

Sprite Pad 1.8

(C) Subchrist Software 2003-2011





Welcome to Sprite Pad!


Sprite Pad is an image editor/animator for sprite images that are compatible
with the classic 1980's Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 computer systems.

Sprite Pad allows games developers writing for this classic platform to easily
and comfortably design sprites for their games using a modern PC and Windows 
desktop environment.


Among the many operations available in Sprite Pad, here are most of the main
features...           


Edit/animate up to 256 sprite images per project.

Supports high resolution and multicolour modes.

Supports all basic clipboard operations.

Two brush sizes plus Floodfill. 

Slide/Flip/Reflect/Negative.

Overlays (one per sprite).
 
Rotate and Animate (even when overlays are used).

Multiple Undo/Redo.

VICE snapshot ripper.
                        


The best way to get to know Sprite Pad is just to start using it, it has been 
designed to be as intuitive as possible with very little learning curve.


For newcomers to the Commodore 64 platform, some basic information may be useful...


The Commodore 64 uses a graphics chip called the VIC-II or simply the VIC chip.

Amongst the many features of the VIC chip, eight hardware "sprites" are available.

Each sprite is 24x21 pixels in size and each can be set to use one of two colouring
modes, high resolution or multicolour.

In high resolution mode, a sprite may only contain one unique colour.

In multicolour mode a sprite may contain up to 3 colours but at the expense of it's
horizontal resolution which is converted from 24 to just 12 pixels across, however
the pixels are stretched to compensate for the change meaning that the visible 
dimensions remain the same. 

The VIC chip can access up to 256 sprite images (16k) at any one time and selectively
apply any of the available images to any or all of the eight hardware sprites.


The VIC chip has access to a palette of 16 colours, each sprite can be assigned any
one of these colours.

When a sprite is set to use multicolour mode, two more colours may be used but these 
must be shared between all other multicolour sprites.



For further information about the Commodore 64, sprites and the VIC-II chip please 
track down a copy of the "Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide" which is readily 
available on the world wide web in electronic form at... 

http://project64.c64.org


The latest version of Sprite Pad and all other Subchrist productions are available from
our homepage at...

http://www.coder.myby.co.uk



















    