Loading Images

[brentstrandy]

Is it possible to load the same sprite under different names without loading multiple instances of the sprite?

Preloader dilemma (notice how the same sprite is being loaded multiple times):

this.load.image('alien x blood', 'images/red splatter.png');
this.load.image('alien y blood', 'images/red splatter.png');
this.load.image('alien z blood', 'images/green splatter.png');

I load the same sprite because during gameplay I dynamically choose sprites based on a string:

this.game.add.sprite(x, y, 'alien ' + alienType + ' blood');

In my happy little world I'd like to be able to do something like this:

this.load.image(['alien x blood', 'alien y blood'], 'images/red splatter.png');

Any recommendations/thoughts?

[brejep]

I would load the image once with a single key. This is the key associated with the image in the cache and I think it would unnecessarily complicate things to have several references to the same image in the cache.

My suggestion to solve your problem would be to map these strings to a cache key. This could be done fairly easily with an object:

this.load.image('red blood splatter', 'images/red splatter.png');
this.load.image('green blood splatter', 'images/green splatter.png');

var cacheKeyMap = {
  'alien x blood': 'red blood splatter',
  'alien y blood': 'red blood splatter',
  'alien z blood': 'green blood splatter'
}; 

Then you just need to look up the mapping to get your cache key:

this.game.add.sprite(x, y, cacheKeyMap['alien ' + alienType + ' blood']);

 

[o0Corps0o]

why can't you just have this.load.image('alien xy blood', 'images/red splatter.png'); ?

[brentstrandy]

@brejep - I like it! Thank you.

@o0Corps0o - hmmm... Interesting idea, but I can't picture how it would work.