Tilemap Editor Overview

Quick Index

• Features
• Documentation Structure
• Getting Started
• Next Steps

The PixelRoot32 Tilemap Editor is a visual tool for creating tile-based maps with multi-layer support, optimized for ESP32 hardware and the PixelRoot32 renderer.

Premium module

The Tilemap Editor is part of the Tool Suite. Licensing and downloads: pixelroot32.com.

What it does

• Paint tiles on canvas with layers
• Manage tilesets from PNG imports (JPG/BMP loadable via the file picker's "All Files" filter; PNG recommended)
• Multiple scenes in one project with shared tilesets
• Onion skinning — overlay scenes for alignment
• Layers — up to 8 layers per scene, palette slots P0-P7 for multi-palette
• Tile animations with live preview
• Tile attributes — collision metadata and export rules
• Export — C++ code ready for ESP32

Key Features (Summary)

Area	Highlights
Tools	Brush, eraser, rectangle, pipette, attribute, animation, live preview
Scenes	Multiple maps, onion skin, per-scene size
Layers	Up to 8, visibility, reorder, palette slot per layer
Tilesets	Multi-tileset, zoom, auto tile size
Export	Scene .h/.cpp, animations, setBackgroundCustomPaletteSlot()

Documentation Structure

The documentation is organized in 4 guide levels:

Guide	Level	Description
Quick Start	⭐ Beginner	5-minute quick start
Usage Guide	⭐/⭐⭐ Basic/Intermediate	Essential features
Advanced Guide	⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐ Advanced	Multi-palette, animations, attributes
Technical Reference	⭐⭐⭐ Advanced	API, limits, data formats

Data Formats

Project (.pr32scene.bin)

• Single binary format (v6) — compact and fast to load
• The "Use Binary Format" preference only changes the saved extension (.pr32scene.bin vs .pr32scene); the content is always binary
• No human-readable JSON project writer

Exported C++

• Scene pair: scene_name.h / scene_name.cpp
• Optional: scene_name_animations.h / .cpp
• Multi-palette uses per-layer slot setup

Getting started

1. New project — tile size, map dimensions, target resolution
2. Import tilesets — use the TILESET panel
3. Add layers — background, collision, detail, etc.
4. Paint on the canvas
5. Export to C++ — link generated files to engine

For detailed walkthrough, see the Quick Start Guide.

Known limitations & Roadmap

• i18n: The language setting in ~/.pixelroot32/settings.json is reserved but not yet active. The UI is currently English-only.
• Theme toggle: Dark and Classic themes are available but switching requires editing settings.json directly ("theme": "classic" or "dark"). A UI toggle is planned.
• Dock layout reset: When a new layout schema version ships, the first launch after upgrade resets your panel arrangement silently. Make a note of repositioning in future release notes.
• Auto-update: The app checks for updates at startup only when a valid license is active. Manual check via "Check for Updates" in the launcher footer works without a license. Skip-this-version is not persisted between sessions.
• Music Editor: Planned pattern-based tracker with multi-channel support for the PixelRoot32 APU (upcoming — not yet available in the Tool Suite).

Next steps

• Installation
• Quick Start - First map in 5 minutes
• Usage Guide - Essential features

See also

• Tools overview
• Graphics Techniques
• Tile animation