Thanks to all of you who have supported ATE during the launch! For those who haven't, if this tool looks good to you -- grab it! It will be under continuous improvement for 1 year during Early Access.
What can you do with ATE?
ATE is an art tool for creating collages that serve as game tiles for games that use 2D, 2.5D and 3D worlds.
ATE also performs image processing and texture management for helping with assets for game engines and other animation software.
- Create reusable sprite atlases and tile sets that reuse the same texture atlas in creative ways.
- Export single tiles as PNG
- Associate tiles with custom heightmaps for making assets that can work with 2.5D dynamic lighting.
- Keep track of all of your tiles and atlases.
What kinds of programs does ATE work with?
- Unity
- GameMaker
- RPGMaker
- Nintendo ROM/hacks
- Ethanon Engine
- Haxe
- Construct 2
- AppGameKit
- Screen2GIF
- Platfinity
- Moho (Anime Studio)
- Photoshop
- Spine
- TiLED
- AESprite
- TexturePacker
- any game engine!
- anything that supports PNG!
What will you be able to do after Early Access is over?
We're trying to incorporate many new features:
- Manage your atlas library
- Import and assemble atlases from disparate image sources
- Atlas Splitting into individual tiles
- Particle animations you customize, then are ouutput to sprite sheets or individual image files
- 2.5D Isometric Tile Editing
- 3D "Atlas Block" creation with FBX or PLY exporting
- Hexagonal tiles
- Full Steam Workshop support for sharing work on the cloud
Why have you entered into Early Access?
Early access is a funding model in the computer game industry by which consumers can pay for and obtain access to the pre-full-release versions of software, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue work on the product. Those that pay to participate typically help to debug game, provide feedback and suggestions, and may have access to special materials in the game. The early-access approach is a common way to obtain funding for indie games and may also be used along with other funding mechanisms, including crowdfunding.
We're on a shoestring here, so your support and interest in developing this tool is appreciated! ATE is a great tool from my perspective, if it needs something that it doesn't have for you, tell me about it!
What are some less obvious uses of ATE?
There is no resolution limit on ATE except in your hardware. This means you can do high resolution tile editing using high resolution Atlases on the most modern hardware. It's not just for low-res pixelated images.
You can remix previously created tilesets by converting the tilesets into an atlas, then using those as source material to create new tiles. This is a rinse-and-repeat method that allows you to start simple and build toward complexity like no other tile editor.