The Pictogram Builders
If you are curious, original post also goes through the discovery process (and is a MESS).


This page will be moved and divided between two pages:
About Pictograms and Pictogram Building
Please feel free to re-track there.

Pieces will go missing from here as they are moved, to help me keep my place.


WHOOPSIE, accidentally deleted a div somewhere... The page should still work pretty well but may be wonky here and there.

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Most of this has been moved, need to figure out what hasn't








There are a few basic facts you need to know about pictograms before you begin using the Builders:

--Each pictogram is composed of exactly FOUR "glyphs"

--No two players have the same four glyphs (Yes, I know there are a few instances of "clones," but it is a rare hiccup. All other "duplicate" pictograms are created by different glyphs which have a very similar overall appearance when combined - they are not IDENTICAL in their "true names")

--A correctly written "true name" code is NOT case sensitive, but will have upper- and lower-case letters in it.

--The Builders display ALL lower-case letters for simplicity, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF L so that there is no confusion between L, I, and 1. Although these "true names" are not "correct", they are functional.

--A player using v3.31 will only see THREE glyphs for any other player using a pictogram generation higher than 1st.

--A player using v3.41 will see all current Generation pictograms correctly, UNLESS the other player is using a client which is not v3.41.

--A pictogram with FEWER than FOUR glyphs cannot be rebuilt entirely.

--You can still narrow a glitched pictogram's player down to (at most) 15 players.

--The game occasionally shifts certain glyphs left, right, up, or down. Your screenshot may be very slightly different from your final result in the Builder.

--There are lots of differences between the three generations, and with practice it is quite simple to tell the difference between them. For more details on how to do this, check out the "What's the Difference?" tab to the left!

With all of these things in mind... Have fun and start building!

What's the Difference?
(Between Generations)

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PSD Building Guide

Need to slim this down and transfer



REQUIRED TOOLS FOR THIS TUTORIAL
-A program capable of utilizing .psd file types and layer visibility (Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, GIMP*, SAI*, etc).
*Free! Google them!

STEPS
1. Obtain a screenshot of the pictogram you wish to rebuild. This screenshot must be as clear as you can possibly make it. If you can, use the "listen" action while the pictogram is on the side bar; this makes the glyphs as large as possible.
For my example, I will be using a screenshot graciously sent by Eyestrain!

It's a little bit blurry, so I've gone over where the glyphs are so they're easier to see. Not perfect, but it'll do!


2. Open the appropriate Builder. If you cannot tell the difference between a 1st Generation pictogram and a 2nd Generation pictogram, you may need to open both Builders.
In this case, it is a 2nd Generation pictogram.

3. The first thing you will see when the Builder is opened is one of my deer's pictograms (Rire's for 1st Gen, Candle's for 2nd Gen). This is so that you can see how a completed pictogram should appear. You may hide the four glyph layers which are visible.
I also copy/paste in the screenshot of the pictogram I will be identifying, to make it easier for me.

4. Look for matching glyphs in the thumbnails of each layer. When you find one that you think belongs, turn on the layer's visibility.


5. Once you think you have a matching pictogram, make sure that only ONE glyph of each color (green, brown, yellow, blue) is showing. You should be able to read the four letter/number code in the upper left corner.


6. The four character code at the top is the pictogram's "true name." You can use this code in several ways. There is a text layer at the very top of the layer list which contains URLs you may find useful. With these you can:
--Link to the pictogram (1stGen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word= ) -- (2ndGen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol2.swf?word= )
--Identify the player (http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol= )
This one's is 1Lcix

7. Place the "true name" code after the = in the URL, copy/paste into your browser, and click "go" or press enter so that your browser navigates to the page. DON'T FORGET to add the 1 in front of all 2nd Generation pictogram codes!
So we get this URL to identify the player: http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol=1Lcix
This link takes us to the page of "owlright" - ta-da!
If you want to be sure, you can take the name "owlright" and put it at the end of the "players list" URL so that you can see the pictogram there. This URL is CASE SENSITIVE, so be sure you write the name exactly as you see it in your search bar. The name "owlright" does not have any upper case letters. If you put "Owlright," the pictogram will spin.
http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?username=owlright

A NOTE ON THE PLAYER-IDENTIFYING URL:
It will not always take you to the user's page. Sometimes, another user has created a blog with the same name, and you will be taken to that blog instead of the player's page. This CAN be corrected if the original poster is willing to cooperate with the user! But for those who can't, all you have to do to find the player's page is add a hyphen (-) and a zero (0) to the end of the URL in your browsing bar.
In example, we'll take a look at my deer Candlelight. His pictogram code is 1Ldq6 - http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol=1Ldq6
This URL takes us to a post by LighttheSky. By adding the characters "-0" to the end of this new URL, we get this URL:
http://www.endlessforest.org/community/Candlelight-0
And we find ourselves at Candlelight's user page.

If this does not take you to the page, change the zero to a one (1). If you still aren't there, increase the number by 1 until you find the correct page.
You can also put the username at the end of this URL if you want to link to the pictogram: (http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?username= )
THIS URL IS CASE SENSITIVE.

