Carleton Fonts - Revision history

Geep: /* Improvements to English Carleton 24pt in 2026 */ mention ExportUnicodeFontToDoom3

2026-05-26T16:15:33Z

Improvements to English Carleton 24pt in 2026: mention ExportUnicodeFontToDoom3

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:15, 26 May 2026
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	* clipping		* clipping

	For TDM 2.15, all 256 of TDM's English/European codepoints, including accents, were implemented,. Ugly glyphs were replaced by fresh ones regenerated from TTF; dev tools were updated to facilitate that. Placement/spacing, and clipping were generally improved, involving both bitmap and DAT tweaks.		For TDM 2.15, all 256 of TDM's English/European codepoints, including accents, were implemented,. Ugly glyphs were replaced by fresh ones regenerated from TTF; dev tools were updated to facilitate that (e.g., hirez, bolding, and inPlace options added to [[ExportUnicodeFontToDoom3]]). Placement/spacing, and clipping were generally improved, involving both bitmap and DAT tweaks.

	The new system (after a false start) uses three 512x512 bitmaps instead of two.		The new system (after a false start) uses three 512x512 bitmaps instead of two.

Geep: /* File Naming and Content Sharing across the Carleton Family */

2026-05-26T15:58:48Z

File Naming and Content Sharing across the Carleton Family

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:58, 26 May 2026
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	\|}		\|}

	The fontimage_24.dat files shown as ~~'''~~SAME~~'''~~ were updated for 2.15.		The fontimage_24.dat files shown as SAME were updated for 2.15.

Geep: Changed tables, added Improvements to English Carleton 24pt in 2026

2026-05-26T15:25:57Z

Changed tables, added Improvements to English Carleton 24pt in 2026

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:25, 26 May 2026
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	\| fontimage_48.dat \|\| SAME \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME		\| fontimage_48.dat \|\| SAME \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME
	\|}		\|}

			The fontimage_24.dat files shown as '''SAME''' were updated for 2.15.


	{\| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;"		{\| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;"
	\|+ '''Table of 2.12 English Carleton Family DDS Files Sharing File Names and in Some Cases Contents.''' The content of each file is unique, unless shown here by "SAME", which refers to only to matching another file’s content IN THE SAME ROW.		\|+ '''Table of 2.12 & 2.15 English Carleton Family DDS Files Sharing File Names and in Some Cases Contents.''' The content of each file is unique, unless shown here by "SAME", which refers to only to matching another file’s content IN THE SAME ROW.
	\|-		\|-
	! filename !! /carleton/ !! /carleton_bold/ !! /carleton_condensed/ !! /carleton_glow/		! filename !! /carleton/ !! /carleton_bold/ !! /carleton_condensed/ !! /carleton_glow/
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	\| carleton_0_12.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique		\| carleton_0_12.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique
	\|-		\|-
	\| carleton_0_24.dds \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| unique \|\| unique		\| carleton_0_24.dds \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| unique \|\| '''SAME''' [was unique before 2.15]
	\|-		\|-
	\| carleton_1_24.dds \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| unique \|\| unique		\| carleton_1_24.dds \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| unique \|\| '''SAME''' [was unique before 2.15]
			\|-
			\| carleton_2_24.dds [Added 2.15] \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| '''SAME''' \|\| n/a \|\| '''SAME'''
	\|-		\|-
	\| carleton_0_48.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique		\| carleton_0_48.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique
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	\| carleton_7_48.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique		\| carleton_7_48.dds \|\| SAME \|\| unique \|\| SAME \|\| unique
	\|}		\|}

			The carleton_*_24 DDS files were updated for 2.15 (except for carleton_condensed).

