[Freetype] hinting changes

[Alexander R. Pruss]

I've just upgraded my build of PalmFontConv (font converter for generating
PalmOS font bitmaps-- palmfontconv.sf.net) to use 2.1.8, having previously
used, I think, 2.1.4.  I've noticed some improvements and some losses of
quality.  I'm of course using only autohinting, with the patented stuff
disabled.

My test font is Bitstream Vera, scaled to 12 pixels.  I notice:

With monochrome rendering:
 1. m is more symmetric with newer version (as per changelog).  Good.
 2. At least one lowercased letter with an umlaut (I think u-umlaut)
    lost one of the dots in newer version.  Old version was OK.

With grayscale rendering:
    I've seen one vertical which used to be rendered with a full-darkness
    pixel line and beside it a light pixel line get rendered instead
    with two medium-dark pixel lines.  The other vertical in the glyph
    (I can't remember what the glyph was, but it was something fairly
    symmetric like 'u') was as before.  This, I suspect, would look
    washed out when rendered on a device.  (I was just looking at a
    text-readable dump of the font.)


Are there any parameters that can be tweaked to fix these things?

Alex

--
Dr. Alexander R. Pruss  || e-mail: address@hidden
Philosophy Department   || online papers and home page:
Georgetown University   ||  www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ap85
Washington, DC 20057    ||
U.S.A.                  ||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   "Philosophiam discimus non ut tantum sciamus, sed ut boni efficiamur."
       - Paul of Worczyn (1424)