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Typography in 8 bits: System fonts. By Damien Guard

Started by ComSoft6128, 07:48, 18 August 18

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ComSoft6128


robcfg

Nice article!


I think it's also nice that he linked TTF versions of the fonts.


Thanks for sharing!

ervin

That's a very interesting article!
Thanks for the link.

ComSoft6128

#3
Glad you found it interesting.

Yes robcfg, I agree that the option to download TrueType versions of the fonts is a pretty neat idea.

Cheers,

Peter

Zoe Robinson

This is really nice! I would have loved an entry on the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (it was a 99-4 with added "lower case" letters that were just smaller versions of the upper case letters plus a few other tweaks). After the CPC, that ridiculous metal oddity (the first 16-bit home computer, although you wouldn't know it by looking at it) is my favourite computer.

scruss

The 99/4A is there: Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (TMS9918) (1985). I think it got moved cos there was lots of yelling over it not being an 8-bit system. That's one odd system font.
I rather like the Osbourne-1's font: https://github.com/phooky/PROM/tree/master/Osbourne%201
Though it's not really an 8-bit system, the Apple IIgs's Shaston system font looks really pretty on the soft old analogue RGB displays: http://www.kreativekorp.com/software/fonts/apple2.shtml#shaston
But none of them are as cool as the stoners at Atari who hid the sacred image of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs in the character set.

Zoe Robinson

Thanks for the link! It's weird that they claim the TI-99/4A is from 1985, I'm not sure where that comes from. The 4A came out in 1981 as an enhanced replacement for the 99/4, which debuted in 1979 (a 16-bit home computer in the 70's!). I get the feeling this entry was written quickly and/or as an afterthought since the bulk of the opening blurb for it is copied directly from the TRS 80.

Gryzor

Ah yes, I've used the fonts from that site at different times, excellent resource.


@scruss , the Osbourne font looks lovely in the github repo, but the ttf itself doesn't seem to produce anything?

scruss

Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 10:30, 20 August 18
... I get the feeling this entry was written quickly and/or as an afterthought since the bulk of the opening blurb for it is copied directly from the TRS 80.
Yeah, it doesn't make sense. I'd written about that in a draft response which got lost through finger trouble.
Quote from: Gryzor on 13:30, 20 August 18
@scruss , the Osbourne font looks lovely in the github repo, but the ttf itself doesn't seem to produce anything?
I think that one only has a bitmap layer in the TTF, which some systems don't like rendering. I use the BDF, but it might not work for you. Here's that Osbourne font at 4× scale from pbmtext, attached (or it should be, preview is being ropey).

I'm rather fond of old bitmap and plotter fonts, and have put a bunch on Font Library. I'd like to make a nice TTF set from the DMP 3000 Character Set ROMs one day.


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