diff --git a/OpenRA.Editor/RenderUtils.cs b/OpenRA.Editor/RenderUtils.cs
index f7b6871521..2d29595e8b 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Editor/RenderUtils.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Editor/RenderUtils.cs
@@ -8,8 +8,10 @@
  */
 #endregion
 
+using System.Collections;
 using System.Drawing;
 using System.Drawing.Imaging;
+using System.Linq;
 using OpenRA.FileFormats;
 using OpenRA.Traits;
 
@@ -17,11 +19,11 @@ namespace OpenRA.Editor
 {
 	static class RenderUtils
 	{
-		static Bitmap RenderShp(ShpReader shp, Palette p)
+		static Bitmap RenderShp(ISpriteSource shp, Palette p)
 		{
-			var frame = shp[0];
+			var frame = shp.Frames.First();
 
-			var bitmap = new Bitmap(shp.Width, shp.Height, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
+			var bitmap = new Bitmap(frame.Size.Width, frame.Size.Height, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
 
 			bitmap.Palette = p.AsSystemPalette();
 
@@ -33,9 +35,9 @@ namespace OpenRA.Editor
 				byte* q = (byte*)data.Scan0.ToPointer();
 				var stride2 = data.Stride;
 
-				for (var i = 0; i < shp.Width; i++)
-					for (var j = 0; j < shp.Height; j++)
-						q[j * stride2 + i] = frame.Image[i + shp.Width * j];
+				for (var i = 0; i < frame.Size.Width; i++)
+					for (var j = 0; j < frame.Size.Height; j++)
+						q[j * stride2 + i] = frame.Data[i + frame.Size.Width * j];
 			}
 
 			bitmap.UnlockBits(data);
@@ -78,10 +80,11 @@ namespace OpenRA.Editor
 			var image = info.SpriteNames[0];
 			using (var s = FileSystem.OpenWithExts(image, exts))
 			{
-				var shp = new ShpReader(s);
-				var frame = shp[shp.ImageCount - 1];
+				// TODO: Do this properly
+				var shp = new ShpReader(s) as ISpriteSource;
+				var frame = shp.Frames.Last();
 
-				var bitmap = new Bitmap(shp.Width, shp.Height, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
+				var bitmap = new Bitmap(frame.Size.Width, frame.Size.Height, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
 				bitmap.Palette = p.AsSystemPalette();
 				var data = bitmap.LockBits(bitmap.Bounds(),
 					ImageLockMode.WriteOnly, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
@@ -91,13 +94,13 @@ namespace OpenRA.Editor
 					byte* q = (byte*)data.Scan0.ToPointer();
 					var stride = data.Stride;
 
-					for (var i = 0; i < shp.Width; i++)
-						for (var j = 0; j < shp.Height; j++)
-							q[j * stride + i] = frame.Image[i + shp.Width * j];
+					for (var i = 0; i < frame.Size.Width; i++)
+						for (var j = 0; j < frame.Size.Height; j++)
+							q[j * stride + i] = frame.Data[i + frame.Size.Width * j];
 				}
 
 				bitmap.UnlockBits(data);
-				return new ResourceTemplate { Bitmap = bitmap, Info = info, Value = shp.ImageCount - 1 };
+				return new ResourceTemplate { Bitmap = bitmap, Info = info, Value = shp.Frames.Count() - 1 };
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/R8Reader.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/R8Reader.cs
index 132c48a436..de0cb8eaf3 100644
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/R8Reader.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/R8Reader.cs
@@ -12,17 +12,16 @@ using System.Collections;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Drawing;
 using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
 
 namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 {
-	public class R8Image
+	class R8Image : ISpriteFrame
 	{
-		public readonly Size Size;
-		public readonly int2 Offset;
-		public readonly byte[] Image;
-
-		// Legacy variable. Can be removed when the utility command is made sensible.
-		public readonly Size FrameSize;
+		public Size Size { get; private set; }
+		public Size FrameSize { get; private set; }
+		public float2 Offset { get; private set; }
+		public byte[] Data { get; set; }
 
 		public R8Image(Stream s)
 		{
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 			// Skip alignment byte
 			s.ReadUInt8();
 
