Mason Font - Revision history

Geep: Add new section: 2025 Improvements to Russian [Proposed for TDM 2.14]

2025-10-21T22:05:06Z

Add new section: 2025 Improvements to Russian [Proposed for TDM 2.14]

@@ Line 138: / Line 138: @@
 * Masonalternate_5_48.dds
-== Mason Today ==
+== 2025 Improvements to Russian [Proposed for TDM 2.14] ==
-=== Bitmaps as Files ===
+''For more about this project by kalinovka and Geep, including motivations, approaches, and resulting screenshots, test FMs and details of individual characters,, see the "Font localization" thread, particularly this [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22736-font-localization/#comment-501602 this post with links and screenshots].''
-The final file formats discussed above are still the formats in use today, of TDM 2.12 "mason" and "mason_glow" bitmaps with Jan. 17, 2021 filedates found under "tdm_fonts01/dds/fonts/english/" and "/russian/.
 === Drawbacks of Mixed-Size Bitmaps ===

Geep: /* With Refont and datBounds */

2025-01-24T12:06:53Z

With Refont and datBounds

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:06, 24 January 2025
Line 148:		Line 148:
	==== With [[Refont]] and [[datBounds]] ====		==== With [[Refont]] and [[datBounds]] ====

	Refont v2.5 now supports mixed-sized bitmaps. See in particular [[Refont#Mason Family]].		Refont v2.5 and datBounds v1.6 now supports mixed-sized bitmaps. See in particular [[Refont#Mason Family]].

	~~Though an improvement is planned, datBounds does not currently support mixed-size bitmaps~~.

	=== How Mason's "Glow" is Implemented ===		=== How Mason's "Glow" is Implemented ===

Geep: /* Introduction */ mention top-alignment

2025-01-23T17:12:46Z

Introduction: mention top-alignment

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:12, 23 January 2025
Line 11:		Line 11:
	* Load + Save		* Load + Save

	Headline characters are rendered in black, surrounded by a static golden-white "glow" (or a different effect if Russian). As a TDM font, provided in English (including Latin/European) and Russian, only the 48pt size is supplied, not 24pt or 12pt. That's because this font is not positioned for general use in FMs.		Headline characters are rendered in black, surrounded by a static golden-white "glow" (or a different effect if Russian). The styling features top-alignment of characters, achieved by giving capital letters a higher-than-normal baseline. As a TDM font, provided in English (including Latin/European) and Russian, only the 48pt size is supplied, not 24pt or 12pt. That's because this font is not positioned for general use in FMs.

	The information here will be of most interest to anyone seeking to extend or manipulate this font. Historical context hopefully sheds light on current complexities.		The information here will be of most interest to anyone seeking to extend or manipulate this font. Historical context hopefully sheds light on current complexities.

Geep: /* With Refont and datBounds */

2024-12-27T19:33:33Z

With Refont and datBounds

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:33, 27 December 2024
Line 147:		Line 147:

	==== With [[Refont]] and [[datBounds]] ====		==== With [[Refont]] and [[datBounds]] ====
	~~These tools~~ currently ~~don't~~ support mixed-size bitmaps.
			Refont v2.5 now supports mixed-sized bitmaps. See in particular [[Refont#Mason Family]].

			Though an improvement is planned, datBounds does not currently support mixed-size bitmaps.

	=== How Mason's "Glow" is Implemented ===		=== How Mason's "Glow" is Implemented ===

Geep: Improve intro, add ending Fonts category

2024-12-11T20:47:32Z

Improve intro, add ending Fonts category

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:47, 11 December 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	''By Geep, 2024''		''By Geep, 2024''

	~~PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION~~		== Introduction ==
			Mason is a highly stylized font found in the large headlines at the top of the main menu pages. In English these read as:
			* The Dark Mod ''(on main page)''
			* Missions List
			* Online Mission Archive ''(with Online rendered smaller)''
			* Download Status
			* Mission Details ''(and subheadings Description and Screenshots)''
			* Settings
			* Load + Save

