Forum

by **DiM** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:35 pm

why are the bonuses written like that?
all the text on the map is clean and crisp but that one has a weird 3dish effect that not only makes it stand apart but also very hard to read.

i assume you have 1 text layer and then multiplied it several times and shifted it down-right 1px each time to get that 3d effect.
you should keep just the top most layer and add a simple drop shadow to it. it will make it much easier to read and numbers won't clash into each other (3 on top of 6) and you won't have weird letters either (the B or L or Y)

by **cairnswk** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:37 pm

natty_dread wrote:Looks pretty nice, except for the B in bonuses...

Fixed next version, i didn't even notice that so thanks natty.
It was a colour gradient causing that,

by **cairnswk** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:46 pm

DiM wrote:why are the bonuses written like that?
all the text on the map is clean and crisp but that one has a weird 3dish effect that not only makes it stand apart but also very hard to read.

i assume you have 1 text layer and then multiplied it several times and shifted it down-right 1px each time to get that 3d effect.
you should keep just the top most layer and add a simple drop shadow to it. it will make it much easier to read and numbers won't clash into each other (3 on top of 6) and you won't have weird letters either (the B or L or Y)

1. because this was a solution that was arrived at after trying several others (previous pages and experience)
2. i don't find it hard to read
3. your assumption is incorrect - it is an extrude function down-right 1 px to get the 3D effect. A drop shadow does not work on that blue background..it needed something harsher but less blurry to the background watermark.
4. you've been awol while this was being discussed :roll:

by **DiM** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:03 pm

it doesn't really matter how the text was made, point is it's 3d.
3d text especially when it is small is very hard to read. also that text is the only 3d element on this map. everything else is flat.
in my opinion it's completely out of place (just like the +2 on the left side)
also i'm not sure where the 3d effect has been discussed since this is the first time you've done it. frankly the previous version wasn't perfect but was much better than this one. i'm talking about this: http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282 ... 7Scd-1.png

by **cairnswk** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:27 pm

DiM wrote:it doesn't really matter how the text was made, point is it's 3d.
3d text especially when it is small is very hard to read. also that text is the only 3d element on this map. everything else is flat.
in my opinion it's completely out of place (just like the +2 on the left side)
also i'm not sure where the 3d effect has been discussed since this is the first time you've done it. frankly the previous version wasn't perfect but was much better than this one. i'm talking about this: http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282 ... 7Scd-1.png

As always, you're entitled to your opinion, but it's not my opinion.

by **DiM** on Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:38 pm

by **ender516** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:17 am

I think the previous version was legible enough, and the extruded text does look a little out of place. Granted, the "Judges can bombard..." was a little hard to read at a glance, but you could read it if you gave your eyes a few seconds. It's not a highway sign that you have to see at a glance, where black on yellow contrast is the sort of thing you need. Said text is also not something you need to look at again and again, like the territory names, so I think it could go back to what you had.

by **koontz1973** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:08 pm

Couple of small points.

The new text, although nice does look a little weird. But I can live with it.
Small map only - bottom right you have T.C. Town Common. The second m is an n.
Rev Higginson cross on both is pixelated. You have the other icons in the township at a north - south orientation. Why not the cross. This will also solve the pixel problem.
Rev Hale cross in the large has a small black dot in it. Is it there for a reason?

Love the map and cannot wait to play.

by **cairnswk** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:33 pm

ender516 wrote:I think the previous version was legible enough, and the extruded text does look a little out of place. Granted, the "Judges can bombard..." was a little hard to read at a glance, but you could read it if you gave your eyes a few seconds. It's not a highway sign that you have to see at a glance, where black on yellow contrast is the sort of thing you need. Said text is also not something you need to look at again and again, like the territory names, so I think it could go back to what you had.

Thanks ender516, i'm going to reduce the black perspective so that it is almost un-noticeable.

koontz1973 wrote:Couple of small points.

The new text, although nice does look a little weird. But I can live with it.
Small map only - bottom right you have T.C. Town Common. The second m is an n.
Rev Higginson cross on both is pixelated. You have the other icons in the township at a north - south orientation. Why not the cross. This will also solve the pixel problem.
Rev Hale cross in the large has a small black dot in it. Is it there for a reason?

Love the map and cannot wait to play.

Thanks koontz1973...sorry, but i think you need glasses

Town Common is spelt correctly and the second m is an m, not an n
Rev. Higginson cross has altered orientation so that it fits within the territory. The others don't need this, but Higginson's does.
You didn't pick up that Rev Higginson is missing a punkt (fullstop) behind Rev.
i don't know which map you're looking at but there is no large black dot near Rev. Hale. ... prehaps something on your screen eh?

Corrections coming soon.

by **cairnswk** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:54 pm

Version 28 - lge and small .pngs

pls refresh your browser f5 for the changes to version 28. the legned text now has less of distance and angle to the black extrusion making it seem less of perspective and more like solid drop shadow.
Rev Higginson has a punkt, and his cross remains slanted.
Judges can bombard and Reverends can bombard text size has been increased from 3 to 3.2 hopefully making that more legible on the small.

Click image to enlarge.

by **DiM** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:17 pm

cairnswk wrote: the legned text now has less of distance and angle to the black extrusion making it seem less of perspective and more like solid drop shadow

now it looks like it should.

by **ender516** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:20 pm

This all looks very nice now. If we still need nits to pick, should the Gossip text in the top left corner have the shadow effect as well? The "+2" seems to, already.

by **cairnswk** on Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:31 pm

ender516 wrote:This all looks very nice now. If we still need nits to pick, should the Gossip text in the top left corner have the shadow effect as well? The "+2" seems to, already.

NO, i think it would be too much for that area. All that text together would not allow enough space for the effect to be seen and would only make it confusing i think.
That text is smaller than the legend text and cannot carry the same effect.
Applying a black shadow layer behind the text also does no good.