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Sprite System Update - Complete Summary

Overview

Successfully integrated 16 new PixelLab 80x80 character sprites with full 8-directional animations and breathing effects, while maintaining backward compatibility with legacy 64x64 sprites.

What Was Done

1. ✅ Sprite Sheet Conversion

Tool: tools/convert_pixellab_to_spritesheet.py

  • Created automated converter for PixelLab exports → Phaser atlases
  • Generated 16 character sprite sheets (PNG + JSON)
  • Each character: 80x80 frames, 8 directions, multiple animations
  • Output: public/break_escape/assets/characters/

Documentation:

  • tools/README_SPRITE_CONVERTER.md
  • public/break_escape/assets/characters/README.md
  • public/break_escape/assets/characters/SPRITE_SHEETS_SUMMARY.md

2. ✅ Game Loading System

File: public/break_escape/js/core/game.js

Added atlas loading for all 16 characters:

  • 8 female characters (hacker, office worker, security guard, spy, scientist, etc.)
  • 8 male characters (hacker, office worker, security guard, spy, scientist, nerd, etc.)
  • Legacy sprites (hacker, hacker-red) preserved

3. ✅ NPC Animation System

File: public/break_escape/js/systems/npc-sprites.js

New Features:

  • setupAtlasAnimations() - Creates animations from JSON metadata
  • Automatic format detection (atlas vs legacy)
  • Direction mapping: east/west/north/south → right/left/up/down
  • Animation type mapping: breathing-idle, walk, cross-punch, etc.

Fixes:

  • ✅ 8-directional animation support (was only using 2 directions)
  • ✅ Collision box adjustment for 80x80 sprites
  • ✅ Animation stuck on single frame (sprite.anims.exists → scene.anims.exists)
  • ✅ Initial frame selection (frame 20 → named frame for atlas)

Documentation: docs/8_DIRECTIONAL_FIX.md, docs/NPC_ANIMATION_FIX.md, docs/FRAME_NUMBER_FIX.md

4. ✅ Player Animation System

File: public/break_escape/js/core/player.js

New Features:

  • createAtlasPlayerAnimations() - Creates player animations from atlas
  • createLegacyPlayerAnimations() - Handles legacy sprites
  • Updated movement functions for 8-directional support
  • Collision box detection and adjustment

Configuration:

  • Reads sprite from scenarioConfig.player.spriteSheet
  • Supports idleFrameRate and walkFrameRate settings
  • Automatic detection of atlas vs legacy

5. ✅ Breathing Idle Animations

Optimization: Breathing animations now play at 6 fps for natural effect

  • 4 frames per direction = 0.67 second cycle
  • ~90 breaths per minute (realistic resting rate)
  • Subtle, polished, not distracting

Documentation: docs/BREATHING_ANIMATIONS.md

6. ✅ Collision Box Adjustment

For 80x80 sprites:

  • Player: 18x10 box at offset (31, 66)
  • NPCs: 20x10 box at offset (30, 66)

For 64x64 sprites (legacy):

  • Player: 15x10 box at offset (25, 50)
  • NPCs: 18x10 box at offset (23, 50)

Documentation: docs/COLLISION_BOX_FIX.md

7. ✅ Scenario Configuration Updated

File: scenarios/m01_first_contact/scenario.json.erb

Updated all characters:

Character Old Sprite New Sprite Type
Player (Agent 0x00) hacker female_hacker_hood Female hacker
Agent 0x99 hacker male_spy Male spy
Sarah Martinez hacker-red female_office_worker Female office worker
Kevin Park hacker male_nerd Male nerd
Maya Chen hacker-red female_scientist Female scientist
Derek Lawson hacker male_security_guard Male security guard

Configuration format:

"spriteConfig": {
  "idleFrameRate": 6,   // Breathing animation
  "walkFrameRate": 10   // Walk animation
}

8. ✅ Documentation

Created comprehensive documentation:

  • docs/SPRITE_SYSTEM.md - Complete sprite system guide
  • docs/8_DIRECTIONAL_FIX.md - 8-directional animation fix
  • docs/BREATHING_ANIMATIONS.md - Breathing animation details
  • docs/COLLISION_BOX_FIX.md - Collision box adjustment
  • docs/NPC_ANIMATION_FIX.md - Animation playback fix
  • docs/FRAME_NUMBER_FIX.md - Initial frame selection fix
  • CHANGELOG_SPRITES.md - Complete change log

Technical Achievements

Animation System

✅ Atlas-based animations - Read from JSON metadata
✅ 8-directional support - All cardinal and diagonal directions
✅ Automatic detection - Atlas vs legacy sprite format
✅ Direction mapping - Atlas directions → game directions
✅ Animation mapping - breathing-idle → idle, etc.
✅ Frame rate configuration - Configurable per animation type

Collision System

✅ Sprite size detection - 80x80 vs 64x64
✅ Dynamic offsets - Calculated based on sprite size
✅ Feet positioning - Accurate collision at feet
✅ Backward compatible - Legacy sprites still work

Performance

✅ 16 HTTP requests instead of 2,500+ individual images
✅ Single texture per character - Efficient GPU usage
✅ No texture swaps - Faster rendering
✅ Pre-defined animations - No runtime generation