-			Image = s.ReadBytes(width*height);
+			Data = s.ReadBytes(width*height);
 
 			// Ignore palette
 			if (type == 1 && paletteOffset != 0)
@@ -60,33 +59,19 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 		}
 	}
 
-	public class R8Reader : IEnumerable<R8Image>
+	public class R8Reader : ISpriteSource
 	{
-		readonly List<R8Image> headers = new List<R8Image>();
+		readonly List<R8Image> frames = new List<R8Image>();
+		public IEnumerable<ISpriteFrame> Frames { get { return frames.Cast<ISpriteFrame>(); } }
 
-		public readonly int Frames;
+		public readonly int ImageCount;
 		public R8Reader(Stream stream)
 		{
 			while (stream.Position < stream.Length)
 			{
-				headers.Add(new R8Image(stream));
-				Frames++;
+				frames.Add(new R8Image(stream));
+				ImageCount++;
 			}
 		}
-
-		public R8Image this[int index]
-		{
-			get { return headers[index]; }
-		}
-
-		public IEnumerator<R8Image> GetEnumerator()
-		{
-			return headers.GetEnumerator();
-		}
-
-		IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
-		{
-			return GetEnumerator();
-		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpReader.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpReader.cs
index 0795b2696a..517d505978 100644
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpReader.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpReader.cs
@@ -15,23 +15,28 @@ using System.Linq;
 
 namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 {
-	public class ImageHeader
+	class ImageHeader : ISpriteFrame
 	{
-		public uint Offset;
+		public Size Size { get; private set; }
+		public Size FrameSize { get { return Size; } }
+		public float2 Offset { get { return float2.Zero; } }
+		public byte[] Data { get; set; }
+
+		public uint FileOffset;
 		public Format Format;
 
 		public uint RefOffset;
 		public Format RefFormat;
 		public ImageHeader RefImage;
 
-		public byte[] Image;
-
+		// Used by ShpWriter
 		public ImageHeader() { }
 
-		public ImageHeader( BinaryReader reader )
+		public ImageHeader(BinaryReader reader, Size size)
 		{
 			var data = reader.ReadUInt32();
-			Offset = data & 0xffffff;
+			Size = size;
+			FileOffset = data & 0xffffff;
 			Format = (Format)(data >> 24);
 
 			RefOffset = reader.ReadUInt16();
@@ -42,7 +47,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 		public void WriteTo(BinaryWriter writer)
 		{
-			writer.Write(Offset | ((uint)Format << 24));
+			writer.Write(FileOffset | ((uint)Format << 24));
 			writer.Write((ushort)RefOffset);
 			writer.Write((ushort)RefFormat);
 		}
@@ -50,7 +55,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 	public enum Format { Format20 = 0x20, Format40 = 0x40, Format80 = 0x80 }
 
-	public class ShpReader
+	public class ShpReader : ISpriteSource
 	{
 		public readonly int ImageCount;
 		public readonly ushort Width;
@@ -59,6 +64,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 		public Size Size { get { return new Size(Width, Height); } }
 
 		readonly List<ImageHeader> headers = new List<ImageHeader>();
+		public IEnumerable<ISpriteFrame> Frames { get { return headers.Cast<ISpriteFrame>(); } }
 
 		int recurseDepth = 0;
 
@@ -73,13 +79,14 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 				Height = reader.ReadUInt16();
 				reader.ReadUInt32();
 
+				var size = new Size(Width, Height);
 				for (int i = 0 ; i < ImageCount ; i++)
-					headers.Add(new ImageHeader(reader));
+					headers.Add(new ImageHeader(reader, size));
 
-				new ImageHeader(reader); // end-of-file header
-				new ImageHeader(reader); // all-zeroes header
+				new ImageHeader(reader, size); // end-of-file header
+				new ImageHeader(reader, size); // all-zeroes header
 
