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Maps & Environment Management

utiLITI provides robust map authoring and management features supporting standard TMX formats while adding LITIENGINE-specific environment properties like ambient lighting, shadow tinting, and ID synchronization.

1. Creating a New Map

  1. Select Map -> New... from the menu or press Ctrl + Shift + N.
  2. In the New Map Dialog:
  3. Name: Unique internal map identifier.
  4. Width & Height: Map size in tile units.
  5. Tile Width & Tile Height: Grid cell pixel dimensions (e.g. 16x16, 32x32).
  6. Click Create to initialize the map and add it to your project bundle.

2. Importing & Exporting Maps

Importing Maps

  • Map -> Import...: Browse and import one or more .tmx map files into your project.
  • utiLITI imports all tile layers, object layers, and external tileset references directly into .litidata.

Exporting Maps

  • Map -> Export...: Export the active map back into a standalone .tmx file for use in external tools like Tiled.

3. Map Properties & Atmospheric Lighting

Select the map background or choose Map Properties in the inspector to configure environment-wide settings:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MAP PROPERTIES │
│ Name: dungeon_level_1 | Title: "The Sunken Catacombs" │
│ Description: "First underground level of the dungeon." │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Ambient Light Color: [#3C0029 (Alpha: 200)] [Picker] │
│ Static Shadow Color: [#000000 (Alpha: 140)] [Picker] │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Live Ambient Light & Shadow Preview] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Map Name & Title: Internal identifier and user-facing title.
  • Ambient Light Color: Color picker and alpha opacity slider determining global environmental darkness. When ambient alpha is greater than 0, dark levels require LightSource entities for visibility.
  • Static Shadow Color: Tint and darkness level for all static shadow casters on the map.
  • Ambient Preview Panel: Live interactive swatch demonstrating the lighting composite in real-time.

4. Map Snapshots & Maintenance Tools

  • Save Map Snapshot (Shift + PrintScreen): Renders the entire full-resolution map canvas to a PNG image file—ideal for level overviews, mini-maps, or documentation.
  • Sync Maps: When Map -> Sync Maps is checked, external modifications to .tmx files on disk are automatically detected and reloaded into utiLITI.
  • Reassign Map IDs: Opens Map -> Reassign Map IDs... to re-index all entity IDs starting from a specified minimum integer, resolving ID collisions across merged levels.
  • Delete Map: Removes the selected map from the project bundle.