Table of Contents

FreeType (Default)

The FreeType rasterizer backend for KernSmith. Uses FreeTypeSharp 3.1.0 for glyph rasterization.

Platform

Cross-platform -- Linux, macOS, Windows.

Installation

dotnet add package KernSmith.Rasterizers.FreeType

Usage

FreeType is the default backend. Install the package and it auto-registers via [ModuleInitializer]:

var result = BmFont.Generate("path/to/font.ttf", new FontGeneratorOptions
{
    Size = 32
});

To explicitly select it:

var options = new FontGeneratorOptions
{
    Size = 32,
    RasterizerBackend = RasterizerBackend.FreeType
};

Capabilities

  • TTF, OTF, WOFF, WOFF2 input
  • Hinting and anti-aliasing (Grayscale, Light, None modes)
  • SDF (Signed Distance Field) rendering
  • Outline stroke
  • Synthetic bold and italic
  • Super sampling
  • Fractional font sizes (e.g. Size = 32.5f) honored natively

Limitations

  • Does not support color fonts (COLR/CPAL) -- use DirectWrite for that
  • Does not support variable font axes -- use DirectWrite for that
  • Cannot load system-installed fonts by family name -- provide font file bytes directly

When to Use

Use FreeType for cross-platform projects, SDF rendering, or when you don't need Windows-specific features like color fonts or BMFont pixel-perfect parity. This is the recommended default for most use cases.

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