Sprite

A sprite is a combination of an image file (.png), which is a collection of image fragments, and an information file (.sprite), which contains data about how to cut and use that image.
All images in the game are implemented as sprites.
.sprite file consists of several Sprite frames and several named animations.

Sprite contribution

You can fix bad sprites that exist in game, or add sprites that don't exist.
After making any modifications or additions, upload them through the ResourceCommitter program.
- Download from #resource-sprite on the Discord server
- The sprite you upload may be rejected.
- Approved Sprites are usually reflected in the next update.

A sprite frame is the smallest unit of image contained in a sprite.
For example, the MarioSmall sprite contains a picture of Mario standing, a picture of him walking, a picture of him running, and so on, each of which is a sprite frame.

This method animates based on the index of the sprite frame.
For example,
- When Mario is standing, we use index 0.
- When Mario walks, index 1, 2, and 3 are used, in that order.
These sprite indices are hardcoded into the game code. This is the old way.
For a definition of index-based sprites, see the [[sfmb_sprite_index]]{link}

This was added because different game themes require different number of frames for animation.
You can define a specific named animation in the .sprite file.
For example,
- When Mario walks, the "Walk" animation is used.
- This "Walk" could be 1,2,3, or 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, depending on the theme.
This is a new way of doing things, but it is only used in some sprites.
- Player characters (Mario, Luigi, Toad, …)
- Enemy characters
- Background layers on stages
- Helmets
- Yoshi
- NPCs
- Not yet supported: MapObject, Item, Bullet, Effect

Image files (.png) are primarily edited using Asesprite (feel free to use whatever you like)
Data files (.sprite) are edited using SFMB SpriteEditor.
- Download from #resource-sprite on the Discord server