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Tilemap feedback (highlight active layer!)

Discussion in '2017.2 Beta' started by basboi, Oct 9, 2017.

  1. basboi

    basboi

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Posts:
    14
    Hi,

    Checking out tilemaps. Theyre amazing!

    However, i often draw a lot of stuff before i realize im on the wrong layer. It should be possible to darken the inactive layers, so im more aware what im doing. Maybe you have an even better idea, but right now i regularly get confused and waste a lot of time this way. I think this is very important.

    I imagine you already have a lot of ideas how to improve the tilemap system, but while im here why not drop some of mine:

    - Is there a way to have tiles randomly rotated when drawn? there should be. also: select some, draw one of them at random (thinking gras).

    - is it possible to animate tiles? i think thats very important.

    - when selecting a tile in the palette, the tool shouldnt change!

    - i was yet unable to create a custom tile so i can have it automatically handle edges. maybe there is a way to make them available more intuitivley (tho i presume there will be a tutorial in time)?

    - It should be possible to adjust the z-position of a layer. that way one can have them cast shadows on each other.

    Imo, the tilemap system is close to perfect. Rotation and animation and it would be even better. Maybe CustomTiles already handle those? Right now its hard to find learning resources on this and like i said i was unable to intuitivley figure those out.

    - bas

    edit: nvm my name is robbel apparently :D
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2017
    rakkarage likes this.
  2. ChuanXin

    ChuanXin

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2015
    Posts:
    1,068
    -You could try toggling the "Focus On" mode to "Tilemap" in the SceneView when there is an active Tilemap, this would lighten out all other GameObjects in the Scene and helps to focus on the active layer. Does the toggle help you in picking the right layer to work on?

    -Sorry that there are not many learning resources for this. It is possible to do the above with a few custom scripting assets, some of which are available at our 2d-extras GitHub like the Random Brush and Animated Tile. The 2d-techdemos GitHub has some examples scenes which show off the usage of these assets which may help.

    -Could you explain a little more about this, thanks!
     
    rakkarage likes this.
  3. basboi

    basboi

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Posts:
    14
    Thanks for the quick response!

    Yep it does.. my bad, its quite obvious :D

    Since the feature is still in beta i guess thats fine. gonna check github, thanks :)

    edit: checked it, got everything i asked for :D

    Example; say i draw some stuff with the box tool, like some dirt floor. after a while of dirt-drawing i want to draw some gras, so i click a gras tile in the palette. the moment i click the gras tile, the tilemap editors tool switches to pipette for a brief moment, and after that switches to regular single-tile brush. what it should do is switch back to the brush i used prior to picking the new tile (box tool in the example). the tool-switch is a side effect of picking, and in my understanding of ui design shouldnt happen (one could argue that the switch makes sense when the tool selected was the eraser or the pipette).

    Thanks for hearing me out!

    - robbel
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2017
  4. ChuanXin

    ChuanXin

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2015
    Posts:
    1,068
    Will check this out!