	~~Mason is a highly stylized font found~~ in ~~the large headlines of the main menu pages. For example~~, ~~at the top of the Load/Save and Download pages~~. ~~Only the 48pt~~ font ~~size is supplied~~, ~~for~~ English (including Latin/European) and ~~for~~ Russian, because this font is not positioned for use in FMs~~. Headline characters are rendered in black, surrounded by a static golden-white "glow" (or a different effect if Russian)~~.		Headline characters are rendered in black, surrounded by a static golden-white "glow" (or a different effect if Russian). As a TDM font, provided in English (including Latin/European) and Russian, only the 48pt size is supplied, not 24pt or 12pt. That's because this font is not positioned for general use in FMs.

	~~This page~~ will be of most interest to anyone seeking to extend or manipulate this font. ~~The historical~~ context ~~is to shed~~ light on current complexities.		The information here will be of most interest to anyone seeking to extend or manipulate this font. Historical context hopefully sheds light on current complexities.

	== Origins ==		== Origins ==
Line 11:		Line 19:

	== 2010-14 Era - A New Font to Support Translations ==		== 2010-14 Era - A New Font to Support Translations ==
	''Drawing from ~~Springheel’s~~ [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/13825-menu-concerns-for-108/ "Menu concerns for 1.08"] and Tels' "Translating the TDM GUI" thread, particularly [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/14/#findComment-274467 here].''		''Drawing from Springheel's [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/13825-menu-concerns-for-108/ "Menu concerns for 1.08"] and Tels' "Translating the TDM GUI" thread, particularly [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/14/#findComment-274467 here].''

	When it came time to expand main menu headlines to European languages (an effort Springheel and Tels led in 2010-14), the original method was replaced by a more flexible one: blank parchment backgrounds overlaid by a text font, plus the glow.		When it came time to expand main menu headlines of that time to European languages (an effort Springheel and Tels led in 2010-14), the original method was replaced by a more flexible one: blank parchment backgrounds overlaid by a text font, plus the glow.

	=== TTF Manipulation and Conversion ===		=== TTF Manipulation and Conversion ===
Line 21:		Line 29:

	=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===		=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===
	The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts. (Subsequently, the sharing became partial; see "Further Changes..." below.)		The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate [[Font Patcher]] scripts. (Subsequently, the sharing became partial; see "Further Changes..." below.)

	=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===		=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===
Line 138:		Line 146:
	While you can view multiple images in GIMP, if they are of different sizes, a view of them in aligned layers becomes impractical. This weighs against the use of a single .xcf file to serve as overall source for the set. Instead, individual TGA images make more sense. These can still be edited one at a time in GIMP.		While you can view multiple images in GIMP, if they are of different sizes, a view of them in aligned layers becomes impractical. This weighs against the use of a single .xcf file to serve as overall source for the set. Instead, individual TGA images make more sense. These can still be edited one at a time in GIMP.

	==== With Refont and datBounds ====		==== With [[Refont]] and [[datBounds]] ====
	These tools currently don't support mixed-size bitmaps.		These tools currently don't support mixed-size bitmaps.

Line 174:		Line 182:

	(Additional GUI event handling, not shown, allows the paired textscale values to be reduced to accommodate a more-verbose European language.)		(Additional GUI event handling, not shown, allows the paired textscale values to be reduced to accommodate a more-verbose European language.)

