Bulbapedia adopts new file format

Animated .pngs becoming standard for sprites

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Reported on Bulbanews by TTEchidna

This local article reports on an event in a specific geographical location. It may not be relevant for all readers.

With the release of Pokémon Platinum and the expansion of the animation of sprites in the games, Bulbapedia has decided to utilize the new animation features of .png files to the fullest advantage.

While many of Bulbapedia's sprites are in .png format, the issue of animation has always been left up to .gif files. As can be seen by Venusaur's shiny sprite from Pokémon Crystal, however, this leaves a lot to be desired by way of quality.

The recent release of Firefox 3, as well as several other browsers with compatibility, however, has brought the increased abilities of the .png format to light and made them accessible to many more.

Due to the backwards compatibility of animated .pngs with their static counterparts, browsers unable to display the animation will display only the first frame.

Bulbapedia users should not be concerned with broken links to images that have not yet been uploaded. The wiki's staff say they aim to get them done as soon as possible.

Templates affected include Template:Ani and Template:MS. For information or to comment, contact TTEchidna.