Ive been using Tiled since February but after the 1.0 update things changed and I feel like I’m just not understanding how to use the new stuff properly.
All I use the program for is to make maps for a DnD campaign I run. I have all the tilesets I normally use as png. files and I just want to be able to draw those tiles onto the map like I normally have been. But now every time I go to access one of my tilesets I have to create a new tileset (.tsx) to be able to work with it. It also seems that I have to keep creating these .tsx files for my tilesets every time I make a new map, regardless if I’ve already made that tile into a .tsx file. I should also mention Im doing this on a Mac and the maps im making are strictly visual, I export them as png. files when im done to be used online, so im not doing anything fancy or special with them other than drawing the layout of the location (incase that matters).
So I guess I want to know, do I have to keep making or even using these .tsx files or is there a way that I can just use my .png files like I used to?
I believe ive found my answer, all I had to do was press the button “embed in map” when selecting my tileset. I had a feeling it would be something as simple and easy as that…
Apart from resolving to the previously default “embed in map” approach, you can also simply open the .tsx file(s) you’ve already created, or manually add them to your new maps by using the menu Map > Add External Tileset… (or, by dragging those .tsx files onto the Tilesets view).
Saving tilesets as .tsx files is now the default, because it avoids the need to specify the right parameters every time you add a certain tileset to your map. So unless you really always use the same parameters, you could choose to store your .tsx files along with your maps to save yourself a little time when adding the tilesets.
I still need to document the expected workflow in the manual, but I’ll try to get to this soon.
I use Tiled for the same exact purpose as you do- the change to tileset loading took me a minute to figure out but it’s pretty nifty now. Bjorn covered the changes decently, but my own workflow is as follows:
First, create a new tileset for each of my tileset images, since their settings aren’t gonna change between maps.
Then, just as he said, keep those tilesets open in Tiled when you make a new map and you’ll be able to use them in it without having to embed them.
An example of what my Tiled’s tabs look like when working. Each of the open .tsx files is a texture made from a tileset image that I don’t have to remake, and then whichever maps I’m working on. Not having to redefine terrain every new map (without using save-as workarounds) is a great time saver.
Thanks @Draftsman for pointing that out! To explicitly add your tilesets to the map with Add External Tileset can still be useful, since after this you no longer need to keep the .tsx files open to have them available in the Tilesets view, so you will have less tabs to look at.
