[Godot RPG]#5: Autotile

Hello everyone, you have come to part 5 of the game programming series Godot. And in this tutorial, I will guide you to create tilemaps using a more advanced function, Auto tile. Before that, I also had a tutorial article on how to use Autotile, but at that time my knowledge was still very weak so there were a lot of mistakes and now I will guide you again in a more specific and detailed way.

In this article, I will help you how to create Autotile, and for those who don’t know, this Autotile can help you design your Level automatically instead of doing it manually in lesson 4. It’s also very easy, not difficult at all.

Create Autotile

1 . Create Autotile

First, access Tileset in the Inspector Tab of Node Tilemap

Then select your existing Tileset as Forest

And then you proceed to choose New Autotile for yourself.

Remember to turn on the Grid to get a grid shape

Then blacken the area that needs to be selected. And note that anyone who is using my tileset should choose like me.

For other tilesets, you will have to base on their size to have tilesets of 16×16,8×8,32×32,64×64.

You must adjust accordingly Snap Options – Step et Selected Tile – Subtile Size

2 . Create Bitmasks

Next, click on Bitmask on the tool box selection.

Here will be the most important part of creating an Autotile. One error is a mile away.

Oh, remember to set the Autotile Bitmask mode to 3×3 and 2×2 is also fine if it suits your tileset.

And here I will proceed to fill in the Bitmask.

This was before:

And then:

Here, that color bitmask means: It is a navigation tool, or in other words for you to easily understand, it links this tile to another tile.

Give an example to illustrate Godot: here I have a tile and this tile when you put it down will display it first because it is not linked to anyone.

And here I will place another tile next to it and they are linked together via bitmask.

So now I’ll try removing the bitmask associated with the tile on the right?

And below will be the result when you remove the bitmask linking the tile on the right.

Because it loses the link bitmask it cannot find the tile it needs to connect to and it will display the default icon.

Note: Many people, even though they draw the full bitmask, still get the problem like the one below, it’s because you drew it wrong or because the bitmask is wrong or because you drew too little or too much.

And this is the result after I finished doing it.

3 .Create Single Tile

Well, to have a grass tile, you should create a Single Tile that is a grass tile, don’t add an Autotile to it and then lift it up and you’re done.

Well, if you have the same problem as the photo, it’s because I initially added the missing auto tile.-. I’m sorry, I’m sorry

Please add it

Then it will return to normal

To make sure with Autotile, in the toolbar you can select Icon and click on the Sand box to make sure.

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Summary.

Ok so I have finished guiding the 5th lesson. Hopefully through this article you will gain new knowledge in designing Levels with Autotile for your game with Godot. Autotile is a function that is used a lot, so please remember it so you don’t forget it.

Frequently asked questions

What is Autotile in Godot and why should I use it?

Autotile is a feature in Godot Engine that helps you create game maps automatically, saving time and effort compared to placing each tile manually. It connects background tiles together based on the bitmask, creating seamless and natural edges.

How to edit Bitmask for Autotile effectively?

Bitmask editing requires high precision. Make sure you have selected the correct mode (e.g. 3×3 or 2×2) that matches the tileset size. Each tile in the Bitmask represents a direction (top, bottom, left, right), which needs to be colored correctly for the background tiles to connect properly. Small errors in the Bitmask can lead to unexpected results.

What should I do if my Autotile is not displaying properly?

Please check the tileset size, Bitmask mode, and especially the accuracy of the Bitmask. Make sure you have selected the correct “Subtile Size” and “Step” in the “Snap Option” section. If you still have problems, check to see if there are missing or excess tiles in Autotile.