-				var offsets = headers.ToDictionary(h => h.Offset, h =>h);
+				var offsets = headers.ToDictionary(h => h.FileOffset, h =>h);
 
 				for (int i = 0 ; i < ImageCount ; i++)
 				{
@@ -89,7 +96,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 					else if (h.Format == Format.Format40)
 						if (!offsets.TryGetValue(h.RefOffset, out h.RefImage))
-							throw new InvalidDataException("Reference doesnt point to image data {0}->{1}".F(h.Offset, h.RefOffset));
+							throw new InvalidDataException("Reference doesnt point to image data {0}->{1}".F(h.FileOffset, h.RefOffset));
 				}
 
 				foreach (ImageHeader h in headers)
@@ -97,11 +104,6 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 			}
 		}
 
-		public ImageHeader this[int index]
-		{
-			get { return headers[index]; }
-		}
-
 		void Decompress(Stream stream, ImageHeader h)
 		{
 			if (recurseDepth > ImageCount)
@@ -112,22 +114,22 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 				case Format.Format20:
 				case Format.Format40:
 					{
-						if (h.RefImage.Image == null)
+						if (h.RefImage.Data == null)
 						{
 							++recurseDepth;
 							Decompress(stream, h.RefImage);
 							--recurseDepth;
 						}
 
-						h.Image = CopyImageData(h.RefImage.Image);
-						Format40.DecodeInto(ReadCompressedData(stream, h), h.Image);
+						h.Data = CopyImageData(h.RefImage.Data);
+						Format40.DecodeInto(ReadCompressedData(stream, h), h.Data);
 						break;
 					}
 				case Format.Format80:
 					{
 						var imageBytes = new byte[Width * Height];
 						Format80.DecodeInto(ReadCompressedData(stream, h), imageBytes);
-						h.Image = imageBytes;
+						h.Data = imageBytes;
 						break;
 					}
 				default:
@@ -137,7 +139,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 		static byte[] ReadCompressedData(Stream stream, ImageHeader h)
 		{
-			stream.Position = h.Offset;
+			stream.Position = h.FileOffset;
 			// TODO: Actually, far too big. There's no length field with the correct length though :(
 			var compressedLength = (int)(stream.Length - stream.Position);
 
@@ -156,12 +158,45 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 			return imageData;
 		}
 
-		public IEnumerable<ImageHeader> Frames { get { return headers; } }
-
 		public static ShpReader Load(string filename)
 		{
 			using (var s = File.OpenRead(filename))
 				return new ShpReader(s);
 		}
+
+		public static void Write(Stream s, int width, int height, IEnumerable<byte[]> frames)
+		{
+			var compressedFrames = frames.Select(f => Format80.Encode(f)).ToArray();
+
+			// note: end-of-file and all-zeroes headers
+			var dataOffset = 14 + (compressedFrames.Length + 2) * ImageHeader.SizeOnDisk;
+
+			using (var bw = new BinaryWriter(s))
+			{
+				bw.Write((ushort)compressedFrames.Length);
+				bw.Write((ushort)0);	// unused
+				bw.Write((ushort)0);	// unused
+				bw.Write((ushort)width);
+				bw.Write((ushort)height);
+				bw.Write((uint)0);		// unused
+
+				foreach (var f in compressedFrames)
+				{
+					var ih = new ImageHeader { Format = Format.Format80, FileOffset = (uint)dataOffset };
+					dataOffset += f.Length;
+
+					ih.WriteTo(bw);
+				}
+
+				var eof = new ImageHeader { FileOffset = (uint)dataOffset };
+				eof.WriteTo(bw);
+
+				var allZeroes = new ImageHeader { };
+				allZeroes.WriteTo(bw);
+
+				foreach (var f in compressedFrames)
+					bw.Write(f);
+			}
+		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpTSReader.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpTSReader.cs
index 66f8e40d6b..2aaaf2ac7f 100644
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpTSReader.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpTSReader.cs
@@ -15,17 +15,17 @@ using System.Linq;
 
 namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 {
-	public class TSImageHeader
+	class FrameHeader : ISpriteFrame
 	{
-		public readonly Size Size;
-		public readonly float2 Offset;
+		public Size Size { get; private set; }
+		public Size FrameSize { get; private set; }
+		public float2 Offset { get; private set; }
+		public byte[] Data { get; set; }
 
 		public readonly uint FileOffset;
 		public readonly byte Format;
 
