Packs or single files? How to buy animations for a launch

Before anything goes into a cart, write down every screen in your launch build that will play an animation. That list, not the size of the discount, decides whether packs or single files are the better buy. Here is how pricing works on the store, a simple break-even rule, and how to mix packs without paying twice.

How the pricing works

• Single files: most of the 5,723 files on sale can be bought one by one, each with a one-time price; level badges, emoji and set pieces come only inside their packs.

• Packs: 148 packs, each with a one-time price set below what the same files would cost bought separately.

• Same terms for both: you can use what you buy in your own apps with unlimited end users. 18% GST is added only for buyers billed in India.

• Delivery: instant download after checkout, and any order can be downloaded as a ZIP.

What the packs hold

A cross-section of the current range:

How much a pack saves varies from pack to pack, and the saving only counts if you would use the files.

The break-even rule

Add up the single prices of the files from a pack that you would actually ship. If that total is lower than the pack price, buy singles. A useful shortcut: the bigger the saving on a pack, the less of it you need to use for it to win. A pack that saves a third needs about two thirds of its value in files you would ship; one that saves four fifths wins at about a fifth.

Note that this is by value, not by count. Say your launch needs four signature avatar frames, such as Azure Crystal Eagle, Crossed Sword Wings, Amethyst Tiara Frame and Gold Lion Shield. A pack with two dozen frames only wins if the files you would use from it add up to more than the pack price. For four frames, singles win. If you are planning a frame shop that uses most of the pack, the pack wins comfortably.

When single files are the right call

• Hero gifts. Showpiece gifts are chosen one by one, for how they fit your gift price tiers and your audience. The Animated Gifts collection has 129 files, and its top pieces are individual purchases: Fairytale Castle Fireworks (750x1624, 30 fps, 6.3 s, 6.43 MB), Cloud Castle Dream (750x1334, 15 fps, 4.1 s, 477 KB) and Chapel Proposal Scene (750x1334, 30 fps, 10 s, 1.66 MB).

• Filling gaps. After a pack, singles cover the two or three moments the pack does not.

• Prototyping. Buy one file of each type you plan to use and wire up the player first. It is easier to find an integration problem with a single file than with a 100-file bundle.

When a pack is the right call

• Ordered ladders. A ladder with a missing rung looks broken. The Rich Level and Charm Level packs cover every badge from level 0 to 100, 101 files each, and are sold only as whole packs. The Level Ladder Pack runs from Level 0 to Level 200 plates with level-up moments, 31 files in all.

• Paired directions. If you serve both LTR and RTL users, sets that ship both directions save you mixing and matching. The PK Arena Pack has its VS cards, game-PK screen and mic swords in both LTR and RTL, among 50 files.

• One visual language. A themed pack keeps line weight, colour and motion consistent across a feature, which is hard to achieve file by file.

One caution: some packs mix formats. The PK Arena Pack, for example, has 42 SVGA files, 4 PAG and 4 VAP. If your app only ships SVGAPlayer, or only libpag, the files in the other formats are no use to you, so recount the break-even with only the files you can play.

When a complete collection makes sense

The Lucky Complete Collection gathers 116 lucky bags, red packets, timers and win effects in one purchase. The CP & Couple Full Pack brings five CP packs together in 187 files, and Charm Level and Rich Level gather 101 level badges each.

A complete collection makes sense when the feature is central to how your app earns, and you will ship every tier from day one or want both formats while you decide. It makes less sense if you will show five tiers at launch and might never build the rest.

Buying the Rich Level pack now and the App Starter Pack later means paying twice for the 101 rich badges they share, because the App Starter Pack holds the whole Rich Level pack.

Mixing packs without paying twice

A sound pattern for a new app is breadth first, then depth:

1. Start broad. The App Starter Pack covers the basics of a new app in one download: 368 files, with six complete packs inside it and 85 hand-picked frames, gifts and entries.

2. Go deep on two or three features you will actually promote at launch, with the matching themed pack or complete collection.

3. Compare file lists before stacking. Open each pack page and check for shared files between a starter bundle, a themed pack and a complete collection.

A checklist before checkout

• List every animated surface in the launch build.

• Map each one to a collection, and price it as singles.

• Compare that total with any pack that covers it.

• Check format (SVGA, PAG or VAP) and direction (LTR or RTL).

• Preview the files in the SVGA, PAG & VAP viewer on different room backgrounds.

Next step

Take your screen list and price it twice, once as singles and once as packs, then buy the plan that costs less for the features you are certain of. Keep the rest of your budget for the gaps your first users show you.