Post by Bunta on Jan 28, 2006 23:34:23 GMT -5
Resolution & File Size
For the purpose of this discussion the term "resolution" refers to the physical size of the image in pixels. The term "file size" refers to the size in kilobytes of the actual jpg file.
Resolution:
The default resolution for LFS skins is 512 x 512 pixels.
The skins that you upload to LFS World (licensed racers only can use this feature) should be 1024 x 1024 pixels. LFS World will then resize your skin to 512 x 512 automatically. If your file is 400KB or larger it will be compressed as well by LFS World, but let's look at resolution first and file size later.
Q: So if LFS World will resize my skin to the default size anyway, why upload at 1024 x 1024?
A: You can achieve better detail and image quality by creating your skin at a higher resolution, even though it will be resized by LFS World.
Q: Can I upload skins to LFS World that are larger than 1024 x 1024 pixels in size?
A: No, 1024 x 1024 is the maximum size allowed for uploads to LFS World.
Creating higher resolution skins
Higher resolutions, ie: larger skins, will show better detail than smaller resolutions. The bigger you go the better the potential quality will be. This is simply because there are more available pixels to form the details of your image, so there are less jagged edges and better definition and contrast between colours.
Nothing comes for free, and better quality from higher resolutions comes at the cost of larger file sizes. Much larger. The skins in LFS are textures that are mapped (applied) to the 3D model of the car. Your PC hardware will handle the textures of each skin on your screen, and the bigger those textures are, the more PC hardware resources they demand. Because we all have very different PC specs it is only possible to generalise about the impact that large textures will have on your particular PC's performance.
Q: How will larger textures effect PC perfromance?
A: Generally speaking, larger textures may contribute to hardware lag (and lower fps), longer loading times, and will take up more hard drive space. Impact on performance depends on individual PC hardware specs and may range from no impact at all through to unplayable lag, depending on your system. Many modern gaming PCs will handle larger textures with ease, older systems may struggle.
Q: Is hardware lag the same thing as network lag?
A: No it is not the same. Hardware lag is caused when your PC hardware can not perform to the level you are asking it to. Network lag is caused when your connection is too slow sending or recieving the required amount of data, or is unable to transfer the required amount of data (not enough bandwidth), or is perhaps faulty for some other reason. Large geographical distances between server and client are a typical cause of netwrok lag.
Resizing and image compression
Resizing:
When you resize an image, either enlarging or shrinking it, there is always some loss of quality from the original image. Enlarging usually causes a greater loss than shrinking does.
As mentioned previously, creating skins at a higher resolution and then resizing down to the desired resolution should produce a better quality skin than simply creating it at the desired resolution in the first place.
Apart from a small loss in quality from sizing down a skin, some "bleeding" of colours can occur. Make sure your original skin is as accurately painted as possible before sizing down. This will help to maintain quality in the final image. Don't expect perfection at lower resolutions, you won't get it.
Q: How do I resize an image?
A: Your graphics or paint software will have a resize option. See below*
* Adobe Photoshop:
Image/ image size.../ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
*Paint Shop Pro 9:
Image/ Resize.../ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
*Corel Photopaint:
Image/ resample/ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
It is important to note that most paint or graphics software will have an option to maintain the current aspect ratio (constrain proportions), or not, as you desire. This means that when you change the length of the image the width automatically changes in proportion with the original ratio, very handy. If you just want to stretch the width and not the length, you will need to unlock or deselect the option in your software that keeps the ratio in tact.
Compression:
When saving or exporting your final image you will be saving the file in JPG format. JPG files are compressed image files. As the image is compressed the file size becomes much smaller, which is a good thing. Quality will suffer as a result and this is not so good. To strike a nice compromise between file size and quality you should adjust the amount of compression that is applied to the image when saving as a JPG. Many skinners prefer to use little or no compression, resulting in the best possible quality image. But for images uploaded to LFS World we must consider the 400KB limit. Use just enough compression to achieve a file size slightly smaller than 400KB and a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. Now your skin is suitable for upload to LFS World. Remember that files over 400KB will be compressed by LFS World, but it is better to let your graphics program do the compression as LFS World uses a more crude method. For best quality do it yourself. Stay under the 400KB limit, and avoid the auto resize on LFS World!
Q: Can I upload a suitable skin to LFS World but keep a high resolution (and high quality) skin for my own use?
A: Yes. If your PC is powerful enough to handle larger textures you may wish to use a high quality version of your skin locally, but upload the optimised version (1024 x 1024 @ <400KB) to LFS World. This means other racers aren't burdened unneccessarily with your large file, but you can still enjoy it yourself. Make sure the version you upload to LFS world has an identical file name to the high-quality version in your skins folder. When you race online you will see the quality version, others get to download and see the optimised version. Cool huh?
File Size
As mentioned already, the size of the file on your hard drive can beeffected by resolution. Large resolutions may mean large files to store and share. Other factors effect file size to, including the use of many colours or of detailed textures.
Generally speaking; more colours= a bigger file.
Generally speaking; more detail = a bigger file.
You can reudce the size of your final JPG by masking out the areas of the JPG that aren't mapped to the car in-game. Try the black mask incuded in a Master Skinners Pro Kit to convert the unused areas of the skin to a uniform colour, in this case black. The file size should be slightly reduced because less data is needed to "draw" a single colour than is needed to "draw" a textured finish.
We discussed image compression already, you can reduce file size this way too, at the cost of image quality.
