Background Image Optimizing Using Instances?

TouchTiltGamesTouchTiltGames Member Posts: 1,162
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
The background of my iPad game is just one 1024x768 optimized PNG using ImageOptim but it's still ~1mb. Now all I've done is duplicate each scene for my 20 levels, so I've left the background image and interface in there for each scene...

My question is can a background image be an instance of the background image from the first scene? It seems like this is the culprit for texture size so I'm trying to figure out how to make this image smaller.

Meh I think I'm asking a dumb question because it's probably not possible to avoid overhead if you've got the same image in every scene...

Comments

  • firemaplegamesfiremaplegames Member Posts: 3,211
    What you did is correct.

    All of your background image actors, including the one in the first Scene, are Instances of the prototype Actor in the Library.

    A 1024x768 image requires 2.3 MB to display (regardless of its file size).

    To reduce the image RAM usage, you could try making a smaller image and using the tiling capabilities of an actor. Under graphics, set it to Tile. Then stretch it out over the background. This only works for some things of course. I used this technique to create the large space backgrounds for my Stunt Squirrels! game.

    Your background image shouldn't be too bad on an iPad, but everything helps.
  • scitunesscitunes Member, Sous Chef Posts: 4,047
    I have a side scrolling platformer and I did not want to drag a bunch of background actors in to cover the entire width of the scene so I created an image in photoshop that works just like a photoshop pattern. Then I set it to tile in GS and can drag it for the entire scene. It is one 256x256 image but it can be tiled seamlessly horizontally so it can go on for ever (theoretically). Here is the tutorial I followed to make the image tile seamlessly:

    http://veerle-v2.duoh.com/blog/comments/creating_patterns_in_photoshop_cs2/
  • FranzKellerFranzKeller Member Posts: 517
    aha... interesting.
  • TouchTiltGamesTouchTiltGames Member Posts: 1,162
    Thanks for the input guys. Yeah my nearly done game is just a static scene on the iPad. I hope to optimize it for all Arm7 devices so I'll look into some tiling, cheers!
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