[Bug] Avatar skin color should be a dropdown menu instead of racial selectors

[codeurimpulsif]

Version of OpenTTD

14.0, Linux

Expected result

A dropdown menu named Skin color with choices like Black, White, etc. Or maybe just numbers like all other parameters, so we can also add more colors.

Maybe applied the same thing for the gender would be a good idea.

Actual result

The skin color of the avatar is defined by racists stereotypes instead of factual terms.

Steps to reproduce

• Create a new game
• Select your company
• Click New Face
• In Face Selection click Advanced
• Skin color of the avatar is defined by terms like European and African only

[andythenorth]

Emoji spec uses this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzpatrick_scale

Digging further, the Fitzpatrick Scale has issues, and this is one possible replacement for it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_Skin_Tone_Scale

[PeterN]

The company face is controlled by a 32bit integer value and some fairly obtuse logic involving a look up table of SpriteIDs with offsets, different paths depending on the options, and multiple sprites overlaid on top of each other.

All bits in this 32bit integer value are used, so without a complete rewrite (not just "add a new Skin Colour option") this can't be done at the moment.

Not to mention that if we want to add a new Skin Colour, a whole set of new sprites have to be drawn and provided to the game.

[codeurimpulsif]

Maybe we can still change the GUI to a Skin color: 0 or 1 values like other parameters? It will not change the strange logic behind the curtain but is a small step in the good direction.

[PeterN]

Yes, that is the conclusion I came to discussing in Discord.

[asasnat]

Maybe we can still change the GUI to a Skin color: 0 or 1 values like other parameters? It will not change the strange logic behind the curtain but is a small step in the good direction.

Personally I'd keep the "European/African" buttons and simply rename them to "Light-skinned/Dark-skinned" (assuming there aren't any plans to add support for more skin tones, which I highly doubt there are). But this works too.

[PeterN]

Reason to make it generic:

[asasnat]

Oh.

[Eddi-z]

Afair there was an "asian faces" replacement set.