Talk:Sprite (computer graphics): Difference between revisions

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== Terrible article ==
For example, the sentence "... how many can be displayed per scan line (often a lower number) ..." doesn't even make sense.
 
== Article quality is poor, and scope is too wide. ==
==Inaccurate==
This page is woefully technically inaccurate. What good accurate information there is here is entirely irrelevant to the subject at hand. In my opinion, this page needs split and completely rewritten. If it has not improved by the time I return from my holidays, my friend and I will prepare a more encyclopaedic entry, with real, relevant, technically sound information and proper references. --[[User:John Lunney|John Lunney]] 23:16, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
 
This article tries to describe many possible meanings of "sprite", frequently confusing one with another.
Sigh. This is still one of the most inaccurate articles on Wikipedia. --[[User:John Lunney|John Lunney]] 18:04, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
Even when talking strictly about hardware sprites, there are actually many implementations, gradually growing in complexity.
Overlay with priorities, linebuffer blitter, framebufer blitter. No display list, CPU/coprocessor-based display list, or opaque, hardware-driven display list.
 
Sprite hardware table is ugly. Looks like people just copied various tech specs from different sources, as result having different descriptions and measures for essentially similar hardware properties and capabilities. For example, why Amiga sprite height is "arbitrary" and 2600 sprites are 262 lines? Also, Amiga has several very different hardware facilities for manipulating 2D images and neither was originally called a sprite.
Moved back to Sprite (computer graphics), because (computer science) is unnecessarily broad and even somewhat inaccurate. [[User:Fredrik|Fredrik]] | [[User talk:Fredrik|talk]] 20:08, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 
3D sprites is potentially a big entry by itself, as you can use 2D images in various ways, with different orientations and rendering approaches.
Isn't "Billboarding" the correct term for a 2-D image that always faces the viewer in a 3-D environment?
--[[User:70.19.225.70|70.19.225.70]] 18:30, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I'm sure there are several terms used to describe the same technique.
: Sprite is the term used in most ''rendering engine'' API's that I've used. It is also the term used by Special effects guys in Hollywood and at WETA. --[[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 20:45, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 
: I think the term ''3D Sprite'' is used to describe drawing an object in a 3D world using a 2D [[bitmap]]. Often, [[Z-buffering]] is used to make sure that the renderer only draws the parts of the sprite not obscured by an object in front. Sometimes, the 3D sprite has a constant Z-depth, and sometimes, a Z-buffer is added to the bitmap to give it some extra Z-depth. I have also seen the terms ''Z-Sprite'' or even ''Zprite'' used for 3D sprites. See also ''[[2.5D]]'' [[User:Ae-a|Ae-a]] 00:48, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 
[[Special:Contributions/80.249.84.110|80.249.84.110]] ([[User talk:80.249.84.110|talk]]) 07:46, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
:: Since hardware sprites are no longer widespread use, I think it's safe to say that the term has been generalized to the 3D usage, that being said, it seems like another section, specifically covering ''billboarding'' and ''z-sprites'' is a good idea. But I think its safe for now to keep it all under the '''sprite''' umbrella. Splitting it up would be too technical for Wikipedia and there isn't really that much more to cover. Why don't you write it? --[[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 02:41, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 
This article is ridiculous. The table comparing various systems' hardware doesn't belong here. Anyone that says anything like "Mario is my favorite sprite" needs to be blocked from contributing. Real sprite technology (as distinguished from sprite sheets drawn by fanboys) is not such a broad topic that a coherent article can't be written.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 04:50, 15 December 2011 (UTC)
Anyone up for changing the windwalker image? I know sprite is generalized but when I think of sprites I think of Super Mario, Pacman, Earthbound, et cetera. So I feel the windwalker would be confusing, since it does have 3d images as the caption says. I'm asking becuase the windwalker example is valid, but a pre-SNES/Sega example would represent the idea better. If no one objects in a couple weeks or so, and I remember I'm going to change the image. [[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] 22:41, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
 
== Don'tSprites changeon it.Wikipedia ==
It's valid and current. Sprites are now used mostly as a 3D Optimization, this has been the case since ray casting in Wolfenstien 3D, and I spent a lot of time getting that image because it has two examples where the sprite illusion is [[Sprite (computer graphics)/How to Spot a Sprite|revealed]]. Why not add an image in the relevant section, like the hardware sprite section.[[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 16:00, 12 November 2005 (UTC)
 
Wikimedia feature request: Support for sprites in order to show cropped views of large images. For example, zooming in on Mona Lisa's smile instead of showing the whole canvas. See [https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7757 bug 7757].[[User:Heyzeuss|Heyzeuss]] ([[User talk:Heyzeuss|talk]]) 17:40, 4 December 2011 (UTC)
Sure, but it doesn't seem very relevant to the main topic at all.
It's perfectly valid, but the long captions on the pictures look ugly, and the image isn't really appropirate for the top of the page. It's really unnessecary.
 
This might be a function supported by some software sprite engines, but it is not a characteristic of sprites.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 00:06, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
== Got an engineering degree? ==
Definitions as seen here are exactly why Wikipedia is getting a bad name. May I suggest that any person under 40 without an engineering degree abstain from adding entries here? Clearly these young programmers and gamers don't have a clue. Just because a lot of semi-ignorant people misuse the term now doesn't make a sprite a software thing or any moving object on screen. It's dedicated hardware. The term was misappropriated by programmers and gamers would didn't know any better. Resist becoming part of the Wikipedia credibility problem.
 
