Arzola

Radical Image Optimization Tool


Several projects these days involve the use of images, being in the form of pictures, portfolio artwork, sprites or even animations. And depending on the medium, the file size of said resources can be very important for loading times.

This is especially true when the project is none other than a game, where the asset folders can be flooded with that type of media. And also when using resource heavy software engines like Photoshop and Illustrator, that aim for incredible image quality for the cost of increased file size. However, there are programs that aim to keep the quality and reduce the file size.

Radical Image Optimization Tool or RIOT, is a very handy piece of software that essentially reduces the quality of an image to drastically reduce the file size. Do not worry however, because the lost quality is in most cases barely visible or irrelevant.

JUST ONE IMPORTANT NOTE AS A GAME DEVELOPER:

I just wanted to warn anyone that intended to make use of this software, while also making use of the Unity game development engine.

For some reason, even though images do get compressed to the size they should, any subsequent import settings changes to that image in the Unity editor might take a lot to process. Simply put, if you compressed several images for your Unity game, almost any little change you make to that image will take unity unusually long to finish, so be warned.

So, unlike most of the suggested software, this might not be optimal for game development at all. But instead it is more than amazing for other tasks, such as social media image compressing.


Image Compression On Your Desktop

RIOT handles JPEGs, PNGs and even GIFs, with the capacity of doing batch editing to apply the same compression on folders filled with images. Offering:

  • Transparency options.
  • Basic image editing tools.
  • Automatic optimization that offers the most suitable format and parameters on a per image basis.
  • Low use of computer memory and resources.
  • Simple to use interface.
  • The ability to keep the metadata of the files.

And the best part of this software is that it is completely FREE TO USE!

Download It NOW

More Software Suggestions HERE

This is but one of MANY tools that you can quickly find in the the Software Suggestions section of the website.

New ones are constantly updated, so check out often!

See More Recommended Software!

This is a little neat tool to optimize hard disk space in places that matter, such as social media.

But again, DON’T use on Unity, as it gets all weird.

Just like many posts I make, this is intended for someone that can find it a use, specific as it might be.

Regardless Of What You Do With It Though…

Thank you very much for reading my blog :3

Arzola

The Official Unity Documentation Is Always Watching

Unity is a pretty neat tool, there is no arguing that. It has many built-in components and goodies to get you started… for some even too many.

Keeping up with what each component does (especially when they get updated on newer versions), and what each new patch brings is a little too much. But that is the reason the Unity team has made it simple for us, as each of the components you can find, is already well documented.

The Magic Blue Book Icon

After adding any built-in unity component, simply click on the little blue book on the top right corner. (Next to the cogs icon)

You will be taken directly into the documentation of that specific component, no need to force to remember the intricacies of the tool yourself.

See The Wiki Entry

Get More Useful Tips On The GitHub Wiki

What you just read about was ONE of several unity tips that are available on the Unity Tips Wiki.

Please also note that the wiki is updated often, so make sure to check it out!

Read More Unity Tips!

Unity keeps updating pretty often as of late, new neat things are added on every patch. Good to know there is no need to force yourself to remember how something works, as you can always just read it.

Hope this little tip was useful to you.

But Like Always…

Thank you very much for reading my blog :3

Arzola

Never Forget What Your Code Does

When the project you start working on keeps getting bigger, there are more and more things you will always need to remember the functionality of.
Wait? Did you forget what that 500 line class you wrote was supposed to do? Well that is just a bummer, you will have to re-read it to figure out its intricacies.
Or… if you want to avoid this problem altogether, you might as well just properly document what each thing is supposed to do while you make it.

For this end, Visual Studio has a built-in documentation system that allows you to easily read the functionality of custom classes and methods by just commenting over them.
Now, you can read your very own notes by hovering over a reference of something you wrote.

“///” Command To The Rescue

  1. Position your cursor above any class/field/property/method you want to document.
  2. Press the “/” key three times.
  3. Write between the “summary” tags the description of the element you are on top of.
  4. Now, whenever you make a call to that element, you can see what it does while you are typing it or by hovering your mouse over said reference.

Read The Full Tip HERE

Get More Useful Tips On The GitHub Wiki

What you just read about was ONE of several programmer tips that are available on the Programmer Tips Wiki.

So if you liked the one you just read, be sure to check it out (or star it) as it gets updated often! 😮

Read More Programmer Tips!

The moment I learned about this way to document your code in Visual Studio, I never stopped using it.
It was especially useful whenever I was working with someone else, as this avoided us to trip over each other’s work.

So I really hope it can become of use to someone else 🙂

That Is All For Today, But Like Always…

Thank you very much for reading my blog :3