-		public byte[] Image;
-
-		public TSImageHeader(Stream stream, Size frameSize)
+		public FrameHeader(Stream stream, Size frameSize)
 		{
 			var x = stream.ReadUInt16();
 			var y = stream.ReadUInt16();
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 			Offset = new float2(x + 0.5f * (width - frameSize.Width), y + 0.5f * (height - frameSize.Height));
 			Size = new Size(width, height);
+			FrameSize = frameSize;
 
 			Format = stream.ReadUInt8();
 			stream.Position += 11;
@@ -41,13 +42,13 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 		}
 	}
 
-	public class ShpTSReader
+	public class ShpTSReader : ISpriteSource
 	{
 		public readonly int ImageCount;
 		public readonly Size Size;
 
-		readonly List<TSImageHeader> frames = new List<TSImageHeader>();
-		public IEnumerable<TSImageHeader> Frames { get { return frames; } }
+		readonly List<FrameHeader> frames = new List<FrameHeader>();
+		public IEnumerable<ISpriteFrame> Frames { get { return frames.Cast<ISpriteFrame>(); } }
 
 		public ShpTSReader(Stream stream)
 		{
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 			ImageCount = stream.ReadUInt16();
 
 			for (var i = 0; i < ImageCount; i++)
-				frames.Add(new TSImageHeader(stream, Size));
+				frames.Add(new FrameHeader(stream, Size));
 
 			for (var i = 0; i < ImageCount; i++)
 			{
@@ -70,23 +71,23 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 
 				// Uncompressed
 				if (f.Format == 1 || f.Format == 0)
-					f.Image = stream.ReadBytes(f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height);
+					f.Data = stream.ReadBytes(f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height);
 
 				// Uncompressed scanlines
 				else if (f.Format == 2)
 				{
-					f.Image = new byte[f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height];
+					f.Data = new byte[f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height];
 					for (var j = 0; j < f.Size.Height; j++)
 					{
 						var length = stream.ReadUInt16() - 2;
-						stream.Read(f.Image, f.Size.Width * j, length);
+						stream.Read(f.Data, f.Size.Width * j, length);
 					}
 				}
 
 				// RLE-zero compressed scanlines
 				else if (f.Format == 3)
 				{
-					f.Image = new byte[f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height];
+					f.Data = new byte[f.Size.Width * f.Size.Height];
 