			{{tutorial}} [[Category:Fonts]]

Geep: add 2nd half text

2024-12-10T18:40:19Z

add 2nd half text

@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 ==== Deployment and European String Support ====
 Regarding Mason, it was the plan to provide translated text and GUI methodology to all the main menu headlings, e.g., "Settings", "Load/Save", and "Mission Archive". [There are indications this was only realized for some headlines, and finally completed during the 2017-18 update.]
-=== MORE COMING SOON ===
+As time went on, it was observed that the 48pt-sized characters used in Mason, while of adequate crispness for the screen resolutions of Doom and early TDM, were showing their age. In 2017-8, Springheel undertook a revision to fix this. This effort focused on just the English alphabetic characters In the /english/ set. The method involved:

Geep: Rewrite

2024-12-10T03:28:21Z

Rewrite

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:28, 10 December 2024
Line 3:		Line 3:
	PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION		PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

	Mason is a highly stylized font found in the large headlines of the main menu pages. For example, at the top of the Load/Save and Download pages. Only the 48pt font size is supplied, for English (including Latin/European) and for Russian, because this font is not positioned for use in FMs. Headline characters are rendered in black surrounded by a static golden-white "glow".		Mason is a highly stylized font found in the large headlines of the main menu pages. For example, at the top of the Load/Save and Download pages. Only the 48pt font size is supplied, for English (including Latin/European) and for Russian, because this font is not positioned for use in FMs. Headline characters are rendered in black, surrounded by a static golden-white "glow" (or a different effect if Russian).

	~~Some~~ historical context is ~~provided here,~~ to shed light on current complexities.		This page will be of most interest to anyone seeking to extend or manipulate this font. The historical context is to shed light on current complexities.

	== Origins ==		== Origins ==
Line 11:		Line 11:

	== 2010-14 Era - A New Font to Support Translations ==		== 2010-14 Era - A New Font to Support Translations ==
	''Drawing from Tels' "Translating the TDM GUI" thread, particularly [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/14/#findComment-274467 here].''		''Drawing from Springheel’s [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/13825-menu-concerns-for-108/ "Menu concerns for 1.08"] and Tels' "Translating the TDM GUI" thread, particularly [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/14/#findComment-274467 here].''

	When it came time to expand to European languages (an effort Tels led in 2010-14), the original method was replaced by a more flexible one: blank parchment backgrounds overlaid by a text font, plus the glow.		When it came time to expand main menu headlines to European languages (an effort Springheel and Tels led in 2010-14), the original method was replaced by a more flexible one: blank parchment backgrounds overlaid by a text font, plus the glow.

	=== TTF Manipulation and Conversion ===		=== TTF Manipulation and Conversion ===
	The starting point for that font [one assumes] was some Mason-like TTF font. It was likely Jonathan Barnbrook's 1992 "Mason Alternate", which has no separately styled lower case characters; lower-case is just a smaller version of upper-case.		The starting point for that font [one assumes] was some Mason-like TTF font. It was likely Jonathan Barnbrook's 1992 "Mason Alternate", which has no separately styled lower case characters; lower-case is just a smaller version of upper-case.

	~~Tels used graphics apps GIMP and Paintshop that work directly with TTF fonts. Also,~~ Doom-era tools existed to programmatically convert a TTF file into a starting version of a TDM font, namely, a DAT file and a set of TGA (and ultimately DDS) images. (12pt and 24pt sizes were also generated, but only 48pt was pursued.)		Doom-era tools existed to programmatically convert a TTF file into a starting version of a TDM font, namely, a DAT file and a set of TGA (and ultimately DDS) images. (12pt and 24pt sizes were also generated, but only 48pt was pursued.) Furthermore, Tels reported working with graphics apps GIMP and Paintshop, that work directly with TTF fonts as well as TGA image files.

	=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===		=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===
	The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts. (Subsequently, the sharing became partial; see "~~Resulting Bitmaps as Files~~" below.)		The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts. (Subsequently, the sharing became partial; see "Further Changes..." below.)

	=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===		=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===
	Font Patcher scripting, as it generates a new, modified DAT file from an old one, can be asked to apply a scaling factor to specific characters. This does not affect the bitmap glyphs in any way, but instructs the TDM engine to scale at render-time. (See elsewhere for more about scaling within DAT files.)		Font Patcher scripting, as it generates a new, modified DAT file from an old one, can be asked to apply a scaling factor to specific characters. This does not affect the bitmap glyphs in any way, but instructs the TDM engine to scale at render-time. (See elsewhere for more about scaling within DAT files.)