== I'm Going to Gut the Entire Article ==
:Simply put the term has migrated to a broader meaning. I went from programming sprite hardware to designing 3D rendering engines over the course of 25 years. So maybe I have some credability. Maybe you think I need a degree and then I'll really know what I'm talking about! Well until I get that read this:
::''Sprites were originally invented as a method of quickly compositing several images together in two-dimensional video games using special hardware. As computer performance improved, this optimization became unnecessary and the term evolved to refer specifically to the two dimensional images themselves that were integrated into a scene. That is, figures generated by either custom hardware or by software alone were all referred to as sprites. As three-dimensional graphics became more prevalent, the term was used to describe a technique whereby flat images are seamlessly integrated into complicated three-dimensional scenes.''
:Seems like that makes it pretty clear. Emphasis on the word '''evolved'''. And the section on hardware sprites also makes it clear. The fact is that the term sprite is in common usage as a bitmap and a 3D object, talk for example to the guys at WETA digital or read the specs of many 3D rendering platforms or check out some of the [[Sprite Comic]]s. It is important that Wikipedia try to use concensus to keep track, as language evolves. Especially in technology. It's also important that we don't try to prescribe how people communicate and instead facilitate communication that's already happening. Even so you should learn to sign your comments please. [[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 21:17, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
 
No kidding. This thing needs to be butchered like livestock. The beef will be an article on real hardware sprites, the workings and history of the hardware devices, and maybe a little info on how it lead to the development of software sprites. The beef -byproducts will be separate pages about spritesheets, web-based sprite-designed subcultures, spritesheets, and a list page for that badly designed table of various machines' graphic capabilities. Hope that this doesn't piss off the Mario fans; I'm guessing that it will be an uphill battle undoing the reverts from editors that prefer this muddled page as it is.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 01:46, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
::Uses of the word sprite in technical writing where it does not refer to the hardware relic:
::[http://www.compuphase.com/smooth.htm Feathering a mask for anti-aliased sprites]
::[http://www.allegro.cc/manual/api/blitting-and-sprites/ Blitting and sprites]
::[http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs248-99/proj3.html Programming assignments #3 and #4 - 3D Video Game]
::[http://www.digipen.edu/programs/catalog/cg.html CG 201 2D Raster Graphics and Animation (3 Cr.)]
::[http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=319424 LOD-sprite technique for accelerated terrain rendering]
::[http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=545281 Controlled animation of video sprites]
::These are academic abstracts, programming tutorials. There not kids talking about games. The fact is that the vast majority of pages you read when you google the word ''sprite'' are talking about bitmaps used in games. Not about the dedicated hardware of yor. So is there really a debate here given the amount of time the artical spends on hardware sprites? [[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 03:25, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
 
== Should horizontal/vertical mirroring count as rotation? ==
== Time to open a huge huge can of worms ==
OK. What constitutes fair use of commercial sprites? Like characters from NES, SNES and Game Boy Advance games? Is the distribution of sprite sheets of commerical sprites illegal? It is rather obvious that the people ripping them are using technically illegal software/methods to do it. On the other hand, I've never ever heard of anyone being sued for using sprites. Has anyone ever been? I would think the game companies would like it, because it helps generate a community of people dedicated to their characers whom they are trying to sell new 3D games about.
 
Horizontal/vertical mirroring is included for Atari 2600 and NES under 'Rotation', but other systems that are currently listed as having no rotation support probably support mirroring as well. Should mirroring be included? [[Special:Contributions/85.228.198.150|85.228.198.150]] ([[User talk:85.228.198.150|talk]]) 15:22, 27 January 2013 (UTC)
This is exactly the "haze of legal doubt" that the creative commons people are [http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/ talking about]. Right now, I'm not only using sprites, I'm animating them in Macromedia Flash to make sprite cartoons. I'm not trying to sell these, just release them on [[Newgrounds]] so I don't much care about the legality issues, but it would be nice to know.
 
Mirroring is not rotation.performing a horizontal and a vertical mirror is equal to 180 degree rotation. No other form of rotation is accomplished by mirroring. [[Special:Contributions/74.211.58.201|74.211.58.201]] ([[User talk:74.211.58.201|talk]]) 07:56, 21 May 2017 (UTC)
All of this is relevent to wikipedia for two reasons:
*People who look up this article may be curious about this/these question(s)
*It might be a good idea to have a sprite sheet in the article as an example/visual aid.
 
== Split ==
Can somebody help me out on this? --[[User:Nerd42|Nerd42]] 03:52, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
 
I propose the material about "sprites" in [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] should be moved to a separate article called [[Sprite (CSS)]] or similar. All these "sprites" have in common with traditional sprites, which this article is mostly about, categorised as, and pretty much referred to in all incoming links, is that they're small rectangular pictures. The CSS material even talks about cutting down HTTP loading time, when sprite graphics doesn't exactly have anything to do with network communications at all. If this trend continues, this article will become a jumble that throws the word "sprite" around to mean any kind of small picture. [[User:JIP|<span style="color:#CC0000;">J</span><span style="color:#00CC00;">I</span><span style="color:#0000CC;">P</span>]] &#124; [[User talk:JIP|Talk]] 19:29, 27 November 2013 (UTC)
I have zero legal knowledge about this. But I'd have to say that I don't think that the extraction of sprite sheets is an illegal process. There is nothing illegal about hacking something that you bought. You can do whatever you want to a game you own, its distributing that is the problem. That being said, I think one sprite sheet seems like fair use. Personally I'd like to see screenshots and sprite sheets next to one another. Hopefully Secret of Monkey Island. [[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 05:42, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
 