 					for (var j = 0; j < f.Size.Height; j++)
 					{
@@ -103,7 +104,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 								length--;
 							}
 							else
-								f.Image[k++] = b;
+								f.Data[k++] = b;
 						}
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpWriter.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpWriter.cs
deleted file mode 100644
index 9475f02c68..0000000000
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/ShpWriter.cs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-#region Copyright & License Information
-/*
- * Copyright 2007-2011 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS)
- * This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made
- * available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License
- * as published by the Free Software Foundation. For more information,
- * see COPYING.
- */
-#endregion
-
-using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.IO;
-using System.Linq;
-
-namespace OpenRA.FileFormats.Graphics
-{
-	// format80-only SHP writer
-
-	public static class ShpWriter
-	{
-		public static void Write(Stream s, int width, int height, IEnumerable<byte[]> frames)
-		{
-			var compressedFrames = frames.Select(f => Format80.Encode(f)).ToArray();
-
-			// note: end-of-file and all-zeroes headers
-			var dataOffset = 14 + (compressedFrames.Length + 2) * ImageHeader.SizeOnDisk;
-
-			using (var bw = new BinaryWriter(s))
-			{
-				bw.Write((ushort)compressedFrames.Length);
-				bw.Write((ushort)0);	// unused
-				bw.Write((ushort)0);	// unused
-				bw.Write((ushort)width);
-				bw.Write((ushort)height);
-				bw.Write((uint)0);		// unused
-
-				foreach (var f in compressedFrames)
-				{
-					var ih = new ImageHeader { Format = Format.Format80, Offset = (uint)dataOffset };
-					dataOffset += f.Length;
-
-					ih.WriteTo(bw);
-				}
-
-				var eof = new ImageHeader { Offset = (uint)dataOffset };
-				eof.WriteTo(bw);
-
-				var allZeroes = new ImageHeader { };
-				allZeroes.WriteTo(bw);
-
-				foreach (var f in compressedFrames)
-					bw.Write(f);
-			}
-		}
-	}
-}
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/SpriteSource.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/SpriteSource.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..426273c0ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/SpriteSource.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+#region Copyright & License Information
+/*
+ * Copyright 2007-2011 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS)
+ * This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made
+ * available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation. For more information,
+ * see COPYING.
+ */
+#endregion
+
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Drawing;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+
+namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
+{
+	public interface ISpriteFrame
+	{
+		Size Size { get; }
+		Size FrameSize { get; }
+		float2 Offset { get; }
+		byte[] Data { get; }
+	}
+
+	public interface ISpriteSource
+	{
+		IEnumerable<ISpriteFrame> Frames { get; }
+	}
+
+	public enum SpriteType { Unknown, ShpTD, ShpTS, TmpTD, TmpRA, R8 }
+	public static class SpriteSource
+	{
+		static bool IsTmpRA(Stream s)
+		{
+			var start = s.Position;
+
+			s.Position += 20;
+			var a = s.ReadUInt32();
+			s.Position += 2;
+			var b = s.ReadUInt16();
+
+			s.Position = start;
+			return a == 0 && b == 0x2c73;
+		}
+
+		static bool IsTmpTD(Stream s)
+		{
+			var start = s.Position;
+
+			s.Position += 16;
+			var a = s.ReadUInt32();
+			var b = s.ReadUInt32();
+
+			s.Position = start;
+			return a == 0 && b == 0x0D1AFFFF;
+		}
+
+		static bool IsShpTS(Stream s)
+		{
+			var start = s.Position;
+
+			// First word is zero
+			if (s.ReadUInt16() != 0)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			// Sanity Check the image count
+			s.Position += 4;
+			var imageCount = s.ReadUInt16();
+			if (s.Position + 24 * imageCount > s.Length)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			// Check the size and format flag
+			// Some files define bogus frames, so loop until we find a valid one
+			s.Position += 4;
+			ushort w, h, f = 0;
+			byte type;
+			do
+			{
+				w = s.ReadUInt16();
+				h = s.ReadUInt16();
+				type = s.ReadUInt8();
+			}
+			while (w == 0 && h == 0 && f++ < imageCount);
+
+			s.Position = start;
+			return type < 4;
+		}
+
+		static bool IsShpTD(Stream s)
+		{
+			var start = s.Position;
+
+			// First word is the image count
+			var imageCount = s.ReadUInt16();
+			if (imageCount == 0)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			// Last offset should point to the end of file
+			var finalOffset = start + 14 + 8 * imageCount;
+			if (finalOffset > s.Length)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			s.Position = finalOffset;
+			var eof = s.ReadUInt32();
+			if (eof != s.Length)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			// Check the format flag on the first frame
+			s.Position = start + 17;
+			var b = s.ReadUInt8();
+
+			s.Position = start;
+			return b == 0x20 || b == 0x40 || b == 0x80;
+		}
+
+		static bool IsR8(Stream s)
+		{
+			var start = s.Position;
+
+			// First byte is nonzero
+			if (s.ReadUInt8() == 0)
+			{
+				s.Position = start;
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			// Check the format of the first frame
+			s.Position = start + 25;
+			var d = s.ReadUInt8();
+
+			s.Position = start;
+			return d == 8;
+		}
+
+		public static SpriteType DetectSpriteType(Stream s)
+		{
+			if (IsShpTD(s))
+				return SpriteType.ShpTD;
+
+			if (IsShpTS(s))
+				return SpriteType.ShpTS;
+
+			if (IsR8(s))
+				return SpriteType.R8;
+
+			if (IsTmpRA(s))
+				return SpriteType.TmpRA;
+
+			if (IsTmpTD(s))
+				return SpriteType.TmpTD;
+
+			return SpriteType.Unknown;
+		}
+
+		public static ISpriteSource LoadSpriteSource(Stream s, string filename)
+		{
+			var type = DetectSpriteType(s);
+			switch (type)
+			{
+				case SpriteType.ShpTD:
+					return new ShpReader(s);
+				case SpriteType.ShpTS:
+					return new ShpTSReader(s);
+				case SpriteType.R8:
+					return new R8Reader(s);
+				case SpriteType.Unknown:
+				default:
+					throw new InvalidDataException(filename + " is not a valid sprite file");
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/TileSetRenderer.cs b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/TileSetRenderer.cs
index 98c7459438..e33462afd1 100644
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/TileSetRenderer.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/Graphics/TileSetRenderer.cs
@@ -21,14 +21,13 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 		Dictionary<ushort, List<byte[]>> templates;
 		public Size TileSize;
 
