Favorite image file format for 2d sprites [closed]

Question

What is your favorite, lossless image format for games (namely 2d games)? And why?

Some things to take into consideration are size on disk, overhead for converting to a usable format, and features of the format (ie alpha support).

There is no best answer, but be sure to back yours up the best you can!

Answer 1

I'd suggest PNG. Most software supports writing it, most libraries support reading it, it's lossless and supports alpha transparency. And it's a standard format.

And, maybe important for hobbyist 2D games, very small images also result in very small files (i.e. a 16x16 icon can be 1KB or less).

Answer 2

There is a best answer, and it's clearly PNG.

Good compression, supports paletted alpha, extensible (in that you can attach arbitrary blobs to a PNG), what's not to like?

Answer 3

I like png a lot. It has a good compression, supports alpha channels, and supports color pallets, so file sizes can be smaller. And it is pattent free, so everybody can use it.

Answer 4

PNG does NOT support alpha transparency, it has a translucency channel, which is different. This can lead to problems depending on how you are rendering sprites to the screen. TGA, hands down.