Click to go to the
FontPack Project Page on Sourceforge.
NEWS:
Wed, 1/24/2007 - Update
Playing around with pygame, I realized I needed a way to display
text in GL without using wglIckyness. So there is now a basic
but functional python wrapper for gamefont included in fontpack.
It's in CVS now. Email me if you want a prebuilt module.
Sat, 11/01/2003 - 0.5 Release (Linux)
Finally put the code in CVS on sourceforge, and put together a
automake/autoconf script. I really need better examples for this
thing. Not much changes in the code itself, but there are several
important bugfixes, so if you are using this, make sure to get this version.
Anyways, to commemorate this milestone, here is a screenshot of fontpack
in use on a RPG that me and a friend of mine are writing. Although maybe
it's not the best example, it's kind of a funky-looking, hard to read
font. I also used it on my recent game
The Halloween Machine. That game includes source code, so if you're
looking for a real example of using fontpack in an openGL game, check
it out.
I also decided to switch to the BSD license, so fontpack can be used in
any kind of commercial or non-commercial project, pretty much without
restriction. The BSD license is one of the most open ones out there.
Thu, 09/29/2003 - 0.3 Release
This release contains an updated "gamefontgl" library. It's still pretty
minimal, but it's definately useful now. So now there is an easy way to
use fonts from fontpack in your OpenGL game! The example has been updated
and there is even a tutorial if you want to
get started.
Thu, 08/21/2003 - 0.2 Release
This is the first release using sourceforge. Yay sourceforge! This release
fixes most of the problems with the initial release, it's pretty usable now.
You can see fontpack in action in my opengl game
Hannibal's Cannibals,
the game is not completed but it does use fontpack and the results looks nice.
The glgamefont library is still in a pretty basic shape, though.
Wed, 04/02/2003 - Initial Release
FontPack is not quite ready to release, there are still some annoying bugs (hence
the BUG ALERTs scattered through the tutorial. However, I wanted to release it sooner
rather than later, because, 1) release early, release often, and 2) I want to use it for the
ludumdare 48 hour game contest this weekend.
It is at the point where it is usable, right now, but don't expect a polished
application at this point. Also, right now there is no linux build although that's
just a matter of setting up the makefiles.
I'll try to have a release next week^H^H^H^Hyear, after the contest, with a more complete
gamefontgl library and the really annoying bugs fixed. And a linux build.
What is Fontpack?
FontPack is a utility to generate texture maps from truetype fonts. It
was written by Joel Davis
It uses the Freetype project
for font rendering.
It also uses the Fox Toolkit for the gui.
The default font was created by
Deiter Shumacher.
The Icons are from the
Ximian gnome-icons.
FontPack consists of two parts:
- The FontPack GUI
-
This is a small application that generates texture maps and textual "font info" files from truetype font files. It features several layout algorithms, and
can render text antialiased into a border for a clean appearance readable against
a cluttered background.
- The GL GameFont Library
- This will be a very comprehensive library for drawing and formatting text
in OpenGL using the texture and fontinfo files generated from FontPack. Currently, it is an very limited state, and can do little more than just draw text strings.
Fontpack and GamefontGL are licensed under a BSD-style license.
Thus, FontPack may be used for free in commercial or
non-commercial programs. Any changes to the code don't have be
made available, but I would appreciate any improvements people submit.
Be aware that fonts themselves are often covered under a variety of licenses,
and many are shareware. Make sure that you have permission to use a particular
font in your project, just rasterizing with FontPack doesn't get around this.
Obtaining FontPack
Fontpack is hosted on sourceforge.net.
Fontpack/gamefont is not released often. The current releases are a little
stale.
Retrieve the most up-to-date fontpack/gamefont via CVS
If you just need the prebuilt exe, the released version is fine.
Project Download area on sourceforge.
Using FontPack
The tutorial provides a tour of FontPack and
a good overview of its features.
Using gamefontgl
The gamefontgl tutorial is a simple example
of using fonts created with fontpack in opengl.
FontPack was written by Joel Davis,
joeld42@yahoo.com. Feel free to let me know if you have any comments
or suggestions.