	== Bitmap File Sizes across the Carleton Family ==		== Bitmap File Sizes across the Carleton Family ==
	The english 24pt DDS files '''shown in bold above''' have 512x512 bitmaps. All other files (including those for Russian, not in the table) have the default 256x256 bitmaps. This includes carleton_glow. Observe that it is not required that the base & glow have identical bitmap sizes (although that is helpful to allow GIMP layering).		The english 24pt DDS files '''shown in bold above''' have 512x512 bitmaps. All other files (including those for Russian, not in the table) have the default 256x256 bitmaps. This includes carleton_glow unless bolded. Observe that it is not required that the base & glow have identical bitmap sizes (although that is helpful to allow GIMP layering).

	See also [[Refont#Carleton_Family]] for corresponding refont commands.		See also [[Refont#Carleton_Family]] for corresponding refont commands.
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	''Aside: There is a GUI scripting text attribute "shadow", to draw black drop shadows (offset equally down and right) under font characters. This is not used in the main menu system. Within the engine, "shadow" invokes a "textShadow" boolean, false by default.''		''Aside: There is a GUI scripting text attribute "shadow", to draw black drop shadows (offset equally down and right) under font characters. This is not used in the main menu system. Within the engine, "shadow" invokes a "textShadow" boolean, false by default.''

			== Improvements to English Carleton 24pt in 2026 ==
			''This summarizes what is described in more detail [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/23109-improvements-to-carleton-24pt-font here]''

			A number of problems needed correcting:
			* some missing or bad glyphs
			* glyphs lacking their accents
			* many "ugly" badly-drawn glyphs
			* suboptimal vertical/horizontal placement
			* clipping

			For TDM 2.15, all 256 of TDM's English/European codepoints, including accents, were implemented,. Ugly glyphs were replaced by fresh ones regenerated from TTF; dev tools were updated to facilitate that. Placement/spacing, and clipping were generally improved, involving both bitmap and DAT tweaks.

			The new system (after a false start) uses three 512x512 bitmaps instead of two.

			The previous custom carleton_glow 24pt set of bitmaps with smudged glyphs is no longer used. Instead, a copy of carleton 24pt bitmaps is used for carleton_glow (as well as carleton_bold per previous). Thus, the "glow" relies ''solely'' on the main-menu's simulated "drop shadow" effect (due to overlapped offset GUI defWindows).

			Carleton_condensed 24pt font was considered deprecated and not touched by this redo.

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==

Geep: /* Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu */

2026-05-04T17:55:46Z

Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:55, 4 May 2026
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	* On the right, the "On" and "Off" text by default is the same, but slightly smaller at textscale 0.22 (also from 24pt).		* On the right, the "On" and "Off" text by default is the same, but slightly smaller at textscale 0.22 (also from 24pt).

	When you mouse-hover, the current-value text turns momentarily white with a faint black border. The white is set, not by the GUI, but by the engine's "hoverColor", which is opaque white (1,1,1,1). The black border improves readability against the parchment background. It is due to the "anomolous" black border baked into the font, as discussed above. [Aside: ~~the engine has~~ a "~~textShadow~~" ~~boolean and code which presumably could be used~~ to draw ~~a border around a~~ font ~~character~~. ~~However~~, "textShadow" is false by default. ~~Unused?]~~		When you mouse-hover, the current-value text turns momentarily white with a faint black border. The white is set, not by the GUI, but by the engine's "hoverColor", which is opaque white (1,1,1,1). The black border improves readability against the parchment background. It is due to the "anomolous" black border baked into the font, as discussed above.

			''Aside: There is a GUI scripting text attribute "shadow", to draw black drop shadows (offset equally down and right) under font characters. This is not used in the main menu system. Within the engine, "shadow" invokes a "textShadow" boolean, false by default.''

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==

Geep: revise remarks about black borders

2026-05-04T17:31:59Z

revise remarks about black borders

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:31, 4 May 2026
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	You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.		You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.

	Also, if viewed in GIMP, the white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both scaled-up ASCII and drawn Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) ~~may mask such a~~ border effect. ~~A likely~~ purpose for it is discussed next.		Also, if viewed in GIMP, the white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both scaled-up ASCII and drawn Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome, usually black rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) obscures the presence of this border effect. The purpose for it is discussed next.

	== Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu ==		== Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu ==
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	* On the right, the "On" and "Off" text by default is the same, but slightly smaller at textscale 0.22 (also from 24pt).		* On the right, the "On" and "Off" text by default is the same, but slightly smaller at textscale 0.22 (also from 24pt).

	When you mouse-hover, the current-value text turns momentarily white with a faint black border. The white is set, not by the GUI, but by the engine's "hoverColor", which is opaque white (1,1,1,1).		When you mouse-hover, the current-value text turns momentarily white with a faint black border. The white is set, not by the GUI, but by the engine's "hoverColor", which is opaque white (1,1,1,1). The black border improves readability against the parchment background. It is due to the "anomolous" black border baked into the font, as discussed above. [Aside: the engine has a "textShadow" boolean and code which presumably could be used to draw a border around a font character. However, "textShadow" is false by default. Unused?]

	~~As for the~~ black border~~, probably that's~~ due to the "anomolous" black border baked into the font, as discussed above. [~~An alternative theory~~: the engine has a "textShadow" boolean and code to draw a border around a font character. However, "textShadow" is false by default~~; is it anywhere being set to true~~?]

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==

Geep: /* Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu */ add this section, tweak Anomalies

2025-01-16T23:27:02Z

Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu: add this section, tweak Anomalies

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:27, 16 January 2025
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	You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.		You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.

	Also, if viewed in GIMP, the white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both scaled-up ASCII and drawn Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) may mask such a border effect.		Also, if viewed in GIMP, the white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both scaled-up ASCII and drawn Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) may mask such a border effect. A likely purpose for it is discussed next.

			== Carleton When Toggling Choices Within a Submenu ==
			Throughout Setting submenus, the Carleton 24pt font is used within option lists. More generally, this presentation style is used for row items within lists.

			For example, under Settings/Audio/, there is a row with "Main Menu Music" and a choice of "On" or "Off". This is implemented by a standardized choiceDef.
			* On the left, the "Main Menu Music" phrase is carleton, rendered in translucent black (with alpha 0.85) and a textscale of 0.24 (which draws from 24pt).
			* On the right, the "On" and "Off" text by default is the same, but slightly smaller at textscale 0.22 (also from 24pt).

			When you mouse-hover, the current-value text turns momentarily white with a faint black border. The white is set, not by the GUI, but by the engine's "hoverColor", which is opaque white (1,1,1,1).

			As for the black border, probably that's due to the "anomolous" black border baked into the font, as discussed above. [An alternative theory: the engine has a "textShadow" boolean and code to draw a border around a font character. However, "textShadow" is false by default; is it anywhere being set to true?]

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==
	This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. ~~Typical presentations~~, against a parchment background, ~~are as follows:~~		This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. In a typical presentation, against a parchment background, major menu-page-selection keywords are by default rendered in black with no glow. But they will turn white with blood-red glow highlighting when either selected (as if a tab for the current page) or moused-over. This will also play a sound and often show a text hint.
	* Major menu-page-selection keywords are by default rendered in black with no glow~~, but~~ will turn white with blood-red glow highlighting when either selected (as if a tab for the current page) or moused-over. This will also play a sound and often show a text hint.
	* Value keywords for a particular setting are shown in white with a faint black outline glow. This presentation style is also used for row items within lists.

	=== Example Implementation ===		=== Example Implementation ===

Geep: /* Anomalies of Carleton and Carleton Bold 24pt Glyphs */

2025-01-09T21:27:47Z

Anomalies of Carleton and Carleton Bold 24pt Glyphs

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:27, 9 January 2025
Line 83:		Line 83:
	You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.		You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.

	Also, if viewed in GIMP, the ~~scaled-up~~ white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both ASCII and Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) ~~would~~ mask such a border effect.		Also, if viewed in GIMP, the white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both scaled-up ASCII and drawn Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) may mask such a border effect.

