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Finishing, testing, and submitting your sprite
You will want to export your sprite periodically to test how it animates. Find a suitable spriting tool and import your image and palette (if you are using a separate palette file). You don't need to fill out the metadata when testing, but you should once your sprite is finished.
When exporting, you will be creating a ZSPR (Zarby Sprite) file. These files contain information on the sprite, its palette, and the author. When sharing your sprite, you should be distributing it as this type of file. Distributing ROM files is a legal gray-area. Besides, almost 99% of the information in a randomizer ROM doesn't contain any information about the sprite; in fact, it won't even contain some of the metadata.
- Colors are missing
- Make sure all colors match up with the palette exactly. Conversion tools will ignore any pixel that doesn't seem to fit the palette.
- Make sure the meta colors (index 0) aren't actually used anywhere. Your glove colors should be default color in your sheet.
It's a smart idea to regularly test your sprite either in-game or with an animator tool. Discovering too late that you are unsatisfied with a particular animation or design will leave you with more work to clean up.
If you're making a sprite that you intend to submit to the randomizer website, you'll want to make track some of your progress on the public document for community development.
Once you're confident that you're finished, post it in #sprites on the ALttPR Discord and it will be noticed and eventually tested. New sprites are added in batches along with core logic updates.
Sprite testing is done by a small team of volunteers, which is overseen by the community development team. Each sprite requires approval from 2 separate testers other than the creator. Once approved, a community development team member will sign off on the sprite. Any sprite that has been approved and signed off on will be submitted to the core dev team near the release date of a logic update.
If there are any concerns with your sprite, you will be approached by the sprite tester to discuss changes. These changes fall into two categories:
- Technical issues: animation or visual errors that usually demand fixing. This can include missing pixels or wrong colors.
- Stylistic feedback: areas of design that the tester feels could be improved. This usually includes specific feedback such as, "What if the bunny sprite were <this>?" This feedback is meant as collaboration, and you are free to reject the ideas if you're happy with your sprite's current form.