Project Management¶

Game Resource Files (.litidata)¶

In LITIENGINE, all game assets, maps, blueprints, particle configurations, sounds, and script definitions are organized and bundled into a central game resource file (conventionally named with the .litidata extension).

A .litidata file is an XML-structured container that can either reference external assets or store base64-encoded compressed resources directly. This makes it effortless to package your entire game for distribution or version-control your assets cleanly.

What is stored inside .litidata?¶

• Maps: All TMX map layouts, tile layer GID grids, and placed map objects.
• Tilesets: External and embedded TSX tilesets, Wang terrain definitions, tile animations, and custom tile collision shapes.
• Spritesheets: Image frame metrics, slice dimensions, and keyframe animation timing data.
• Emitters: Particle emitter configurations, physics properties, and color gradients.
• Blueprints: Reusable entity templates and pre-configured object blueprints.
• Sounds: Registered SFX and audio resources.
• Script Definitions: Declarations for game, environment, and entity scripts with their target bindings and @ScriptProperty parameter values.

Creating a New Project¶

1. Launch the utiLITI editor.
2. Select File -> New... from the menu or press Ctrl + N.
3. In the file chooser dialog, navigate to your desired directory and specify your project name (for example, game.litidata).
4. Click Save.

An empty project will be initialized with a blank canvas, default layer setup, and ready-to-use asset containers.

Opening, Saving & Reverting¶

Opening Projects¶

• File -> Open... (Ctrl + O): Browse and open an existing .litidata project.
• File -> Recent Projects: Quickly reopen recently edited projects.
• Drag-and-Drop: Drag a .litidata file from your operating system file manager directly into the utiLITI window.

Saving Changes¶

• Save Project (Ctrl + S): Writes all current map modifications, layer updates, and asset changes to the active .litidata file.
• Save As...: Saves the entire project bundle to a new .litidata destination path.
• Compress Resource File: In Resources -> Compress Resource File, toggle compression to drastically reduce .litidata bundle size when exporting.

Reverting¶

• File -> Revert: Discards all unsaved in-memory changes and reloads the project from the disk version.

Auto-Save & Crash Recovery¶

utiLITI includes a background Auto-Save Manager (AutoSaveManager) designed to protect your work against accidental closures or system crashes.

How Auto-Save Works¶

1. Periodic Background Saves: Every 5 minutes (or as configured in preferences), if changes have been made since the last manual save, utiLITI silently writes a snapshot of your project.
2. Backup Storage: Auto-save snapshots are stored alongside your project file with a .backup or .autosave suffix.
3. Recovery on Startup: If utiLITI detects an unexpected shutdown or finds a backup file that is newer than the saved project, it prompts you on startup to restore the auto-saved session.

Project Settings & Startup Restoration¶

In File -> Settings -> General:

• Reopen Last Project on Startup: When enabled, utiLITI automatically loads the most recently active .litidata project upon launch.
• Gradle Launch Arguments: Define JVM flags or task options used when launching or debugging the project from the editor.
• Log Level: Filter the console output verbosity (ALL, INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, OFF).

Loading Projects in Code¶

Once you have saved your .litidata file in utiLITI, loading it into your LITIENGINE game requires only one line of code:

import de.gurkenlabs.litiengine.Game;
import de.gurkenlabs.litiengine.resources.Resources;

public class MyGame {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Game.init(args);

    // Load the resource bundle created in utiLITI
    Resources.load("game.litidata");

    // Load the initial map and start the game
    Game.world().loadEnvironment("level1");
    Game.start();
  }
}