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==

Geep: Added Anomalies section, tweaked Nutshell

2025-01-09T21:25:09Z

Added Anomalies section, tweaked Nutshell

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:25, 9 January 2025
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	For FMs, there are standard readable sheet and scroll prefabs and sign text decals that use carleton, just by itself. The style of this font makes it a good choices for notices; between title and body, and upper and lower case, there can appear to be four different sizes of "capital" letters.		For FMs, there are standard readable sheet and scroll prefabs and sign text decals that use carleton, just by itself. The style of this font makes it a good choices for notices; between title and body, and upper and lower case, there can appear to be four different sizes of "capital" letters.

	All these usages predominately involve mid-sized and large text (e.g., GUI textscale 0.24 and up), that draws on the 24pt and 48pt size bitmaps. The "english" form of 24pt and 48pt both offer TDM’s full European glyph set. Glyphs are stylishly done for 48pt and for ~~ACSII~~ characters of 24pt; the accented characters of 24pt are rough-hewn and merely adequate.		All these usages predominately involve mid-sized and large text (e.g., GUI textscale 0.24 and up), that draws on the 24pt and 48pt size bitmaps. The "english" form of 24pt and 48pt both offer TDM’s full European glyph set. Glyphs are stylishly done for 48pt and not bad for ASCII characters of 24pt; the accented characters of 24pt are rough-hewn and merely adequate.

	While 48pt carleton_bold actually has bold (thickened) glyphs, 24pt glyphs are ~~the same as~~ regular carleton~~. A revision of the 24pt glyphs moved them to larger bitmaps~~, ~~resulting in crisper characters (but really of benefit only to ASCII~~ so ~~far, as noted~~.)		While 48pt carleton_bold actually has bold (thickened) glyphs, 24pt carleton_bold glyphs are merely copies of regular 24pt carleton, so not bold.

	== File Naming and Content Sharing across the Carleton Family ==		== File Naming and Content Sharing across the Carleton Family ==
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	See also [[Refont#Carleton_Family]] for corresponding refont commands.		See also [[Refont#Carleton_Family]] for corresponding refont commands.

			== Anomalies of Carleton and Carleton Bold 24pt Glyphs ==
			As mentioned above, 24pt Carleton Bold is identical to 24pt Carleton; so not really bold. The remaining discussion applies equally to 24pt Carleton and Carleton Bold.

			Evidently, the original generation of the 24pt size, into two 256x256 bitmaps "carleton_0_24.dds" and "carleton_1_24.dds", contained only ASCII alphanumeric characters and limited punctuation, with no accented/Latin-1 glyphs. Later, these bitmaps were scaled up to 512x512 bitmaps, to ease drawing in the missing characters by hand. The resulting new characters are coarser than the generated and scaled ASCII characters.

			You can see this aspects in the main menu, under Settings/Video/Language, where, in the list of 16 languages, accented letters are thicker.

			Also, if viewed in GIMP, the scaled-up white characters have a faint black border, not seen elsewhere (e.g., in the 48pt bitmaps). This is true of both ASCII and Latin-1 characters, though far more prominent in the latter. However, TDM's monochrome rendering (defined by forecolor in the GUI) would mask such a border effect.

	== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==		== Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==
	This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. Typical presentations, against a parchment background, are as follows:		This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. Typical presentations, against a parchment background, are as follows:

Geep: /* The Carleton Family in a Nutshell */

2025-01-08T05:12:55Z

The Carleton Family in a Nutshell

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:12, 8 January 2025
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	Base-font carleton is used extensively throughout the main menu system. It may appear by itself, in black, for non-interactive subheadings and descriptions. (In a few places, like the "Downloadable Missions" title, a "headline" style using carleton_bold is deployed.)		Base-font carleton is used extensively throughout the main menu system. It may appear by itself, in black, for non-interactive subheadings and descriptions. (In a few places, like the "Downloadable Missions" title, a "headline" style using carleton_bold is deployed.)