:Comment: I think splitting is a bad idea. Contra many of the other comments, I think it's very useful to have a single point of entry that talks about hardware, software, CSS, etc. The idea surely transcends its implementation, and that's why the name rolls along as the techniques change. If you're interested in animation, it's all interesting. Frankly I think it's v usable as is, so thanks to its authors. BenM 18:42, 7 December 2014 (UTC) benm <small><span class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Wordmatter|Wordmatter]] ([[User talk:Wordmatter|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Wordmatter|contribs]]) </span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
*I was thinking Mario from Super Mario World -- it's simple, people will recognize it and seeing a bunch of different marios in each position will instantly make it clear to any moron what is going on. Monkey Island won't get recognized as quickly, and that goes for any non-commercial sprites anybody wants to use as images in this article.
*Hmm ... isn't it true that you are not allowed to re-sell Nintendo games without some kind of retail liscense from them? If I am correct in that, then you will have to be a certain age to have owned an original (legal) cartridge. As I understood it, to distribute the roms is illegal, to download roms of cartridges you don't own legally is illegal, to then hack/extract/rip stuff from games you don't own is illegal and to distribute the results of said endeavours for free is illegal because with each action you violate Nintendo's copyright on the software and images. So, one could argue that the entire sprite cartoon community/culture is organized crime. The only thing protecting it, as I've heard, is some kind of Online Privacy Act or other that prevents law enforcement from prosecuting any of these people. If any of this is incorrect, somebody inform me. Given Nintendo's censorchip polities and track record of not delivering on their service guarantees, said activities are arguably morally justifiable. Rspecially when one considers that they aren't making cartridges anymore, thus there are only so many original cartridges left in the world, a given number of these are destroyed or cease to function every year and this will eventually result in there being no more original games. The emulation community has taken it upon themselves to preserve this "video game history" you might say, and have also been responsible for doing Japanese to English translations - many of which are much better than the companies, probably because of the afore-mentioned censorship policies. --[[User:Nerd42|Nerd42]]
 
::Support. The page is just too long to read. [[User:Stranger195|Stranger195]] ([[User talk:Stranger195|talk]]) 07:46, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
"The entire sprite cartoon community/culture is organized crime." I think your being a little over dramatic. Grow a pair.
 
== What is "analog scaling"? ==
Actually, I think you'll find that the End user agreement would have a clause about editing/extracting game resources.
 
I saw it here first: [[List_of_Sega_arcade_system_boards#VCO_Object]] and it seemed nonsensical to me. Googling "Sega VCO object analog" is not helpful, I get few results and they (all?) seem to be from here. [[User:Comp.arch|comp.arch]] ([[User talk:Comp.arch|talk]]) 10:21, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
* Technically, if you create a sheet, comic, or flash cartoon using these sprites then you are effectively creating a [[derivative work]] - without the original copyright owner's approval, distributing derivative works is illegal. You can read a faq [http://chillingeffects.org/derivative/faq.cgi] about it. Something like a video or screenshot is not illegal because you are simply displaying a game, not modifying it. I think that using a sprite sheet for the purposes of an encyclopedic article would qualify as [[fair use]] (maybe), but I'm concerned that people reading this article and seeing it displayed would take it as proof that making and distributing these things is free to do (not understanding the difference between using a sprite sheet as an instructional aid, and using one to make a sprite comic). Unless there is a disclaimer stating the legality of using sprite sheets, I don't think Wikipedia should display or link to one. --[[User:SeanHoward|SeanHoward]] 18:39, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
 
== HardwareExternal Spriteslinks modified ==
Lets not confuse hardware sprites with billboarding and affine texture mapping. There is a difference between a sprite engine and modern graphics accelerators and texture mapping. I think people are missing that point here. There is still a lot of stuff in the hardware section that doesn't belong. [[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 16:01, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
 
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
===Sources===
I think the reason this page is having problems it because it needs sources. I think most of the content is true, but it's time to start citing sources. In addition I think that a table could be used to list the various sprite capabilities of systems.
[[User:Plowboylifestyle|Plowboylifestyle]] 04:15, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
 
I have just modified {{plural:2|one external link|2 external links}} on [[Sprite (computer graphics)]]. Please take a moment to review [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=prev&oldid=748941578 my edit]. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit [[User:Cyberpower678/FaQs#InternetArchiveBot|this simple FaQ]] for additional information. I made the following changes:
[[PlayStation#Graphics_Processing_Unit]]
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090621131721/http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm to http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm
# Maximum of 4000 8×8 pixel sprites with individual scaling and rotation
*Added {{tlx|dead link}} tag to https://github.com/mamedev/mame/tree/master/src/mame/drivers/segaorun.c
# Emulation of simultaneous backgrounds (for parallax scrolling)
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160125144902/http://imame4all.googlecode.com/svn-history/r146/Reloaded/trunk/src/mame/video/segaic16.c to http://imame4all.googlecode.com/svn-history/r146/Reloaded/trunk/src/mame/video/segaic16.c
can anyone please confirm that this info is about hardware sprites and not a benchmark test for the renderer, please --[[User:Arnero|Arnero]] 02:13, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
*Added {{tlx|dead link}} tag to https://github.com/mamedev/mame/tree/master/src/mess/video/x68k.c
 
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the ''checked'' parameter below to '''true''' or '''failed''' to let others know (documentation at {{tlx|Sourcecheck}}).
[[Super_Nintendo#Technical_specifications]]
# Maximum onscreen objects (sprites): 128 (32 per line, up to 34 8x8 tiles per line).
# Maximum number of sprite pixels on one scanline: 256. The renderer was designed such that it would drop the frontmost sprites instead of the rearmost sprites if a scanline exceeded the limit, allowing for creative clipping effects.
 
