Launch checklist: the animations a new voice-chat app needs first

Launching a voice-chat app means deciding what to animate before you have a single regular user. It is tempting to buy whatever looks impressive; it works better to cover every place people will see motion in their first week, then grow from what they actually use. This checklist goes feature by feature, with the collection for each and a pack to start with where there is one.

Settle four things first

• Formats. SVGA plays with the open-source SVGAPlayer runtimes for Android, iOS, Web and Flutter; PAG plays with Tencent's libpag, and VAP with the open-source VAP player. Of the 5,723 files on sale, 3,507 are SVGA, 748 are PAG, 108 are VAP and 1,360 are PNG images, so SVGA gives you the widest choice. Add PAG or VAP where you already ship their players.

• Reading direction. If you will launch in Arabic or Urdu, buy the right-to-left versions of banners and bars alongside the left-to-right ones.

• A size budget per slot. The median file in the store is 110 KB and 2,761 files are under 100 KB, but full-screen gifts and entrances run far larger. Set a ceiling for each slot before choosing art.

• Pricing. Files are priced individually and packs have a single price, both one-time, and you can use them in your own apps with unlimited end users. 18% GST is added only for buyers billed in India.

The checklist at a glance

Feature by feature

1. Gifts

Combos, banners and leaderboards all hang off gifting, so it comes first. Launch with a spread: several modest gifts that play in part of the screen, and a handful of full-screen showpieces at the top of the panel. Watch the showpieces' weight. The Animated Gifts collection runs from 2.5 KB to 19.20 MB with a median of 629 KB. Cloud Castle Dream is 477 KB for 4.1 seconds on a 750x1334 canvas, Golden Flower Field runs 8.9 seconds in 1.31 MB, and Heart Balloon Wedding plays for 10.9 seconds in 629 KB.

2. Entrances

The Entry Effects collection has 22 files, all SVGA. Its median of 595 KB is second only to gifts, so launch with one or two entrances tied to VIP rather than one for everyone; that also keeps an entrance meaningful. Lightning Hot Rod is a lighter option at 334 KB for 4 seconds, with sound. The App Starter Pack has 20 entrances, from a 750x120 entry bar to full-screen rides.

3. Avatar frames

Frames do double duty, on profiles and around mic seats. Start with staff roles, because hosts, admins and official accounts need to be recognisable from day one. The Role Frames Pack has a frame for every staff role, 10 files in all; Host Emerald Frame on its own is 300x300, 4 seconds and 387 KB.

4. VIP

Design the whole ladder before you sell the first tier, so VIP 2 never outshines VIP 5. The VIP Royal Sets give each VIP level from 1 to 8 its own matching kit: avatar frame, badge, full-screen entry effect with sound, entry bar, room card, mic ring, chat bubble and name tag. Single badges come in different formats for different slots: VIP 1 as SVGA is 440x440 and 346 KB, while VIP 1 (PAG) is 140x140 and 114 KB.

5. Banners

Broadcast banners announce big gifts across a room or the whole app. If you serve both reading directions, buy matched pairs: Violet 500 Coin Banner and Violet 500 Banner RTL share a 750x240 canvas, 15 fps, 5 seconds and 537 KB. The Banners & Broadcasts collection holds 539 files.

6. PK

PK needs two hosts live at once, so it can follow a few weeks after launch if your host list is short. When it arrives, the PK Arena Pack covers VS openers, countdowns, charge bars, weapons and results, with its VS cards, game-PK screen and mic swords in both LTR and RTL, 50 files in all. Add a result such as PK Winner 1: 750x750, 4.9 seconds, 326 KB.

7. Rewards

Daily check-in is the simplest retention loop to animate. The Sign-in Treasure Box Pack is a seven-day calendar of treasure boxes, each plain and glowing, 14 files in all. Daily Sign Height Box is 45 KB for the check-in moment, and Treasure Box Open 1, a PAG file, gives the bigger payoff in 3 seconds and 1.05 MB.

What can wait

These matter once a community forms, and they are easier to choose when you know how people behave:

• CP & Couple Moments (440 files) for paired users.

• Families & Clans (28 files) for group identity.

• Rocket Launches (41 files) and Bombs & Blasts (68 files) for big shared moments.

• Red Packets & Lucky Bags (126 files) for room events.

One pack for the basics

If you would rather have breadth before depth, the App Starter Pack covers the first three rows of the table in one download, plus staff roles, Rich and Charm levels, chat emoji and leaderboard backgrounds: 368 files for less than buying them one by one, with six complete packs inside it. It is a sensible way to fill the basic slots for a beta, then add VIP, PK and rewards once you see which features people use. The slot-by-slot guide for voice chat room app source code shows where each of its files goes.

Next step

Copy the table into your launch plan and tick off each row as files go in. Before release, play every file on your real room background in the free SVGA, PAG & VAP viewer and check its size against the budget you set for that slot.