-		List<byte[]> LoadTemplate(string filename, string[] exts, Cache<string, R8Reader> r8cache, int[] frames)
+		List<byte[]> LoadTemplate(string filename, string[] exts, Cache<string, ISpriteFrame[]> r8cache, int[] frames)
 		{
 			if (exts.Contains(".R8") && FileSystem.Exists(filename + ".R8"))
 			{
 				var data = new List<byte[]>();
-
 				foreach (var f in frames)
-					data.Add(f >= 0 ? r8cache[filename][f].Image : null);
+					data.Add(f >= 0 ? r8cache[filename][f].Data : null);
 
 				return data;
 			}
@@ -43,7 +42,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.FileFormats
 			this.TileSize = tileSize;
 
 			templates = new Dictionary<ushort, List<byte[]>>();
-			var r8cache = new Cache<string, R8Reader>(s => new R8Reader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(s, ".R8")));
+			var r8cache = new Cache<string, ISpriteFrame[]>(s => new R8Reader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(s, ".R8")).Frames.ToArray());
 			foreach (var t in TileSet.Templates)
 				templates.Add(t.Key, LoadTemplate(t.Value.Image, tileset.Extensions, r8cache, t.Value.Frames));
 		}
diff --git a/OpenRA.FileFormats/OpenRA.FileFormats.csproj b/OpenRA.FileFormats/OpenRA.FileFormats.csproj
index f8f42f2b1c..4f675cf4fd 100644
--- a/OpenRA.FileFormats/OpenRA.FileFormats.csproj
+++ b/OpenRA.FileFormats/OpenRA.FileFormats.csproj
@@ -95,7 +95,6 @@
     <Compile Include="Graphics\IInputHandler.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Graphics\PngLoader.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Graphics\ShpReader.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="Graphics\ShpWriter.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Graphics\Vertex.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Graphics\VqaReader.cs" />
     <Compile Include="InstallUtils.cs" />
@@ -153,6 +152,7 @@
     <Compile Include="FileSystem\MixFile.cs" />
     <Compile Include="FileSystem\ZipFile.cs" />
     <Compile Include="FileSystem\D2kSoundResources.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Graphics\SpriteSource.cs" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <BootstrapperPackage Include="Microsoft.Net.Client.3.5">
diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SheetBuilder.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SheetBuilder.cs
index 06a479c5f4..0cee8661ef 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SheetBuilder.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SheetBuilder.cs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Drawing;
+using OpenRA.FileFormats;
 using OpenRA.FileFormats.Graphics;
 
 namespace OpenRA.Graphics
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Graphics
 			this.allocateSheet = allocateSheet;
 		}
 
