request: font

[Tõnis]

Hi,
The font used in dialogues just makes my eyes hurt, it is just so NOT readable.

Is it possible to make a option in exult to use custom font and maybe size and color too?

--
Tõnis

[artaxerxes]

like this ?

and more

Artaxerxes

[drcode]

The "newnpc" looks really good. Is that for Century?

[Dominus]

Marie Curie, I think

[artaxerxes]

You are both right.

The npc was hand-drawn, and it took ages to make. I'm getting a hand at it though. It's when I finished her that I started investigating Blender, since making them move it a real pain and Blendre supports animation.

Artaxerxes

[Tõnis]

This is better:
http://si-french.sourceforge.net/images/font_white3.png
But its too big.
But i was thinking more like verdana or helvetica. How can i use them?

[artaxerxes]

It is not possible to say to Exult to use a system font. You have to manually convert each letter of your chosen font into a graphic and then you have to import it into Exult (using ExultStudio is the easiest way by far since you can import png files).
Keep in mind the default u7 fonts is made so that it can be read on pretty much any background. If you want to use fonts like verdana or helvetica, you'll probably have to make major changes to the font itself, or you'll have to switch on the background color (in the game option panel).

So if you want to get yourself started, double-click on a font file (assuming you use Windows), that is, a .ttf file, zoom it a bit and take a screenshot (Print Screen and Paint will do just fine). Save it as bmp and open in your favorite image editor. Slice up each letter and remove the white background. Save as png and import into Exult using ExultStudio. Regularly press the "Save All" entry in ExultStudio. Your new font file is in /fonts.vga (see your exult.cfg to know where your is). Btw, you are editing the fonts.vga file.

Enjoy!

Artaxerxes

[artaxerxes]

btw, the hardest part of all is proper alignment. The fonts are all shifted toward the left and the top (or is it right/bottom?). You have to be careful about that, otherwise the results will be ugly. To adjust the shift, from ExultStudio select the frame and edit its properties. There should be a (x,y,z) origin or something like that.

Artaxerxes

[Tõnis]

These are good suggestions Artaxerxes, but this is a complex process.
Im not sure i can do it. So if anybody, by chance has modified fonts.vga
with readable font (possibly with overline), please let us know.

As of ultima 7 itself, it already has some pretty readable fonts (menu and dialog fonts) - is it possible to use them with smaller effort?

But back to the point of my first posts topic. I requested a feature to exult
himself to introduce custom font as a program feature. If id know C better
i would code it myself.

[artaxerxes]

Exult supports custom fonts! The only thing is that you have to convert them yourself!

If you want something cool, you have to work at it! It is doable, believe me. There is also a sense of pride that springs forth when you've done something cool with your own little hands and your big fat brain.
I can provide the fonts that you saw on the screenshots (ealier in this thread). If you want more, you have to do more.

Artaxerxes

[Tõnis]

Checked out this studio. It does'nt work in my box.

Anyway. I took exult sources and i try to dig through there to find the place
where game dialogue texts are printed and hook my own sdl printing
function there. Hope it works.

[Daemongar]

Would be neat to have an IRONMAN ultima where ALL the dialogue is in either Serpent Script or Britannian Runes.... hmmm...

Ironman Ultima Rules:

All dialogue in runes
1 Death and you start from the beginning
All prices in game are x2
Monsters are set at +1 Difficulty
Some of the most obvious upgrades are missing - the magic gloves near the start, the cheat rooms, etc.
Frigidazzi is butt ugly
No Ring of Reagents or 60 Strength in U7

Ah, worth a shot...

[drcode]

There is a feature in EStudio to convert a TTF or postscript font to Exult's format. What you do is right click on a font in the fonts.vga browser, set the shape # to the one you want to replace, and then click the "From font:" button. You'll then get a file-chooser for selecting a font file.

But, as Artaxerxes pointed out, you'll really need to do custom editing to get things to look good. This might make it a bit easier to get started.

Also, if you don't like the results, just delete the 'fonts.vga' file from your 'patch' directory and start over.

[Armchair Avatar]

Would be neat to have an IRONMAN ultima where ALL the dialogue is in either Serpent Script or Britannian Runes.... hmmm...

There's a http://phorum.org/rune font patch for Ultima 4.

[Daemongar]

Off the top of your head - do you know if it works with the XU4 engine? I'm guessing it would, but wouldn't mind some confirmation before I launch into it...

[Armchair Avatar]

The font patch is fully compatible with xu4.