This was originally posted in the Chocobo Dyeing R&D Thread where the page count is still climbing... There's a lot of information in there to sift through and some of it appears to be getting lost so here it is again.
Ok, so when you think of a computers colour values that the monitor uses to determine colour, it looks something like this (using values ranging from 0 through 255):
*Example*
RED 0------------|-------------255 [128]
GREEN 0-------|------------------255 [078]
BLUE 0-------------------|------255 [205]
Now when you move the values around you reach all variables of colour. Maxing the RED slider to 255 while at the same time decreasing both the GREEN and BLUE slider to 0, displays a complete RED colour.
In another example, decreasing the RED slider to zero while at the same time increasing the GREEN and BLUE sliders to 255 causes the colour to display as a very vibrant CYAN colour.
In the last example, balancing all three sliders at the same value will display varying shades of BLACK and WHITE. Having RED, BLUE, and GREEN values set all to zero displays BLACK. Having RED, BLUE, and GREEN values set all to 255 (max) displays WHITE.
*NOTE: The Following Is False Information
Originally assumed, due to the tooltip's poor wording, we thought that the chocobo dye would work like this:
Darkens Red = Moves only the RED colour slider towards zero.
Lightens Red = Moves only the RED colour slider towards 255.
Darkens Green = Moves only the GREEN colour slider towards zero.
Lightens Green = Moves only the GREEN colour slider towards 255.
Darkens Blue = Moves only the BLUE colour slider towards zero.
Lightens Blue = Moves only the BLUE colour slider towards 255.
This would be an easy to comprehend way to do Chocobo dyeing, however THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT'S IMPLEMENTED (F*** ME, AMIRITE?)
*NOTE: The Following Is How The System Actually Works
The is what the tooltips actually mean:
DEEPENS RED = Make the RED MORE vibrant, and opposing colours (BLUE and GREEN) LESS vibrant automatically. (RED slider increases toward 255, BLUE and GREEN slider decreases toward 0)
LIGHTENS RED = Make the RED LESS vibrant, and opposing colours (BLUE and GREEN) MORE vibrant automatically. (RED slider increases toward 0, BLUE and GREEN slider decreases toward 255)
DEEPENS GREEN = Make the GREEN MORE vibrant, and opposing colours (BLUE and RED) LESS vibrant automatically. (GREEN slider increases toward 255, BLUE and RED slider decreases toward 0)
LIGHTENS GREEN = Make the GREEN LESS vibrant, and opposing colours (BLUE and RED) MORE vibrant automatically. (GREEN slider increases toward 0, BLUE and RED slider decreases toward 255)
DEEPENS BLUE = Make the BLUE MORE vibrant, and opposing colours (RED and GREEN) LESS vibrant automatically. (BLUE slider increases toward 255, RED and GREEN slider decreases toward 0)
LIGHTENS BLUE = Make the BLUE LESS vibrant, and opposing colours (RED and GREEN) MORE vibrant automatically. (BLUE slider increases toward 0, RED and GREEN slider decreases toward 255)
The values these fruits provide have an RNG window. Meaning that a lighten red fruit can decrease the red value from -3 to -6 while simultaneously increasing the green/blue values from +3 to +6; your mileage may vary.
This is how the Chocobo food colours associate:
RED<------------->CYAN (green and blue)
BLUE<------------->YELLOW (red and green)
GREEN<------------->MAGENTA (red and blue)
Now keep in mind that the Chocobo's default colour is 'DESERT YELLOW' which means that its initial colour sliders look like this:
*DESERT YELLOW*
RED 0---------------------|----255 [216]
GREEN 0-------------------|------255 [175]
BLUE 0--------|-----------------255 [080]
This means that any colour tweaking that needs to be done assume that these are the starting values.
EXTRA INFORMATION
So how do I make a white Chocobo?
Going off the RGB colour sliders, the colour white is achieved by getting as close to 255 in all colours (RED, GREEN, and BLUE). To achieve this you will need to feed your chocobo an equal amount of the types of food which say they LIGHTEN a colour (RED, GREEN or BLUE). That way, only one colour's sliders moves toward 0, while the other two move toward 255.
Now keep in mind your Chocobo starts at Desert Yellow which naturally has a higher Green and Red starting value, this means you'll want to feed him more fruit that increases the blue colour value initially.
So how do I make a black Chocobo?
Much like the white Chocobo, the colour black is achieved by getting as close to 0 in all colours (RED, GREEN, and BLUE). To achieve this you will need to feed your chocobo an equal amount of the types of food which say they DEEPEN a colour (RED, GREEN or BLUE). That way, only one colour's sliders moves toward 255, while the other two move toward 0.
Resources
- Currently it appears there are 2 different spreadsheets of Chocobo RGB values. The "Original" is FFXIV Chocobo Colors and the other "Updated (a.k.a 8th Scale)" version is the RGB Color Reference (by AttacKat).
There is a theory that when using the revised RGB Color Reference spreadsheet to try your integer at +/-8 if doing the math manually. In the samples in the next post and in the Chocobo Dye R&D thread myself and a few others use the original RGB spreadsheet and a +/-5 for ease of calculation because it seems like a sweet spot to hit the majority of colours.
*Note: I would advise against using the recipe's found in the FFXIV Chocobo Colors spreadsheet (use it for RGB reference only) as many users have stated throughout the Chocobo Dye R&D thread that they do not yield the desired result; they likely use an extreme excess of Chocobo feed to attempt to get to a colour.
We also do not have the ACTUAL RGB dye values. The above docs are a "best guesstimate" as to what they are.
- It appears that a spreadsheet for attempting to figure out RGB values has popped up in the Chocobo Dyeing R&D Thread - Kudos Loony!
- There is also a Chocobo Color Map to try to help users get their desired colours. The map is based off of information gathered from the forums (via users trial & error); it's not a 100% guaranteed guide to your desired plumage colour but will likely get you close. - Kudos Alinah
- The Chocobo Colour Simulator is a spreadsheet that appears to follow the +/-5 to attempt to help users gain their desired colour; this document is read only so be sure to save a copy. Select your current and desired colour, erase the current fruit names and quantities from the white fields (nothing else), type the fruits you are thinking of feeding and it will calculate the end result. As you add/remove fruits you'll see what the next result is. The above Chocobo Color Map can be used as reference if needed. - Kudos Rythea
- FFXIV Chocobo Colour Calculator appears to be the most recent calculator. It calculates the difference between current/desired colour then works out the fruits needed using +/-5 and allows the user to choose between "Original" or "Updated (a.k.a 8th Scale)" RGB colours; my personal preference is the "Original" RGB but the difference in fruit recommendations between the 2 seems negligible.
There is speculation that by mass feeding all of 1 type of fruit before moving to the next set of fruit that you can possibly hit an RGB wall and the calculator does have a note ("If any of the above fruits in your recipe are quite high, it is recommended to alternate them with the others when feeding, so that you do not max out your RGB values by feeding all of the same type of fruit at once.") to reflect this when you push the Calculate button. This seems like the best version of an automated calculator so far. - Kudos Chopski