+		public Sprite Add(ISpriteFrame frame) { return Add(frame.Data, frame.Size, frame.Offset); }
 		public Sprite Add(byte[] src, Size size) { return Add(src, size, float2.Zero); }
 		public Sprite Add(byte[] src, Size size, float2 spriteOffset)
 		{
diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SpriteLoader.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SpriteLoader.cs
index c046f4f985..ad34831633 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SpriteLoader.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/SpriteLoader.cs
@@ -16,41 +16,25 @@ namespace OpenRA.Graphics
 {
 	public class SpriteLoader
 	{
+		readonly SheetBuilder SheetBuilder;
+		readonly Cache<string, Sprite[]> sprites;
+		readonly string[] exts;
+
 		public SpriteLoader(string[] exts, SheetBuilder sheetBuilder)
 		{
 			SheetBuilder = sheetBuilder;
 
 			// Include extension-less version
 			this.exts = exts.Append("").ToArray();
-			sprites = new Cache<string, Sprite[]>(LoadSprites);
+			sprites = new Cache<string, Sprite[]>(CacheSpriteFrames);
 		}
 
-		readonly SheetBuilder SheetBuilder;
-		readonly Cache<string, Sprite[]> sprites;
-		readonly string[] exts;
-
-		Sprite[] LoadSprites(string filename)
+		Sprite[] CacheSpriteFrames(string filename)
 		{
-			// TODO: Cleanly abstract file type detection
-			if (filename.ToLower().EndsWith("r8"))
-			{
-				var r8 = new R8Reader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(filename, exts));
-				return r8.Select(a => SheetBuilder.Add(a.Image, a.Size, a.Offset)).ToArray();
-			}
-
-			BinaryReader reader = new BinaryReader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(filename, exts));
-
-			var ImageCount = reader.ReadUInt16();
-			if (ImageCount == 0)
-			{
-				var shp = new ShpTSReader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(filename, exts));
-				return shp.Frames.Select(a => SheetBuilder.Add(a.Image, a.Size, a.Offset)).ToArray();
-			}
-			else
-			{
-				var shp = new ShpReader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(filename, exts));
-				return shp.Frames.Select(a => SheetBuilder.Add(a.Image, shp.Size)).ToArray();
-			}
+			var stream = FileSystem.OpenWithExts(filename, exts);
+			return SpriteSource.LoadSpriteSource(stream, filename).Frames
+				.Select(a => SheetBuilder.Add(a))
+				.ToArray();
 		}
 
 		public Sprite[] LoadAllSprites(string filename) { return sprites[filename]; }
diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/Theater.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/Theater.cs
index 48bfc1451f..b0e29c7a50 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/Theater.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Graphics/Theater.cs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Graphics
 		Dictionary<ushort, Sprite[]> templates;
 		Sprite missingTile;
 
-		Sprite[] LoadTemplate(string filename, string[] exts, Cache<string, R8Reader> r8Cache, int[] frames)
+		Sprite[] LoadTemplate(string filename, string[] exts, Cache<string, ISpriteFrame[]> r8Cache, int[] frames)
 		{
 			if (exts.Contains(".R8") && FileSystem.Exists(filename+".R8"))
 			{
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Graphics
 						return null;
 
 					var image = r8Cache[filename][f];
-					return sheetBuilder.Add(image.Image, new Size(image.Size.Width, image.Size.Height));
+					return sheetBuilder.Add(image.Data, new Size(image.Size.Width, image.Size.Height));
 				}).ToArray();
 			}
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Graphics
 				return new Sheet(new Size(tileset.SheetSize, tileset.SheetSize));
 			};
 