{{sourcecheck|checked=false}}
[[OutRun]]
[http://emustatus.rainemu.com/games/outrun.htm|Source]
The revolutionary graphics were made possible by state of the art, highly expensive hardware. The Out Run arcade machine was powered by two MC68000 processors running at 12 MHz each and a graphic chip that included hardware sprite zooming capabilities
 
Cheers.—[[User:InternetArchiveBot|'''<span style="color:darkgrey;font-family:monospace">InternetArchiveBot</span>''']] <span style="color:green;font-family:Rockwell">([[User talk:InternetArchiveBot|Report bug]])</span> 09:21, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
[http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=697|Hardware Features : 128 Sprites on screen at one time, 2 tile layers, 1 text layer, 1 sprite layer with hardware sprite zooming, 1 road layer, can draw 2 roads at once, translucent shadows]
 
== Smooth X/Y movement. ==
[[Hang on]]
0.90u4: Aaron Giles tweaked Hang-On, Space Harrier and 16A sprite systems (based on System 16B pixel scaling). Also fixed documentation on Hang On/Space Harrier road chip. Added 6844 zoom-table dump
[http://www.mameworld.net/maws/romset/hangon|source]
 
One thing I've never been able to understand about sprites is how smoothly they can move across a screen. Even if the display resolution is quite low (like the blocky Atari 2600 graphics), they can translate from one coordinate to another in a much finer resolution than I would think possible. Why is this? --[[User:Navstar|Navstar]] ([[User talk:Navstar|talk]]) 23:21, 15 December 2016 (UTC)
[[Original_Amiga_chipset#Denise]]
8 separate hardware sprites (used for the mouse pointer, for example) with 16 pixel width and arbitrary height with 3 colours (plus a fourth transparent "colour"). Two sprites could be attached to make a single 15-color sprite.
 
It's all a matter of resolution. Atari 2600 backgrounds can be very low res, but that doesn't affect the sprite resolution at all, and it can jump to any coordinate. they also can be animated, which causes the transition to look more realistic. [[Special:Contributions/74.211.58.201|74.211.58.201]] ([[User talk:74.211.58.201|talk]]) 18:58, 21 May 2017 (UTC)
* The sprite hardware was designed to allow the sprites to be re-used on different lines, allowing many more sprites on screen as long as no more than 8 appear on each scan line.
* Although not an officially supported feature, the copper could be used to change sprite registers in the middle of a line to allow more sprites per line, a trick which was used by some games such as Battle Squadron.
* It is possible to simulate having arbitrary-width sprites by placing 16 pixel wide sprites next to each other, up to a maximum of 128 pixels wide for 3-color sprites, and 64 pixels for 15-color sprites, by laying each sprite adjacent to each other. The wider the "meta-sprite," however, the fewer other sprites could be displayed on a single scanline.
 
:: That's an absurd answer that doesn't address the question.
[[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]]
 
Not sure what the machines did. If Sprites are merged into the screen's frame buffer, then they can't move more smoothly than anything else (they're still bound by frame buffer resolution). However, the hardware Sprite processor is focused only on sprites, so isn't slowed down by other stuff running on it like the CPU is, which might give the illusion of being smoother because it doesn't have to skip pixels to maintain speed while other operations hog the CPU.
* Sprites:
o Simultaneously displayable: 64
o Sizes: 16×16, 16×32, 32×16, 32×32, 32×64
o Palette: Each sprite can use up to 15 unique colors (one color must be reserved as transparent) via one of the 16 available sprite palettes.
o Layers: The HuC6270A VDC is capable of displaying one sprite layer. Sprites could be placed either in front of or behind background tiles.
o Colision detection: The HuC6270A VDC can detect if there has been a colision between sprite #0 and any other sprites.
 
I could imagine smoother movement to work if sprites are just "tiny separate frame buffers" that override the info from the main frame buffer, and are composited at the same time the video chip selects the pixel value to send to the CRT. In that case, given a CRT is analog along the horizontal axis, and had probably 2x-4x what most PCs had memory for at the time in vertical scan lines (NTSC has 480 lines, PAL even 576, computers only had memory for e.g. 240 pixels height), the cathode ray might visit each frame buffer pixel several times. It would therefore be possible to store the sprite position with a higher resolution than the actual image, and position sprites on half pixels or even finer granularity. Not sure if any computer actually did that, though. -- [[User:Uliwitness|Uliwitness]] ([[User talk:Uliwitness|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
[[Mega Drive|Sega Genesis]]
Each plane can be scrolled independently in various ways.
Planes consist of tables of words, where each word describes a
tile. The word contains 11 bits for describing which tile, 2 bits
for flip x and flip y, 2 bits for the selection of the color table,
and 1 bit for a depth selector. Sprites are composed of tiles also.
A sprite can be up to 4 tiles wide by four tiles high. Since each
tile is 8x8, this means sprites can be anywhere from 8x8 pixels to
32x32 pixels. There can be 80 sprites on screen at one time. On a
scan line you can have 10 32 pixel wide sprites or 20 16 pixel wide
sprites. Each sprite can only have 16 colors but they are out of the
4 different color tables. Color 0=transparent.
[http://fly.hiwaay.net/~jfrohwei/sega/genesis.html|source]
 