	Recall the starting Mason TTF font had lower case-letters that were the same as upper-case, except for size difference. But that difference seemed insufficient. It was decided to make the upper-case letter nominally 20% larger, by applying a scaling factor of 1.20 to them. (Actual scaling ratios recalculated from resulting DAT values will vary due to rounding-to-integer quantification.)		Recall the starting Mason TTF font had lower case-letters that were the same as upper-case, except for size difference. But that difference seemed insufficient. After experimentation, it was decided to make the upper-case letter nominally 20% larger, by applying a scaling factor of 1.20 to them. (Actual scaling ratios recalculated from resulting DAT values will vary due to rounding-to-integer quantification.)
	This was applied to A-Z, as well as accented uppercase characters at codepoints 0x80-84, a2, a5, a6, a9-ac, b0, b2-b4, bc, be, and c0-dd.		This was applied to A-Z, as well as accented uppercase characters at codepoints 0x80-84, a2, a5, a6, a9-ac, b0, b2-b4, bc, be, and c0-dd.

	=== ~~Introducing~~ the "Glow" ===		=== Finalizing Russian ===
	TDM's Mason (as well as Carleton) supports a "glow" around each character. As deployed with Mason, the glow is a static yellowish-white halo around each black character; it does not vary with mouse-over. Indeed, TDM's Mason headlines (as opposed to Carleton) are not mouse-selectable.		At this point, the /russian/ versions of the seven bitmap shaders were frozen, and remain unchanged to the current day (unless DarkFate independently has made further alterations; beyond our scope here). [There was a 2021 touch of all font file dates... was anything changed then?]
	The glow is not done with special engine coding, but rather by using the GUI system and separate bitmap sets for the base characters ("mason") and their glows ("mason_glow"). Each pair of base and glow characters will be aligned at render time, so must have compatible DAT metrics. (More about this below in a modern context.)
			While a Russian "mason_glow" font was created and shipped, it is merely a placeholder: an exact duplicate of "mason", in regard to the content of their DAT files and their sets of DDS files. Instead, the Russian deployment provides a substitute visual effect by rendering each character twice.

			=== Further Changes to English+European Mason During 2010-14 ===
			==== Bitmap Consolation ====
			While /russian/ kept 7 bitmaps, as discussed, the /english/ set was compacted to 6, by combining characters from Masonalternate_5_48.dds and Masonalternate_6_48.dds into the former alone. The DAT file was appropriated adjusted.

			Be aware that the compacted "english" set and the uncompacted "russian" set still encompass the same character glyphs; as before, their DAT files differ in what they expose.

			==== Introducing Glow ====
			TDM's Mason (as well as Carleton) supports a "glow" around each character. As deployed with the /english/ version of Mason, the glow is a static yellowish-white halo around each black character; it does not vary with mouse-over. Indeed, TDM's Mason headlines (as opposed to Carleton) are not mouse-selectable. The glow is not done with special engine coding, but rather by using the GUI system and separate bitmap sets for the base characters ("mason") and their glows ("mason_glow"). Each pair of base and glow characters will be aligned at render time, so must have compatible DAT metrics. (More about this below in a modern context.)

			To accommodate the extra spacing needed for a glow, some glyphs were moved further away from a shader edge, where they had been placed by the programmatic conversion. Significant adjustments for glow spacing:
			* Masonalternate_0_48.dds. No change.
			* Masonalternate_1_48.dds. Top row english moved down.
			* Masonalternate_2_48.dds. Top row english moved down.
			* Masonalternate_3_48.dds. No change.
			* Masonalternate_4_48.dds. Top row accented moved down. Left column accented moved right.
			* Masonalternate_5_48.dds. (combines russian 5 & 6) Top row accented moved down.