-			var r8Cache = new Cache<string, R8Reader>(s => new R8Reader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(s, ".R8")));
+			var r8Cache = new Cache<string, ISpriteFrame[]>(s => new R8Reader(FileSystem.OpenWithExts(s, ".R8")).Frames.ToArray());
 			templates = new Dictionary<ushort, Sprite[]>();
 			sheetBuilder = new SheetBuilder(SheetType.Indexed, allocate);
 			foreach (var t in tileset.Templates)
diff --git a/OpenRA.Utility/Command.cs b/OpenRA.Utility/Command.cs
index 9d738ef85d..7355003fc1 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Utility/Command.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Utility/Command.cs
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 				throw new InvalidOperationException("Bogus width; not a whole number of frames");
 
 			using (var destStream = File.Create(dest))
-				ShpWriter.Write(destStream, width, srcImage.Height,
+				ShpReader.Write(destStream, width, srcImage.Height,
 					srcImage.ToFrames(width));
 
 			Console.WriteLine(dest + " saved.");
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 						PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
 
 					for (var i = 0; i < bitmap.Height; i++)
-						Marshal.Copy(frame.Image, i * srcImage.Width,
+						Marshal.Copy(frame.Data, i * srcImage.Width,
 							new IntPtr(data.Scan0.ToInt64() + i * data.Stride), srcImage.Width);
 
 					x += srcImage.Width;
@@ -133,12 +133,11 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 			var filename = args[5];
 			var frameCount = endFrame - startFrame;
 
-			var frame = srcImage[startFrame];
+			// TODO: this has always been a hack
+			var frame = srcImage.Frames.ToArray()[startFrame];
 			var bitmap = new Bitmap(frame.FrameSize.Width * frameCount, frame.FrameSize.Height, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
 			bitmap.Palette = palette.AsSystemPalette();
 
-			frame = srcImage[startFrame];
-
 			if (args.Contains("--tileset"))
 			{
 				int f = 0;
@@ -152,13 +151,13 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 						if (h * 20 + w < frameCount)
 						{
 							Console.WriteLine(f);
-							frame = srcImage[f];
+							frame = srcImage.Frames.ToArray()[startFrame];
 
 							var data = tileset.LockBits(new Rectangle(w * frame.Size.Width, h * frame.Size.Height, frame.Size.Width, frame.Size.Height),
 								ImageLockMode.WriteOnly, PixelFormat.Format8bppIndexed);
 
 							for (var i = 0; i < frame.Size.Height; i++)
-								Marshal.Copy(frame.Image, i * frame.Size.Width,
+								Marshal.Copy(frame.Data, i * frame.Size.Width,
 									new IntPtr(data.Scan0.ToInt64() + i * data.Stride), frame.Size.Width);
 
 							tileset.UnlockBits(data);
@@ -219,7 +218,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 				throw new InvalidOperationException("All the frames must be the same size to convert from Dune2 to RA");
 
 			using (var destStream = File.Create(dest))
-				ShpWriter.Write(destStream, size.Width, size.Height,
+				ShpReader.Write(destStream, size.Width, size.Height,
 					srcImage.Select(im => im.Image));
 		}
 
@@ -300,8 +299,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 			var srcImage = ShpReader.Load(args[3]);
 
 			using (var destStream = File.Create(args[4]))
-				ShpWriter.Write(destStream, srcImage.Width, srcImage.Height,
-					srcImage.Frames.Select(im => im.Image.Select(px => (byte)remap[px]).ToArray()));
+				ShpReader.Write(destStream, srcImage.Width, srcImage.Height,
+					srcImage.Frames.Select(im => im.Data.Select(px => (byte)remap[px]).ToArray()));
 		}
 
 		public static void TransposeShp(string[] args)
@@ -323,8 +322,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Utility
 			}
 
 			using (var destStream = File.Create(args[2]))
-				ShpWriter.Write(destStream, srcImage.Width, srcImage.Height,
-					destFrames.Select(f => f.Image));
+				ShpReader.Write(destStream, srcImage.Width, srcImage.Height,
+					destFrames.Select(f => f.Data));
 		}
 
 		static string FriendlyTypeName(Type t)