:: OK, a friend just pointed out to me that the 480 lines are split into half-frames of course, so that means at 60Hz, each individual frame contains only 240 lines. Also, apparently no computer ever actually sent different images in half-frames like TVs did, they just sent the same picture twice (effectively 30fps with double-height pixels), as they weren't fast enough for 60fps. So my theory is nonsense. No idea what [[User:Navstar|Navstar]] was referring to with smoother scrolling. -- [[User:Uliwitness|Uliwitness]] ([[User talk:Uliwitness|talk]]) 14:14, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
[[MOS_Technology_VIC-II]]
# concurrent handling of 8 sprites, each of 24 × 21 pixels (12 × 21 multicolor)
[http://www.minet.uni-jena.de/~andreasg/c64/vic_artikel/vic_article_1.htm|Moreover, the sprites can be doubled in their size on the screen in X and/or Y direction (X/Y expansion). ]
 
== External links modified ==
[[ANTIC]]
Player sprite are eight pixels wide and either 128 or 256 pixels high, missiles are two pixels wide and either 128 or 256 pixels high.
[http://www.atarihq.com/5200/5200faq/04_02.html|source]
 
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
[[Sega Master System#Specifications]]
8x8 or 8x16 pixel sprites, max 64
 
I have just modified 3 external links on [[Sprite (computer graphics)]]. Please take a moment to review [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=prev&oldid=799655435 my edit]. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit [[User:Cyberpower678/FaQs#InternetArchiveBot|this simple FaQ]] for additional information. I made the following changes:
[[Nintendo Entertainment System#Technical specifications]]
*Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.minet.uni-jena.de/~andreasg/c64/vic_artikel/vic_article_1.htm
Hardware-supported sprites
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090621131721/http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm to http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm
*Corrected formatting/usage for http://fly.hiwaay.net/~jfrohwei/sega/genesis.html
 
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
* Maximum onscreen sprites: 64 (without reloading sprites mid-screen)
* Sprite sizes: 8x8 or 8x16 pixels (selected globally for all sprites)
* Maximum number of sprites on one scanline: 8, using a flag to indicate when additional sprites are dropped (to allow the software to rotate sprites, causing flicker)
 
{{sourcecheck|checked=false|needhelp=}}
[http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=Nintendo_Entertainment_System+sprites+flip&btnG=Suche&meta=|nesdev.parodius.com/NESDoc.pdf]
Bit 6 - Indicates whether to flip the sprite horizontally.
bit 7 - indicates whether to flip The Sprite vertically. 8x16 sprites
 
Cheers.—[[User:InternetArchiveBot|'''<span style="color:darkgrey;font-family:monospace">InternetArchiveBot</span>''']] <span style="color:green;font-family:Rockwell">([[User talk:InternetArchiveBot|Report bug]])</span> 01:30, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
[[Game Boy Advance#Graphics]]
The GBA has hardware support for simple 2D operations using graphical elements called sprites. It can scale, rotate, sum-blend, and alpha-blend sprites against a background (with one alpha value for the whole screen, not the alpha-blending of image edges seen in the PNG format), and it can change the scaling and rotation of sprites and the background on each scanline to give a pseudo-3D effect.
 
== Hillis and TI ==
[[Game Boy]]
[http://www.at-mix.de/gameboy.htm|Source]
# Sprites: 8x8 oder 8x16
# max. Spritezahl: 40
 
The text says "It was also used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s."
http://www.obsolyte.com/sgi_indigo/
[http://www.obsolyte.com/sgi_indigo/]
Blitter:
This is a machine I'd drooled over since it's inception around 1989/1990.
Yes, those are SIMMs you are seeing, but those are proprietary texture RAM modules, and they aren't all that big - the Indigo, while it will support some textures, isn't really that fast at moving 24bit textures. While it's geometry engines will move polygons, the texture slows it down considerably.
This makes the Indigo Elan great for CAD, but not for 3-D games.
 
I believe that "at Texas Instruments" should be "for Texas Instruments."
sounds great 2 me! good work all! --[[User:Nerd42|Nerd42]] ([[User talk:Nerd42|talk]]) 03:26, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
 
According to [[Danny Hillis|his bio]], Danny Hillis apparently never worked at Texas Instruments. The cited source ("Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers, and the Transformation of Learning") says Hillis designed the chip for sprites, and it was for a TI project, but it never says he did it ''at'' Texas Instruments.
== Fragment/Pixel Blending and Depth-Sorts ==
In the Wind Waker box on the right side of this page; the incorrect occlusion of the flower and the grass is noted as being an artifact of the flower's existance as a sprite. The flower is actually a full 3D object just the same as the cliff behind or the character Link. The incorrect occlusion here stems from an optimisation implemented in many 3D engines today. For correct rendering results all of the transparent, blended or masked polygons must be rendered in a back to front order and in such a way as they do not intersect as par the painter's algorithm (intersecting polygons need to be split into non-intersecting sub-polygons). Dynamic sorting and splitting of individual polygons is an irksome and expensive task so most modern 3D engines cheat a little by grouping such polygons into small bunches (for example, each grass object's constituent polygons may be joined into one group, as with the flowers; although how this is done is anything but standard and depends competly on the design of the particular engine). These groups are then sorted in a back to front order according to their smallest enclosing sphere/cuboid or some similar means and then the groups are drawn in a back to front order. While this may accelerate the rendering process it does result in erroneous results when there is no obvious "group level" order such as the two bunches of grass and flower pictured (the bounding volumes most probably intersect in this example). Generally with some artistic adjustment of groupings and object design these errors can be kept to permissible bounds though.
 
Quoting R. W. Lawler<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawler |first1=Robert Walter |title=Learning with computers. |date=1996 |publisher=Intellect Books |location=Exeter, England, United Kingdom |isbn=1-871516-57-9 |pages=83 |url=https://archive.org/details/learningwithcomp0000lawl/page/82/mode/2up?q=hillis}}</ref>:
Classification of the flower object or grass objects as sprites is downright erroneous, whatever the argument about the bill-board explosion.
 
