Vector-based fonts vs. bitmap fonts in (2d) games?
- by jmp97
I know that many games are using bitmap fonts. Which are the advantages for vector-based font rendering / manipulation when compared to bitmap fonts and in which scenarios would they matter the most?
Prefer a focus on 2d games when answering this question.
If relevant, please include examples for games using either approach.
Some factors you might consider:
amount of text used in the game
scaling of text
overlaying glyphs and anti-aliasing
general rendering quality
font colors and styling
user interface requirements
localisation / unicode
text wrapping and formatting
cross-platform deployment
2d vs 3d
Background:
I am developing a simple falling blocks game in 2d, targeted for pc. I would like to add text labels for level, score, and menu buttons. I am using SFML which uses FreeType internally, so vector-based features are easily available for my project.
In my view, font sizes in simple games often don't vary, and bitmap fonts should be easier for cross-platform concerns (font-formats and font rendering quality). But I am unsure if I am missing some important points here, especially since I want to polish the looks of the final game.
