Balloon
This article is about the speech balloons that ghosts use to display text. For the ghost called Balloons, see Balloons. For a list of available balloons, see the Balloon List.
Balloon refers to the speech bubbles that ghosts display text in. Many ghosts come with a custom balloon that installs alongside them, while some don't have any specific balloon at all. Similarly, some balloons are made for a ghost, while others are standalone, and may be used with any ghost, or used by developers for their own ghosts if the balloon's creator allows. In general, the user can switch any ghost to another balloon if they would like, though this may cause some visual issues with the text if the ghost in question planned for a specific size text area.
Balloons are a separate entity from the ghosts they are used with, and may typically be moved around and positioned by clicking and dragging with the mouse. When the ghost they are paired with is moved, they will move also, retaining their relative position to the ghost. If they are too close to the edge of the monitor while moving, they will change directions and move to the other side of the ghost, depending on their positioning. Some balloons are directional and will change appearance when changing sides (this is usually used to have a “tail” on the balloon that points towards the character), while others will look the same no matter which direction they face.
Balloons come in many shapes and sizes, and a large selection of them may be found on our balloon list. Many balloons made outside of our community may also be found on BALLOON TOWN.
Tips
Note: Tips in this section are SSP specific.
- Balloons may be scaled up and down independently of the shell. The user must disable the “Balloon Scaling Linkage” option on the Ghost(2) tab of the SSP preferences, and then they will have access to the “Balloon Scaling…” option in the right click menu.
- The direction of the balloon may be changed manually by right clicking the balloon, and clicking the “Change Direction” option.