	The general GIMP method of creating a glow font bitmap from a copy of a base font bitmap is described		The general GIMP method of creating a glow font bitmap from a copy of a base font bitmap is described
Line 38:		Line 56:
	This results in paired base and glow bitmaps having the same character positioning, which while not required, is best practice and simplifies understanding when viewing in GIMP.		This results in paired base and glow bitmaps having the same character positioning, which while not required, is best practice and simplifies understanding when viewing in GIMP.

	~~=== Resulting Bitmaps as Files ===~~		Be aware that though paired DDS files in /english/mason/ and /english/mason_glow/ have identical filenames, the content is different. For example, mason/masonalternative_0_48.dds and mason_glow/masonalternative_0_48.dds have respectively base content and glow content.
	Be aware that though ~~the~~ DDS files ~~for~~ mason and mason_glow have identical filenames, the content is different. ~~That is~~, mason/masonalternative_0_48.dds and mason_glow/masonalternative_0_48.dds have respectively base content and glow content.

	At some point in this process, the /english/ and /russian/ sets diverged. The latter kept 7 bitmaps (for base and for glow), while the former was compacted to 6, by combining the characters from the highest two bitmaps in numerical order. That is, the total number of "english" bitmaps was reduced from seven to six, by combining characters from Masonalternate_5_ and _6_ into _5_ alone. So the revised "english" set and the "russian" set still both offer the same characters. The Russian set remains to the present day (at least from the TDM perspective; whether it was further updated at DarkFate is beyond scope here.)

	So, for /english/, the English/Latin and (in this context, unused) Russian base characters are contained in a shared set of 6 bitmaps. Similarly, the glow characters are in a different shared set of 6 bitmaps.

	=== Resulting Bitmaps within GIMP, as Source ===		==== Resulting Bitmaps within GIMP, as Source ====
	This discusses masonalternate_48.xcf, available...		This discusses masonalternate_48.xcf, available...
	* with filedate of May 26, 2012, unversioned in TDM SVN		* with filedate of May 26, 2012, unversioned in TDM SVN
Line 66:		Line 79:
	* "0" ==> mason/fontimage_0_48.dds		* "0" ==> mason/fontimage_0_48.dds

	=== Deployment and European String Support ===		==== Deployment and European String Support ====
	Regarding Mason, it was the ~~intension~~ to provide translated text and GUI methodology to all the main menu headlings, e.g., "Settings", "Load/Save", and "Mission Archive". [There are indications this was only realized for some headlines, and finally completed during the 2017-18 update.]		Regarding Mason, it was the plan to provide translated text and GUI methodology to all the main menu headlings, e.g., "Settings", "Load/Save", and "Mission Archive". [There are indications this was only realized for some headlines, and finally completed during the 2017-18 update.]

	=== MORE COMING SOON ===		=== MORE COMING SOON ===

Geep: /* Resulting Bitmaps within GIMP, as Source */ fix URL

2024-12-08T17:28:52Z

Resulting Bitmaps within GIMP, as Source: fix URL

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:28, 8 December 2024
Line 48:		Line 48:
	This discusses masonalternate_48.xcf, available...		This discusses masonalternate_48.xcf, available...
	* with filedate of May 26, 2012, unversioned in TDM SVN		* with filedate of May 26, 2012, unversioned in TDM SVN
	* with filedate of March 28, 2014, within Tels' [http bloodgate.com/mirrors/tdm/pub/tdm_i18n.zip bloodgate archive of translated FMs]. Font Patcher scripts (as .txt files) are found here too.		* with filedate of March 28, 2014, within Tels' [http://bloodgate.com/mirrors/tdm/pub/tdm_i18n.zip bloodgate archive of translated FMs]. Font Patcher scripts (as .txt files) are found here too.

