Hi, I have a question about updating the screen during an animation. I have a main surface called screen. Another that i use for background and the last, for animated prite. I apply background surface and sprite surface with SDL_BlitSurface to main surface. When i move the sprite around the screen, i redraw (with SDL_Blit surface) in a different position. Obviously, the old position are still visible. The only way that i have found to fix that is to reblitting also the background before i reblit the sprite surface. It is a good solution? My question is if exist another way to refresh the backgorund without having to reblit it. Tank's

You can re-blit just the square where the srpite was last. This will save you from having to do the entire screen. Since you already have access to the background and are doing the redraw anyway. It should be just a simple to only refresh behind the one sprite. This will increase your performance when you start have multiple sprites on the screen.

Although it also depends on the target device and the complexity of the game, or program. Depending on what you are try to accomplish your soltion may be good enough.

I hear premature optimization is the root of all evil, so if it becomes an issue you now have a soltion to work with.

I wrote a simple game a while back for a mobile phone, and I did end up using this technique in the end.

However if the whole screen is going to be covered in sprites, this maqy not be the best solution. Since you will be doing extra calculating and prety much redrawing the whole screen anyway.

You can use SDL_UpdateRect (I think) to do "dirty rect" updating -- just be very careful if you have to scroll.

Quote:Original post by Matsy
You can re-blit just the square where the srpite was last. This will save you from having to do the entire screen. Since you already have access to the background and are doing the redraw anyway. It should be just a simple to only refresh behind the one sprite. This will increase your performance when you start have multiple sprites on the screen.

Yes, i have already tried this solution and i think that is a very good solution. But i have another question. If i have two sprite and one go over the other, how can i manage this? I have not understand if when i move a sprite, and i re-blit the background (or only a square of background) in effects i really delete the part of background, or i only overwrite a part of screen (and so the old part of screen is still present but it is hidden from the new blit.
And so it is possible to really delete a part of a surface that i have previously blited and view the part that was hidden?

Tank's

ok, many thanks to all. You have cleared me many doubts.