Well, it's been two years since I last updated ATE. I had ambitions to work on a Voxel editor component for it, but I just haven't had the time to focus on it. It's still something I wish to do.

ATE is a useful tool, built from other useful tools and libraries. It uses open source like ImageMagick and other utilities found online that were free or open source. It also uses Lost Astronaut's Game Creation Framework, implementing an OpenGL-based graphics engine underlying a complex and organically grown game engine.

ATE is being released on Github, GPL v2, to permit others to peer into the source code and gain insights on how ATE works, how to automate processes, and change ATE to your needs.

I think by releasing ATE it will only further help those users who have purchased the program, and allow others to delve into its inner workings, perhaps submitting Pull Requests with desired changes, improvements, bug fixes, and additional features. You are encouraged to get in touch if you wish to submit changes, directly on Github.

You can find the source code and default graphics for ATE here: https://github.com/LAGameStudio/ATE

Note that the GPL v2 license applies only to ATE's source code -- the application and engine source -- not to the third party libraries and utilities, nor to the graphics themselves. Graphics included in ATE were free to use and provided either by me or by sites like OpenGameArt. They were really never included to be used exclusively, they were just examples, as you are encouraged to create your own tilesets to import into ATE and then remix.

ATE is not just a tile editor, it lets you create particle systems, and other meta data, and it does basic graphics processing important for users who are making games and wish to do sprite stacking, voxel work, particle systems, tile-based game backdrops, and more. It works well with art created in other graphic editors like AESprite, The GIMP, and Adobe suite, or acquired from free game graphics and clipart sites.

This is not the end of ATE, just the new beginning it needs to continue on. By purchasing the editor on Steam, you have done your part to support Lost Astronaut Studios and made this possible. Please continue to use ATE and, if you wish, make it the tool of your wildest dreams.

LostAstronaut.com will continue making changes to ATE, and will submit them to the repo and also update Steam when a major release milestone is reached.

Hi!

Bug fixes and improvements!

Today's update fixes a few frustrations users may have encountered prior to this release:

• Atlas Assembler: "Auto name file" wasn't working as expected. Should be fixed.
  
• Atlas Assembler Preview Screen: This screen had a bug where it would draw tiles in a different order than the final assembled atlas. This has been fixed!
  
• Minor cosmetic change to Atlas Assembler preview button: Previously button said "ASSEMBLE AND IMPORT" and now reads "PREVIEW AND IMPORT" which is more descriptive.
  
• Mouse no longer in prison: Default "Launch Editor" and "Launch (Default)" -- we've added another option that is a companion to "-mouseescapes" called "-use-system-mouse" that uses system mouse. Now the combination "-windowed -mouseescapes -use-system-mouse" will put it into the default "windowed" mode that allows you to click both inside and outside of the window. Before, the behavior was that the application captured the mouse and made it disappear, replacing it with a green flashing cursor (that indicates FPS). This way, it is easier to switch between the Windows Operating System and the ATE: Atlas Tile Editor window, and it makes the application less "heavy" feeling.

New content!
We added a sample Mulligan Explosion to the Mulligan feature.

More features involving Voxels are coming your way soon.

I'm deep in the throws of the Voxel editor this summer! Bringing 3D to the ATE Editor!

Key features of the ATE Voxel Format I'm working on:

• Import MagicaVoxel files
  
• Edit/create entirely new voxel objects inside ATE
  
• Export optimized models to STL, PLY, OBJ
  
• Export isometric tiles in PNG
  
• Deform individual cubic voxel corners
  [*} "Paint" with ATE atlases as palettes
  
• Display and rotate the 3d voxel saving PNG at regular "degrees" to create source art and animations useful for creating certain types of games, turning on and off isometric projections (for creating isometric characters) at various resolutions
  
• Use the voxel objects you create to generate consistent pixel art (low res export) from one or more angles
  
• Stretch goal: Apply post-processing effects at the time of saving your PNG
  
• Stretch goal: Embed primitive geometries instead of voxels! (Use spheres, cones, etc, to add to the voxel)
  
• Stretch goal: Convert 3d meshes to voxel objects

Of course you can then import the voxel-spawned images into an ATE atlas and go to town!

The Atlas Library panel was suffering from some "1080p minimum required" cruft. I modified this to support smaller buttons and fonts so that everything fits on the screen at resolutions smaller than 1080p. If anyone encounters issues with this update, please let us know by sending us a direct message, or joining our discord and posting in the #ATE channel. https://discord.gg/9Rw7hS

• Added a few new command line options to assist in fixing window rendering on some machines.
  
• Updated ATE-Docs.PDF to include a complete list of the command line features and shortcut walkthrough both in Windows and in STEAM Client.
  
• Revised the way Atlas Library draws so that it works on smaller window resolutions by downsizing the buttons and font used here.

