I have a game that uses an overlay on top of the entire screen to give a certain effect. Every time I make a new UI screen I need to import it. So essentially my atlases have many duplicates of this overlay. Is there a way that I can have just one instance of this overlay in my atlases and not have to import it multiple times?
Import the image in the first UI screen you need it. Then just copy it and paste it in the next UI screen you need it. (If you have filled up your atlases now, remember to use the "Optimize" button after removing the duplicate images.)
Yes. You can repeat images in the UIs and even in the gameplay field. Never use the same image twice in your game. To make this work you have to import it twice though (or import a placeholder) and then change it in the Sprite Editor to the original one. UI: Select the image from the menu and click on the pen in the right panel under "image" to edit it. The Sprite Editor opens and in the left panel you can select the original image you want to re-use. Gameplay field: Go to character, object or action in the left side panel and select the image. Then click on the pen in the right panel under default animation or action animation or whatever and again, in the Sprite Editor, replace it with the one you want to re-use. After everything go to atlasses and click on optimize.
