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Contributing Assets to CommitPyramid

CommitPyramid needs art — and you don't have to be a professional artist to help. This guide covers everything from picking a sprite to opening a PR.

What We Need

CommitPyramid aims for a hand-painted, isometric look inspired by classic city-builders like Pharaoh — warm colors, strong silhouettes, a slightly painterly texture. Right now, buildings and biome tiles are procedural placeholders: colored rectangles with geometry. Every sprite you contribute replaces one of those placeholders with something that actually brings the city to life.

If you can generate or hand-draw a sprite that fits the aesthetic, we want it.

Quick Start

  1. Pick a sprite from docs/asset-prompts.md — each entry has a name, size, and a suggested prompt.
  2. Generate or draw it — use Midjourney, DALL·E, SDXL, or draw it by hand. PNG output preferred from the start.
  3. Save the file to Sources/CommitPyramid/Resources/Buildings/<rawValue>.png — the filename must match the rawValue exactly (see Naming below).
  4. Open a PR using the asset contribution template (.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md) — include a screenshot of the sprite in-game if you can.

That's it. We'll handle the rest.

Technical Requirements

  • Format: PNG, RGBA (RGB + alpha channel)
  • Background: fully transparent — no white fill, no canvas color
  • Size: correct pixel dimensions per sprite type, as specified in docs/sprite-generation-rules.md § 1
  • Tested locally: run the app and confirm your sprite appears on the scene before submitting (see Testing Locally)

Naming

The filename must exactly match the rawValue of the corresponding case in enum UnitKind in Sources/CommitPyramid/Data/CityState.swift.

That enum is the single source of truth for sprite filenames. If your file is named anything else, the engine won't find it.

Example: if the enum has case townHall = "town_hall", the file goes in as town_hall.png.

AI Generator Tips

Midjourney

  • Use --ar 1:1 or match the target aspect ratio from the rules doc
  • Style keywords that work well: isometric, hand-painted, warm palette, Pharaoh game art style, soft lighting, no background
  • --no text, watermark, frame to keep it clean
  • --stylize 200-400 for more painterly results

DALL·E

  • Describe the target size explicitly: "512x512 isometric sprite"
  • Add "transparent background, game asset, top-down isometric view"
  • Post-process to remove any remaining background (Photoshop, GIMP, or remove.bg)

SDXL / local models

  • Models like juggernautXL or DreamShaper XL handle isometric game art reasonably well
  • ControlNet with an isometric depth map gives more consistent angles
  • Always export at 2x your target size and downscale — looks cleaner

Testing Locally

Build and run the app:

swift build && swift run CommitPyramid

To spawn many units quickly and find your sprite on the scene, use the bench env var:

CITY_BENCH_UNITS=200 swift run CommitPyramid

Scroll around the map until you see your unit type. If it shows up and looks right in context, it's good to go.

License Note

By submitting an asset, you agree to license it under the project's MIT License. Please only submit AI-generated content from generators whose terms of service allow commercial use of outputs (Midjourney Basic+ plan, DALL·E via OpenAI API, most open-weight models). If you're unsure, mention the tool in your PR and we'll figure it out together.

Common Pitfalls

  • Wrong size — double-check the pixel dimensions in sprite-generation-rules.md before submitting
  • Opaque background — white or solid-color backgrounds will show as a box in-game; the background must be transparent
  • File in wrong directory — assets go in Sources/CommitPyramid/Resources/Buildings/, not anywhere else
  • Mismatched filename — the filename must match the rawValue character-for-character, including case and underscores

Help

Stuck on the prompt, the size, or anything else? Open an Issue with the [ASSET] label, paste your prompt, and attach any preview you have. We'll help iterate.