Simple background layers

[Asmageddon]

Most of the time after adding the maps into the game, you add a background. It would be nice if you could add simple image/gradient background layers, with optional parallax to more closely preview how they will look.

As an added bonus it will allow an easier and more intuitive way to embed background data into map files.

[bjorn]

Support for image layers has already been added after 0.8.1 and is available on the master branch and the daily builds (see issue #169). Since you can just generate a gradient image, I think that use-case is also covered.

A parallax effect does not exist yet, but I would say that is a separate feature which could be supported by all layers.

A feature that would still need to be added to the current 'image layer' is repetition of the image.

[Asmageddon]

Ah, I see, sorry. And yeah, tiling would be very, very useful.

As for parallax, it doesn't really need to be a separate feature. While it would certainly be nice for layers other than image layers, how would editing it work? I think that parallax for backgrounds and parallax for actual editable layers are two (somewhat) different things.

[dobesv]

I think the parallax effect for all layers could work.

Given a ratio of the width/height and when you use the scroll bars to move around the map, the background / foreground layers would move at a different speed.

This might touch a lot of pieces of code, though.

[sfiruch]

Are there any updates on this front? I'm currently working on a game and image repetition and (even more so) parallax for layers would be great. This would at least mean that some layers are repositioned before drawing. In a more complete implementation the layer dimensions would differ too.

Without support for parallax it's very difficult to see where tiles on a second layer will end up at the end.

[bjorn]

@deiruch No updates, just haven't gotten around to it. If you want to help me to have more time for Tiled, the Donation page on the website has more details about that. :-)

Recently @spezifanta said on IRC that he will use this feature and may give it some love. I don't know whether that includes adding support for repetition and parallax, though.

[heinrich5991]

Are there any updates on parallax?

[bjorn]

@heinrich5991 No. Maybe you are interested in helping out?

[ketanhwr]

@bjorn what exactly is the meaning of parallax feature? Something which displays all the layers like below?

[bjorn]

@ketanhwr Visualizing the layers like that is not part of this feature. The feature would be that you could associate a depth or scroll speed factor with each layer, so that you can preview the parallax effect (see this example on Wikipedia).

Note that @Zax37 recently posted on the forum that he was working on such a feature.

[ketanhwr]

Alright, thanks :-)

[bjorn]

Thanks to the work by @krukai, the image layers can now also be repeated!