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  1. #1
    Valyar's Avatar
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    Images size & quality in Monsters of Multiverse module

    Since 80% of the games I run and play in are online, the quality and availability of visual content is quite important to keep high level of attention and immersion for many players. I have such players and all of them are also using Foundry, D&D Beyond and Roll20. I have been challenged lately on the quality of the images within the official Fantasy Grounds D&D products and some even expressed desire to switch to Foundry for better support of token animation and effects. All players expressed disappointment in the image size and visible artifacts, compared to the resources in D&D Beyond for example. I spend extra time to replace key images with better ones.

    So, the question is - is the size and quality of images within MoM product on the same level as D&D Beyond, or there is resizing and compression that reduce the overall quality as in the old modules?
    The past is a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

  2. #2
    ddavison's Avatar
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    Hello Valyar,

    You can always check this out and submit a request for refund if you are dissatisfied with it. We applied a different approach to the images in this module that you can see on the screenshots on the store page and I think those are unique among the presentation on Roll20 and D&D Beyond. Foundry doesn't have any official content support for D&D, so that isn't anything to compare with for this module.

    Here is an example using 4 of the images from the module and using it to build a scene.

  3. #3
    Valyar's Avatar
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    Hi Doug,

    Thanks for the quick reply. I have no intention to ask for refund, I only sorry I missed the sales of the old two modules that are now deprecated.

    Looking more carefully at the screenshot, I see that you are now using .PNG files and retain the transparency, exactly as in D&D Beyond presentation. This is fantastic, I really like the approach and I definitely think it is the right one. And D&D Beyond is the tool I compare with.

    Are the images same size as the originals (if I can say D&D Beyond is the "original"), or they are downsized if exceeding certain limits (less than 1000px wide and less than 700px tall if my memory serves me well?)
    The past is a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

  4. #4
    ddavison's Avatar
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    PNG file sizes balloon very quickly, so I tried to keep them to no more than 800 pixels high for any images that got a PNG treatment. JPG files could have higher resolution but they would have a solid background.

    The big difference is how our image tool allows the images to be used to make composite images, recolor, resize, scale, flip, etc. since they have transparent backgrounds.

    I only have the Lost Mines of Phandelver and Acquisitions Inc on DDB, but unless I’m missing something, the monster images are all PNG files with backgrounds. Did they change this for newer products?

  5. #5
    Valyar's Avatar
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    All sources I have access to are using .PNG files, which are all core products. When you open images in the browser, it is not immediately visible, but once you download or copy-paste the image in Affinity Photo/Gimp/Photoshop, it pastes with the transparency layer in high resolution. VERY convenient.
    The past is a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by ddavison View Post
    PNG file sizes balloon very quickly, so I tried to keep them to no more than 800 pixels high for any images that got a PNG treatment. JPG files could have higher resolution but they would have a solid background.

    The big difference is how our image tool allows the images to be used to make composite images, recolor, resize, scale, flip, etc. since they have transparent backgrounds.
    This is why people are using .webp files for VTTs like foundry. Smaller filesize than JPG, compression has less artifacts and it retains the channels of a PNG file including alpha.

    e.g. the kobold warrior from the official foundry pf2e beginner box is 242KB, is 2000x2000 px and has no noticeable compression artifacts. A troll from the same product is 366 KB and 2700x2700 px. All with full transparency.

    Quote Originally Posted by Valyar View Post
    So, the question is - is the size and quality of images within MoM product on the same level as D&D Beyond, or there is resizing and compression that reduce the overall quality as in the old modules?
    There is resizing, but the quality is much higher and it is PNG now where in the past they would use flattened jpgs with what I would guess was medium quality compression that resulted in a lot of artifacts. The images are now no longer tiny on a 4k screen, but also not as large as say the huge and high resolution images given with the official PF2e content on foundry (examples of them given in my prior response to Doug).

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by lostsanityreturned View Post
    This is why people are using .webp files for VTTs like foundry. Smaller filesize than JPG, compression has less artifacts and it retains the channels of a PNG file including alpha.
    Don't forget the suggestions for feature updates:
    https://fgapp.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=135712

  8. #8
    @Valyar - Just a FYI for modules that use PNGs rather than JPG. The Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed uses PNGs with transparency, so you can also layer these in the same way. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store...=NGFG5ENRG2002

    These have some lossy compression done to them, but in my opinion are still far superior than the JPGs normally found in the FG modules.

    Jason

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Naurthoron View Post
    Don't forget the suggestions for feature updates:
    https://fgapp.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=135712
    Already done my friend. Although I guess I could probably vote again given that my ip is different and I am on a mobile device lol.

    It would be great to see FG come close to matching the resolution and quality found elsewhere. Whenever I run a 5e module I end up having to align a better quality map as a separate layer over the top of the one provided.

    I showed the difference to my players last session and one joked "what difference, I can't see it because my eyes just went really blurry". Unfortunately the borders tend to be cropped differently or added to, so simply giving the artist's original map the same dimensions doesn't work.

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