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Getting started

Spritely64 is a tool for finding, configuring and exporting Commodore 64 sprite data from PRG files and VICE snapshot files.

You can either load your own file and rip sprites yourself, or browse sprite exports that other users have already saved.

Browsing saved exports

The Browse option lets you explore sprites that other users have already ripped and saved.

Exports are organised alphabetically by game name. Open a game folder, select a version, and download the files you need.

If multiple users have ripped sprites for the same game, each set appears as a separate version. Opening a version shows the contributor, the date it was created, individual file downloads, a ZIP containing all files, and a preview of the sprite sheet.

You can also choose Remix / Edit this export to load an existing set of sprites into Spritely64 and continue working on it. This does not modify the original version. If you save your changes, they are stored as a new version, leaving the original export unchanged.

Loading a PRG or VSF

Use the home page to load a C64 .prg file or a VICE .vsf snapshot. You can also load a new file at any time from the File menu. Loading a new file will clear anything you were previously working on.

Some .prg files contain compressed games. These won't display sprites correctly because Spritely64 cannot currently decompress them. In these cases, load the game in VICE, save a snapshot (.vsf), and open that in Spritely64 instead.

Once a file is loaded, Spritely64 opens the Viewer screen.

Viewer

The Viewer displays the loaded memory as a grid of possible C64 sprites. Not every tile will be a valid sprite; many will be code, data, or partial sprite fragments. This screen helps you quickly locate sprites in memory and select the ones you want to work with.

Click a sprite to select it, and click again to deselect it. Once at least one sprite is selected, the Configure button becomes available.

From the Edit menu, you can switch between four well-known colour palettes: VICE, Pepto, Colodore and PALette. You can also adjust the global foreground and multicolour values using the standard C64 colour set, and toggle Multicolour Mode on or off.

The offset control shifts how sprite data is grouped. This is useful when sprite data does not begin exactly on a 64-byte boundary. You can shift the entire sprite sheet by up to 63 bytes.

Once you have identified the sprites you want, click Configure to refine them further.

Configure

Configure is where selected sprites are prepared for export.

The top grid shows the sprites you selected in Viewer. Select a sprite to edit its settings in the left-hand panel.

Sprites can either use the global defaults or have their own per-sprite settings. Per-sprite settings are useful when different sprites use different colours or modes. The global defaults can be adjusted from the Edit menu, including palette selection, X- and Y-expand, and Multicolour Mode.

By default, all sprites use the global settings. To override this, untick Use global defaults for the selected sprite, then adjust its colours, expansion and mode using the controls in the left-hand panel.

The Order controls let you rearrange the selected sprite list before export. This is useful if sprites were not stored in a logical order in the original game file. The selected order is used across all export formats.

Exporting

Configure offers several export formats:

• PNG Sheet — a visual sprite sheet of all of the configured sprites.
• Binary File — raw sprite data with Spritely64 metadata bytes.
• SpritePad File — a SpritePad-compatible export.
• ASM — assembler source for KickAssembler or ACME.

Exports use the configured sprite order and the current global or per-sprite settings.

For binary, SpritePad and assembler exports, the 64th byte of each sprite stores metadata in a SpritePad-compatible format. The bits represent multicolour mode, X- and Y-expand flags, and the foreground colour (0–15).

Saving to server

Save to server publishes your configured sprites so other Spritely64 users can browse and download them.

You will be asked for your name or handle and the game name. Spritely64 then saves a PNG sheet, binary file, SpritePad file, KickAssembler source, ACME source, a metadata text file, and a manifest file.

A project file is also saved, allowing other users to load your export and create their own remixes. This does not modify your original version - any changes they make can be saved as a new version.

If exports already exist for the same game, Spritely64 creates a new version folder rather than overwriting existing work.

Only save exports that you are happy to make public. Use the full and proper game name to make it easier for others to find your sprites.

Compose

Compose lets you arrange configured sprites into a 4×4 grid, stack them, and export the result as a transparent PNG.

Select a sprite from the top row, then click a cell in the grid to place it. Clicking the same cell again adds another sprite to that cell's stack.

Sprites later in the stack are drawn above earlier ones. Transparent pixels allow sprites underneath to show through.

Use Edit Cell to select a grid position for stack editing. You can then choose individual entries, move them up or down, remove a sprite, or clear the entire cell.

Compose ignores individual X/Y expand settings. Use the PNG export size selector if you want a larger output image.

The export produces only the composed image, with empty areas cropped as tightly as possible.

Sprites arranged in Compose are not saved to the server. This feature is intended purely for creating combined or larger sprite images.