ToEE Text & Backgrounds

Discussion in 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' started by Gaear, Oct 26, 2011.

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Would you like new, cooler text and dialogue boxes in ToEE?

  1. Yes, I want the new!

    25 vote(s)
    75.8%

  2. No, I want the old!

    7 vote(s)
    21.2%

  3. I don't give a damn.

    1 vote(s)
    3.0%
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  1. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    I still don't know what you mean by "chat history" ... the expanded dialog box? Anyway, yes, in theory all planes where text is 'printed' in-game can have a cool looking surface/background.

    That and a variety of other interfaces, just not dialog and a few others. You may want to check out the thread in General Modification where this is laid out in detail.
     
    Gaear, Nov 5, 2011
    #31
  2. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Good news - it looks like random1 has cracked the .dll font limitation. :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Gaear, Nov 12, 2011
    #32
  3. Lightsfantastic

    Lightsfantastic Member

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    Woohoo!
     
    Lightsfantastic, Nov 13, 2011
    #33
  4. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    So what can you do with the text now Gaear?
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Nov 14, 2011
    #34
  5. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    What do you mean?
     
    Gaear, Nov 16, 2011
    #35
  6. maalri

    maalri Immortal

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    I think Winston means that, now that the .dll is cracked, can you now implement all the new Text and Background optins that were initially looked into?
     
    maalri, Nov 16, 2011
    #36
  7. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    That will vary depending on the instance. ToEE has a large number of different user interfaces, from logbook stuff to the dialog interface to various popup boxes, etc. Each of them will have to be evaluated separately.

    The current plan:

    Fonts: all instances of Arial 10 point (including bold) will be replaced with Priory 12 point. This will make the font look nicer (Priory vs. Arial) and easier to read (12 point vs. 10 point). There will be no new fonts added. (Priory is the font already used in-game for various headings and whatnot.)

    Backgrounds: wherever possible, they may be added. Some interfaces are 'dynamic' and not 'static,' i.e., the background is drawn on the fly by the game depending on how much room for text is needed, and it can vary in size. In these cases, background images might look goofy due to tiling. The dialog interface is particularly problematic, as not only is it dynamic, its existing bounding boxes do not contain the larger font properly at all times (because Priory-12 takes up more space). If you've been following the discussion in GM, we've been debating solving that issue with a transparent background vs. having to modify all the dialog files to be less than a particular amount of text for all instances of NPC dialog. If we don't use transparency and if tiling does not prove to be an issue, we may still use an illustrated background like in Surf Solar's example. Other interfaces will have to be addressed individually, but the dialog window is probably the largest unobstructed background in the game and thus the most commonly considered interface in this regard.

    At this time I can't guarantee that you'll get an illustrated background for the dialog window, and in fact I'd say the odds of that happening are probably less than even.
     
    Gaear, Nov 16, 2011
    #37
  8. SCO

    SCO Member

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    I don't really care about background images, but a larger font is appreciated.

    What would actually be a great hack is to resolve the bug with scather. If the cause is known (think it is), finding out where the items are defined should be half the battle.
     
    SCO, Nov 16, 2011
    #38
  9. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    Thanks for the info Gaear. I have been following the discussion on the technical stuff.

    I just had a thought. If you do have to make the backgrounds transparent, the issue IMO is that floating text doesn't seem like something you click on with the mouse. So if so, would underlining the chat selections (1-4 that you choose of) be something to alleive this? (Do you understand my problem here?)
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Nov 17, 2011
    #39
  10. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    There's no auto-feature for underlining selected or hovered items, but they automatically highlight when hovered over or clicked.
     
    Gaear, Nov 17, 2011
    #40
  11. Kilraven

    Kilraven Chaotic Good Lich

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    Regarding the transparent background for the dialog boxes,

    I am in complete agreement with Geaer.

    The transparent background resolves multiple issues with one fix,

    enabling the use of the larger font thereby increasing legibity and reducing eyestrain.

    This entire endevour will make the game both functionally and aesthetically better.

    FANDAMTASTIC! :pelvicthr

    ( Check out the development thread in the modding section for more information)
     
    Kilraven, Nov 17, 2011
    #41
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