Default value
FORWARD_STEPS (1)
Possible values
- NO_STEPS (0)
- FORWARD_STEPS (1)
- SLIDE_STEPS (2)
- SYNC_STEPS (3)
Setting this to 0 causes movement between two adjacent positions to be displayed as a single discrete jump. Otherwise, objects will be made to glide from one position to another, using the movement animation defined in the icon file if one is defined.
By default, movement animation avoids cutting corners, since this can look very bad in some games. If you want objects to take the shortest (and smoothest) visual path when moving around, use SLIDE_STEPS instead of the default FORWARD_STEPS. This also allows the object to be facing in a different direction than it is moving, so make sure this is what you want.
SYNC_STEPS is intended for objects that move in unison as part of a larger “conglomerate” object. You should set the movement animation to SYNC_STEPS on all but a single “head” object, which will serve as the leader when choosing pixel step sizes. If you do not use SYNC_STEPS, there are cases where the pixel offsets of objects may get out of sync during motion, causing the object to visually break up. Because of the advent of features like big icons, this value is no longer of much use.
Note
This setting has no impact when used with pixel movement, except in special cases. See Gliding for more details.