Having the possibility to set a maximum size for the sprite?

[tleunen]

Is there a limit in the size (width/height or even weight) of the sprite we shouldn't use in a browser (web or mobile) ? If yes, having the possibility to put a limit and having spritesmith automatically creating a second sprite image could be nice.

I'm starting having a pretty big sprite (2000x2000) and wondering the impact on the browser if I reach 3k or 4k...

[twolfson]

Unfortunately, paging was not a thought in the initial design of spritesmith and does not feel like it would easily be introduced. Can you explain why there is such a large sprite you are working with?

[tleunen]

I'm using the tool for the spritesheet for a pretty big project with a lot of images. So one of my spritesheet (composed of jpeg images only) is about 2300x1700 at the moment.

I can still split it manually but it would be nice to have it done automatically.

[twolfson]

I think we are focusing on the wrong problem. The point of sprites is to save HTTP requests. However, when you are sending a very large image, it increases perceived page load and is more detrimental than beneficial.

In cases like this, it is best to have small set of sprites which are needed for the initial page load. Then, any larger images can be lazy loaded in.

[tleunen]

In my project, I need to preload everything before starting the app. So I can't really do lazy loading in this case.

[twolfson]

Even so, spritesmith was built/designed for websites. It does not have a good channel for adding in paging. If we add anything for it, it will be more of an after thought. There is probably some benefit to building a sprite generator for gaming engines, both in focus and feature set.

[tleunen]

Yep for sure. Thanks ;)