dorkster
commented
2 years ago (There's no engine limitation here, so I moved this to flare-game)
We actually have 64x64 (60x60 with a 2px border) icons in the art_src/icons folder: icons.xcf
Many of the icons are 3D renders that have been painted over, and there aren't any larger sources. So 64x64 is what we have to work with.
We scale the icons down to 32x32 because that's what fits with the rest of our current art assets. Re-did all the assets at 2x size, then we could use 64x64 icons. Doing this is not trivial:
- The 3D assets would need to be re-rendered at 2x. The workflow for this is currently a mess. Ideally, we want to have a Python script in each Blender file that will spit out exactly what the engine wants. But as it stands now, the steps required vary from file to file.
- Some of the "3D" assets are renders from OGA that don't have 3D source files, such as the Thunderstrike spell.
- The 2D UI assets don't have larger sources. There are the Wandercall assets, but they are incomplete. Also, the menu borders are too big, meaning that our current icon density wouldn't fit. We'd probably be better off making something designed specifically for flare-game.
The current assets are "good enough" for now. Doing an "HD" version of the art has been on the back burner for years, and I predict it will stay that way for a while.
PS, here's a screenshot of Wandercall to show what 64x64 icons can look like:
WithinAmnesia
I have a deep desire for better icon resolution possibility for the Flare Engine (e.g. 128 x 128 pixel icons).
I know that Diablo II has larger icon sizes where as the largest icon in the original Diablo II used 32 x 32 sized icons for one 'icon tile' out of a possible 2 x 3 = 6 'icon tile' Examples:
World of Warcraft uses item icons of 56 x 56 (64 x 64 with borders): https://wow.zamimg.com/images/wow/icons/large/classicon_warrior.jpg (64 x 64 'barely looks okay')
Baldur's Gate uses 64 x 64 pixel 'icon tile' size and I can very much tell the difference of 32 x 32 compared to 64 x 64 (for I have made many Baldur's Gate item icons: https://www.deviantart.com/withinamnesia/gallery/51118284/baldur-s-gate-path-of-the-lost-odyssey )
Path of Exile uses 78 x 78 item 'icon tile' sizes; Path of Exile is kind of a retread of Diablo II but with more content. The ~same inventory system of items being made as Diablo II 'icon tiles' ranging from 1 x 1 'icon tile' to 2 x 4 'icon tile'. So in theory 2 x 78 = 156 and 4 x 78 = 312. Examples:
Diablo II Resurrected uses 98 x 98 pixel 'icon tile' size Ring: https://www.purediablo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ring4.png (98 x 98, 98 x 1 = 98) Body Armour: https://www.purediablo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goldskin.png (196 x 294, 98 x 2 = 196 and 98 x 3 = 294)
All of these games pretty much use the same size / ~'screen real-estate' on the player's monitor to display roughly the same size item icons in roughly the same icon density per 'icon tile'.
I am hoping that Flare engine can somehow have the option to support higher resolution 'icon tiles' (128 x 128?). Yet keep the inventory 'icon tiles' using the same ~monitor / 'screen real-estate' as before; same proportions yet with higher definition. The old art is in 32 x 32 pixels per 'icon tile' so if they were could be scaled up / up-scaled / simply by multiplying the icons by ~4 to make 32 x 32 into 128 x 128. All of the old icons could stay the same and look the same yet the whole engine could hopefully render with 4 times more detail (with higher resolution [128 x 128 icons] art assets added in piece meal / bit by bit to start).
To have the old icons still be usable in a 4 times higher resolution display rendered for the Flare engine (~'just') take the "icons.png" file and times it by 4 from 256 x 1,024 into 1,024 x 4,096 [do not use 'soft edges']. All other needed preexisting Flare engine art (the menu art files) can be up scaled / image resolution multiplied by 4 to scale up the art assets images to work at higher resolutions. This saves a lot of work (new high resolution 128 x 128 Flare icons that can optionally be done later) for the Flare engine rendered resolution can be multiplied by 4 without needing to create more high resolution art assets from scratch to start. Does the ~'Flare HD' prototype increase the screen resolution rendered or does it just zoom in and use bigger sprites?
I hope that the Flare engine could support higher resolution 'icon tiles' (by example 128 x 128; or the current 32 x 32 multiplied by 4) so that as 4k monitors become standard and eventually 'old tech' by the next decade / 2030's that what ever games made with the Flare engine can have a chance / the option to support higher resolution 'icon tiles' (if not higher resolution art in general) to hopefully stand the test of time.