Another option is to use text... get all your sprites onto a fixed grid, make a subimages file, so you can then create a text object with however many 'letters'. The 'letters' on the text object can be coloured and moved and rotated, just like a sprite - but keeping it all as 1 single object, like a dynamic sprite layer if you like.
I've used this to make a tiled 2D map for example... actually a multi layered parallax 2D scrolling map. An old style font in AppGameKit is just a tile sheet with a subimages data file... it can be bent quite a bit to your needs.
It may be a bit of a faff - but what you end up with is a 'layer' of sprites that renders in a single draw call, it renders automatically, and is separate to the general sprite overhead - no need to manage all those sprites - just make changes to the text object instead. It would be absolutely brilliant for a HUD with number displays, even bars, as well as general sprites. Like, you could make a bitmap font for score and displays, then use the free space for other HUD elements - keeping it all as a single image. Doing it with a load of sprites means you have a load of sprites to look after. I like to view text objects as a fridge door - you can throw on magnets to spell a message, but then your magnets don't need to be letters, or in the right order, orientation, position or colour... it all just boils down to an array of vertices at the end of the day - you can add an element by adding a character to the text, then do what you want with that character.
The code is dark and full of errors
