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SpriteMotion

Make new Ultima Online equipment that animates like the original: drop in a 3D model, fit it on the classic body, get client-ready sprites for all 35 actions and 8 directions.

▶ Watch the Fit Lab tour (MP4): the whole lab while the walk turns through all 8 facings.

SpriteMotion is a local, MIT-licensed content-authoring toolkit for the classic 2D Ultima Online client. You bring a 3D item (or a mapped asset pack), place it on the animated UO body in a browser, and Blender renders transparent equipment frames, a UOFiddler .vd file and client import packages. Your models, game data and generated content stay on your machine.

Status: public development preview. The tools are available now, but fitting and rendering still need broader animation coverage and in-game validation. This is not a one-click installer, and there is no guarantee yet that every item fits every animation. See UO Parity Roadmap.

What works today

Area	State
Content Studio	Import GLB/FBX/STL/BLEND items or pick a bundled CC0 starter, build a 5-action preview or a full 35-action build, review all 8 facings, download VD and import packages.
Fit Lab	Live 3D body through the UO camera, per-slot offset/rotation/scale/binding, scoped corrections per item, group, action and direction, body hiding under clothes, Blender render pane, undo/redo with 100-step history, autosave and 3 recoverable disk saves.
Blender Build Pipeline	256x256 canvas with anchor (128,192), independent VD alpha/anchor validation, selective rebuilds that leave untouched blocks byte-identical.
Client staging	Patched copies of anim.mul/anim.idx, art.mul, tiledata and a cosmetic ModernUO/ServUO item class. Your source client is never modified.
CC0 starter equipment	Bundled, audited CC0 examples covering all 25 UO layer routes.
Sprite Pose Editor	The original reconstruction workflow: annotate sprites, fit a rig, render, compare.

What "parity" still needs

The goal is equipment indistinguishable in motion from original UO art. Still open: a full acceptance matrix (three items per slot across all 35 actions), a complete multi-layer outfit, mounted poses, cloaks and weapons on the new weapon bones, and an in-game test in a real client. Details and status per action group: UO Parity Roadmap.

Quickstart (Windows)

You need your own, legally obtained Ultima Online client files. SpriteMotion ships no game data. Set SPRITEMOTION_UO_SOURCE to your UO client folder (the one with anim.mul / anim.idx), either in launchers\_shared\config.bat or as an environment variable. Without it, sprite extraction (original reference sprites), client staging and the outfit lab will not work.

You also need the UO_Model3D source folder (v13, created by Levy), obtained separately, plus Blender 4.2+ (SPRITEMOTION_BLENDER if not auto-detected) and Python 3.10+.

git clone https://github.com/DatMoshu/SpriteMotion.git
cd SpriteMotion
py -3 -m venv .venvs/spritemotion
.venvs/spritemotion/Scripts/python.exe -m pip install -e ".[test]"
.venvs/spritemotion/Scripts/python.exe tools/uo-content/pipeline.py setup --source "<extracted-UO_Model3D-folder>"
launchers/editor/workbench.bat cc0-starter

Content Studio opens at http://127.0.0.1:8772 and Fit Lab at http://127.0.0.1:8774. Full walkthrough, Linux/macOS notes and every setting: Installation, then Quick Tour: Workbench.

Guides

Step-by-step, per task: goal, prerequisites, exact commands, expected output and common mistakes.

Guide	Use it when
Fit a slot in Fit Lab	a part floats, pokes through or sits wrong in some animations or facings
Render an item end to end	you want finished frames, a .vd and an import package
Clean up with masking	the render has holes, or the body shows through the item
Troubleshoot a failing step	something fails and you don't know which part
Take content into GUO	you want SpriteMotion content staged for the GUO client and a private shard

Quick links

Get started	Use the tools	Under the hood	Help out
Installation	Content Studio	Architecture	Contributing
Quick Tour: Workbench	Fit Lab	Data Contracts	UO Parity Roadmap
Gallery	Blender Build Pipeline	Asset Packs	FAQ
Glossary	Sprite Pose Editor

We're looking for contributors

SpriteMotion is a small project with a big target: every action, every facing, every slot, working in a real classic client. Useful help ranges from Blender/Python rigging work and web UI fixes to UO file-format knowledge, CC0 3D items, testing on Linux/macOS and equipping items on your own test shard.

Start with Contributing, pick an open item from the roadmap, and say hello in Discussions or the issue tracker.