scale(w, h)). The most simplistic form of this would be to run all of your icon's through this

proc/ExpandIcon()
    var/icon = input(usr, "Which icon?", "Icon Expand") as null | icon
    if(!icon) return
    var/icon/ic = icon(icon)
    ic.Scale(ic.Width() * 2, ic.Height() * 2)
    usr.icon = ic //this actually forces the icon to the dynamic cache
    usr << ftp(file(usr.icon), "[icon]")


Then save them in the game replacing the old icons and change your world.icon_size to whatever it was times 2 and you're set!
Jan 20 2013, 8:56 pm
Use a smaller font face?
It seems like anything smaller than 1 would be unreadable. (or unrenderable)
Jan 20 2013, 9:01 pm
In response to Super Saiyan X
Super Saiyan X wrote:
Use a smaller font face?
It seems like anything smaller than 1 would be unreadable. (or unrenderable)

Not always true. I too had tons of problems with getting small enough font in comparison to my "pixel size". By doubling pixel size, you effective "double the resolution" of all GDI / TrueType rendering. If byond could draw lines, you'd have twice as thin lines, which also means you can have twice as small text, which is more resolution (space) to combine pixels from fonts with pixels from graphics.
Jan 22 2013, 10:22 am
Hmm, is there no alternative? I don't know a font family that I can use which will be small enough.
Jan 22 2013, 10:38 am
In response to Giacomand
Giacomand wrote:
Hmm, is there no alternative? I don't know a font family that I can use which will be small enough.

Why would you need an alternative? This method I explained works perfectly.

Try this, take a screen shot of your game with the text you're talking about in the shot. Post it here. I will zoom in and measure how many pixels your font is using.
Jan 22 2013, 6:55 pm
Are you not using a .dmf interface? Just edit the map control's properties:



If that ain't small enough you done gone CRAZY
Jan 31 2013, 2:59 pm
For anybody else with this problem. There's 2 easy solutions without increasing resource size with large icons:

1) You can use css to achieve smaller font sizes using something like style="font-size:1pt;"

2) You can make a small bitmap font. These have an added bonus of not seeming to get blurred by scaling of the map interface.
Jan 31 2013, 3:12 pm
In response to Carnwennan
Carnwennan wrote:
For anybody else with this problem. There's 2 easy solutions without increasing resource size with large icons:

1) You can use css to achieve smaller font sizes using something like style="font-size:1pt;"

2) You can make a small bitmap font. These have an added bonus of not seeming to get blurred by scaling of the map interface.

Bit map fonts are slower because the server has to send packets for each letter.