	All 12 /english/ bitmaps are found as separate layers within a GIMP .xcf (project) file. The base character layers are called simply "0" to "5". The glow characters are called "New Layer", "New Layer #2", and so on. (Unfortunately, in this .xcf, they are unhelpfully misnumbered. Just know that a "New Layer" pairs with the base numbered layer immediately below it.) In addition, the early base seventh bitmap is represented here by the extra "Pasted Layer", whose characters (for /english/ not /russian/) were subsequently copied into layer 5.		All 12 /english/ bitmaps are found as separate layers within a GIMP .xcf (project) file. The base character layers are called simply "0" to "5". The glow characters are called "New Layer", "New Layer #2", and so on. (Unfortunately, in this .xcf, they are unhelpfully misnumbered. Just know that a "New Layer" pairs with the base numbered layer immediately below it.) In addition, the early base seventh bitmap is represented here by the extra "Pasted Layer", whose characters (for /english/ not /russian/) were subsequently copied into layer 5.

Geep: /* Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension */ partial sharing

2024-12-08T17:27:42Z

Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension: partial sharing

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:27, 8 December 2024
Line 21:		Line 21:

	=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===		=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===
	The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts.		The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts. (Subsequently, the sharing became partial; see "Resulting Bitmaps as Files" below.)

	=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===		=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===

Geep: article created

2024-12-07T22:58:02Z

article created

New page

''By Geep, 2024''

PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Mason is a highly stylized font found in the large headlines of the main menu pages. For example, at the top of the Load/Save and Download pages. Only the 48pt font size is supplied, for English (including Latin/European) and for Russian, because this font is not positioned for use in FMs. Headline characters are rendered in black surrounded by a static golden-white "glow".

Some historical context is provided here, to shed light on current complexities.

== Origins ==
Back when the founders created TDM, the main menu headlines (including glow) were burnt into the parchment backgrounds of main pages. This was no doubt done with a font (likely Adobe's "Mason Alternate Serif") available within a graphics editor. And presumably with different page images for English and Russian, the two initial languages. [Please expand/refine this section if you were around then.]

== 2010-14 Era - A New Font to Support Translations ==
''Drawing from Tels' "Translating the TDM GUI" thread, particularly [https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/14/#findComment-274467 here].''

When it came time to expand to European languages (an effort Tels led in 2010-14), the original method was replaced by a more flexible one: blank parchment backgrounds overlaid by a text font, plus the glow.

=== TTF Manipulation and Conversion ===
The starting point for that font [one assumes] was some Mason-like TTF font. It was likely Jonathan Barnbrook's 1992 "Mason Alternate", which has no separately styled lower case characters; lower-case is just a smaller version of upper-case.

Tels used graphics apps GIMP and Paintshop that work directly with TTF fonts. Also, Doom-era tools existed to programmatically convert a TTF file into a starting version of a TDM font, namely, a DAT file and a set of TGA (and ultimately DDS) images. (12pt and 24pt sizes were also generated, but only 48pt was pursued.)

=== Bitmap Tweaking and Character Set Extension ===
The 48pt font was then further adapted to "TDM style" (internally, "MasonAlternate"), with some characters morphed to look more like their burned-in TDM predecessors. Substantial additional bitmap editing added Cyrillic and the full panoply of accented Latin characters. The result was a duplicated set of (initially) seven 256x256 bitmaps that would cover English, European, and Russian languages. While the bitmaps were "shared" (by duplication - unlike the case with other TDM fonts), the metadata DAT files for English+European and for Russian had different content (i.e., diverging in their included glyphs and codepoint mapping), and were generated by separate Font Patcher scripts.

=== Enlarging Upper-Case Character of the New Font ===
Font Patcher scripting, as it generates a new, modified DAT file from an old one, can be asked to apply a scaling factor to specific characters. This does not affect the bitmap glyphs in any way, but instructs the TDM engine to scale at render-time. (See elsewhere for more about scaling within DAT files.)

Recall the starting Mason TTF font had lower case-letters that were the same as upper-case, except for size difference. But that difference seemed insufficient. It was decided to make the upper-case letter nominally 20% larger, by applying a scaling factor of 1.20 to them. (Actual scaling ratios recalculated from resulting DAT values will vary due to rounding-to-integer quantification.)
This was applied to A-Z, as well as accented uppercase characters at codepoints 0x80-84, a2, a5, a6, a9-ac, b0, b2-b4, bc, be, and c0-dd.

