Talk:Game icons

I'm working around icons and I've noticed several issues. Some of them are well-known, long-standing questions, others seem to be not so well-known. I guess that will keep me busy for some time.
 * I'll start with the easiest-looking problem (for me). Icon size is specified as 32px, 36px and even 40px in different places, and different templates. Why? Did I miss something? I *seem* to remember an icon larger than 32px, but I've checked and re-checked my archive and back-log and couldn't find it (edit: found one, details will follow). So...
 * Are there objections if I start cropping them all to 36px and correcting templates accordingly? (edit: not 32px as previously written, I found one larger icon)
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 13:01, August 21, 2014 (EDT)
 * Are there objections if I start cropping them all to 36px and correcting templates accordingly? (edit: not 32px as previously written, I found one larger icon)
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 13:01, August 21, 2014 (EDT)
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 13:01, August 21, 2014 (EDT)


 * Well... Depends on exactly what you mean. Can you list the templates and the icon sizes used that you are talking about?  There are reasons that some are different sizes.  That said, I'm usually for consistency...  ShoeMaker (Contributions • Message) 14:49, August 21, 2014 (EDT)
 * OK...
 * Take the following icons as examples of the variety of icon format and appearance (selecting the following text can be a quick way to visualize extra border):
 * [[File:Icon Feat Generic Martial Arts Passive.png]] Icon Feat Generic Martial Arts Passive.png, is 32px wide; passive octagon; transparent; no border (here "border" = "extra pixels outside the icon's own built-in border)
 * [[File:Icon Amaunators Brilliance.png]] File:Icon Amaunators Brilliance.png is 32px wide; active square; no border
 * [[File:Icon Feat Composite Plating.png]] Icon Feat Composite Plating.png is 34px wide; passive octagon; transparent; no border, but the octagon's border itself is wider than the previous icon's (due to different uploaders, I reckon)
 * [[File:Sorc FireSavant.png]] File:Sorc FireSavant.png is 36px wide; passive octagon; transparent; transparent border
 * [[File:BelovedOfSilverFlame.png]] File:BelovedOfSilverFlame.png is 36px wide; passive octagon; not transparent, black background, black border
 * [[File:BladeswornTransformation.png]] File:BladeswornTransformation.png is 36px wide; active square; black border
 * [[File:Icon Feat Acrobatic.png]] ''File:Icon Feat Acrobatic.png, is 40px wide; passive octagon; not transparent, white background, no border
 * AFAICT, the following templates use 32px icons:
 * Template:ClothingJewelryTOC
 * Template:Collectable2
 * Template:Enhancement table/itemwlvl
 * Template:Instantdelete
 * Template:Named Clothing
 * Template:Named Jewelry
 * Template:Quiver
 * Template:V Desc box
 * The following templates use 36px icons:
 * Template:Feat Brief/Top
 * Template:Feat Brief/nolink1
 * Template:Feat Brief/nolink2
 * Template:Feat Brief
 * Template:Feat
 * Template:OrgClicky
 * Template:SpellBook1
 * Template:SpellBook2
 * Template:SpellBook3
 * Template:SpellBook/sandbox
 * The following templates use 40px icons:
 * Template:HirelingCommand
 * Template:Hireling
 * I may have missed a few icon "styles" and templates (and as a matter of fact, I *feel* I did miss some, but can't find them again).
 * Thoughts?
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 11:18, August 23, 2014 (EDT)
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 11:18, August 23, 2014 (EDT)


 * Yeah, that is what I was afraid of. I know I personally went through hours of getting the size just right for the Hireling template ones (which I never finished).  The reason that those are the size they are is to properly fill the cell in the table. The icon for the Instantdelete style mbox should actually be even bigger and have some padding added to make it more visible in my opinion (the icon and border bleed together with my tired old eyes and unless I really strain it looks like just a blob of red).  However, the feat icons and the ones where there are multiple size icons used in the same table, (or in various tables using the same template), should be made consistent.  I'm actually thinking about this, and I'll have to get back to you on this.  I'm wondering exactly what it is in the client on max resolution, and I'm going to take a screenshot and crop one out.  The only ones that may end up having to be different are the ones like in the HirelingCommand template where if you look real close there are actually icons inside of icons (to represent things like extended haste). At this point, I'm thinking they should all be 36x36px, transparent backgrounds, and no borders except for the ones with icons nested in icons, which should probably be actual size of 64x64px and resized by the template.  That said, let me do some research and get back to you. ShoeMaker (Contributions • Message) 12:31, August 23, 2014 (EDT)
 * [[File:Extended Haste.bmp]] is an example of an icon nested in an icon, which is 81x81px right now. It should be redone as a .png and it should probably be bigger (128x128px?) to add more detail for the nested icon part and I would be happy to discuss which corner the nested part should be in.  I was thinking lower right because it was closer to where the icon would meet any following text but now I'm thinking upper right because us silly Americans read left to right and top to bottom so it would make more sense, and upper right is taken by the spell level (I - IX).  I dunno, let's discuss it and come up with the best course of action. ShoeMaker (Contributions • Message) 12:50, August 23, 2014 (EDT)


 * I've taken some more snapshots and looked at them carefully.
 * First, I've found one icon that is different from most others: the one for the Bath House guild airship buff effect on the buff bar. It has a built-in black border where other icons only show some alpha-channeled shadow, that makes it 36px wide.
 * Then, as far as I can tell, there can be no icon wider than 36px, because they're placed exactly every 36px. Even buff duration times are framed to 36px, so much so that times written with 5 characters (e.g. "12:55") have the rightmost anti-aliasing pixels cropped away.
 * Exceptions to this are Epic Destiny icons, which are 48px wide or so, and are not active nor passive "feat-like" icons, so I exclude them from this topic.
 * I guess DDO Store icons are to be excluded as well, those are not the icons we are looking for (c).
 * For the sake of completeness, I've checked the following places:
 * buff bar
 * debuff bar
 * character examination window
 * character sheet window (feats, enhancements, spells)
 * enhancements window
 * epic destinies window
 * character toolbar
 * hireling toolbar
 * Have I missed anything?
 * In case I haven't, then my current preferred "target" is the same as ShoeMaker's (36x36px, transparent backgrounds, and no borders except for the ones with icons nested in icons). I may be wrong, but in-game icons are always drawn with the same dimensions, regardless of screen resolution, so I guess 36px should be the icon file's actual size to upload into the server.
 * Regarding nested icons, I'm not sure I've ever seen one (not that I'm the Eagle-Eyed One...). Are those an idea of yours or are they available somewhere in-game?
 * Aldyron (Contributions • Message) 14:59, August 25, 2014 (EDT)
 * Was an idea of mine for that specific purpose of showing which spells hirelings have and if there are metas applied. ShoeMaker (Contributions • Message) 15:22, August 25, 2014 (EDT)


 * The sizes of icons depend on the original editor, source and what point the image was taken in game (Some are from 2006). Sources included ingame or an official turbine source witch may have been 36px. Some Icons have black/ gold borders, others no boarders. Icon with Transpencies, many may have done by myself if I remember at time of editing. DDO compendium was a source for some icons like hirelings, spell comps, certain spells, feats. Some of the templates listed in the 36px was design by meself (spellbook) or at one point revised (feats) I use 36px since icons were either 32 or 36 I went with the bigger number so they can fit neatly with out deforming the rows. 32px is the most common follow by 36px -- Bladedge (Contributions • Message) 19:36, August 25, 2014 (EDT)