Check out our Guide showing all three video tutorials updated 2019:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1917060832

The first of several Magica Voxel updates is live! I'm excited to announce that the groundwork is laid for supporting interoperability with Magica Voxel .vox files. You can process individual files or entire folders containing magica .vox files, and ATE will pump out versions of the .vox files from top-down for the height, color and normal map channels. This opens up a number of possibilities to use Magica Voxel in creative ways.

You should see "Magica Voxelizer" as a new option in the main Workspace menu!

• You can use Magica Voxel to create 3D parallax (normal mapped) texture patterns. These patterns can then be brought directly into your games, or assembled using the Atlas Tile Editor into useful sprite atlases (rinse repeat)
  
• You can use Magica Voxel to create sprites by drawing them from the top-down, opening up another way to create 2D art.

Upcoming improvements to this new set of features:

• Take orthographic pictures of vox files for use as isometric tiles, automatically from multiple angles!
  
• Auto-"bake" 3D orthographic (isometric) sprite effects up to 360 times per voxel for smooth 3-dimensionality. This feature is known as "3d sprites" in GameMaker and other pixel art engines.
  
• Take pictures of Magica Voxel artwork from multiple angles automatically.
  
• Convert Voxels to baked Wavefront .obj files, complete with vertex color data, for use in other 3D engines like Unity and Unreal.
  
• Convert to an ATE-specific format, allowing you to fully rig objects in a special format, that can easily be added to 3D game engines, and then bake out those multi-voxel models complete with advanced character rigs. This special format will allow a variety of additional features, allowing your voxel to take on new shapes not possible with standard Magica Voxel files!
  
• This ATE-specific format will also allow special baking for 2.5D effects using the "3D png" format. More information forthcoming on this awesome effect!

Once this feature reaches a density of usefulness, I'll create a video tutorial outlining not only the features, but how to use Magica Voxel.

If you've never used Magica Voxel before, you can find out more about this great free project here:
https://ephtracy.github.io/

Please note, an earlier, but good version of Magica Voxel has been added to the Utilities folder.



I also wanted to mention that we've added a Console window to help illustrate the great complexity that is under the hood in ATE: Atlas Tile Editor. During long operations, the console window will show you exactly what ATE is doing!
Please take a moment to respond if this feature is useful to you.

Yay! Mulligans have arrived. Updated already, check the tutorial here:

Tutorial #2 for Mulligans

You can take a look at more flares by visiting GML-Pro Pack on Github: http://github.com/h3rb/gml-pro

Previous announcement:
It's Christmas Eve, and the Mulligans are coming!

Today I've laid the groundwork for the Mulligans. In the next two weeks I will be finalizing this feature and releasing it. Mulligans are an alternative way of creating explosions, particle effects, bullets and the like. In addition to creating the individual particles, I'm planning an export feature that will provide you with a way of exporting one or multiple mulligan effects.

Here's an example from Fringes of the Empire: https://twitter.com/LAGameStudio/status/767571233185599488

Why the term, Mulligans? We're not talking Golf here...

The term derives from a hobo term meaning a "stew of odds and ends", but also if you go further back, the term relates directly to "explosive", "missile", "mine" and "gunpowder" -- it also means a mishmash and a medley.

Our medley consists of: waveforms (for easing/tween effects), images, numeric values and ranges, and of course, WAV sounds!

By the way you can capture them when in windowed mode, using Screen2Gif (https://www.screentogif.com)

What the term means in ATE is simple: Particle systems built of a combination of images and sounds to make a "audio-visual effect soup" ... you can create and manage your mulligans, and what's more exciting, you can then mix your mulligans and export them in a few different ways:

1) You can snip and clip them together into a "final mulligan" that stacks multiple effects on top of each other, or lets you otherwise manipulate them in time and duration.
2) You can export just the JSON for each frame, so your engine can display them per-frame, generated on the fly.
3) You can export them frame-by-frame (no sound, though it does provide you with the JSON to play the sounds so you don't forget which ones you've picked)

Once you've exported them frame-by-frame you can:
1) Re-import them and assemble them into a sprite atlas
2) Trigger ffmpeg to build them into an MP4 file or animated gif
3) Use individual frames as a source for making new mulligans!
4) Use them in GameMaker, RPGMaker or other game engines!

I will produce a tutorial showing off these features when they are ready in early January. Stay tuned! And, if I don't get back to you in time, Happy New Year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlbSDT_tVKE

See it on YouTube in all of its glory.

Sound off by writing RT @LAGameStudio and share us a pic and a link (optional) to your game and we'll retweet it and give you kudos!

New features for December 2017, including the latest update made today:

• Manage your atlas library
  
• Import and assemble atlases from disparate image sources
  
• Import already assembled atlas spritesheets
  
• Atlas image splitting into individual tiles
  
• Batch export all of your tilesets, including normal and height maps
  
• Comprehensive documentation

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 10 more months during Early Access. (October 2018)

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:

• Particle animations you customize, then are output 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.