What app do you use to modify/create charsets?

[PapaSmurf]

I tried modifying a charset in microsoft paint just now, and it without changing really anything, all the characters became washed out. What else is out there that I should be using?

I take that back. It didn't wash out the charachters it removed the outline from them.

[Baker]

You really need to create charsets as PNG images with an alpha channel. You cannot use Microsoft Paint.

A charset is a 32-bit image with a 24-bit graphics layer with an 8-bit (gray scale) transparency layer.

Making a charset is not easy, involves a ton of time, but is a very straightforward task.





The black and white transparency mask, the alpha channel, tells the % transparency for each pixel.

As far as an application, it does not matter what you use, but I actually use ancient Paint Shop Pro 4 (it's like Microsoft Paint on steroids and does not have the clumsy and awkward interface of later Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop).

A comparison of graphics editors at wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...aphics_editors

[PapaSmurf]

Well my goal was simply to modify the copperplate charset slightly. It is missing one of the gold "dots" and I simply wanted to copy and paste an existing gold dot to where the missing one should be.

Which charset is that, btw?

[R00k]

GIMP is free and worthy a dry run!

http://www.gimp.org/windows/

[Baker]

Which charset is that, btw?

I have no idea. It comes with JoeQuake -- I think. I have it labelled "charset-1", so I do not really know its origins.

[=peg=]

I have put together a couple of "tools" that could be useful if u'r planning on making ur own charset from scratch: download

contents:

===============================================================================================================================
characters.txt		: A simple document containing all the standard characters quake uses in no particular font.
charset_template.xls	: A MS Excel document containing the same characters but nicely positioned so the font can be modified.
			  Once satisfied with the font, make a screen shot and paste that into ur favorite pixel editor.
Fonts.zip		: A collection of additional fonts to be used in windows app's (including the quakefont).
grid_32x32.png		: A grid layer that can be used as a reference to the spacing between the characters.
readme.txt		: This document.
===============================================================================================================================