Aseprite v1.3-rc1

Announcements
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Hello asepriters! :art: After several months we’re preparing the first release candidate to finally move forward to v1.3 (and leave v1.2 behind :wave: ). If everything goes well (and probably with a couple of extra release candidates) we will finally put v1.3 in the main channel (and the beta channel will be used to bring new features quickly).

A list of changes and fixes in this v1.3-rc1:

  • Prefer native file dialog by default on Windows & macOS #3615
    • macOS: Added a QuickLook plugin to generate thumbnails and previews #834
    • macOS: Fixed shortcuts for Edit actions when the native file dialog is displayed
    • You can switch back to the Aseprite file dialog unchecking the Edit > Preferences > Experimental > Use native file dialog option
  • Disabled multiple UI windows by default #3556
    • You can re-enable it from Edit > Preferences > General > User Interface or Edit > Preferences > Experimental > UI with multiple windows
  • Added support to load/save QOI files #3121
  • New “Copy Path” option right-clicking a tab
  • New Repeat field to animation tags #1740 #1275 t/3964 t/4227
    • Added option to play/preview with subtags & repetitions
  • Show saved undo state in Edit > Undo History window #3578
  • CLI: Added support to save multiple files with --save-as #2442 #3629 t/16491 (thanks to @anGie44)
  • New tagname format (--tagname-format) to export JSON data #1514 #3611 (thanks to @natebot13)
  • Added several missing strings to translate the UI to other languages #2809 (thanks to @iamOgunyinka)
  • Optimized save operation on files with several/huge tilesets
  • macOS: Fixed memory leak in the regular usage of the program #3592
  • Fixed general look of the Dynamics popup + added more possibilities to customize themes #2676 #3519 #3554 #3565
  • Fixed normal color wheel #3015 (thanks to @cs-altshift)
  • Fixed incorrect BMP file size set during save command #3534
  • Fixed generation of non-visible colors using “New Palette from Sprite” #3505
  • Avoid color reindexing when duplicate colors in GIF file #3426
  • Fixed uninstalling/updating extensions with subdirectories #3385
  • Fixed bug where Advanced Mode disabled the Tilemap tool #3478
  • Fixed bug when exporting from a sprite with layers that have the same name #2656
  • Fixed bug where the FG color changes to the palette entry zero when the eyedropper picks a pixel of mask color #2813
  • Fixed spray tool in Indexed mode not handling masked color as expected #3063
  • Keep/restore the timeline position for each sprite/DocView #3676
  • Fixed {duration} field for filename format #2998
  • Fixed update Preview Window after pasting Frame #2215 (thanks to @Joefish)
  • Lua: New API objects like Dialog:canvas() (api#87), GraphicsContext, app.theme, and Timer (#3251)
  • Lua: New API to save user & extension properties into objects #3625 #3631 api#88
  • Lua: Fixed bug with app.command.MoveMask() t/10437 (thanks to @behreajj)
  • Lua: Fixed the Slice properties menu group (thanks to @thkwznk)
  • Lua: New ev.fromUndo to detect changes from undo/redo #3539 t/15828
  • Fixed other UI bugs: #3274 #3433 #3595 and several crashes including #3504 #3530

This version includes a lot of new scripting capabilities, like the Canvas widget, we hope this will bring new possibilities to extend Aseprite in a near future.

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i’m so excited about new api objects, they seem to open so many possibilities! 8O

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This looks fantastic! The canvas dialog box is going to make so many of my extension ideas tons more user friendly. Seriously good features in this beta.

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Amazing! You guys must be excited! I’ll finally be able to install 1.3 without having to rely on Steam!
Congratulations, people! :partying_face:

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The repeat field in tagged sub-loops under a main loop don’t do anything? It plays straight through the sections.

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Thanks for the kind words you all!

About this specific feature, at the moment it can affect the playback if you enable this option right-clicking the Play button:

image

The playback must in the outer tag that you want to play (or out of any tag to play the whole animation). It need some work for v1.3-rc2 yet if we get some feedback from users (and there are some bugs yet in the playback process with some configurations).

Also we have to give the option to export in a GIF all the subloops.

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The way you worded the update… I had a feeling there was some hidden option that enabled repeat tags that I wasn’t able to find.

I will try it out! And hopefully be able to delete dozens of redundant frames and shrink my timeline width down yay!)

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Hey devs, at Aseprite and others as well!

I needed to login to tell you what a great thing it is to come back here and once again continue my project when your tools are growing. I think changes from 1.2.21, which I have been using to this date compared to 1.3 which I just found out is a massive upgrade for me.

For one, saving the files has been a pain since there are no concept of “favourites” in Aseprite. Also as we know it acts a little differently from windows dialogue and you can even see the previews (haven’t seen them on windows for a while though). However now I can access my folders from the Windows Quick access which speeds up things a lot!

Another update I have been longing for is the tag cycling. This is the most important update for me as I have just gotten into animation and have been missing this option. It would be also great to be able to change the active loop by pressing an alternation key and an arrow. (EDIT: Topic created: Shortcuts for navigating between the tag groups while in playmode: "Play subtags and repetitions")

To support this workflow I first thought i would be nice to have a button for the repetition of the current animation but now when I tested it I actually like how it works now. Only that when you cycle the frames with arrow buttons it would be nice to have a button for keeping the cursor inside the current animation (Tag) without the need going back manually (Or with Ctrl+left as I described before). This said when you move to the next frame from the last frame of a tag it would start from the beginning of the tag. (EDIT: Topic Created: Improving the keyboard navigation with tag groups (Repeat of a tag sequence))

As an animator I play through the frames all the time and you usually do it by pressing “Next Frame” button and with the speed of your presses you can control the animation endlessly. These are great advances but needs a couple new tweaks.

Ok just found out about the tilemap tools and I’m blown out… I actually bought aseprite from a humble bundle and for the third thing I’m greatful here today is that: If you bought the Aseprite from the humble bundle you can now get a Steam key for it from your library. Not sure if you guys had anything to do with it or was it just from the growth of the “Humble Store” as aseprite was added to the store it gained Steam Key property.

Aseprite refers to a same history file on a different installations which is kind of great when updating, but this would also be a game changer to have different histories as I work with many different projects and different sets of files. For now I have to clear the whole history once in while to prevent confusion. (EDIT: Created Topic: "Recent Items" list for every individual installation or a implementation of custom "Recent Items" lists)

But another gain from the steam key is that I now have access to all the builds simply through the steam and updating will be a joy! I just found out about the tilemap tools and I’m blown out! I have had once again 2 year old build on my laptop but now I won’t miss out the new updates! I also intent to install the XP build for my old school computer so thanks for keeping those alive!

Altogether great work guys! Going to check all these 1.3 tools right away!

PS: Any good tips or resources for working with TILED or GAME MAKER with these new tools?

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Oh and once again thanks for a great software and for your hard work. I have been playing with aseprite for over 10 years but slowly it’s covering all my needs as a professional game artist. Just haven’t gotten into the other programs so deep as Aseprite.

EDIT: Also sorry for the wall of text and for the multiple topics created tonight for I got way too exited for these new changes.

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