Please post feature suggestions here.

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

@jmcmorris

Yes, once the pixel-art friendly mode is in it will only allow integer positions (this includes while tweening) and wont filter anything.

Your fastest bet right now might be an external script which would look for any float number in the Spriter file and convert it to an integer. I'll bring this post to Edgar's attention when he's awake (I'm in France so this is my shift ;) ) and see what he has to say about it.

cheers,

Mike at BrashMonkey

[jmcmorris 0]

Thanks Mike for getting back so quickly. I actually already wrote a script that does this. It works for the most part but it does mean we have to go through all animations' frames again and clean up any images that rounded incorrectly. As I said before, I understand if you guys can't or don't want to throw something like this in. Thanks again. :)

[lucid 297]

hi jmcmorris,

as Mike said we'll have a pixel-art friendly mode at some point, but at this point where we're still adding basic functionality, it's hard to say exactly when it'll happen. There have been quite a few requests for this lately, so we'll take that into account after we get all the basics in, and we're prioritizing what to do next.

[MadameBerry 0]

So, I'm not sure if the export window is a temporary thing, or what... But I'm finding it very clunky and unintuitive. I have more details and screenshots at the end of my blog post, but basically, I would suggest, if possible, to merge the export window with the actual canvas so that you can toggle the bounding box at any time while editing, and change the size of the bounding box using the same kind of transform controls as the sprite transform controls (minus rotation, of course).

I'm using the beta that you have linked on your site, so I'm not sure if there's a more updated version that's better than this...

Other than the exporter, I really like this product!

[lucid 297]

yes madame berry. thanks for the review, and that was a temporary export window. The interface has undergone a major overhaul, and the export to png feature isn't in the updated version, but ideally when we re-implement the export it would have transform controls as you mentioned, as well as the play controls, and eventually it will automatically default to the smallest rectangle that can contain the entire animation. Usability for every corner of the program is paramount, so anywhere you see things rough around the edges, is just because things are so early on. If you're interested in trying the latest release, it's here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=693

Also, while export to png sequence is a useful feature, our goal is to have direct support for recreating Spriter animations in real time across all major platforms. Developers had created 14 apis/plugins etc of the beta format during our kickstarter, and we've recently finalized the file format so developers can begin anew with more permanent implementations. Recreating the animations in realtime will allow for vastly larger and more smoothly animated characters that will push the visuals of less powerful platforms like mobile and the web, and can finally squeeze more powerful platforms like current gen consoles, and desktops to their fullest 2d potential.

Thanks for the suggestions, and trust me, things will continue to get more usable, more flexible, and more powerful as we approach 1.0.

[soho54 0]

I'm playing with my full character the new Alpha2 this morning, and one thing is apparent... there needs to be a way to manually activate a transparency on sprites individually in the "Objects in Frame."

The transparency levels already used when scrolling over the "Objects in Frame" to pick a sprite would be fine. Just add a check box next to the golden asterisk to enable the transparency manually, so that it will stay active while building your scene.

It is a pain to position the "deeper" positioned sprites relative to the forward ones in the present build. I am sure the eventual "bone" system will greatly help this out, but the option for manual fine tuning would always be a plus.

[soho54 0]

To continue the transparency post...

It could also be just one global switch that makes all but the current active/working sprite is transparent while you are trying to position things. A continuation of the current selection method.

It might be an easier/faster hack.

[lucid 297]

we have a few big things planned for this build, so I'm not sure it will make it in immediately soho, but there's a feature waiting for me to refine it and bug test it(no way to enable it in the current downloadable alpha yet), that will make only images that at least partially obstruct an object to become transparent. I was thinking it should do this 'reveal object' thing to any currently selected or hovered (in the objects in frame window, such as while manually editing properties) while holding down a key.

eventually though, I'd like to have a few options on each sprite, visible/semi-transparent/invisible and also 'lock' which would prevent even a visible sprite from being selected or moved at all while enabled

[georgessister 0]

Hi guys. Thanks for implementing the pixel-friendly mode, I'm really excited about it.

