Traffic Signs - MisterJulsen/TrafficCraft GitHub Wiki

In this page you will learn more about how to use traffic signs. Due to the possibility to draw your own signs, it's not a place-and-finish job. Here you will find out everything you need to know.

Traffic Sign block

If you want to use traffic signs, this is the block you need. It is the base for all types of traffic signs you can create. If you place it down you will get an empty square traffic sign. In the next sections you will learn how to put any texture you like on it.

Pattern Catalog

This item is needed to set a texture on your traffic sign. If you are playing in survival mode, you will only have access to the default pattern catalog which is meant to be used as a storage for custom or built-in traffic sign textures. If you are playing in creative mode you should use the Creative Pattern Catalog, as its storage for cusotm signs is unlimited and you have access to all built-in traffic sign textures by default. To select a texture stored in the catalog you have to right-click it in the air. Then a menu will open where you can see all your custom textures. When you are using the Creative Pattern Catalog there are also tabs for all built-in textures.

[!TIP] All your custom textures are shown in the tooltip of the pattern catalog and the currently selected (custom) texture is highlighted.

Color Palette

This optional item is used to store colors created in the Traffic Sign Workbench. This item doesn't have any particular use in itself, but it can be very useful if you want to use the same colors over and over again without having to mix them manually each time. It can store up to 7 different colors.

Traffic Sign Workbench

This is the block where you can create your own traffic sign textures. While the block is optional in creative mode (as long as the built-in textures are enough for you), it is essential in survival mode. With this block you can draw your own textures or load the built-in textures and save them in a pattern catalog. When you open the block's menu, you will see two slots at the top. In the left slot you need to put a pattern catalog, which is necessary to continue with the next steps. You also can optionally place a color palette in the right slot to save your colors.

[!NOTE] For the next steps we will assume that you are in survival mode. In creative mode the workflow is similar, although not entirely necessary and with slightly fewer limitations.

After you have inserted a pattern catalog, it will be displayed in the middle. If there are already textures in it, you will also be able to see the selected texture there. You can also change the selection using the arrows at the bottom of the image.

[!NOTE] In a default pattern catalog you can only store up to 36 textures.

There are also 3 buttons on the left. One to create a new texture, one to edit the currently selected texture and one to delete the currently selected texture.

The Traffic Sign Texture Editor

Once you have created a new texture (or edited an existing one), you will be see to the Traffic Sign Texture editor. This is a very simplified image editor that only includes the most necessary tools.To preserve simplicity, this editor will probably not be expanded (for now), but don't worry, you'll find a very practical solution below if you are missing some options.

General UI

In the center you will find the drawing area. Depending on the shape you previously selected, the drawing area is also limited here (maximum 32x32 pixels). The tools are on the left and the color selection is on the right. The tools include a drawing tool, an eraser, an image color picker and a fill tool, which should be self-explanatory. You can also write an optional display name for your sign under the drawing area.

[!TIP] You don't need to select the eraser every time you want to delete a pixel. Use the right mouse button to remove pixels at any time.

Color selection

If you want to mix a color, simply click on the first button on the top right to access the color picker screen. If you also use a color palette, you can select and store colors in the 7 buttons below. To do this, use your three mouse buttons, whose functions are explained in a tooltip while hovering above one of the buttons.

Loading and saving

Under the tools you will find three more buttons on the left. One to save your image, one to exit the editor without saving and one to import built-in textures or textures from your computer. When you click on Load Texture, a new window will open listing all buit-in textures that match your shape. The first button in the list is intended for importing custom image files. If you click on it, you can then select any image file in the file explorer of your operating system and then use it as a traffic sign.

[!WARNING] After you select an image, it will first be scaled to a square shape with a resolution of 32x32 pixels. It is then cut to your selected shape. Please note this order, especially with half, rectangular shapes! It's best to always use a square image drawn only on the valid area to avoid distortion and clipping.