For the purpose of this discussion the term "resolution" refers to the physical size of the image in pixels. The term "file size" refers to the size in kilobytes of the actual jpg file.
Resolution:
The default resolution for LFS skins is 512 x 512 pixels.
The skins that you upload to LFS World (licensed racers only can use this feature) should be 1024 x 1024 pixels. LFS World will then resize your skin to 512 x 512 automatically. If your file is 400KB or larger it will be compressed as well by LFS World, but let's look at resolution first and file size later.
Q: So if LFS World will resize my skin to the default size anyway, why upload at 1024 x 1024?
A: You can achieve better detail and image quality by creating your skin at a higher resolution, even though it will be resized by LFS World.
Q: Can I upload skins to LFS World that are larger than 1024 x 1024 pixels in size?
A: No, 1024 x 1024 is the maximum size allowed for uploads to LFS World.
Creating higher resolution skins
Higher resolutions, ie: larger skins, will show better detail than smaller resolutions. The bigger you go the better the potential quality will be. This is simply because there are more available pixels to form the details of your image, so there are less jagged edges and better definition and contrast between colours.
Nothing comes for free, and better quality from higher resolutions comes at the cost of larger file sizes. Much larger. The skins in LFS are textures that are mapped (applied) to the 3D model of the car. Your PC hardware will handle the textures of each skin on your screen, and the bigger those textures are, the more PC hardware resources they demand. Because we all have very different PC specs it is only possible to generalise about the impact that large textures will have on your particular PC's performance.
Q: How will larger textures effect PC perfromance?
A: Generally speaking, larger textures may contribute to hardware lag (and lower fps), longer loading times, and will take up more hard drive space. Impact on performance depends on individual PC hardware specs and may range from no impact at all through to unplayable lag, depending on your system. Many modern gaming PCs will handle larger textures with ease, older systems may struggle.
Q: Is hardware lag the same thing as network lag?
A: No it is not the same. Hardware lag is caused when your PC hardware can not perform to the level you are asking it to. Network lag is caused when your connection is too slow sending or recieving the required amount of data, or is unable to transfer the required amount of data (not enough bandwidth), or is perhaps faulty for some other reason. Large geographical distances between server and client are a typical cause of netwrok lag.
Resizing and image compression
Resizing:
When you resize an image, either enlarging or shrinking it, there is always some loss of quality from the original image. Enlarging usually causes a greater loss than shrinking does.
As mentioned previously, creating skins at a higher resolution and then resizing down to the desired resolution should produce a better quality skin than simply creating it at the desired resolution in the first place.
Apart from a small loss in quality from sizing down a skin, some "bleeding" of colours can occur. Make sure your original skin is as accurately painted as possible before sizing down. This will help to maintain quality in the final image. Don't expect perfection at lower resolutions, you won't get it.
Q: How do I resize an image?
A: Your graphics or paint software will have a resize option. See below*
* Adobe Photoshop:
Image/ image size.../ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
*Paint Shop Pro 9:
Image/ Resize.../ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
*Corel Photopaint:
Image/ resample/ in the fields provided type in the desired size of your image in pixels, click ok.
It is important to note that most paint or graphics software will have an option to maintain the current aspect ratio (constrain proportions), or not, as you desire. This means that when you change the length of the image the width automatically changes in proportion with the original ratio, very handy. If you just want to stretch the width and not the length, you will need to unlock or deselect the option in your software that keeps the ratio in tact.
Adobe Photoshop Corel Photopaint | Paint Shop Pro |
Compression:
When saving or exporting your final image you will be saving the file in JPG format. JPG files are compressed image files. As the image is compressed the file size becomes much smaller, which is a good thing. Quality will suffer as a result and this is not so good. To strike a nice compromise between file size and quality you should adjust the amount of compression that is applied to the image when saving as a JPG. Many skinners prefer to use little or no compression, resulting in the best possible quality image. But for images uploaded to LFS World we must consider the 400KB limit. Use just enough compression to achieve a file size slightly smaller than 400KB and a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. Now your skin is suitable for upload to LFS World. Remember that files over 400KB will be compressed by LFS World, but it is better to let your graphics program do the compression as LFS World uses a more crude method. For best quality do it yourself. Stay under the 400KB limit, and avoid the auto resize on LFS World!
Q: Can I upload a suitable skin to LFS World but keep a high resolution (and high quality) skin for my own use?
A: Yes. If your PC is powerful enough to handle larger textures you may wish to use a high quality version of your skin locally, but upload the optimised version (1024 x 1024 @ <400KB) to LFS World. This means other racers aren't burdened unneccessarily with your large file, but you can still enjoy it yourself. Make sure the version you upload to LFS world has an identical file name to the high-quality version in your skins folder. When you race online you will see the quality version, others get to download and see the optimised version. Cool huh?
File Size
As mentioned already, the size of the file on your hard drive can beeffected by resolution. Large resolutions may mean large files to store and share. Other factors effect file size to, including the use of many colours or of detailed textures.
Generally speaking; more colours= a bigger file.
Generally speaking; more detail = a bigger file.
You can reudce the size of your final JPG by masking out the areas of the JPG that aren't mapped to the car in-game. Try the black mask incuded in a Master Skinners Pro Kit to convert the unused areas of the skin to a uniform colour, in this case black. The file size should be slightly reduced because less data is needed to "draw" a single colour than is needed to "draw" a textured finish.
We discussed image compression already, you can reduce file size this way too, at the cost of image quality.