SimpleSprite v3

It's been a long time coming. Since I first released SimpleSprite I'd wanted to re-do the entire utility with the knowledge I'd gained from writing it the first time around. Well, that time has come. SimpleSprite is entirely rewritten, and totally in C# this time. SimpleSprite version 1 was pretty good at what I had written it for, namely one specific game project with it's own requirements. After that, I began working on different projects that all had their own needs. With this in mind, I took the good aspects of version 1 (Animation based Atlas building, simplified interface, etc) and began working in all the new bells and whistles that I didn't need the first time around. What came out of this was a lean, mean, spritesheet building machine. It's been stripped of any unnecessary code, and built in such a manner that extending it doesn't become a nightmare.

One of the first things to go was the old utility for building Spritesheets. Replacing it is the AtlasBuilder, along with the Animation Editor componenent and TexturePacker utility. I realised that a drastic oversight in the old Simplesprite was the inability to save and edit atlases. This became a nightmare in one project, as the artists continually cranked out better and better art. Along with this ability, a much improved interface was introduced. No longer do you move sprites by clicking arrows. It's all about the drag and drop! Also, support for key commands like CTRL-D (Duplicate) and Delete are now supported. This is a handy feature when editing an animation and trying to get the timing just right. On the subject of animation timing, the Animation Editor now features a totally reworked preview function. It now behaves just like the animation will in-game. And don't worry, if you don't like the settings that you build the spritesheet with, you can always edit them with the Sprite Interface or via code!

Next up on the chopping block was the Sprite.js class. I originally hadn't intended on modifying this, but inspiration struck and off we went. I realized that playing animations via Texture Offsets and Scale was costing a Draw Call per animation, as it instanced the material in order to work. To remedy this, the new sprite1.cs class now maps it's own UVs on the mesh. This means Dynamic Batching is good to go! Oh, and no need to worry about finding a billboard mesh- SimpleSprite automatically generates it. Of course, you can still use your own mesh if you'd like, but you'll need to modify the code slightly (Don't worry, it's well commented). This can be done on the fly (at runtime) or beforehand, to save on load times. With this new development came the ability to modify anchor points, and pose each sprite object in editor mode without worrying about affecting other sprites with the same material.

In summary, SimpleSprite is a totally new beast, ready to tackle your spritely projects. Oh, and did I mention the price is now only $20?

Check it out: http://u3d.as/content/parabox-llc/simple-sprite/1YM