Hi guys,
As part of my GSoC project [1], I've been researching Pygame's sprite.py and equivalents in other libraries, figuring out a list of features I will focus on in my project.
I wanted to get your thoughts and feedback on these items; which of these do you think are necessary, and which more necessary than the others? Do you think implementing any of these would be too difficult for a first-time contributor (me)? Do you have any other ideas?
Suggested improvements for sprite.py:
1. Easier positioning methods: Using tuples or arrays, instead of just Rects.
2. Setting a sprite's anchor points for handling in movement, animation, collision etc.
3. Aggregated sprite class (basically, a sprites group which implements the sprite interface).
4. Automated dirty rendering (existing feature in Spyral [2]).
5. New visual attributes for sprites:
- Rotation angle
- Scale
- Crop rectangle
- Visible/hidden
- Collision parameters (smaller hitbox, etc.)
6. Alternative forms of collision detecting (not limited to circles and rectangles).
Possibly using algorithms such as quadtrees and spatial hashing.
7. Improved layering system.
8. Respecting blendmode flags are handled in all types of sprites.
9. Animated sprites:
- Setting a group of images to cycle through in a time interval.
- Animating visual attributes, a-la Kivy [3] or CSS transitions [4].
10. Events dispatching from groups to sprites.
This list was comprised after consulting with mentor Robert Deaton (masquerade) and fellow contributors on the IRC channel.
It's obviously not a final list of the work I'm planning, but more of a list of things to research before I get to coding.
I would love to hear your feedback on these.
Thanks,
--
Your friend in time,
Sagie Maoz