{{Blockquote|text=Texas Instruments supported the development of Logo for the TI-99 at the MIT Logo Project. The turtle geometry component of the system was quite inadequate. The sprite graphics system, which originally had been an uninteresting feature of the hardware, proved in the end to be a liberating addition to the repertoire of tools which could be used for educating children with computers.}}
While I believe the definition of a sprite presented here which appears in summary to be "any polygon 2D or 3D which is apparently planar", to be highly dubious, since the objects generally agreed to be "not sprites" are in turn made of planar polygons; this fallacy has begun to embed itself so far into culture as to infuence the naming of such objects in such reputable APIs as OpenGL and DirectX. With the recent addition of "point sprites". These "point sprites" as defined by both APIs however have a few things in common that may help disambiguate the modern useage of the term "sprite", in their parliance a "point sprite" is a planar polygon that ALWAYS FACES THE SCREEN OR PROJECTION SURFACE, DOES NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC ORIENTATION UPON THAT PLANE and HAS FOUR SIDES FORMING AN ORTHOGRAPHIC RECTANGLE BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER PROJECTION. The only two spacial properties that a point sprite possesses are a point coorinate specifying its central origin upon the plane of projection and a size. As a "point sprite" appears to be differentiated from a regular sprite as having a point of origin I propose the the above upper case text as a formal disambiguation of sprites from polygons so far as the field of computer graphics is concerned.
 
And according the section [https://logothings.github.io/logothings/The70s.html TI Sprite Logo 1978-9]:
[[User:213.202.168.128|213.202.168.128]] 23:22, 11 March 2006 (UTC) Alan
 
{{Blockquote|text=Seymour was approached by Texas Instruments founder Cecil Green. Green had a grandchild in the Lamplighter School in Dallas. He wanted Logo on the new personal computers TI was building. Ed Hardebeck became the chief implementer of Sprite Logo – color and sprites (turtles).}}
== Particle Graphics ==
Would the Wind Waker images on this page also constitute decent depictions of a stylized [[particle system]]? Is that worth mentioning in this article? Similarly, is it worth mentioning in the particle system article that particles are often rendered as sprites? Do I have my facts right that ''textured billboarded quads'' are, more or less, sprites? Food for thought. [[User:129.61.46.16|129.61.46.16]] 14:55, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
 
This seems very much like TI worked with MIT to product TI Sprite Logo, and Hillis was involved through the MIT connection, working ``at`` MIT rather than working ``at`` TI.
== Sprites and BOBs ==
In regard to the Amiga, sprites and BOBs are different things. Sprites are closer to the hardware and move faster, whereas BOBs allow greater variety in size and colours. [[User:JIP|<font color="#CC0000">J</font><font color="#00CC00">I</font><font color="#0000CC">P</font>]] | [[User talk:JIP|Talk]] 13:03, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 
===Follow-up===
I'd second that -- also, BOB in Amigaland stands for Bitmap Object Block, and was not a replacement for but a complement to the MOB (sprite) hardware -- BOBs are more like parallax background layers as I understand it (not an Amiga programmer however)
According to this video of Hillis (https://www.webofstories.com/play/danny.hillis/111), he was working for Milton Bradley on electronic toys and was sent to TI to "design a chip for a video game." So he was '''at''' TI, but not working for them. [[User:Dgpop|Dgpop]] ([[User talk:Dgpop|talk]]) 21:07, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
 
{{reflist-talk}}
== "Anisotropic zoom" ==
I'm pretty sure I know what the intended meaning is in this article's table with regards to "anisotropic zoom" (mode-7 effects like those seen in Pilotwings), but that term fails the google test... "anisotropic zoom" only yields about 2 results -- this article, and some other page, so perhaps a more descriptive term is in order. Also I notice NES's entry for anisotropic zoom has it as -2, -1, +1, +2... did the NES's hardware really have sprite scaling effects (even if limited ones compared to SNES's Mode 7)? I can't think of any games for the NES that scaled sprites in any way, and I've played a -lot- in my lifetime. --[[User:67.183.186.73|67.183.186.73]] 06:19, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
 
== [[Impostor (computer graphics)]] needs its own article not a redirect into nonsense ==
Some sprites have been scaled all the time, because scaling was just to save memory. Better name would be good: Zoom is common and affine transformation also, but both are wrong in this case. Flip and mirror are special cases of zoom with negative sign, this treatment would lead to robust and efficient hardware, but this treatment cannot be found in the original documentation. Mode 7 is something different, because you could program each line independently[[User:Arnero|Arnero]] 21:14, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
 
Impostors are not just sprites and are definitely not a part of 2D engines, which is what this article is exclusively about. Impostors need their own article as it is a 3d technique for 3d engines using sprites, which are in this case called imposters. This article doesn't even mention the Impostors in the text!
== External Links ==
I therefore suggest editing the redirect [[Impostor (computer graphics)]] and making it its own article. The computer game Trespasser was btw. one of the first 3d games, that used this technique. [[Special:Contributions/93.229.163.76|93.229.163.76]] ([[User talk:93.229.163.76|talk]]) 05:05, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
The current list of external links has gotten way out of hand. None of them actually provide information about the subject of the article itself - they're just links to resources used by people who make sprite comics. Considering that the "sprite culture" is only one small section of the article (as it should be), the long list of links pertaining to that one subject causes imbalance to the whole article. There is not a single external link to information about sprites themselves, however, there's 15+ links concerning a small section of an article which is, believe it or not, about sprites - NOT SPRITE RESOURCES. Were this article about sprite resources, then that would be understandable. However, it is not, and all of the external links in this article shouldn't be about them.
 
