[Obsolete] SS2 Crisp Small AA Font

[66486ccad347aZylonBane]

System Shock 2 Crisp Small AA Font v2
August 2022
by ZylonBane

This mod is obsolete. SHTUP-ND Beta 2 now includes a more refined version of the small AA fonts.

This mod replaces the small anti-aliased (AA) text font with an anti-aliased font that conforms more closely to the pixel grid.

This is intended for use with SHTUP. Because SHTUP already improves the small non-AA fonts (used on the save/load screens and most in-game floating text), this mod does not. It modifies the small AA font only.

This was not incorporated directly into SHTUP because its appearance ended up differing significantly from the default AA font. As such, its use has been left to individual preference.

v1 is my original attempt, that didn't turn out as anti-aliased as I'd hoped.
v2 is my second attempt, that turned out much better.

[66486ccad38acRoSoDude]

Each letter seems to occupy the same amount of space as the original font so I was sure it would be fine, but I am happy to confirm that this font works well with SS2-RSD's UI expansions:

Very nice work, ZB!

[66486ccad3b9bZylonBane]

Each letter seems to occupy the same amount of space as the original font

With one exception. The lowercase "w" is one pixel wider.

[66486ccad3cdeDeu sex]

Much appreciated thanks!

[66486ccad3f9fRayDaug]

RoSoDude
Sorry that this is off topic, but are you using for that weapon modification menu?

[66486ccad41dbRoSoDude]

RayDaug
It's a component of my Rebalanced Skills and Disciplines mod (beta). I was just confirming that the new font sizes properly for my UI expansions, which heavily feature condensed text.

[66486ccad43f2ZylonBane]

Okay, I realized where I messed up on this. I anti-aliased the characters against a black background, but this font is usually presented against a light green background, so most of the anti-aliased pixels were barely visible and it ended up looking almost the same as the non-AA font.

I've taken another shot at it, tweaking the gamma curves so the AA pixels are closer in brightness to the primary strokes, and brightening the entire font a bit so there can be more luminance difference between the AA pixels and the green background (though it's still a bit darker than the non-AA version of the font). This version is a lot closer to what I originally envisioned, to the point that I might roll it into SHTUP-ND.

The one thing that's still bothering me is that damn lowercase "s". It's supposed to have terminals like the rest of the characters, but there just isn't enough resolution available in its 5x6 pixel grid to represent both of them while maintaining the correct letter form. The vanilla version of the character is a mess that somehow manages to be both smudged and angular.

░███░     ░███░     ░███░     ░███░
█░░░░     █░░░░     █░░░█     █░░░█
░███░     ░███░     ░██░░     ███░░
░░░░█     ░░░░█     ░░░█░     ░░███
░░░░█     █░░░█     █░░░█     █░░░█
░███░     ░███░     ░███░     ░███░

So in the current version I've just left the ends straight, which is visually inconsistent with the font but at least looks good. Maybe no one will even notice.

[66486ccad48cfMirrorman95]

ZylonBaneI'm glad you said something, because I have noticed. I don't want to tell you how to make your mod, but if I might make a suggestion, I think the Crisp lowercase Ss would look better with either of the following rotationally symmetrical patterns:
░███░     ░███░
█░░░█     █░░░█
░██░░     ███░░
░░██░     ░░███
█░░░█     █░░░█
░███░     ░███░

I also think the Crisp lowercase Es would look better like this:
░███░   
█░░░█   
████░   
█░░░░   
█░░░█   
░███░     

But again, it's up to you, I just wanted to make these suggestions.

[66486ccad4a34ZylonBane]

The problem with that approach is that it makes the "s" look like a backwards "z". In this font that stroke is supposed to be horizontal, not diagonal.

That "e" would also be wrong. That's supposed to be a hard corner in this font, not rounded.

[66486ccad4b87Joe]

Will this have any compatibility issues with other mods like Secmod? Nice work, by the way.

[66486ccad4c5eZylonBane]

Does SecMod use its own custom font?

[66486ccad4d4aJoe]

Not that I know of, but I know it changes the text of certain logs (like keycodes and such) so I was wondering if your mod would conflict with that.

[66486ccad4e2dZylonBane]

As already stated in this thread, this font's characters are the exact same size as the vanilla font characters (with one exception being one pixel wider).