Files Modified

Core Systems

  • public/break_escape/js/core/game.js - Atlas loading
  • public/break_escape/js/core/player.js - Player animations & collision
  • public/break_escape/js/systems/npc-sprites.js - NPC animations & collision
  • public/break_escape/js/systems/npc-behavior.js - 8-directional support

Assets

  • public/break_escape/assets/characters/ - 16 new characters (32 files: PNG + JSON)

Configuration

  • scenarios/m01_first_contact/scenario.json.erb - Updated character sprites

Tools

  • tools/convert_pixellab_to_spritesheet.py - Sprite sheet converter
  • tools/README_SPRITE_CONVERTER.md - Tool documentation
  • tools/requirements.txt - Python dependencies

Documentation

  • 8 new documentation files in docs/
  • Updated READMEs in assets folder

Available Characters

Female Characters (8)

  1. female_hacker_hood - 48 animations, 256 frames
  2. female_hacker - 37 animations, 182 frames
  3. female_office_worker - 32 animations, 152 frames
  4. female_security_guard - 40 animations, 208 frames
  5. female_telecom - 24 animations, 128 frames
  6. female_spy - 40 animations, 208 frames
  7. female_scientist - 30 animations, 170 frames
  8. woman_bow - 31 animations, 149 frames

Male Characters (8)

  1. male_hacker_hood - 40 animations, 208 frames
  2. male_hacker - 40 animations, 208 frames
  3. male_office_worker - 40 animations, 224 frames
  4. male_security_guard - 40 animations, 208 frames
  5. male_telecom - 37 animations, 182 frames
  6. male_spy - 40 animations, 208 frames
  7. male_scientist - 30 animations, 170 frames
  8. male_nerd - 40 animations, 208 frames

Animation Types

All characters support:

  • breathing-idle - 8 directions, 4 frames each @ 6 fps
  • walk - 8 directions, 6 frames each @ 10 fps
  • cross-punch - 8 directions, 6 frames each
  • lead-jab - 8 directions, 3 frames each
  • falling-back-death - 7-8 frames
  • taking-punch - 6 frames (select characters)
  • pull-heavy-object - 6 frames (select characters)

Testing Results

All features tested and working:

  • ✅ Player movement with 8-directional animations
  • ✅ NPC patrol with 8-directional animations
  • ✅ Breathing idle animations (6 fps, natural)
  • ✅ Collision detection at correct position
  • ✅ Animation transitions smooth
  • ✅ Legacy sprites still functional
  • ✅ No texture loading errors
  • ✅ Performance improved (fewer HTTP requests)

Backward Compatibility

✅ 100% backward compatible

  • Legacy 64x64 sprites continue to work
  • Automatic format detection
  • No changes needed to existing scenarios using legacy sprites
  • Both systems coexist in the same game

Known Issues

None currently identified.

All reported issues have been fixed:

  • ✅ NPCs only using 2 directions → Fixed (8-directional support)
  • ✅ NPCs stuck on single frame → Fixed (animation check)
  • ✅ Frame "20" error → Fixed (initial frame selection)
  • ✅ Collision box misalignment → Fixed (size detection)

Usage Example

{
  "player": {
    "spriteSheet": "female_hacker_hood",
    "spriteTalk": "assets/characters/hacker-talk.png",
    "spriteConfig": {
      "idleFrameRate": 6,
      "walkFrameRate": 10
    }
  },
  "npcs": [
    {
      "id": "sarah",
      "spriteSheet": "female_office_worker",
      "spriteConfig": {
        "idleFrameRate": 6,
        "walkFrameRate": 10
      }
    }
  ]
}

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements:

  • Dynamic portrait generation from sprite sheets
  • Character customization system
  • Animation state machine (idle → walk → attack)
  • More character variants
  • Custom color tinting
  • Attack animations integration
  • Death animations integration
  • Hit reactions

Performance Metrics

Before:

  • 2,500+ individual PNG files
  • Multiple HTTP requests per character
  • Texture swaps during animation

After:

  • 16 sprite sheets (32 files total with JSON)
  • 1 request per character (2 files: PNG + JSON)
  • Single texture per character
  • Result: ~99% reduction in asset loading

Commit Message

Add PixelLab sprite sheet support with 8-directional animations

Features:
- 16 new character sprites (80x80, atlas-based)
- 8-directional animations with breathing effects
- Automatic format detection (atlas vs legacy)
- Adjusted collision boxes for 80x80 sprites
- Frame rate configuration per animation type

Fixes:
- NPCs stuck on single frame (animation check)
- NPCs only using 2 directions (flip detection)
- Frame "20" error (initial frame selection)
- Collision box misalignment (size detection)

Files:
- New: 16 characters in public/break_escape/assets/characters/
- Modified: game.js, player.js, npc-sprites.js, npc-behavior.js
- Modified: scenario.json.erb (updated all character sprites)
- Added: Sprite sheet converter tool and documentation

Backward compatible with legacy 64x64 sprites.

Success Metrics

✅ Functionality: All features working as designed
✅ Performance: 99% reduction in asset loading
✅ Quality: Smooth 8-directional animations with breathing
✅ Compatibility: Legacy sprites fully supported
✅ Documentation: Comprehensive guides created
✅ Testing: All scenarios tested and verified

Status: ✅ COMPLETE

The sprite system update is complete and production-ready!