I've been testing this myself seeing how well APNGs compare to GIFs and if it could be used as a standardized setting for all current images.
Example for Dread Seal:
GIF of Dread Seal Unattached.
APNG of Dread Seal Unattached. (Requires Firefox or APNG Add-on for other browsers.) *It's somewhat looped improperly as the flash is caused by bad looping skills and can be fixed. Just an example.
So, let's look at the differences compared to GIF and APNG:
COLOR:
- The GIF is very bad in quality and loses a lot of color in conversion.
- APNG retains its color, showing off the artwork of Spiral Knights.
SIZE:
- The GIF has less frames than the APNG and is even re-sized in order to cut down the size. The Size is still quite large.
- APNG through a method is able to retain its color and cut down its size easily while maintaining its color.
COMPATIBILITY:
- GIF is able to be viewed by everyone regardless of what browser is used.
- APNG requires Firefox or a plug-in for all other browsers to work properly. However, it will remain a still image which can be used in original quality compared to using GIF.
As you can see, the APNG looks amazing and still retains the original quality of a standard PNG.
I wasn't sure if we can use this as a way to correct all images or if this would be allowed in the future. It's very easy to do and even if someone can't do it, it doesn't break the compatibility with all other images quality-wise.
I've been uploading gifs for a while to the wiki due to demand, just so people can know what they might be getting out of a box, besides just something that's called "x." And sometimes the available previewing just doesn't cut it... like "blossom aura." Okay? Oh wow, that leaves trailing effects when you walk! You'd never know about that trailing unless you saw someone in-game with it on, moving, or if a wiki editor uploaded an animation of it.
A lot of SK is art. And Art needs to be seen...
gif - easy, but color range limitation of this file format (which CANNOT be helped with this format, for those interested in gifs) makes the beauty of spiral knights get a little bit lost (so they're good for conveying shape behavior and not much else), which is why you're wanting to do another format, yes? And the wiki supports png, so that's what you're wanting to do.
Browser limitation is annoying, but if you have the single image visible regardless, fine.
My issue with this:
A page full of animations like this, how will that affect the loading time/viewing in general for casual wiki perusals? That's why I've stuck my uploads into show/hide tabs (which helps many users with older computers, yes, all the files load, it's the visuals that cause issues for them). If every image is a mimic of the hovering image in-game, that would not only be a slow upload, but dizzying as well, considering how many things are in list form. If I'm understanding the eventual intent of this correctly.
I think it should be limited to things that animate on their own, such as auras, battle sprites, and certain weapons.
have you tried to see how resizing the png animation affects it? Would be great if the answer is: not at all. Cause gifs stop animating on the wiki if they're resized.
What would be better, really, is just being able to link to say, a youtube video (link from the wiki to a video host) that features all the new accessories that come out of boxes every time (well, the older items/weapons like bombs exploding too of course, haha), Dev-made or wiki-editor-made, anybody-made really, as long as the style is the same. Like how they pose in Haven for us sometimes? But on youtube, or some other video hoster that everyone can access. That would bypass all the file issues, most of the browser issues, save us wiki editors time+frustration with file creation (looping = *eye twitch*) and keep things consistent. Copyright issues?
Since the point of all this is to let people know what things look like.