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  1. #1

    Dragonflight Alpha - Slug Library, Diablo IV Quarterly Update - August 2022

    Dragonflight Alpha - Slug Font Rendering Library
    In Dragonflight Alpha, Blizzard has begun using Slug, a software library that renders high-quality, resolution-independent text and vector graphics in 3D applications. Thanks to Keyboardturner for noticing this!

    The new command to improve font readability at a distance is /console UseSlug 0-1, and is now available for testing! Below is a preview of this feature, you can tap on the images to open a gallery or use the middle mouse button to open them in a new tab for comparison.

    Originally Posted by Slug Library
    Slug is a software library that has become the professional standard for rendering high-quality, resolution-independent text and vector graphics in 3D applications on the GPU. It can be used for drawing graphical user interfaces, rendering heads-up displays, showing debugging information, and placing text inside a 3D world or virtual environment.

    “It’s super easy to integrate. Someone who hasn’t done gfx since fixed function pipeline got it working in our gfx code base in less than a day.” —Blizzard

    Slug renders shapes on the GPU directly from outline data composed of quadratic Bézier curves to produce crisp text at any scale or from any perspective. There are no precomputed texture images or signed distance fields. Slug uses a breakthrough mathematical algorithm, illustrated below, that we invented to achieve perfect robustness with high performance, and it is the only existing GPU method that renders properly antialiased glyphs with no artifacts under both magnification and minification.

    Slug also provides text layout services that calculate the positions of the glyphs that are drawn for a given string of Unicode characters. In addition to basic bounding box and advance width calculations, it can perform kerning, ligature replacement, combining diacritical mark placement, character composition, and alternate substitution. More high-level information is available on the Slug fact sheet.

    Although Slug was originally designed only to render text, it can now draw arbitrary vector graphics using the same technology. Complex diagrams and vector drawings can be rendered at blazingly fast speeds directly on the GPU with total resolution independence.

    The full set of features provided by Slug is described in the Slug User Manual.



    Diablo IV Quarterly Update - August 2022
    Blizzard has posted the third Diablo IV Quarterly Update of 2022, sharing some of the things coming to Diablo IV after the game launches.

    Blog Highlights
    • There will be up to four seasons a year, each coming with major new features, questlines, enemies, legendary items, and more.
    • Players will not be able to pay for power in Diablo IV, only effort and skill will determine how powerful a character can become.
    • Season Journey makes a return, letting players earn limited-time rewards with each chapter of the Season Journey that is completed.
    • The Season Pass will have Free Tiers and Premium Tiers. A variety of rewards can be earned for free by just playing the game.
    • Purchasing the Premium Pass unlocks all Premium Tiers, which feature seasonally themed Cosmetics and Premium Currency.

    Last edited by Lumy; 2022-08-25 at 04:20 AM.

  2. #2
    A variety of rewards can be earned for free by just playing the game.
    How generous of them considering the game costs 60 dollars.

  3. #3
    Legendary! SinR's Avatar
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    They both look the same to me

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by SinR View Post
    They both look the same to me
    agreed. They look different but equally bad.

  5. #5
    The Lightbringer Fullmetal89's Avatar
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    Purchasing the Premium Pass unlocks all Premium Tiers, which feature seasonally themed Cosmetics and Premium Currency.



  6. #6
    Cool, I like it, I think it will improve the quality of games.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Flame6 View Post
    agreed. They look different but equally bad.
    Quote Originally Posted by SinR View Post
    They both look the same to me
    The initial one experiences artifacting and other wonkiness. You can see here that the text, especially when there is some distance to it, begins to get wonky, as if parts of the font or even parts of letters have been bolded while others have not. Note how in 'defender' the "De" is very clear and thick, but the top of the "f" and part of the "r" are degraded away and the "n" is very thin.


    While the new slug version maintains an exact crispness throught, with the text keeping uniform and clear.

  8. #8
    "Premium" ok bye

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Hitei View Post
    The initial one experiences artifacting and other wonkiness. You can see here that the text, especially when there is some distance to it, begins to get wonky, as if parts of the font or even parts of letters have been bolded while others have not. Note how in 'defender' the "De" is very clear and thick, but the top of the "f" and part of the "r" are degraded away and the "n" is very thin.


    While the new slug version maintains an exact crispness throught, with the text keeping uniform and clear.
    Yep, it's a little hard to see because of the JPEG artifacting, but WoW has notorious font readability issues for NPC names and the like at a distance. This is a huge improvement you will notice in game.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Hitei View Post
    The initial one experiences artifacting and other wonkiness.
    They both look equally bad. Regular version the text in the back gets jagged while in the slug version it's the ones in the front.

    It's not an upgrade in any way, shape or form.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by VoidSeeker199X View Post
    How generous of them considering the game costs 60 dollars.
    This isn't all that reasonable an argument.

