Text Origin Decide-icidal

[Robin]

I don't have to depend on the OS having the font installed

"Normal" fonts are usually not system dependent either, as we package them in the .loves. 8-) There was a whole debate over allowing to use sytem fonts a while back, but I can't remember what the exact outcome was... IIRC, it was possible (if you stick to well-defined font names), but you needed to add that ability in the source of LÖVE.

Of course, all the other reasons you gave for image fonts are still valid.

[zugamifk]

Ah nuts, I voted the wrong thing. Just make my vote for top left.
I wonder though, why have it set to baseline in the first place? Is there a benefit to that?

[rude]

I don't think we ever made that choice actively. Mike just adapted some code from NeHe, and it used baseline. I'm trying to think if any problems can arise by making it top left, i.e. if there is a reason people use baseline.

[Robin]

I'm trying to think if any problems can arise by making it top left, i.e. if there is a reason people use baseline.

I'm just guessing here, but maybe it's because different characters have different heights? So if we were to draw two strings next to each other, but the one has an "f", while the other only has an "a", they would be misaligned if the origin is top-left. I don't know whether this makes any sense or not.

[bartbes]

It does, so basically, it has to be compensated to not draw from top-left of the character, but top-left of the 'font'. And, of course, baseline is how people write.

[rude]

If that's the only reason then I think it's no problem.

But keep thinking. 8-)

zugamifk: you should be able to change your vote now.

[Robin]

If that's the only reason then I think it's no problem.

But keep thinking. 8-)

zugamifk: you should be able to change your vote now.

Congratulations with your 888 posts
edit: now I have 555 posts

[Jasoco]

Okay, who's the one being different up there?

[Robin]

Okay, who's the one being different up there?

Ah nuts, I voted the wrong thing. Just make my vote for top left.

8-)
(although he might have changed his vote already, but I don't think so)

[Simtex]

I'm just guessing here, but maybe it's because different characters have different heights? So if we were to draw two strings next to each other, but the one has an "f", while the other only has an "a", they would be misaligned if the origin is top-left. I don't know whether this makes any sense or not.

This is what I thought too, but I kept running into problems, for instance:

(the following is done in Love 0.6 with image x,y defaulting to the upper left, but the same behavior appears in 0.5)

Code: Select all

	testImage = love.graphics.newImage("button.png")
	testFont = love.graphics.newFont(love._vera_ttf, 18)
	testText = "play"
	
	love.graphics.setFont(testFont)
	
	imageX = 400
	imageY = 300
	
	imageCenterX = imageX + (testImage:getWidth() / 2)
	imageCenterY = imageY + (testImage:getHeight() / 2)
		
	textX = imageCenterX - (testFont:getWidth(testText) / 2)
	textY = imageCenterY + (testFont:getHeight() / 2)

	love.graphics.draw(testImage, imageX, imageY)
	love.graphics.print(testText, textX, textY)

The results:



Notice that the 'p' and 'y' extend below the other letters, while the 'l' rises higher than the other letters, yet even the 'l' is too low. Along the x-axis though, everything is properly centered.