Dev Diary Day 11? is it 11?

im so tired. this was a hard day. here, let him explain what we did. zomg im SO TIRED.

What We Did Today — Sprite Sheet Grid Cutting & Preview Pipeline

1. Locked the Core Goal

We committed to a data-driven sprite slicing pipeline, not Unity’s importer:

• Sprite sheets are authored in-app

• Slices are defined as rect metadata, not assets

• Unity sprites/tiles are derived outputs, not the source of truth

This keeps modding, regeneration, and iteration sane.

2. Grid Cut Model: Simplified & Corrected

We killed the wrong abstraction early (important win):

Removed:

• Cell width

• Cell height

• Padding

Final model:

• Grid is defined by cuts (divisions) only

• [c]xCuts = 0, yCuts = 0[/c] → whole image (1 slice)

• [c]xCuts = 1[/c] → split into 2 columns

• [c]yCuts = 1[/c] → split into 2 rows

• Total slices = [c](xCuts + 1) * (yCuts + 1)[/c]

This matches:

• Photoshop guides

• Unity Sprite Editor behavior

• Human expectation

3. Grid Slice Generation (Data Layer)

We implemented deterministic rect generation:

• Uses texture width/height

• Computes rows/cols from cuts

• Produces clean [c]RectInt[/c] slices

• No hardcoded pixels

• No dependency on UI scale

This is now engine-agnostic slice data.

4. Preview System: Iterated Until Correct

This took most of the day — and it mattered.

Problems Identified

• UI scaling mismatch

• Anchors/pivots fighting texture space

• Preview not aligning with displayed image

• Confusion between texture space vs UI space

Final Resolution (Key Insight)

The preview must live as a child of the sprite image.

Once previews were:

• Children of the displayed sprite

• Using identical anchors & pivot

• Positioned in texture pixel space

Everything snapped into alignment immediately.

✅ This is the correct solution ❌ Fighting world/UI conversion was the wrong path

5. Grid Preview Rendering

The preview system now:

• Dynamically spawns overlay Images

• Each preview slice:

  • References the same texture

  • Uses its slice rect

  • Is alpha-tinted

• Perfectly overlays the original sheet

This gives:

• Visual validation

• Confidence before commit

• Immediate feedback while adjusting cuts

6. Lifecycle Rules Established

Important behavioral decisions:

• Changing sprite sheets clears previews

• Previews are ephemeral

• Slices are only committed when explicitly accepted

This prevents stale state and UI lies.

7. Architectural Direction Confirmed

We explicitly decided:

• Sprites are cheap

• GameObjects are expensive

• Tilemaps are an optimization target, not a default

The pipeline now cleanly supports:

SpriteSheet → Slice Data → Sprite (UI, props, characters) → Tile (when grid placement is needed)

No duplication. No premature optimization.

8. Optional Future Enhancements Identified (Not Implemented Yet)

Identified but deferred (correctly):

• Hover highlight on grid slices

• Click-to-select slice

• Commit vs preview toggle

• Tile metadata binding

All possible now — none required today.

Net Result

By the end of the day you have:

• A correct grid slicing model

• A visually accurate preview system

• A future-proof content pipeline

• No Unity importer dependency

• No asset spam

• No dead abstractions

This was a foundation day. It wasn’t flashy — but it removed multiple future blockers.