Progress on Project MONOLITH... some technical mumbo jumbo inside

[Black Tiger]

The easiest (and best) way to compare the fonts was to stack 'em together:



(A) is nice in isolation, but clearly not as fluid and graceful as (B). It may be possible to salvage (A) by adjusting the overall tracking (spacing) between all the letters (but that would require a lot of work, and I don't know if there is any extra room in the individual tiles.) Kerning between certain letter combos is also an issue, but tracking would probably solve most of (A)'s shortcoming.

(B) is truly elegant and charming. It doesn't seem to offer as much contrast with the background as (A) or (B). Odd, since (A) and (B) are not much different. (B) is the sans serif version of (A), with pussy-footed dots over the "i".

(C) is [bold] and easy to read even when you are sleepy and about to enter the land of Nod. I think it is easy to read, but it does seem a bit heavy-handed compared to (B), no? (B) sharply contrasts with the background, which definitely improves its readability.

I really like C, but A and B don't feel right. The spacing between words needs to narrow just a bit.

[incrediblehark]

C is going to be the easiest to read in general; it's nothing more than the standard DOS font. It was designed to be functional rather than stylish.

thought it looked familiar

[spenoza]

Truth is, any reduced-pixel/bold, properly mono-spaced font will ultimately be fine.

[nodtveidt]

I'm not 100% sure I can even use font C, as it's a proprietary font and is still under copyright. I will have to find out for sure.

[Arkhan]

I'm not 100% sure I can even use font C, as it's a proprietary font and is still under copyright. I will have to find out for sure.

now you are just making excuses because you hate Fixedsys. 

[blueraven]

I like font C. If there is a licensing issue use A.

[sunteam_paul]

A is best.

[nodtveidt]

now you are just making excuses because you hate Fixedsys. 

One might think. But alas, no... I need to be 100% certain I can use it. I'm going to add a font selector anyway, a la Ys I & II. I seem to remember a loophole in the copyright law regarding fonts... it seems to be that it's illegal to use a protected font file in a commercial product without proper legal authorization, but not illegal to use the font face itself. Gonna call up my old attorney when he gets back from vacation and get the details.

[esteban]

It is so sad that (B) isn't winning everyone over, and that (D) and (E) aren't getting any love at all.

If the font selector is implemented, and if Fixedsys is available to use, please put it at the END of the list.

[RegalSin]

Seriously

font C is the same font used in every translated Square RPG

A and B look simular. What about the original Lufia font??

[nodtveidt]

The first one I used was A. I then personally modified A to make B. C was Arkhan's idea. D is one I had in my original fonts collection, and E is one I found while looking for more fonts.

[spenoza]

I think A looks fine from a lettering standpoint, but it needs some of the spacing fixed, and I think if you go with that you'll want to tone down the text-box pattern and go with something a little more discreet and a little less busy.

[nodtveidt]

You can change the text box background as well; the purple one is just the default. There are several patterned backgrounds, a couple of gradient ones, and of course solid colors too. You can also manually adjust the colors of them all, including the textured ones.

[spenoza]

You can change the text box background as well; the purple one is just the default. There are several patterned backgrounds, a couple of gradient ones, and of course solid colors too. You can also manually adjust the colors of them all, including the textured ones.

I have no objections to people being able to shoot themselves in the ass as long as the defaults are reasonable together and there are ways for people not to shoot themselves in the ass. I would suggest a solid color or gradient as the default instead of the purple pattern. Keep it simple.

[Arkhan]

Seriously

font C is the same font used in every translated Square RPG

nope.