=== Introducing the "Glow" ===
TDM's Mason (as well as Carleton) supports a "glow" around each character. As deployed with Mason, the glow is a static yellowish-white halo around each black character; it does not vary with mouse-over. Indeed, TDM's Mason headlines (as opposed to Carleton) are not mouse-selectable.
The glow is not done with special engine coding, but rather by using the GUI system and separate bitmap sets for the base characters ("mason") and their glows ("mason_glow"). Each pair of base and glow characters will be aligned at render time, so must have compatible DAT metrics. (More about this below in a modern context.)

The general GIMP method of creating a glow font bitmap from a copy of a base font bitmap is described
[https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/12863-translating-the-tdm-gui/page/5/#findComment-262661 here].

This results in paired base and glow bitmaps having the same character positioning, which while not required, is best practice and simplifies understanding when viewing in GIMP.

=== Resulting Bitmaps as Files ===
Be aware that though the DDS files for mason and mason_glow have identical filenames, the content is different. That is, mason/masonalternative_0_48.dds and mason_glow/masonalternative_0_48.dds have respectively base content and glow content.

At some point in this process, the /english/ and /russian/ sets diverged. The latter kept 7 bitmaps (for base and for glow), while the former was compacted to 6, by combining the characters from the highest two bitmaps in numerical order. That is, the total number of "english" bitmaps was reduced from seven to six, by combining characters from Masonalternate_5_ and _6_ into _5_ alone. So the revised "english" set and the "russian" set still both offer the same characters. The Russian set remains to the present day (at least from the TDM perspective; whether it was further updated at DarkFate is beyond scope here.)

So, for /english/, the English/Latin and (in this context, unused) Russian base characters are contained in a shared set of 6 bitmaps. Similarly, the glow characters are in a different shared set of 6 bitmaps.

=== Resulting Bitmaps within GIMP, as Source ===
This discusses masonalternate_48.xcf, available...
* with filedate of May 26, 2012, unversioned in TDM SVN
* with filedate of March 28, 2014, within Tels' [http bloodgate.com/mirrors/tdm/pub/tdm_i18n.zip bloodgate archive of translated FMs]. Font Patcher scripts (as .txt files) are found here too.

All 12 /english/ bitmaps are found as separate layers within a GIMP .xcf (project) file. The base character layers are called simply "0" to "5". The glow characters are called "New Layer", "New Layer #2", and so on. (Unfortunately, in this .xcf, they are unhelpfully misnumbered. Just know that a "New Layer" pairs with the base numbered layer immediately below it.) In addition, the early base seventh bitmap is represented here by the extra "Pasted Layer", whose characters (for /english/ not /russian/) were subsequently copied into layer 5.

So, as layers are individually exported as DDS files, they must be manually distributed appropriately:
* "New Layer" above "5" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_5_48.dds
* "5" ==> mason/fontimage_5_48.dds
* "New Layer" above "4" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_4_48.dds
* "4" ==> mason/fontimage_4_48.dds
* "New Layer" above "3" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_3_48.dds
* "3" ==> mason/fontimage_3_48.dds
* "New Layer" above "2" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_2_48.dds
* "2" ==> mason/fontimage_2_48.dds
* "New Layer" above "1" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_1_48.dds
* "1" ==> mason/fontimage_1_48.dds
* "New Layer" above "0" ==> mason_glow/fontimage_0_48.dds
* "0" ==> mason/fontimage_0_48.dds

=== Deployment and European String Support ===
Regarding Mason, it was the intension to provide translated text and GUI methodology to all the main menu headlings, e.g., "Settings", "Load/Save", and "Mission Archive". [There are indications this was only realized for some headlines, and finally completed during the 2017-18 update.]

=== MORE COMING SOON ===