Please see [[WP:NOT#REPOSITORY]] as well.
 
Also, considering the legal implications involved with sprites, it would be in Wikipedia's best interest not to link to them unless we have a good, valid reason to do so. It seems that the only reason the external link list is there is because some members of the spriting community decided to use Wikipedia as a link repository for all their resource websites.
 
I understand that we might want to link one or two to give the user a better understanding of the subject, but 20 of them is waaaayy too much. After seeing the first archive or so, the user would have an understanding of what the subject is - seeing 18 more sprite archives won't further their knowledge of the subject. For the time being, I've removed all of them from the article. I'm not going to pick and choose between them and determine which two sites should be kept. That's a matter that should be discussed between all the editors of this article.
 
One or two external links to sprite resources is all this article needs. Not 20 of them. [[User:Ibm2431|Ibm2431]] 15:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 
*I think there needs to be more than just two. [[User:LethalReflex|LethalReflex]] 07:45, 17 November 2007
 
== "Sprite culture" needs cleanup ==
It has glimmers of accuracy (I especially like how the oft-forgotten hoaxing gets a mention), but... ugh. --[[User:Andrusi|Andrusi]] 15:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
 
The whole article... ugh. --[[User:John Lunney|John Lunney]] 02:40, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
 
== Move to 3D ==
This is a subject that interested me greatly and decided to add as accurate an entry as possible to the article. Please inform me if you object to its contents. -[[User:HannuMakinen|TheHande]] 16:12, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 
I think the article focuses way too much on the use of sprites as objects parallel to the camera in 3d scenes ("Billboarding").
The most common meaning of (software) sprite would be in my experience "a 2d object (image or animation) that moves/animates seamlessly above the background".
Now you can render 3d things before or after drawing it, but that's not that relevant.
2d graphics are not a thing of the past, even your mouse cursor that you use to view this page is probably a sprite :) --[[User:Helixdq|Helixdq]] 17:01, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
 
== Actual Sprite ==
Shouldn't there be an actual sprite in the article, or a sprite sheet. I mean like, 2D link or a custom made sprite? I'm willing to make one, even though it may be horrible, it would spruce the article up a little bit with an actual sprite example. If someone can find a sprite willing to give up a single sprite for the article (I know some good ones myself), it would be great! - [[User:VenomousNinja|~VNinja]][[User talk:VenomousNinja|~]]
P.S. I've decided to aquire a custom sprite from a spriter I know and put it in the page, if anybody has any arguments, let's talk here.
 
== "Sprite" eymology ==
Is there any information on the etymology of "sprite" in this context? [[User:Ziiv|Ziiv]] 08:32, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
 
I came to this page trying to find out how they came up with the term sprite. Anyone have any insight? My programmer buddies and I were making jokes about a can of Sprite soda and none of us knew what the heck a sprite was. [[Special:Contributions/76.214.7.81|76.214.7.81]] ([[User talk:76.214.7.81|talk]]) 00:08, 29 August 2009 (UTC)
 
==Fair use rationale for Image:SpriteExampleRevealed.jpg==
[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|70px|left]]
'''[[:Image:SpriteExampleRevealed.jpg]]''' is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under [[Wikipedia:Fair use|fair use]] but there is no [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline|explanation or rationale]] as to why its use in '''this''' Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Fair use|boilerplate fair use template]], you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with [[WP:FU|fair use]].
 
Please go to [[:Image:SpriteExampleRevealed.jpg|the image description page]] and edit it to include a [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline |fair use rationale]]. Using one of the templates at [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline]] is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
 
If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#Images.2FMedia|criteria for speedy deletion]]. If you have any questions please ask them at the [[Wikipedia:Media copyright questions|Media copyright questions page]]. Thank you.<!-- Template:Missing rationale2 -->
 
[[User:BetacommandBot|BetacommandBot]] ([[User talk:BetacommandBot|talk]]) 05:38, 24 January 2008 (UTC)
 
==Fair use rationale for Image:SpriteExamplefromZeldaWindwalker.jpg==
[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|70px|left]]
'''[[:Image:SpriteExamplefromZeldaWindwalker.jpg]]''' is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under [[Wikipedia:Fair use|fair use]] but there is no [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline|explanation or rationale]] as to why its use in '''this''' Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Fair use|boilerplate fair use template]], you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with [[WP:FU|fair use]].
 
Please go to [[:Image:SpriteExamplefromZeldaWindwalker.jpg|the image description page]] and edit it to include a [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline |fair use rationale]]. Using one of the templates at [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline]] is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
 
If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#Images.2FMedia|criteria for speedy deletion]]. If you have any questions please ask them at the [[Wikipedia:Media copyright questions|Media copyright questions page]]. Thank you.<!-- Template:Missing rationale2 -->
 
[[User:BetacommandBot|BetacommandBot]] ([[User talk:BetacommandBot|talk]]) 05:39, 24 January 2008 (UTC)
 
== History? ==
This article claims the first system to support sprites was the Elektor TV, which the Elektor article states was launched in 1979. However, the Atari 8-bitters also had sprites, and were launched in 1978. I doubt this claim, and will do so until I see specific dates attached to it. [[User:Maury Markowitz|Maury]] ([[User talk:Maury Markowitz|talk]]) 21:34, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 
I think the potential first use of a sprite could be considered the Magnavox Odyessy in 1972. See http://www.pong-story.com/intro.htm. [[Special:Contributions/83.216.149.7|83.216.149.7]] ([[User talk:83.216.149.7|talk]]) 01:30, 16 December 2008 (UTC)
 
:: I'm pretty sure hardware sprites were first used on the Atari 400/800 developed by Jay Miner.
 
