A highly abstract, mandala-like segmented display which turns bodies of text into primitive starfields, complete with constellations, planets, and space debris. As it turns out, there are quite a lot of ways to write, draw, and encode information with this! Check out the sample text views and try preparing some text of your own in the User Input field.
The name, and the background of the sample art, are inspired by some art/lore from a friend. <3
I might make more designs like this for generating different kinds of art/textures. If I do, I'll probably scramble the display pieces among the alphabet. I didn't with this one, and for certain kinds of text input, that might show.
By request, a "waffle stencil".
This is an E6x6 broken into nine 2x2 fields. The larger and the more precisely cut it is, the more readable it becomes!
Experimental sliced sans serif. My goal here was to make a design which would result in an extremely compact and durable physical stencil. Almost all of the sharp points and acute angles are within the negative space, so it should be easy and very safe to make, handle and work with this stencil.
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Version History
1.3 - added More Latin and Google Fonts Basic bands.
1.2 - added uppercase, changed name to "Aegris Stencil".
1.1 - edited for more readability at small size. Glyphs with enclosed loops were altered so that the "movement" of the segments always runs clockwise.
1.0 - released.
While walking through Glitch Forest, you spot a sudden movement behind the Sprite Trees. It's [EVIL_ANGATONIST]! With a twisted smile, s/he/it converts your words into text written in this font. ZOUNDS! How will you get through summer school now?
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This was made to reproduce an amusing glitch found in MIDAS which caused insanely high ratings of 17.3×10^213 (17.3 septuagintillion). The glitch has since been fixed.
An attempt to make a Calculatrix with both squares and hexagonal segments. The result doesn't really fit in with the others, but it has a harsh and highly technical appearance about it which I like.
More glyphs later, maybe?
A stencil design in which diagonal cuts are used to imply angles and curves. It does not quite obey the rules of a segmented display, but it tries its best!
This is inspired by some text I put on the side of the Sheepslayer Mk.2, a flying dragon car piloted by Lyll "Hatch" Soretti in my game Seven Candles.
The first of a kind - an experimental font made with the new pizza slice brick. :D
Somehow it makes me think of jukeboxes, particularly letters like "A" and "O" which have the same sort of "mosaic lighting" look which many jukeboxes have.
No filters, just nudging!
An experimental 15-segment display which looks rather like a fence.
There's no DE-FENSE against DE-FENCE!
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See also:Lonewolves Guild
Nirvanite Fossil with round shapes changed to diamonds.
I think this one is the toughest to read in the family - even harder than Nirvanite Pixel. Oh well!
This is a clone of Nirvanite FossilPixelated demake of Nirvanite Fossil. It introduces more size variation than its predecessors, and proves even harder to read. The size variation was necessary to prevent these sprites from being too large and to make them more unique from the glyphs in Nirvanite Fossil.
Original size: 25pt (use multiples of this value for pixel perfection)
Alternate take on Nirvanite, this time with bullseyes rather than solid circles as the large segments.
This one is a lot more organic than its predecessor, but also a lot more confusing. Looks like clusters of alien tadpole eggs to me!
This is a clone of NirvaniteExperimental mosaic... or maybe a new mineral species?
This one started as a doodle. I began placing circles to see what kinds of complex shapes I could make, and this was the result.
It achieves a new visual effect at almost every size up to the original. Also try slowly moving the zoom slider for some interesting animations!
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This font is now nearly 1MB in size! I guess it has to do with the intrinsic complexity of circles.
Experimental 24-segment display or massive monochrome Mondrian matrix. Pixel compatible!
The thinking behind this one was that with incongruously sized segments arranged in the proper way, I would create a design which was effectively 5x5, but which accomodated more glyphs than 5x5 usually does. Negative space is incorporated into the structure of many glyphs, though not enough to classify this as an IVO design.
"Qualtron" is the name of an imaginary entity that a friend believed in - a being meant to represent the result of "a mathematical equation that can rule the universe". I didn't inquire further about it... :D
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Design Rules:
1. Segments can have interior length/width of 2 or 5.
2. The central 2x2 square must always remain open.
3. Square bricks and 90-degree angles only.
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Original size: 20.75pt (use multiples of this value for pixel perfection)
I was making some new bricks to add to Brick Basket when the idea of a segmented display made from composites occurred to me. The result is this experimental 25-segment display.
