I really appreciate the Sprite Font, and I understand that it was created by a 3rd party for Scirra, but does anyone else wish that it was a little easier to use?
I'm not sure about the difficulties, etc in producing font tools, but does anyone know if the text tool in Photoshop, for example, is effectively a sprite font tool? If so, why are they so different?
My first time using the Sprite Font tool
I select the tool, and add it to the layout. I then realise that I can't just pick a font from my font bank, and have to actually create a font sprite. I search around, and eventually find this great little program.
I then load up the program, choose the font I want to use, fiddle with the height and width, finally get a result I'm pretty much happy with, export the sprite font, import it into Construct 2, find there's something not quite right with it, switch back to the generator and try again.
Once I finally get it the way I want it to look, I start adding it to the game. I then start typing out words, and the spacing is completely messed up. I then have to tweak the properties for the sprite font, and match it to the sprite font generator settings. Once this is done, I notice that the spacing between thin letters and wide letters are the same, and not automatically set up based on character width. I then have to set up an event that selects the characters and sets their spacing. This involves a lot of trial and error, and I even end up missing a few characters, and have to add them in.
A few more minutes of tweaking, and I'm finally done. I then want to have a different font for a different section, and I have to repeat the entire process again.
My first time using the text tool in something like Photoshop
Click text icon, choose font, choose size, start typing... done.
I used Multimedia Fusion 2, and I seem to recall this being a simple process as well. I don't remember having to set spacing, etc., or even import a font sprite.
I don't mean any disrespect toward the programmer for this tool. Far from it. It was repeatedly asked for, and was finally supplied. My problem is that I will only ever use it for numbers, and even then I find it a bit of a hassle. I tend to just create sprites of all the text I want, and import them into my game.
I know it ends up using up more space in my game, but I just find it a lot easier, and a lot faster. However, it's more hassle if I just want to change a word, or I spell something wrong.
Does anyone else have any other comments on this? Am I simply using the tool incorrectly, or does anyone else feel the same?