Tilemap Tutorial — Create a 2D RPG in Godot 4

Summary of the tutorial (Godot 4 TileMap RPG map build)

This video is a step-by-step guide to building a functional 2D RPG world in Godot 4 using TileMap layers and advanced features like TerrainSets (auto-tiling rules), animated tiles, draw-order (Y-sort) for pseudo-3D depth, and physics/Collision polygons to block the player from certain tiles.

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Core workflow: build the map from multiple TileMap layers

• Start a new 2D scene
• Create multiple TileMapLayer child nodes, each dedicated to a visual/logic layer (e.g., water/ground/cliffs/foam/shadows/props/trees, etc.)
• Create and configure a TileSet per layer
• Paint tiles onto the TileMapLayer using Godot’s editor tools

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Asset setup & painting tools

• Tile size is configured for each TileSet (commonly 64x64, but adjusted for special tiles)
• Uses automatic tile creation when possible (e.g., region size matching cell size)
• Painting tools covered:
  • Single tile paint
  • Line drawing (with Shift preview to reduce crooked lines)
  • Paint bucket fill
  • Erase (right mouse button)

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Viewport / resolution reference

• The purple vertical/horizontal lines indicate the screen/viewport reference based on project display settings
• Demonstrates changing resolution (e.g., to something like 1920x1080) to get a larger viewport for map building

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TerrainSets for auto-tiling large areas

Ground layer (auto-tiling)

• Builds a Ground TileMapLayer with a TileSet
• Uses a TerrainSet element named (e.g.) “ground”
• Explains auto-tiling bit masks:
  • A “bit mask” (often a 3x3 grid) determines which tile variant matches neighbors
  • match corners and sides is recommended as the most useful option
• Notes troubleshooting:
  • Rare editor bug where terrain set doesn’t populate; workaround: create/switch scenes to force refresh
  • If a tile variant is wrong, re-apply using single-tile paint

Plateau / elevation + cliff layering (mixed auto & manual)

• Creates an elevation/plateau TileMapLayer (TerrainSet used for auto connection)
• Creates cliffs separately because cliff tiles must match both:
  • adjacent plateaus
  • and the ground/water boundary rules
• Result:
  • Plateaus auto-tile
  • Cliffs are manually painted, with additional replacements to swap “water-cliff” vs “ground-cliff” variants
• Demonstrates quick cliff drawing and replacement of tiles on edges

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Animated tiles for effects (foam/rocks)

• Adds an animated TileMapLayer (e.g., foam and rocks)
• Important setup:
  • Not all animated sheets fit standard 64x64
  • Foam/rocks use a sprite sheet with multiple frames in one tile
  • Manually sets texture region to 192x192
• Animation frames:
  • Uses elements to slice the PNG into sequential 192x192 frames
  • Notes UI behavior: after enough frames it paginates
• Animation speed:
  • Example speed set to 8
  • Uses random start times so all waves don’t animate identically

Draw order (scene tree ordering)

• Foam must render:
  • on top of water
  • but underneath ground/rocks
• Achieved by placing the foam TileMapLayer:
  • above the water layer
  • but below rock/ground layers in the scene tree

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Shadows layer (additional draw-order nuance)

• Adds another TileMapLayer for shadows using shadow.png
• Also uses 192x192 regions
• Shadows are painted:
  • on cliff tiles only (not on top water areas)
• Layer order matters:
  • Shadows should render between ground and plateaus/cliffs
• Uses hiding/unhiding in SceneTree to debug placement

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Environment props: trees/bushes (and animation)

• Adds a props TileMapLayer (trees/bushes/rocks/mushrooms depending on the tileset)
• Trees:
  • animated tiles with fewer frames (example: 8 frames)
  • animation speed set (example: 8)
  • random start time suggested
• Walkability consideration:
  • Need correct depth/occlusion so player can walk “behind” props
  • This requires adjusting TileSet cell size and origins for better Y-depth placement

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Depth ordering (pseudo-3D in 2D): Y-sort + Y-sorting pivot

Problem addressed

• Without correct ordering, the player appears in front of trees incorrectly

Fix

• Enable Y-sorting on specific TileMap layers:
  • props (trees)
  • plateaus (cliffs/raised ground)
• Use Y-sort enabled on these layers’ ordering options
• Player node:
  • doesn’t Y-sort its own children
  • instead, Y-sort is enabled on the main container so the player is sorted relative to the tiles

Extra note

• You can adjust Y-sorting origin / texture origin for tree trunks:
  • changes where the engine thinks the “foot” is for depth sorting
  • example: changing tile cell size from 64x64 to 32x32 for finer placement resolution
  • moves the texture origin downward so trunk roots align with the Y-sort point

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Collision / physics: prevent walking through water, trees, cliffs

Trees collision

• In the props TileSet:
  • add a physics/collision layer
  • then create a physics polygon for the tree trunk
• Uses grid snap to draw a tighter polygon
• Physics propagates:
  • setting polygon on one tree tile copies to others in that set

Water collision (ground edge blocking)

• In the ground TileSet:
  • add physics layer for collisions
  • paint collision polygons mainly along the shore edges
• Builds collision shapes using:
  • L-shapes and U-shapes for corners/edges
  • rotation to reuse shapes around the map
• Notes:
  • center-of-water tiles often don’t need collision if the player can’t reach them anyway

Cliff collision + ledge illusion

• In the plateau/cliff TileSet:
  • add physics polygons so player can’t walk into cliffs
  • collision shape is intentionally adjusted to be lower than the top cliff edge
• This supports the illusion that the player is standing “behind” the cliff while still colliding correctly

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Additional layer: props that grow on top of cliffs

• To place trees/bushes on the plateau tops without the trunk disappearing behind plateau tiles:
  • adds a separate TileMapLayer for props on plateau
  • renames/organizes layers so the ordering is correct
• TileSet reuse:
  • saves props TileSet as a resource and reloads it for the new plateau-props layer
• Ordering technique:
  • doesn’t rely only on Y-sort; uses Z index adjustment to ensure these “top-of-plateau” props render in the correct depth category
  • if bushes mis-order, enable Y-sort for that layer as well

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Clouds to reduce empty water dominance

• Adds a clouds TileMapLayer to add background/atmosphere
• Trick used:
  • Temporarily set cloud tile size extremely large (example 576x256) so Godot auto-slices the cloud sheet correctly
  • Then set tile size back to 64x64 for placement resolution
• Clouds are placed around a roughly circular area
• Mentions camera limitation:
  • because the player can’t go far from the island edge, the circular cloud boundary is usually not noticeable

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Output / takeaway from the tutorial

• By saving these TileMapLayers as a repeatable setup or template, it’s easy to create:
  • multiple islands/maps
  • multiple RPG regions to explore
• Encourages testing repeatedly by generating different islands

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Main speakers / sources

• Single presenter / instructor (tutorial author) demonstrating Godot 4 editor steps throughout.
• Godot 4 engine documentation/editor behavior is implicitly referenced (TerrainSets, TileSets, TileMapLayer ordering, physics polygons, Y-sort, etc.).