This achieves some interesting "double line"/"folded line" effects. It also gets some pecuilar distortions at smaller sizes.
Version 2.6
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Inspired by a comment by jonrgrover.
I built diamonds sized according to the Fibonacci series, then made a segmented display out of them. The design was then carved away to make the glyphs you see here. I used the members 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8. These sizes proved most feasible to work with in this sort of arrangement.
I gave the terminals a flared appearance which I think makes the glyphs look slightly Celtic. The design also makes me think of beach sand and things found on the beach - shells, pretty rocks, and so on.
Want to see a magic trick? This font quickly loses readability when it is shrunk or enlarged from its original size! It's like an anti-font, judging you for wanting to use it.
I think this makes excellent placeholder text at small sizes, though to the uninitiated it might just look like blurry Braille.
This is a clone of CelLCDA 117-segment display made to have a more "mosaic" look. Try using this one at odd sizes, especially with antialiasing off! The resulting distortions occur in a consistent way which leads to many new uses for the font.
Original size: 38pt
Experimental 12-segment display. This is my attempt at making an ultra-small segmented display suitable for printing on actual pixel art screens. As far as I know, this is the first fusion of Latin-style microfont and segmented display.
Initially I tried making this with 3px long segments, but the result looked almost exactly like Calculatrix 12. So I shrank it down to 5x5 to ensure it would take on its own look.
Of course, your pixel art style still needs to be a pretty big one for this font to work well - I recommend a display area of 82*7px or more.
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See also:Pandora's Blocks
Experimental 33-segment display. While setting the spacing for Piscrypt Plain, I turned on monospacing and all the glyphs stacked up. I thought that made an interesting shape to design a segmented display on.
This has its own set of composite bricks; feel free to clone it and experiment!
Original size: 20pt
See also: Inkthorn, Miners Guild
A segmented display inspired by Lorica Segmentata.
I didn't make this to convey the idea of "Space Romans", but I can see how it might be used in such a context. For that I'm envisioning something like a flip-dot display which uses these metal plates. Perhaps in the future I'll get an Arduino and some servos, then set about trying to build such a display...
Experimental 37-segment display. Space pirates met crystalline aliens, their children made a segmented display, and this is it.
Now with lowercase!
See also: Apoplexy, Calculatrix.
5x5 pixel font in which no lines are allowed to bend or touch at all. Where they would bend or touch, they are segmented instead.
Possible non-game uses for this: Circuit design, light arrangement, wiring design, αPX electronics, primitive writing systems...
Original size: 3.75pt (use multiples of this value for pixel perfection)
Experimental 49-segment display.
In making and studying other segmented displays, I noticed they tended to have strong-looking right angled lines but weak-looking diagonals. This is my attempt to make a design where both styles of lines look more appealing and join together more solidly.
"You'd have to be a magician to read Trafalmagus!" - Brer Bripes
A font made to evoke magical talismans, wizards' engravings, Celtic/Viking wirecrafts, and all that good stuff! It has a pseudo-segmented display that draws lines between segments. It also slightly reminds me of the folk art which appears on crockery, earthenware bowls, etc.
The spacing is set so that 2 spaces is 1 letter's width. Use this to simulate a monospaced look when desired.
The lowercase looks like lowercase, but it is really an alternate set. This was designed to be written in one case at a time.
Original size: 8.25pt (use multiples of this value for pixel perfection)
24-segment display. This one belongs to a small family called Calculatrix.
Like Calculatrix 12, this one is spaced so that every segment appears in its proper place, as if the text were being rendered on one giant display. (If using this in your own software, you will want to check the line spacing as it can vary depending on the software.)
I suppose this font could be used for weaving or embroidery work, as well... it has that look about it...
TIP: Try zooming out while already at Pixel size!
Calculator font with a 7-segment display. This should bring many of you back to school, but in a good way, I hope.
This one belongs to a small family called Calculatrix.
I've allowed "MWmw+" to break the grid because they were impossible to render otherwise...
Did/do you ever use oldschool calculators to write funny messages? Post your best calculator words in a comment! :D