libgdx - how do I load local assets without an android project?

Newbie & Debugging Questions
#1

Hi all,

I’ve been getting to grips with using libgdx to develop my game, but as I’m only creating this for desktop, I’m using a single project rather than the default split of base game / desktop project / android project. Now I’ve been trying to use the following line to load a textureatlas:

atlas = new TextureAtlas(Gdx.files.internal("assets/packed/game.atlas"));

where the ‘assets’ directory is in the root of the project directory. However running this code just gives me a NullPointerException. From what I can gather though, GDX.files.internal is expecting there to be an assets folder in the android project directory - which I’m not using.

So my question is, how can I correctly reference and load a local file in my project? Thanks.

#2

The android project is necessary for this reason. Even if your not using it on android that is where your assets are stored. I’m not sure if there is a way around this however…

#3

There are other methods on GDX.files as well though, I wondered if one of these can be used instead? (e.g. classpath(), but I’ve not figured out how)

It seems odd that I must have this separate android project folder simply to store my assets in when I’m not going to be using it.

#4

Hey man.
Our big project is also desktop-only and uses libgdx - this shouldnt be a problem.
You seem to be doing it right - I suspect that you created the project with the libgdx gui ? which is nice and all IF you want those other ports… but if not, just make one yourself and add the jars
pretty sure it should work then.
also: if you wanna know where libgdx is really searching you can do sysout of Gdx.files.internal(“assets/packed/game.atlas”).file().absolutePath()

#5

You can create a desktop-only project with GDX just like you would with any Java class library. Here’s how to do it in Eclipse.

  1. Create a new project.

  1. Right click your project and select Properties. In the “Java Build Path” tab, add the necessary GDX dependencies. In my project I copied them from the LibGDX Nightlies into the folder [icode]my_project/lib[/icode], then used Add JARs to select a JAR within the project path. If you want to keep your GDX JARs in the same folder for all your projects, you would select “Add External JARs” instead.

  1. Create a new source folder called “assets”, like so:

Inside that source folder, add a new folder like “res” or “data” for your resources. For example, if you have “assets/data” for your resources, then you’ll use the following to access it:
[icode]Gdx.files.internal(“data/myTex.png”)[/icode]

Another option is to include your resources in your “src” folder, but this is not always recommended.

  1. Compile and run a basic test:
    http://www.java-gaming.org/?action=pastebin&id=521
#6

I respectfully disagree since resources/assets aren’t source files - but it works in both ways.
I have also no interest in packaging my resources into jars, so yeah…


http://imageshack.us/a/img844/7304/29974753.gif

old screenshot I made for a similar discussion, click to enlarge =P

edit: Gdx.files.internal(“content/loading_symbol.png”) works in this case, not sure what happens when you put it all in the src folder

#7

Thanks all, that has helped me narrow things down to it being a problem only when I use TextureAtlas. My .atlas and .png file are in the same directory as I think libgdx expects, so I’m not sure what else could be wrong as I’m only seeing a generic NullPointerException.

#8

which line ? you may be searching for a texture in the atlas which isn’t there. possible typo