	Or it may participate in dynamic text highlighting for user interactions~~. Typical~~ overlay combinations ~~are~~:		Or it may participate in dynamic text highlighting for user interactions, using overlay combinations like:
	* carleton and carleton_glow		* carleton and carleton_glow
	* carleton_bold and carleton_glow		* carleton_bold and carleton_glow, for titles and headlines
	* carleton, carleton_bold and carleton_glow		* carleton, carleton_bold and carleton_glow, for certain "new game" buttons

	~~The latter 3-way stacks provide attractive mouse-over highlighting~~ for "buttons~~" like "Back" or "Main Menu".~~

	For FMs, there are standard readable sheet and scroll prefabs and sign text decals that use carleton, just by itself. The style of this font makes it a good choices for notices; between title and body, and upper and lower case, there can appear to be four different sizes of "capital" letters.		For FMs, there are standard readable sheet and scroll prefabs and sign text decals that use carleton, just by itself. The style of this font makes it a good choices for notices; between title and body, and upper and lower case, there can appear to be four different sizes of "capital" letters.

Geep: Add Example Implementation section

2025-01-08T04:56:21Z

Add Example Implementation section

@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 See also [[Refont#Carleton_Family]] for corresponding refont commands.
 == Carleton & Carleton Glow in the Main Menu System ==
-This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. Against a parchment background, typical presentations:
+This pairing occurs basically everywhere thorough the main menu system. Typical presentations, against a parchment background, are as follows:
 * Major menu-page-selection keywords are by default rendered in black with no glow, but will turn white with blood-red glow highlighting when either selected (as if a tab for the current page) or moused-over. This will also play a sound and often show a text hint.
 * Value keywords for a particular setting are shown in white with a faint black outline glow. This presentation style is also used for row items within lists.
-Implementation of this starts under \tdm_gui01\guis\mainmenu_defs.gui, with:
+=== Example Implementation ===
-  #define MM_GLOW_FONT	"fonts/carleton_glow"
+TDM uses a number of different "button" (i.e., selectable text) styles, driven by #defines in \tdm_gui01\guis\mainmenu_defs.gui. For example, those of the main menu home page use:
-  #define MM_FONT_RIGHT_GLOW	font MM_GLOW_FONT forecolor INVISIBLE textscale 0.24 visible 1 textalign 2
+  #define MM_NORMAL_FONT		"fonts/carleton"
-  #define MM_FONT_LEFT_GLOW	MM_FONT_RIGHT_GLOW textalign 0
+  #define MM_GLOW_FONT		"fonts/carleton_glow"
-  #define MM_FONT_CENTER_GLOW	MM_FONT_RIGHT_GLOW textalign 1
+  #define MM_FONTSCALE		0.33
-These are then used in the glow layers (i.e., defWindows) of .gui for particular menu pages and their paired and aligned carleton-base layers. Associated mouse handlers can specify and turn on a glow color (temporarily or sticky if selected) and make other state changes as required.
+For colors, the text is black initially, with glow highlighting invisible. Upon mouse hover, the text becomes white, and the glow red. RGBA colors are defined for this, in vector and string (with S prefix) forms:
-  #define MM_FONT_HEADLINE	font MM_BOLD_FONT forecolor NORMAL_COLOR textscale MM_FONTSCALE*0.85 visible 1 textalign 1
+  #define NORMAL_COLOR		0,0,0,0.90 // black, not entirely opaque
-[need to say more here about 2-way and 3-way layering and dynamic color changes]
+To be specific, consider a simplified imaginary main menu "button" we'll call "Simple". (We're avoiding the layout calculations and other complications of a real button.) For our button, there are 3 aligned windowDefs in mainmenu_defs.gui, with these locations:
 == Carleton in Assets for FMs ==