I wanted to mention that, when selecting very small pixel art, the white corners that appear are so large that they can really get in the way of seeing what you're doing. Here's an example - I'm trying to place this guy's head on his body. When I select the head, the white corners obscure the area.

If the white corners could decrease in size as you zoom in, that would be helpful.

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

hi georgessister,

Making sure the UI doesn't get in your way will definately be one of the aspects of the pixel-art friendly mode.

cheers,

Mike at BrashMonkey

[Kinsman 7]

I downloaded the latest alpha, and I had two suggestions.

1) If you want to make an animation that involves simple flipping of a part, i.e. making someone's head look back and forth, you end up with a tween that makes the head literally flip like a piece of paper.

In a frame-based timeline, what you'd do is have the frame just before make the head face one way and the frame just after, make it face other way. But it's a little more trouble with the seconds-based timeline that Spriter has.

My suggestion is - could you make it so that you can drag pre-flipped versions of your images from the file list into the screen, and have them be considered separate ID's from the non-flipped versions?

2) Spriter could be used for full-screen cutscenes, as well as character animation. If you want to use it that way, often you're also working with a background audio track that you want to sync with the action.

I know that you're planning to have sounds play during the animation preview - but could you make it so that sounds also play when you're scrubbing the timeline?

Thanks for making Spriter.

[MadameBerry 0]

Not sure what Kinsman's first suggestion meant, but it got me wondering how useful the ability to toggle between "seconds" and "frames" in the timeline would be.

[lucid 297]

I downloaded the latest alpha, and I had two suggestions.

1) If you want to make an animation that involves simple flipping of a part, i.e. making someone's head look back and forth, you end up with a tween that makes the head literally flip like a piece of paper.

In a frame-based timeline, what you'd do is have the frame just before make the head face one way and the frame just after, make it face other way. But it's a little more trouble with the seconds-based timeline that Spriter has.

My suggestion is - could you make it so that you can drag pre-flipped versions of your images from the file list into the screen, and have them be considered separate ID's from the non-flipped versions?

Spriter can do both frame by frame and tweened, and we'll make clear tutorials and guides as time progresses. Also as of now the tween method is always linear, this will be adjustable in the future to also include different speed curves or 'instant'. But you bring up an important point. It should be possible to flip the sprite and not have to change the tween to make it look right. I'm not sure if will be pre-flipped versions of the images or some other method, but it's a great idea, and we'll figure out a way to make it work.

2) Spriter could be used for full-screen cutscenes, as well as character animation. If you want to use it that way, often you're also working with a background audio track that you want to sync with the action.

I know that you're planning to have sounds play during the animation preview - but could you make it so that sounds also play when you're scrubbing the timeline?

yes, this was already planned. Ideally, when scrubbing the timeline, the sounds wouldn't just play on cue when the triggering frame came, but the sound would also be scrubbed. Though if it becomes too performance heavy or just unworkable for other reasons this might prove impractical.

Thanks for making Spriter.

thanks for using spriter

Not sure what Kinsman's first suggestion meant, but it got me wondering how useful the ability to toggle between "seconds" and "frames" in the timeline would be.

right now Spriter displays time in milliseconds. The keyframes each have a millisecond value in time, but these are only keyframes, as far as Spriter is concerned there aren't invisible empty frames between keyframes. So basically, outside of a keyframe, there aren't frames.

[satatami 1]

Color keying (per project?) for those who don't want to deal with an alpha layer or are using programs that don't easily allow for such?

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

Do you mean to be able to set a background color and then have the ability to export animations as full images without alpha, so all clear would be the background color that was selected?

Ah, perhaps you mean the ability to load non-alpha png's yet tell Spriter which color should be treated as clear, use the images with that color set as clear, and then export full frames or sprite-sheets with the original background (clear) color....

This would definitely fit into the category of features we'd want for the pixel-art friendly mode we have planned for once the other 1.0 features are all supported.

