Advanced SHP Editor (ASE)

A high-performance, professional-grade web-based editor for Westwood Studios' SHP (Format 80) sprite format, as used in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2.

Experiment & Vision: This project is part of an exploration into "AI-Vibe Coding" methodologies using the Antigravity IDE. It was built to fulfill the need for a modern, open-source, and cross-platform alternative to aging legacy tools, ensuring the C&C modding scene remains accessible on any operating system. Developed by FS-21 (C&C Reloaded modder and lead developer).

🚀 Key Features

🎨 Professional Layer-Based Editing

• Per-Frame Multi-Layer System: The editor treats every individual frame as a complex composition. You can work with multiple layers per frame, allowing for non-destructive editing and advanced sprite assembly.
• Layer Groups & Blending: For each frame organize your workflow with layer groups, visibility toggling, and alpha-blending modes, bringing a professional image editor UX (similar to Photoshop or GIMP) to the SHP format.
• Advanced Toolkit: Includes Pencil, Brush (Circular/Square), Spray, Bucket Fill (with tolerance), and Magic Wand selection—all optimized for multi-layer interaction.
• Canvas Resizing: Real-time canvas expansion or shrinking with high-quality pixel-art resampling algorithms including Smart (Area Average), Nearest Neighbor, xBR 4x, HQ4x, OmniScale, xBRZ, and ScaleFX, perfect for scaling sprites or adapting them to different game resolutions.

🌓 Shadow Management (C&C Specialized)

• Shadow Automation: Automated tools to fix invalid shadow pixels.
• Cross-Game Conversion: Seamlessly convert shadow formats between Tiberian Sun (TS) and Red Alert 2 (RA2).

🎞️ Frame Management

• Split File View: Dual-pane interface to transfer frames between two different SHP files using drag-and-drop.
• Versatile Views: Toggle between Mosaic, Strip, and Pair-Strip (Normal/Shadow) views.

🤖 Specialized Modding Tools

• Infantry & Vehicle Sequence Managers: High-level tools to manage and preview complex unit animations. Automatically generates and exports correct sequence data for art.ini and artmd.ini (Yuri's Revenge), including frame ranges, timings, and action triggers.

📐 Palette Management

• Versatile Selection: Integrated support for all game palettes, including unit, building, and animation palettes.
• Persistence: Features a sophisticated Palette Management Menu where your imported palettes are kept between sessions using browser Local Storage.

⚙️ Configuration & Vanilla Mode

By default, the editor includes specialized presets and palettes for C&C Reloaded (a Yuri's Revenge mod by FS-21). If you prefer a standard/vanilla experience:

1. Open the generated advanced_shp_editor.html or the index.html of the PWA folder in a text editor.
2. Search for let CnCReloadedMode = true; near the top of the file.
3. Change it to let CnCReloadedMode = false;.
4. Save and reload the editor. This will hide all Reloaded-specific scaling presets and palette categories.

📦 Distribution & Offline Use

• Self-Contained Build: The build.py script generates a single, standalone file named advanced_shp_editor.html. This file is 100% portable and works entirely offline without any external dependencies.
• PWA Ready: The project includes a dedicated PWA/ directory with a manifest and service worker. You can host this on any web service (GitHub Pages, Vercel, etc.) to enable "Install as App" functionality on your desktop.

🛠️ Compatibility & Technology

• Performance First: 100% Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+). Optimized for speed and large file handling.
• Best Experience: Use Chrome or Edge for the full suite of features, including native file system integration.
• Browser Notes: While mostly functional in Firefox, certain features related to PWA installation and local storage persistence for a "native-like" experience may be limited or incompatible due to browser engine differences.

🌐 Internationalization (i18n)

The editor is fully localized and supports multiple languages, making it accessible to the global C&C community. Supported languages include:

• English (EN)
• Spanish (ES)
• Russian (RU)
• German (DE)
• French (FR)
• Chinese (Simplified & Traditional)

🔨 How to Build

Run python build.py to generate the latest standalone version.

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Created for the C&C Modding community.

📜 Legal Disclaimer

Command & Conquer (including Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 2, and Yuri's Revenge) is a trademark or registered trademark of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. This project is an unofficial, community-driven toolset and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Electronic Arts. It is developed for educational and modding preservation purposes.