== Rewrite ==
 
In general, I think the article concentrates a little too much on the hardware history of sprites. The sprite concept does not belong to any generation of technology or hardware. I agree that Mario is the archetypal sprite and think his image would be acceptable as fair use.
 
I'd like to rewrite this page somewhat. I'd like to start with a very general definition of a sprite and then use parts of the existing text to describe their history and development. Also an explanation of current uses for sprites and a description of sprite sheets.
 
I would also like to add -
 
An animated GIF showing a sprite (probably Mario).<br>
An animated GIF to illustrate rotoscoping (probably a character from Doom, I think this is acceptable fair use).<br>
A picture of a particle system (anyone have suggestion for an archetypal particle system?).<br>
 
Does anyone have any objections to these ideas? [[Special:Contributions/83.216.149.7|83.216.149.7]] ([[User talk:83.216.149.7|talk]])<span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/83.216.149.7|83.216.149.7]] ([[User talk:83.216.149.7|talk]]) 15:45, 14 December 2008 (UTC)</span><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
 
== On the Web ==
 
I added a paragraph about use of sprites on the Web -- this is a pretty common technique for Web designers which can really speed up the apparent load time of a Web page. I linked to an article about the technique on [[A List Apart]]. --[[User:EvanProdromou|ESP]] ([[User talk:EvanProdromou|talk]]) 03:31, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
:: '''No such thing'''
:: Because sprite is a '''moving bitmap object with transparency'''.
:: [[Special:Contributions/80.249.84.110|80.249.84.110]] ([[User talk:80.249.84.110|talk]]) 06:41, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
 
== Missing from the list: Saturn and Dreamcast ==
 
These machines were designed from the ground up to push sprites! Especially the Saturn. I know I have hardware docs somewhere. I've never edited a table before, though. :| [[User:Utils|Utils]] ([[User talk:Utils|talk]]) 03:45, 30 July 2009 (UTC)
 
As far as I know, Saturn, unlike PSX, actually has traditional hardware sprites. Dreamcast doesn't.
NEC PC-FX would also qualify for inclusion. [[Special:Contributions/80.249.84.110|80.249.84.110]] ([[User talk:80.249.84.110|talk]]) 06:56, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
 
==Merger discussion==
I'm not sure who initially suggested merging [[Sprite sheet]] into this article, but I would support this move. <span style="border:1px solid #f57900;padding:1px;">[[User:SharkD|<span style="color:#8f5902;padding-left:1px;">SharkD</span>]] [[User_talk:SharkD|<span style="color:#fff;background:#fcaf3e;">&nbsp;Talk&nbsp;</span>]]</span> 05:04, 29 November 2009 (UTC)
 
==Introduction==
I tried my hand at revision the initial overview to reflect what a sprite originally meant and to make clearer its function (a graphical object that can be moved independent of the main screen data without changing the latter), and also to add earlier and better-known examples of sprite graphics than the The Elektor TV Games Computer, which followed the famous Atari VCS.
[[User:MrNeutronSF|MrNeutronSF]] ([[User talk:MrNeutronSF|talk]]) 02:29, 2 November 2010 (UTC)
 
== Article quality is poor, and scope is too wide. ==
 
This article tries to describe many possible meanings of "sprite", frequently confusing one with another.
Even when talking strictly about hardware sprites, there are actually many implementations, gradually growing in complexity.
Overlay with priorities, linebuffer blitter, framebufer blitter. No display list, CPU/coprocessor-based display list, or opaque, hardware-driven display list.
 
Sprite hardware table is ugly. Looks like people just copied various tech specs from different sources, as result having different descriptions and measures for essentially similar hardware properties and capabilities. For example, why Amiga sprite height is "arbitrary" and 2600 sprites are 262 lines? Also, Amiga has several very different hardware facilities for manipulating 2D images and neither was originally called a sprite.
 
3D sprites is potentially a big entry by itself, as you can use 2D images in various ways, with different orientations and rendering approaches.
 
 
[[Special:Contributions/80.249.84.110|80.249.84.110]] ([[User talk:80.249.84.110|talk]]) 07:46, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
 
This article is ridiculous. The table comparing various systems' hardware doesn't belong here. Anyone that says anything like "Mario is my favorite sprite" needs to be blocked from contributing. Real sprite technology (as distinguished from sprite sheets drawn by fanboys) is not such a broad topic that a coherent article can't be written.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 04:50, 15 December 2011 (UTC)
 
== Sprites on Wikipedia ==
 
Wikimedia feature request: Support for sprites in order to show cropped views of large images. For example, zooming in on Mona Lisa's smile instead of showing the whole canvas. See [https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7757 bug 7757].[[User:Heyzeuss|Heyzeuss]] ([[User talk:Heyzeuss|talk]]) 17:40, 4 December 2011 (UTC)
 
This might be a function supported by some software sprite engines, but it is not a characteristic of sprites.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 00:06, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
 
== I'm Going to Gut the Entire Article ==
 
No kidding. This thing needs to be butchered like livestock. The beef will be an article on real hardware sprites, the workings and history of the hardware devices, and maybe a little info on how it lead to the development of software sprites. The beef -byproducts will be separate pages about spritesheets, web-based sprite-designed subcultures, spritesheets, and a list page for that badly designed table of various machines' graphic capabilities. Hope that this doesn't piss off the Mario fans; I'm guessing that it will be an uphill battle undoing the reverts from editors that prefer this muddled page as it is.--[[User:Drvanthorp|Drvanthorp]] ([[User talk:Drvanthorp|talk]]) 01:46, 29 December 2011 (UTC)