[HN Gopher] Show HN: Miracode, a Minecraft programming font that...
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Show HN: Miracode, a Minecraft programming font that is readable
I always believe in using what one makes, which is unfortunate
because I made Monocraft. For the past year I've been stuck looking
at those pixels while I code, so over the weekend I tried my hand
at making a version of Monocraft that was more legible. Introducing
Miracode, a Minecraft programming font that is actually usable!
Using a custom algorithm, I've converted adjacent pixels from the
original font into strokes, which allow for a more smooth look
while maintaining that Minecraft-y look. Give it a try and let me
know what you think!
Author : IdreesInc
Score : 95 points
Date : 2024-02-11 14:17 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| Solvency wrote:
| Love the font but wish you'd share your custom algorithm. I've
| designed a number of pixel fonts in the past I'd love to convert
| to strokes in this way. Any chance you'd release a little
| conversion kit?
| CaptainOfCoit wrote:
| Is it not what's in miracoda.py?
| https://github.com/IdreesInc/Miracode/blob/main/src/miracode...
|
| Would be strange to make the project FOSS but not share all the
| parts that went into it.
| IdreesInc wrote:
| Don't worry, it's completely open source! Miracode is a fork of
| my other font "Monocraft" which is under the GPL. As such,
| Miracode is also GPL, and the font files themselves are under
| the OFL. Since it's a fork, there are a few extra files that
| are not actually executed which may be why you aren't seeing
| the algorithm. Check miracode.py for the script that generates
| the font! No promises that it'd work on other fonts though, the
| "algorithm" was made over a weekend and as such could
| definitely use some optimization. On the bright side, I did
| include a unit testing system which might help others convert
| fonts in the future.
| Solvency wrote:
| Awesome, thanks. I'm only versed in JS and Lua and all of my
| pixel fonts are basically glyphs on a big sprite sheet of
| 32x32 pixel grid cells. How difficult would it be for me to
| simply patch what you've started to work off something simple
| like bitmap data to export a TTF of converted vector data?
| ruined wrote:
| ooh, cute. excited to try the vectorizer on some old favorite
| BDFs from my eeepc days
| IdreesInc wrote:
| No promises that it is actually a good algorithm, I definitely
| had to handle a lot of edge cases and I am sure there are more
| out there! The best decision I made was to make a unit testing
| system for the font, so hopefully that'll make things easier
| for people in the future.
| crazygringo wrote:
| I applaud the attempt!
|
| That being said, I sadly do not find this to be particularly
| "readable". The choice to introduce octagonal-style 45deg
| segments rather than normal rounding makes it quite difficult for
| me to read. The worst glyphs for legibility for me are "r" and
| "p" -- you've actually increased the size of the diagonal segment
| that connects to the stem, compared to diagonals on letters like
| "o", which really throws off the forms for me, and doesn't seem
| to be inspired by anything in the original font. If anything,
| rounded connections to stems in fonts tend to be _reduced_ rather
| than exaggerated. (As in the font used by HN, Verdana.)
|
| I wonder what this would look like if you used curves rather than
| introducing octagonal corners, and didn't exaggerate the
| connections to stems? Keeping in mind that curves usually do
| things like extending slightly beyond the baseline or at the top.
| IdreesInc wrote:
| Thanks for the in-depth comment, it's definitely been a
| balancing act trying to determine how to handle things like the
| diagonals/curves. I originally made things more "curvy", but it
| made the font look similar to comic sans or other handwriting
| fonts for some reason. Perhaps a sharper curve algorithm would
| avoid this, though the "angular" look does make this font into
| something a bit more unique than the other programming fonts
| available.
| crazygringo wrote:
| Happy to help! Font design isn't easy, but it's very
| rewarding. You might look at the famous Eurostile font which
| does a kind of "rounded rectangle" style of curves which
| might work well here.
|
| One more note -- I think this font actually works _great_ as
| a display typeface. The octagonal angles and exaggerated stem
| connection give it a ton of personality, and display
| typefaces used for headings, titles, packaging, etc. are
| where personality is more important than readability.
|
| So I think you've produced something really cool -- just not
| necessarily as a coding font!
| Systemling0815 wrote:
| cool!
| politelemon wrote:
| How is that "TODO" done in the joined up way?
| xxr wrote:
| It's a ligature defined in
| https://github.com/IdreesInc/Miracode/blob/main/src/ligature...
| politelemon wrote:
| Oh neat, makes sense now that you've shown. The ligatures
| could encompass entire words doesn't have to be a few joined
| up characters.
| pjerem wrote:
| Oh, i was clicking thinking "meh, how could I code with the
| Minecraft font" but I'm actually positively impressed by your
| font. I will try it :)
| al_borland wrote:
| I'll have to send this to my nephew. He is obsessed with
| Minecraft and is starting to get into coding. I think he'd really
| like this. Thanks for sharing it.
|
| I really like the TODO and NOTE ligatures. I have been using
| Comic Code for a couple years now and kind of wish it had those.
| hello_computer wrote:
| I need Japanese characters so I can listen to city pop and
| pretend that it's still Showa.
| vdaea wrote:
| Ligatures :puke:
| Daneel_ wrote:
| While I understand the reaction, it's not exactly constructive
| and a bit below the standard here. The font/tooling is fully
| open source, so feel free to remove the ligature table and
| recompile it yourself.
|
| I personally find the TODO and NOTE ligatures to be a great
| idea, however I know you're talking about the common
| programming ligatures instead.
| vdaea wrote:
| I could also create my own fonts with or without ligatures.
| We are (or at least I am) judging a font by its design. Which
| is, well, the most important part of it. Are we allowed to do
| that?
| jasonjmcghee wrote:
| > Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other
| people's work.
|
| How you said it is specifically against HN guidelines which
| I bet is why you are getting downvoted.
| vdaea wrote:
| What would a profound dismissal of ligatures in fonts
| look like? Maybe I should ask ChatGPT to write some
| three-paragraph bullshit that says the same thing that
| "word + emoticon".
| RheingoldRiver wrote:
| This is the first time I've seen TODO as a ligature, and I am
| _really_ into the idea. Is this something you can add to existing
| fonts? Does anyone have any recommendation for a good programming
| font that does this?
| calamari4065 wrote:
| Huh. You know what, I kinda dig it.
|
| I could do without operators being condensed into ligatures,
| but that's just me. The gigantic triple equals strikes fear
| into my C programmer heart
| jeffalyanak wrote:
| Yeah, I generally do _not_ like programming-oriented
| ligatures, but the one for todo is sort of interesting.
|
| However, many editors can accomplish the same goal by
| highlighting or changing the text colour of todos.
| IdreesInc wrote:
| Glad you like it, I've never seen it in a font before so I am
| unsure if there are any others that add it in. I've definitely
| appreciated the ligature as I use the font, but I did wonder if
| others would find it annoying
| binary132 wrote:
| I dunno if you're going to get away with calling it a "Minecraft
| font".
| lupusreal wrote:
| I think this vector version isn't for me, but thank you for
| introduced me to Monocraft.
| andai wrote:
| Looks way better than I expected from the title. The
| vectorization did wonders. I think I saw a similar font in a HD
| Minecraft texture pack.
|
| I wanted to suggest a RuneScape font, but it would probably be
| too skinny.
| t_mann wrote:
| Judging from the one screenshot example, I actually like
| Monocraft better. It really has that nice Minecraft/retro look,
| and I think this could actually help get kids who are into
| Minecraft into coding. That being said, I actually still like
| Miracode better than most typical IDE monospace fonts (at least
| as a novelty). That's really cool, where did you learn to make
| such designs?
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