Guide:Creating Images for Quest Spoilers

Images
Images in quest spoiler articles are an easy way to convey what is hard or tedious to do so in text. However, reliance on images is a bad idea. We cannot assume the image server will be up all the time, so it should supplement text.

The best images are those that have clear intentions. If the user has to interpret an image before identifying the points of interest, we have failed to deliver an easy-to-use image.

The following are some guidelines that can help. Keep in mind that there is no systematic method to make your images clear; use the guideline loosely and apply your own judgement in creating an image that the users will understand.

Consistency
Image styles should be consistent throughout an article. Ideally we could apply the same rules for all images, but this isn't the case. If you're making a map and need to label a certain area you could use green, but what if the area is a forest? The circle won't be visible on green, so you must use another color.

The user should have to change rules as little as possible. Plan this ahead of time: if the quest is primarily underground without much grass, consider using green, yellow, cyan and red; if it's on the surface with lots of grass, try using yellow, cyan, red, orange. The colors you use are arbitrary but they should correspond loosely to their purpose. For example green is a good label for destination or a safe area, while red is probably something you want to avoid (at least for now).

Text in Images
Images should not contain any added text. If you start adding text there are important considerations to make: font size, style, decoration, etc.. There are so many different possibilities and even if you make a good choice, it's probably not going to scale very well when placed inside a gallery.

However there are uses for text in images. If you are labeling many different tiles (Roshamuul Cistern, The Pits of Inferno Quest), Short text (single letters or numbers) should be used and a legend should be provided. Image legends should be outside the image itself, perhaps in the image's description. This allows for us to edit the textual description later without creating a new image.

In-game messages are an exception to this. Server messages and look text, for example, are a good addition where relevant (File:Hellgate_Entrance.png). In-game player messages, however, should be avoided.

Labeling Images
Images should have their points of interest labeled if they are not immediately obvious. If the screenshot clearly indicates what to do, do not add labels.

Labeling should be achieved by circles or squares. Circles are more appropriate for maps while squares are better for screenshots. If you are labeling an exact tile, it is better to use screenshots. If, however, you're labeling an entire floor, a map is preferable.

When labeling, make sure the label is focused at the destination. The origin of the circle should be at the destination, the edges of the square should be approximately the size of the tile it labels.

Directed lines should be used to label an exact route (File:Pits_of_Inferno_Maze_Path_Optimized.png). However, only do this if there is a specific route to follow, i.e. down to the tiles to step on. A circle is preferred because it will be easier to see when scaled down, and the user will not feel pressured to follow a specific path.

The size of the label should be scaled according to the thing it is labeling. Squares should scale with the tile it is labeling. Circles (radius and thickness) should scale according to the image's dimensions. The goal in this is to make images interpretable when scaled down. Do not rely on your users seeing labels at 100% size.

Image Dimensions
Dimensions in images usually do not matter. In most cases you will be scaling the image down when you use it. However, the aspect ratio does matter. Do not create images with a width 10 times the height.

No specific aspect ratio is enforced, but a usable aspect ratio is 11:9. The aspect ratio is a difficult decision to make, sometimes you will need to add extra spacing in the image to meet the aspect ratio. This is okay, because consistency is more important here.

Quality
Screenshots should be visible with the raw game quality with full light, with no names and no player marks. NPC marks are optional. Here are the game settings you must set to get screenshots of this quality:


 * Go into (Options > Graphics > Advanced)
 * Check "Don't Stretch/Shrink Game Window"
 * Toggle "Set ambient light: 100 %"
 * Uncheck "Show Light Effects"
 * Go into (Options > General)
 * Uncheck "Show Marks on Creatures"
 * Uncheck "Show Names on Creatures" (you can also press Ctrl+N within the game to toggle this).

Maps should also have perfect quality. It is fine to scale the map (in fact you may need to) but if you do, make sure the dimensions you scale to are exact multiples of the old dimensions, and that the interpolation algorithm is set to "none". Maps should retain their sharpness when scaled, meaning there should be no interpolation. If you use the Mapper to get the initial map (this is recommended) you may need to get the raw image (right click > view image) and edit it from there, because most browsers will interpolate the image as it is zoomed in.

A note on TibiaMapViewer: previously it was common for maps to be obtained using this software. This is fine but today it is discouraged in favor of our own Mapper. The blue shaded background for lower floors that TMV adds to maps is unnecessary detail that should not be on our maps.