-Mike at BrashMonkey

[satatami 1]

Ah, perhaps you mean the ability to load non-alpha png's yet tell Spriter which color should be treated as clear, use the images with that color set as clear, and then export full frames or sprite-sheets with the original background (clear) color....

This would definitely fit into the category of features we'd want for the pixel-art friendly mode we have planned for once the other 1.0 features are all supported.

-Mike at BrashMonkey

Yes that's it! Thank you for your interest in the feature. Would you plan on doing it per image or per project for that sort of thing? (or potentially both?...) Kinda curious what your mindset on that would be.

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

I'll have to talk to Edgar about it when I see him online. We plan on eventually making Spriter have a very picel-art friendly mode after all the critical features are in.. so it will be a while from now, but once we spend some time focussed on it, we'll try to make it as fully featured and flexible as possible for pixel-art manipulation and creation. (not by drawing a pixel at a time, but by manipulating pixel art images without causing filtering, additional colors etc.)

cheers,

Mike at BrashMonkey

[blazah99 0]

I'm not sure if this is in Spriter already so here's a suggestion/question.

I'mt taking a game animtion programming class thats using flash to teach. Our project is to make a windmill turn over a period of time.

The windmill part of my sprite is set at an angle not directly facing the player.

I was wondering if is possible to tween to the sprite so that the windmill blades resize/reshape accordingly along the path and if you could export the resulting images so that you get a 30 frames per second over a 2 second period?

The result being a 90 degree turn over 2 seconds at 30 frames per second with the resize/reshaping of each frame.

By the way, thanks for making Spriter =).

[lucid 297]

hi blazah99, you will be able to do things like this when the procedural animation features start to arrive

[ludonkey 0]

Hi,

It will be wonderful if we could export the animation to PNG setting a FPS value 8-)

I mean the real and full animation taking care to keep the time between each frame.

So the Spriter tool could be used like a standard animation tool (and so not only into Game engines).

At least, we coud use these images to make a simple video or a Gif.

Next, I think lot of mobile (ios/android) developers will be interested to use Spriter instead of use the limited native animation frameworks.

Let's take a simple 2s animation at 30 FPS, the integration into an iOS app will be something like this:

    
    UIImageView *spriterAnimation = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"spriter-frame-0.png"]];
    NSMutableArray *imageArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:60];
    for (int i = 0; i < 60; i++) {
        NSString *frameName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"spriter-frame-%d.png", i];
        [imageArray addObject:[UIImage imageNamed:frameName]];
    }
    spriterAnimation.animationImages = imageArray;
    spriterAnimation.animationDuration = 2;
    [self addSubview:spriterAnimation];
    [spriterAnimation startAnimating];

I hope my explanation is clear :oops:

Edit:

Sorry, I read the release note too fast :(

Added basic 'Export to .PNG Sequence'. For now it exports only each keyframe in an animation. In the future it will be expanded to allow much more flexibility like setting a frame rate to get tweened frames from between keys, and many more options.

[SkeletalRavenArts 6]

hi there! I have a suggestion for the skeleton rig tool I don't know if you are working on this already or not, but i suggestion if possible you make a stretch and squash option in the bones to make and arm or a leg longer a bit or every stretch it to make better more fluidy animation

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

Bones are being worked on at this very moment. :)

[the_guy 0]

Hey guys,

Great work on the tool so far, very impressive. My only feature suggestion/request is to be able to export to JSON instead of XML. I saw one other request for this, but thought I would mention it again. JSON would be fantastic.

[domenukk 0]

Hey guys,

Great work on the tool so far, very impressive. My only feature suggestion/request is to be able to export to JSON instead of XML. I saw one other request for this, but thought I would mention it again. JSON would be fantastic.

+1 for JSON.

Also it's my understanding that it is usually quicker to use spritesheets over loads of single images.

So how about exporting all the images of one character into a larger spritesheet and changing the files accordingly?

[Mike at BrashMonkey 369]

Spritesheets will be supported. My best guess is a Spriter to JSON converter will be created by other parties before we could get around to it.