    $60 gets you exactly what it does in a standard singleplayer video game and has since the introduction of Xbox360 and PS3: The game with its various storylines and content and all the regular items and cosmetics of an ARPG looter. Season pass content is the modern version of DLC. Additional post-release content added to the base game that was paid for, only unlike the original DLC iterations, season pass content typically involves new free stuff for people who aren't interested in paying for more, but extra cosmetic stuff for people who are.

    It's like people have forgotten that 20 years ago you'd go to your local game-selling store pay the sticker price for a new game, and get that new game, and that was that. You play the ~15 hours of content and then the game was over and you wait for maybe an entirely separate sequel at the exact same price to release. Imagine walking up to someone from 2005 and going "Hey, bud. I know you just paid for that game and beat it, but actually the developer is going to patch in new areas and bosses and side story stuff every few months for the next several years that you don't have to pay anything for." Do you think they wouldn't consider that wildly generous?

    People have become so jaded that they view devs as stingy if their additional free content for the game they flat bought also has entirely optional even more content that can be purchased.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Daronokk View Post
    They both look equally bad. Regular version the text in the back gets jagged while in the slug version it's the ones in the front.

    It's not an upgrade in any way, shape or form.
    ...No?








    The text is less bold in the slug version (guessing that's because it's the actual font where the current version has mild blurring/bleeding as it renders, making it seem larger than it actually is) but it's still consistent when close. Dunno how anyone can pretend that's not an upgrade.
    Last edited by Hitei; 2022-08-20 at 07:42 PM.

  12. #12
    Herald of the Titans Rendark's Avatar
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    The text looks the same to me.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by VoidSeeker199X View Post
    How generous of them considering the game costs 60 dollars.
    This is a reasonable argument.
    Quote Originally Posted by rhorle View Post
    At no point have I claimed people weren't getting gold from the token or that gold can not be used to acquire power.
    Quote Originally Posted by Elim Garak View Post
    p2w is not inherently unfair.

  14. #14
    "Purchasing the Premium Pass unlocks all Premium Tiers, which feature seasonally themed Cosmetics and Premium Currency."

    Okay I'm out.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by SinR View Post
    They both look the same to me
    Yeah fucking hell took me ages, the first one is slightly bigger and ever so slightly clearer, maybe because its slightly bigger, but I dunno which is even the slug one, like its hardly a noticeable thing.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Hitei View Post


    The text is less bold in the slug version (guessing that's because it's the actual font where the current version has mild blurring/bleeding as it renders, making it seem larger than it actually is) but it's still consistent when close. Dunno how anyone can pretend that's not an upgrade.
    Pretend it is not an Upgrade? I think missing the mark there, people cannot tell the difference or its super minute, an upgrade is overly generous.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Daronokk View Post
    They both look equally bad. Regular version the text in the back gets jagged while in the slug version it's the ones in the front.

    It's not an upgrade in any way, shape or form.
    Open both images at full screen resolutions, and directly compare the names of the two back rows of units between the two. If you can't notice a distinct difference between the consistency of quality across all the names in the second image (slug on) compared to the first image (slug off) then you should probably schedule an appointment with an optometrist.

    The slug on image has a distinct improvement in crispness and uniformity across all of the names, no matter how far back in the lineup you go.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by VoidSeeker199X View Post
    How generous of them considering the game costs 60 dollars.
    We can expect this trend to continue as long as whales are unable to vote with their wallets.

    Though I don't really blame blizz for milking whales for all they are worth. If I knew there was a audience of whales just begging for any reason whatsoever to throw money at my company, I'd be sure to give them plenty of reasons to part with their money.

  18. #18
    Legendary! Ihavewaffles's Avatar
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    Now I am mad...I was hoping it read "Slug Front" we would have to fight a giant slug infestation, with the the help of the all new warcraft DUCKS!

    Last edited by Ihavewaffles; 2022-08-20 at 10:40 PM.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Hitei View Post
    It's like people have forgotten that 20 years ago you'd go to your local game-selling store pay the sticker price for a new game, and get that new game, and that was that. You play the ~15 hours of content and then the game was over and you wait for maybe an entirely separate sequel at the exact same price to release.
    Or you'd wait a much shorter time and buy a cheaper expansion pack, which would come with new areas, new characters/classes, new items, mechanics and story.

    I'd very much rather pay just once or twice and have a complete game where I can get everything.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Mic_128 View Post
    Or you'd wait a much shorter time and buy a cheaper expansion pack, which would come with new areas, new characters/classes, new items, mechanics and story.

    I'd very much rather pay just once or twice and have a complete game where I can get everything.
    So then you should be happy about this model, wherein you can pay once, get the complete game and then also get free stuff each season.

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