Using png artwork
Frames
OpenRA supports reading frames directly from a png. For that to work the png needs to have specific metadata set. The most important values to set are 'FrameSize' and 'FrameAmount'.
Exporting Metadata
The easiest way to learn how OpenRA handles png metadata is to extract the metadata from an existing png. This can be done by using the "--png-sheet-export" utility command. That command will generate a yaml file with the same name the png has.
Importing Metadata
Importing metadata can be done by using the "--png-sheet-import" utility command or using a tool like TweakPng. That command will use a yaml file with the same name the png has.
Example
Define "example.yaml" with the following data for a png file that is 20x32 and has 4 frames.
FrameSize: 10,16
FrameAmount: 4
Put both yaml and png file in the same directory and run the "--png-sheet-import example.png" utility command. You can now delete the yaml file and move the png to your artwork folder.
Palettes
A palette can directly be created by using the PaletteFromPng
trait on the world actor.