GIF Building Guide

REQUIRED TOOLS FOR THIS TUTORIAL
-MS Paint (or equivalent)
-QuickTime Player (or equivalent)

STEPS
1. Obtain a screenshot of the pictogram you wish to rebuild. This screenshot should be as clear as you can possibly make it. If you can, use the "listen" action while the pictogram is on the side bar; this makes the glyphs as large as possible.
Starling has volunteered this screenshot :3 Thanks, Starling!

2. Save the GIF version of the builder to your computer.

3. Open the Builder using QuickTime Player. If you are building a 2nd Generation pictogram, take the green background with the black 1 on it, and put it in your art program. If you are using MS Paint, this can be accomplished by either taking a screenshot of the green screen and pasting it into Paint, or by opening the GIF file with Paint directly.
We are building a 1st generation pictogram, so we'll open the 1st gen builder. ...Yes, I know that's not what the screenshot says.


4. When you are ready to begin, click the "Play" button in QuickTime Player ("QT" from here on out). Watch the green glyphs until you find one that matches the pictogram you are looking for, and press the "Pause" button.

5. Take a screenshot of the QT screen with the glyph you want (the "Prnt Scrn" button is usually located near the function keys - F1, F2, etc). Go into Paint and paste the screenshot into the window. Make sure that your secondary/"right click" color is WHITE and that the background transparency function is turned ON (screenshots for this coming soon). Move the screenshot until the clear box lines up with the green screen behind it. If you don't move the player around and click directly into MS Paint, you won't have to move your screenshot to line up; it will already fit correctly.



6. Repeat this process for the other glyphs. Each section is labeled in QT by a white screen with black letters for "SECOND GLYPH," etc. If you get stuck, move on to the next glyph and go back later.


7. Once you think you have a matching pictogram, make sure that only ONE glyph of each color (green, brown, yellow, blue) is showing. You should be able to read the four (five for second gen) letter/number code in the upper left corner.


8. The four character code at the top is the pictogram's "true name." You can use this code in several ways. There is a text layer at the very top of the layer list which contains URLs you may find useful. With these you can:
--Link to the pictogram (1stGen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word= ) -- (2ndGen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol2.swf?word= )
--Identify the player (http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol= )
The pictogram we have here is "JSO6"!

9. Place the "true name" code after the = in the URL, copy/paste into your browser, and click "go" or press enter so that your browser navigates to the page. DON'T FORGET to add the 1 in front of all 2nd Generation pictogram codes!
So we get this URL to identify the player: http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol=jso6

If we click this, it takes us to the user page for the login "Jarnik".


A NOTE ON THE PLAYER-IDENTIFYING URL:
It will not always take you to the user's page. Sometimes, another user has created a blog with the same name, and you will be taken to that blog instead of the player's page. This CAN be corrected if the original poster is willing to cooperate with the user! But for those who can't, all you have to do to find the player's page is add a hyphen (-) and a zero (0) to the end of the URL in your browsing bar.
In example, we'll take a look at my deer Candlelight. His pictogram code is 1Ldq6 - http://endlessforest.org/machine/playerpage.php?symbol=1Ldq6
This URL takes us to a post by LighttheSky. By adding the characters "-0" to the end of this new URL, we get this URL:
http://www.endlessforest.org/community/Candlelight-0
And we find ourselves at Candlelight's user page.

If this does not take you to the page, change the zero to a one (1). If you still aren't there, increase the number by 1 until you find the correct page.
You can also put the username at the end of this URL if you want to link to the pictogram: (http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?username= )
THIS URL IS CASE SENSITIVE.

Converting 2nd and 3rd Generation to 1st Generation for client versions below 3.31

1. Go to the URL of the pictogram for the player you are trying to help.
2nd Gen example:
http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?username=Candlelight

3rd Gen example:
http://taleoftales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?username=DangerousPirate

(Picto belongs to Orinoco Flow )


2. Edit > View Source

3. Search for "register"

4. Copy the URL from after "/register..." -- take note of the areas in yellow, green, and red
2nd Gen: register/symbol2.swf?word=1Ldq6
3rd Gen: register/symbol3.swf?word=2GRe3

5. Replace the URL in your browser's search bar from "/register" onwards. Press Enter.

6. Remove the yellow number after "symbol" in the URL
2nd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=1Ldq6
3rd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=2GRe3

7. Remove the green number from the "true name" code at the end (last 5 characters).
2nd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=Ldq6
3rd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=GRe3

8. Remove the red character in the URL and replace it with what the green character was.
2nd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=Ldq1
3rd Gen: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/symbol.swf?word=GRe2

9. Press enter. You are now looking at the glitched pictogram. Look for it on your TEF client, and that should be the player you want.



PLEASE NOTE that due to the fourth glyph being glitched, there MAY be more than one player with that pictogram on your screen. It is still very helpful to assign a meeting place. This is just to help you make sure you have the right person if there are several deer in the area and you cannot see them because the other player/s are wearing newer masks, pelts, and/or antlers.

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