Vector Images

allc1865

Hello everyone.
How can I use save a file in InkScape and it still have it be vector image, but import into GameSalad?
For instance, I'm trying to get the quality of vector, but when I save the image as a .SVG, it doesn't save it as an image file, just an InkScape file, which I don't want.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Socks

@dreichelt

I don't think I'll be working on anything soon that I'll need to worry about I suppose in regards to taxing the ios device.

Generally speaking you can get on with creating games, playing with ideas and experimenting . . . and then when you have something you like you can start to tidy it up, optimize the images and so on, for example I have a project with hundreds of images in, when it's finished I can go back over the images looking at how I can improve them, shrink them, optimize them . . . and so on.

Some people like to work the other way around, optimizing as they go, but who knows, maybe you'll get to the end of your designing stage and realize there's little point in optimizing your images as you're only going to save a few MB . . . ?

The rasterization process sounds simple enough even for a photoshop/illustrator illiterate such as myself to do. I'm assuming the pixillation is not visible on the final product?

Everything you are looking at on this screen is rasterized (or pixelated*), the type, the graphics, the browser window, the buttons and icons and this is true for every device you use, phones, computer monitors, tablets etc. even your non-pixel based vector images are rasterised so they are able to be displayed on a monitor, everything on a screen is pixel based.

Pixilation is a kind of stop frame film / animation effect.

Pixelation (or pixelated*) although the correct term for something that's been turned into pixels, tends to be used negatively - "Oh damn ! My image looks all pixelated, my life is over" - what they really mean is the image is low resolution and you can see the pixels. So, something correctly rasterized (rasterized at the size and resolution it will be displayed) will not look 'pixelated' it should look smooth, exactly as smooth as a vector image (which is also pixelated ) )

I hope that makes sense !

Danjinkies

Hello, you can't import vector files into Gamesalad, only jpegs and pngs. The thing with vector files is that it can only be read and altered by vector editing software. You will need to determine the image sizes that you will need for your game (Background, Actors, etc.) and then use InkScape to size it accordingly and import it into Gamesalad as a png.

Hope that helps!

allc1865

@danjinkies, hi thanks for your reply. Is there a way to get vector quality but still have it be a .png file extension? Thanks.

bryanearl

@allc1865, there is no standard "quality" difference between a vector, jpg, png etc. It is all about the size (ex: 800x600) and resolution (ex: 72dpi). Out of curiosity, why are you wanting a vector specifically? What exactly are you trying to do, and why have you found that a PNG is not working for you?

Socks

@danjinkies, hi thanks for your reply. Is there a way to get vector quality but still have it be a .png file extension? Thanks.

Like bryanearl says, there is no difference in quality between a vector file and a rasterised file when they are the same size . . . . . so a vector file occupying 512 x 512 pixels will be identical to a PNG occupying 512 x 512 pixels.

allc1865

@bryanearl, Hi, thank you for your reply. I was just wondering if I could get a way to save the vector file image .SVG as a .PNG because I wanted the vector image quality, that, when you zoom in and keep zooming in, it will never get blurry. That's why I was wondering if there was a way to do this... However you can't. I need it to be saved out as a .PNG, which is a Bitmap file and it will get pixilated if you zoom in too much.
I don't have any problem with PNG. I actually need a PNG to save and work in GameSalad.

Thanks :)

Armelline

All a vector file really is is defined relationships between the graphical elements in it. That's why you can zoom in and in and every time you zoom the computer is calculating where each part should be in relation to each other part, and drawing it on your screen. So in theory you could use a vector image (of sorts) in GameSalad, you'd just need to essentially write a vector program within your GameSalad project.

If you make a basic shape, say a star, using the default actors in GameSalad and keep enlarging them and enlarging them, they'll maintain their crisp edges. That's because GameSalad is using them like vector images. For more complex images or shapes, you'd need a lot of very convoluted rules. Theoretically it's possible, at least to some extent. You'd be a madman to attempt it, however

In other words, no. :P

..aaaaand now I'm thinking about Descartes and Leibniz and absolute and relative space. Sigh.

Socks

Like @Armelline said, you could - in theory - produce simple vector images within GameSalad, but after a while the men in white coats will come to take you away to the special 'hospital' so you can have some 'rest'.

You can also produce images which you can shrink and enlarge without them becoming blurry or pixelated by simply rasterizing your vector images at the largest size they will be viewed, perhaps not always a viable choice but it works for certain set-ups, I have a game where the images are almost twice the resolution of a Retina iPad screen, so you can zoom in without their quality degrading.

motorcycle boy

Like @Armelline said, you could - in theory - produce simple vector images within GameSalad, but after a while the men in white coats will come to take you away to the special 'hospital' so you can have some 'rest'.

You can also produce images which you can shrink and enlarge without them becoming blurry or pixelated by simply rasterizing your vector images at the largest size they will be viewed, perhaps not always a viable choice but it works for certain set-ups, I have a game where the images are almost twice the resolution of a Retina iPad screen, so you can zoom in without their quality degrading.

I like your method of making the images twice the resolution of a retina display. However, if you have a large project will this cause problems in game performance?
Also, if I want to make my game so that it looks good on ipad, iphone, Android, etc, then I should start from an ipad project and make the different sizes from that since they will all be smaller? I'm very new to all this gamesalad business, obviously. Thanks!
I've never heard of this rasterize process but will look into how to do it.

Socks

I like your method of making the images twice the resolution of a retina display. However, if you have a large project will this cause problems in game performance?

'A large project' is an arbitrary term, I couldn't really comment without some basic information about the actual project.

For example a 64 x 64 pixel image would be 4 times Retina resolution if it's placed into a 16 x 16 pixel button actor.

If a large project (whatever that means) has just a single 2 x 2 pixel actor then it's not going to be much of strain on the target device's processor - but a small project with 14,500 512 x 512 pixel actors is going to make even the most powerful iOS device grind to a halt.

So 'large' and 'small' are meaningless without sufficient context.

Then again the large project with just the single 2 x 2 pixel actor might well contain a quarter of a million constrain behaviours (ridiculous I know) in which case the iOS device grinds to a halt again.

A 400 x 400 pixel actor could be standard resolution, Retina resolution or 16 times Retina resolution (or whatever) depending on how it's displayed on the device.

Etc etc , , ,

So without knowing all the other factors you can't really say if a project with higher resolution images will cause problems in game performance.

It's like saying if I make this box bigger will it cause problems when it comes to getting it through that door over there.

Also, if I want to make my game so that it looks good on ipad, iphone, Android, etc, then I should start from an ipad project and make the different sizes from that since they will all be smaller?

It's a mater of choice, a lot of people take that route, but bear in mind the aspect ratio of an iPad is 4:3 whereas most other devices, phones, tablets, tend to be 16:9, so you'd need to keep that in mind when you are designing your 4:3 'master'.

I've never heard of this rasterize process but will look into how to do it.

It simply means to turn your vector images into pixel based images, like when you open an Illustrator file into Photoshop.

motorcycle boy

Thanks @Socks for the information. I see what you mean about needing to know all the details in order to know if a project is large or not whether that refers to the amount of behaviors created or amount and size of assets brought in; yes I love run on sentences. I don't think I'll be working on anything soon that I'll need to worry about I suppose in regards to taxing the ios device. I'm a baby to this world, so everything is still new and exciting. The rasterization process sounds simple enough even for a photoshop/illustrator illiterate such as myself to do. I'm assuming the pixillation is not visible on the final product? Well I suppose it would be if your end product is a retro style game in the visuals/gameplay. Anyway thanks!

order4punching@gmail.com

Nice thread here.