layer-tilesets

Layer Tilesets

Overview

A tile is only useful next to its neighbours. Two beautiful isometric houses drawn at slightly different angles, or standing on slightly different bases, will not sit on one map, and no prompt wording fixes that. Layer solves it with structure rather than description: tile_grid on execute_forge draws each tile over a blockout of a fixed grid, then cuts it out and fits it onto that grid, so every tile in a set shares one projection and footprint.

This skill covers tiles that stand on a grid (isometric diamonds, hexes, aligned top-down cells). A flat surface that repeats edge to edge, such as grass or stone, is a texture: use tileability as layer-textures describes. Generation mechanics, the spend gate and polling are in layer.

If a sibling skill named here is missing from your available skills, ask the user to install it (npx skills add layerai/skills --skill <name>); unattended, proceed from tool schemas and flag the gap.

Quick reference

Need	Use
A model that draws onto the grid	list_base_models with filter.capabilities: {tile_grid: true}, first hit
Isometric diamond tile	tile_grid.shape: "SQUARE" (default), orientation DIAMOND (default)
Top-down square map	shape: "SQUARE", orientation: "ALIGNED"
Hex tile	shape: "HEXAGON", orientation: "POINTY_TOP" (default) or "FLAT_TOP"
Classic 2:1 isometric look	elevation unset: 30 (2:1 dimetric) on a square, set at most 60; unset on a hex is 60
Ground tile vs building	height: 0 for flat ground, about 1 to 2 (in cell sides) for a building
Multi-cell building	footprint_width x footprint_depth, 1 to 8 cells each; leave unset on a hex, which covers one
Other sides of one building	facing 0, 90, 180, 270 (squares only; a hexagon faces 0)
Delivered cell size	tile_width in px; unset keeps the drawn size rounded to a power of two
Redraw an existing asset as a tile	Attach it as init_image: its shape and design are kept
Carry the set's look, or a facing	Attach approved tiles as reference_image
Tiles on one fixed canvas	output_fit with canvas: "FIXED" and anchor: "BASE"
Engine import	export_tileset with engine TILED, GODOT, UNITY or JSON

Fix the grid once

The grid is the contract of the set. Every tile shares one tile_grid; only the footprint, height and facing change from tile to tile. Decide shape, orientation, elevation, light_from and tile_width before the first run, write them down, and pass the identical values on every later run. Changing elevation or tile_width halfway gives tiles that refuse to line up; changing light_from gives a map whose shadows fall both ways.

light_from (left or right, seen from the camera) is easy to forget because it has a default. Name it anyway, and keep the prompt's lighting words consistent with it.

What the prompt carries

The grid handles projection and placement, so the prompt spends its words on the subject and the set's grammar: material, palette, era, level of detail, and outline treatment. Describe only what stands on the tile. Scenery beyond the cell, a horizon, or neighbouring buildings fight the cut-out.

Approve one tile, then attach it as reference_image on every sibling so they inherit its palette and rendering. For a set that will grow for months, train a reference set (layer-reference-sets).

Facings

A building seen from four sides is four runs with facing 0, 90, 180 and 270. Generate facing 0 first and approve it. Then run the other three with the approved tile attached as reference_image, which carries "the same building for another facing". Without it you get four different buildings that happen to share a footprint. Facings exist for square cells only.

export_tileset names facings of one subject after it (tower_0, tower_90) and records subject and facing as tile properties.

Delivery

export_tileset is the finish for a map: a deterministic file operation, no Creative Units, each tile placed by where it stands on its grid. Pass up to 128 file_ids in listing order; every tile must share one grid.

engine	What the zip holds
TILED	A .tsx tileset, one image per tile, and an example .tmx map
GODOT	A Godot 4 TileSet .tres over one atlas
UNITY	One atlas and the .meta that slices it into pivoted sprites
JSON	One atlas and a TexturePacker JSON (hash), for PixiJS, Phaser, Cocos

The zip carries a README with import steps and the grid settings the map needs. padding sets the transparent gutter on an atlas and is ignored for TILED.

When the user wants a single sheet image rather than an engine import, use pack_sprite_sheet: with every frame a tile_grid tile, it aligns frames on their anchor (the bottom centre of the cell the tile stands on), ignores cell_width and cell_height, and returns each frame's rect and Unity pivot. For tiles delivered as standalone sprites of one size, output_fit with a FIXED canvas and anchor: "BASE" stands every tile's base on the same point. BASE without tile_grid is refused.

Worked example

"An isometric medieval village tileset for Godot: grass, dirt road and water ground tiles, a 2x2 house from all four sides, and a 1x1 watchtower."

1. list_base_models with filter.use_case: "text_to_image" and filter.capabilities: {tile_grid: true}; take the first result, then get_base_model for any trigger word.
2. Fix the grid for the whole set: {shape: "SQUARE", orientation: "DIAMOND", light_from: "left", tile_width: 128}, with elevation unset for 2:1 dimetric.
3. Grass first, height: 0, footprint_width: 1, footprint_depth: 1, prompt naming material, palette and outline only: "Grass ground tile, hand-painted, muted greens, soft dark outline". Approve one; it becomes the reference_image for every later run.
4. Road and water: same grid, height: 0, the approved grass attached.
5. House facing 0: footprint_width: 2, footprint_depth: 2, height: 1.5. Approve it, then facings 90, 180 and 270, each with the approved house attached as reference_image.
6. Watchtower: 1x1, height: 2, the grass attached for the look.
7. Before step 3, price the job: estimate_forge_price for one call of each kind that can price apart (ground tile, house, tower), sum by count, and ask the user above 20 CUs. Execute each run and poll get_forge_run at the returned poll_interval_seconds.
8. export_tileset with engine: "GODOT" and the approved file_ids in listing order. Hand over the download link and point at the README's grid settings.

Common mistakes

• Writing "isometric" in the prompt of a model run without tile_grid, and expecting tiles to snap.
• Changing elevation, tile_width, orientation or light_from partway through a set.
• Generating facings 90 to 270 without the approved facing 0 attached as reference_image.
• Setting facing on a hexagon, which only faces 0.
• Prompting scenery around the tile: horizon, neighbours, ground that runs past the cell.
• Using tile_grid for a flat repeating surface, or tileability for a tile that stands on a grid.
• Handing over a packed sheet when the user asked for something the engine imports as a tileset.