Double Icon Size With No Blur?

ID:975796
 
Sep 13 2012, 12:43 am
Keywords: blur, map, resolution
(See the best response by DarkCampainger.)
Hey, so I'm currently using icons that are 32x32. The problem I'm having is that displaying 32x32 is a little too small for what I'm doing. I would rather display my 32x32 icons as 64x64.

So I know I can do this using my interface file. I simply set it to not stretch to fit and instead I set the icon-size of that map to be 64.

This has a strange outcome though. The proportions are perfect, I'm happy with that but my map blurs.

I'm not sure if anyone else is trying this but it creates a time consuming problem.

Why is this time consuming? This is because the work around is to copy each state into MS Paint, resize it by 200% and then paste it back into a second dmi file for the re-sized graphics.

It sounds silly, and it is a bit. However when my icons are resized out of Byond and I use 64x64 icons instead of setting my map to display as 64 I get no blur.

So this isn't a game-breaking issue but considering the average resolution is much higher these days, a lot of games would benefit from being able to be resized automatically I think.

If you know another way around, or maybe if I'm doing something wrong just let me know. Thanks a bunch. This could potentially cut a lot of the time I spend with graphics.
Sep 13 2012, 1:52 am
A lot of computers end up seeing icons blurred when they are stretched, even when stretched proportionately.
Sep 13 2012, 3:33 am
I think you misunderstood maybe. I don't mean that I've set my map to stretch mode. I mean that I have set the map iconsize to 64 instead of 32. Effectively it should just double my icons and it does except it also blurs the screen.

Hope that clears it up.
Sep 13 2012, 3:59 am
Try going to options and messages in game>preferences> turn off 'use graphics hardware for displaying maps.'

Sep 13 2012, 7:18 am
Best response
It's not currently configurable, it's mostly up to the hardware right now whether or not it filters it:
http://www.byond.com/forum/?post=968345
Sep 13 2012, 2:28 pm
In response to DarkCampainger
Oh that's too bad. That filter really does act quite strangely sometimes. I agree with that post that it needs to be configurable but it seems the developers aren't interested or too busy.

Till then or perhaps indefinitely I'll just re-size them.

One solution too I'd like to offer to the community would be the idea of an application or dream seeker function that takes a dmi file and reconstructs it in either a 2x greater or smaller scale. That would make working with scaled graphics way easier.

But yeah, just an idea. I have no idea how to create something like that right now.
Sep 13 2012, 3:26 pm
A DMI file is just a PNG file with comments, so I'm sure you can find something that can do it.
Sep 13 2012, 3:37 pm
In response to Red Hall Dev
 
mob/verb/biggify()
    var file = input(src, "Choose an icon.", "Biggify") as null|icon
    if(!file) return
    var state = input(src, "Choose a state.", "Biggify") as null|anything in list("(Blank)") + icon_states(file)
    if(!state) return
    if(state == "(Blank)") state = ""

    var icon/i = icon(file, state)
    i.Scale(64, 64)
    src << ftp(i)

Try it out.
Sep 13 2012, 5:11 pm
In response to Kaiochao
Wow, very cool code. Any chance you could make it loop through all the states in a dmi and then include them in another 64.dmi file automatically?

Like icons.dmi to icons 64.dmi

I just ask because while your code is great, I need to do this for all my graphics so it's just as fast to use Paint.
Sep 13 2012, 6:08 pm
In response to Red Hall Dev
 
//  Just leaving out the state will apply
// the effect to all states in the icon. 
// On second thought, that probably is more
// suited to the scale what you're trying to do. 
var icon/i = icon(file)
i.Scale(64, 64)

Also, you could use flist() to loop through all icon files in a specified folder. However, you still have to save each scaled icon file individually.
Sep 13 2012, 8:22 pm
Oh that's perfect thanks. Yeah, my knowledge is just lacking in that area, not often I've dealt with file manipulation in Byond. I'm always surprised by the range of things it can do.
Nov 4 2012, 10:52 am
In response to Kaiochao
Kaiochao wrote:
> mob/verb/biggify()
>     var file = input(src, "Choose an icon.", "Biggify") as null|icon
>     if(!file) return
>     var state = input(src, "Choose a state.", "Biggify") as null|anything in list("(Blank)") + icon_states(file)
>     if(!state) return
>     if(state == "(Blank)") state = ""
>
>     var icon/i = icon(file, state)
>     i.Scale(64, 64)
>     src << ftp(i)
>

Try it out.

This doesn't do anything on my machine. I try the verb, choose a valid dmi file, and then nothing.
Nov 4 2012, 11:03 am
Most video card software lets you override these settings even for specific apps, but most default to application controlled, or a specific setting on or off.

Maybe you could fix it using your software settings? I don't know if it would apply to all dreamseeker instances or just the one game your playing, or what is enabled by your software or if it's even changeable...

If you look online you might be able to find something useful on how to do this in the meantime while it's being looked into.

Also another thing is if software rendering mode makes it look better/worse than the on and off states of hardware rendering modes.
Nov 4 2012, 5:06 pm
In response to FIREking
Have you looked in the directory of your environment for the new file?

Hence, src << ftp(i)
Meaning file transfer protocal.
Meaning put the new file in the main directory.

I think you're maybe getting confused that is somehow overwriting the old file when infact it makes a new one.
Nov 4 2012, 5:14 pm
In response to Red Hall Dev
Red Hall Dev wrote:
Have you looked in the directory of your environment for the new file?

Hence, src << ftp(i)
Meaning file transfer protocal.
Meaning put the new file in the main directory.

I think you're maybe getting confused that is somehow overwriting the old file when infact it makes a new one.

Well I tried it with an icon that only had one icon state and got a dialog box asking me where I wanted to save it. The same wasn't true with an icon that had more than one icon state (no dialog box). I'll try some more and see what I turn up. I suspect there's something screwy though.
Nov 4 2012, 5:15 pm
As for more on this, it's possible it could be bugged, I have a bug report out on this now...

http://www.byond.com/forum/?post=1027734

You might want to make a message appear when it fails so you know that it didn't see the file.
Nov 4 2012, 5:27 pm (Edited on Nov 4 2012, 5:36 pm)
Hmm, I just tried this and it worked. It definitely wasn't working earlier.

mob/verb/ExpandIcon()
    var file = input(src, "Choose an icon to expand 2:1.", "Expand Icon") as null|icon
    if(!file) return
    var icon/i = icon(file)
    i.Scale(64, 64)
    src << ftp(i)


Edit: Tried on some more icons, and some of them don't work. Not sure why.

Edit: So apparently input() is returning null on some files and a valid files on others. No idea why though. I have the latest beta.
Nov 4 2012, 6:35 pm
In response to FIREking
Seems like you'd get more help in that thread than I can offer.
Nov 4 2012, 6:37 pm
In response to Superbike32
Btw, Superbike. It's really hard to tell who you're talking to if you don't hit the reply button. Just dropping a post in as a comment is really ambiguous.