So I’ve made a REPO branch and am in the process of going through the icons, finding names for most of the unnamed ones. Either finding the post on FEU they were submitted with descriptions or file names, naming ones that were made for a specific hack by referencing the hack in FEBuilder, making inferences on the organization of large sprite sheets that group weapons by Vanilla FE types. Icons that were from other games are named after what they represented in the home game, if I can find the information. I’m sure this has been a long awaited naming. Though some assumptions I make may be a bit far fetched, and of course there are still some unnamed, but I have fortunately found names for the majority of the numbered items. Also, I’m updating some older usernames in icon credits.
I am also recategorizing some icons. Lots of weapons, etc. ripped from other games were put into item categories. However, I am unsure how the five categories of items should be organized. There’s the “Base” items (“Common Items” on the Fangame Essentials site), which I’m assuming is for regular items from vanilla FE.
Then there’s “Clothing and Armor” and already I have questions. The vanilla Boots item is technically clothing. Should all the boots be moved into this category? It’s already filled with boots and shoe items ripped from other games. There are also some shields here, as well as some Echoes shield icons in the Base Items category. Where should shields go? What about Fili/Delphi Shields?
Next, “Consumables and Food” raises the biggest questions yet. Obviously food goes in here, but what about the Echoes statboosters which are also food and can be found in the Base category as well? Most items in FE are by nature consumable, whether they be stat boosters, pure water, vulneraries and elixirs, promotions, etc. On the FEFE site the icon for Common Items is a vulnerary, implying that vulneraries should stay there with other typical FE staples. Consumable statboosters, boots included, are also FE staples, but what about the aforementioned Echoes food statboosters? What about potion icons from other games? Should they be with the food, or with the common items like the FE Elixir?
The questions don’t stop with Jewelry and Gems. Should the sellable gems be moved from the Base category to here? What about Bullions? The Talisman, Body Ring statboosters and Guiding Ring? The many held ring or band items from several games?
The Miscellaneous category displays a book icon on FEFE. Should skill-teaching books go here? They currently are in the Common Item category. What about the Secret Book? Obviously “everything else” goes in this category, but the more I think about the organization it feels like the Common Items is the “Mainstream” miscellaneous category that takes precedence in certain cases over the three middle categories, and this is the “Niche” true miscellaneous category.
Lastly, there are some icons in item categories, specifically the Tactics Ogre ones, that represent “skills” and movement types in the original context. There are currently no movement type icons, but for now I’ve put the Tactics Ogre move type icons with the affinites, as GBAFE puts move type icons with the affinity icons. And the Tactics Ogre “Emblems” (yes, they’re called that, and there’s an accessory called the Firecrest) were put into skill icons, but does form or function, the material appearance or artist’s intent, matter here? Is a boot representing a move type, or a helmet representing an Emblem go back to “Clothing and Armor” or not?
I’m not criticizing the categorization, I just believe guidelines for icons (as well as other assets with categories), like the ones that already exist for Battle Animations, would help the Repo and those who submit to it and download from it. I still have loads of icons to go through, so a representative can take time responding.