Character and object sizes

Discussion in 'How Can I...?' started by Ultraj, Oct 14, 2015.

  1. Ultraj

    Ultraj Boxer

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    How do I know if the size that I created my characters and other game objects in Buildbox will be the correct sizes on the platforms I release them on? They look fine to me, but I read that this is a problem that some have run into, and I want to avoid making the same mistake.
     
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  2. stevinz

    stevinz Avid Boxer

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    When you preview your game in Buildbox, you can select the device you wish to simulate (iPhone 5, iPad, etc.). This will give you an idea of what your game will look like on these devices.
     
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  3. Jamie

    Jamie Avid Boxer

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    Does anyone know of image size optimization practices we should follow as a rule of thumb for making sure that the images will not pixelate beyond "good-looking-ness" ? hehe
    I know that its a best practice to leave very little (if any) transparent space between your image and the border of the image.
    However, I wonder if it is ok to make like every single image at a size as large as 1000 pixels wide, import it, and then resize the image animations appropriately in buildbox -- or is there a better way?
    I am building out my first game, so this is relevant to me as well at this time.
     
  4. Rebel Studios

    Rebel Studios Avid Boxer

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    Usually if we do not know the size we would just hit 1 image into Bbox & resize accordingly... By then you should be able to know what is the scaling which is used in Bbox. For eg... if the image has been resized to 0.5 in Bbox it means that the original should be down to a 50%... Only then we use Photoshop and resize the image according to the percentage.

    However we do not scale down to the exact 50%. What we do is we scale down to 60% so that in buildbox there's only a 10% scale down which will make the image relatively sharp.

    After all this process we use a png converter to bring the file size of the image down further so that the bbdoc would maintain a small size.
     
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  5. Andy

    Andy Miniboss Boxer

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    Size everything for a 1136x640 viewport. This is the native size that Buildbox uses right now. So for example characters around 200x200 is probably about a large as you want for example. Keep in mind that depending on orientation and device size the image may be cropped. So it's important to use dynamic layouts as much as possible.

    Ideally you would size everything so you don't have to scale it at all. Especially scaling down as you are just wasting atlas space and device memory. Scaling up where possible (solid colors, gradients) will help save valuable space as well.

    You don't have to worry about this too much if you are just prototyping, but for production you definitely want to look at optimizing things as much as possible.
     
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  6. Rebel Studios

    Rebel Studios Avid Boxer

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    Hey @Andy... Just would like to find out a bit more on this... How much percentage is the scaling up before the images actually breaks and loses quality? Thanks :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2015
  7. trudnai

    trudnai Miniboss Boxer

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    That would be actually a nice feature in Buildbox to automatically resize images for resulting smaller app size. So for example the game designer has the raw image size which he/she resizes to whatever size he/she wants (let's say 0.5), and then when building the app Buildbox resizes the image automatically by 50% and replaces the logical size 0.5 to 1... If that makes sense?

    This will allow much more freedom, as at any time the designer could make a decision to increase or decrease the sprite or platform or other game objects without worrying of image quality or the need of manually resizing images and reimporting them...
     
  8. Jamie

    Jamie Avid Boxer

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    So then, if I use iDraw, I should prototype my visuals all together into a 1136x640 canvas, resize them there to what they should be, and then separately export the vectors as PNGs in their respective sizes from the visual prototype... problem solved!
     
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  9. Andy

    Andy Miniboss Boxer

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    Resizing of images is all subjective. It completely depends on the content of the image. If the image is a solid color with straight edges (a square for example) you could scale up 3x and it should make no difference. For complex images you don't want to scale up at all.
     
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  10. dima.shev

    dima.shev Boxer

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    What would be a recommended resolution for characters and objects when working in photoshop. Do you first Create the character in a 800 by 800 for example with 1000 pixels/inch....and then drag it to a 200 by 200 and scale---OR--- Would you just make the character in the 200 by 200?
    Please help, Im very confused haha! Do the assets need to be in target device resolution or keep it as high as possible?
    Hopefully my question is written out understandably...if not I can add more specefics for this dilema...THANKS
     
  11. INKY

    INKY Avid Boxer

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    Reminds me of the good ol typesetting days...oversize image when drawn by 100% then shrink by 50%...makes em pop !
     
  12. Christoph

    Christoph Miniboss Boxer

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    If you work in Photoshop you better work big. As in very big. I even would make sure to work in 300dpis. Why? Because you most probably will use a lot of the designs from your game later in the marketing process. Once you have designed everything (or a big part of the game) make a duplicate and go small. As small as you can. Always scale to the master size before importing to Buildbox. Also, I just answered this yesterday: https://www.buildbox.com/forum/inde...r-my-game-help-advice-needed.5621/#post-29324

    This only seems to make sense if you go for atv or tablets as a primary end device. If not, this only will affect you performance wise.

    And as stated several times by Andy: png converters only will make the quality worse and you won't gain anything in the final Buildbox export. Buildbox will copy your images to the atlases and does NOT maintain the pngs. So just don't!
     
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  13. jcalle

    jcalle Miniboss Boxer

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    Hi, I use:

    For characters, 128 x128px, max.
    For enemies, trees, scenery, etc ... 256x256 maximum.
    Always use the images 1: 1, never reduce or enlarge the image in BB.
    For solid colors, 64x64px maximum.

    Note: Always check that there is no image in the Atlasses repeated, the maximum number of Atlasses I recommend is 2 to 2048x2048px
     
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  14. dima.shev

    dima.shev Boxer

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    Thanks for the tips! May I ask what resolution(ppi) to set in image settings.
    Width:128 px
    Height:128 px
    Resolution: ??? pixels/inch


    THANKS
     
  15. Christoph

    Christoph Miniboss Boxer

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    72dpi
    Whenever you work images to appear on screens it is 72dpis. Everything. This includes images, videos, animations, Internet,...
    Everything for print medias is 300dpis.
     
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  16. Andy

    Andy Miniboss Boxer

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    You can completely ignore dpi/ppi when designing graphics for games in general.
    http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/mythdpi.html

    Sometimes artists who design with Vectors find is useful... but once converted properly to PNG it means almost nothing. Setting to 72dpi is the "safe" way to go, some software can be confused but other values.
     
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  17. Christoph

    Christoph Miniboss Boxer

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    When you export it does matter very much.

    Example of the same image but with different export settings:

    72ppi
    72.png

    300ppi
    300.png

    In raster programs (like photoshop) you decide with what you want to work with when you create the document. If you choose 300 over 72 you will have bigger images like in the example above. In vector programs (like illustrator) you decide when you export.
     
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  18. Andy

    Andy Miniboss Boxer

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    Yes, that's why I said once you have PNG it does not matter at all... you can set the dpi of the PNG and it does nothing.
     
  19. croomraider

    croomraider Boxer

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    I'd imagine I could just import into Quicktime player and downconvert the image? Or do you use Quicktime player or a plugin of some type?
    Is there a particular resolution size that you scale down to? Could you elaborate on how you do this? Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2016
  20. Rebel Studios

    Rebel Studios Avid Boxer

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    @croomraider ... Quicktime won't help you with any of that :)
     

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