Layers

A layer is like a transparent sheet of glass that objects are painted on to. Layers can be used to show different groups of objects in front or behind each other, like the foreground and background. Layers belong to a layout and are edited in the Layers Bar. Layers can be scrolled at different rates for parallax effects, and also individually scaled and rotated, which makes them a powerful way to make interesting visual effects in games.

Layers are also important to add non-scrolling interfaces (or HUDs or UIs) to scrolling games. A layer with its parallax set to 0, 0 will not scroll at all, so any objects placed on this layer will always stay in the same place on-screen.

A common arrangement for layers might be:

HUD (top layer - health bar, UI info etc.)
Foreground (main game objects)
Middleground (a parallaxing background layer)
Background (bottom layer - the background)

Layer properties

The properties for a layer can be edited in the Properties Bar after clicking the layer in the Layers Bar. Note this also changes the active layer - see the active layer property in Layout properties for more information.

Name
The name of the layer, which can be used to refer to the layer in the event system.

Initial visibility
Whether or not the layer is initially visible when previewing. This is different to the Visible in editor property which only affects the Layout View.

Background color
The background color for the layer. It is ignored if *Transparent is Yes.

Transparent
Ignore background color and make the layer have a transparent background.

Opacity
Set the opacity (or semitransparency) of the layer, from 0 (invisible) to 100 (opaque).

Force own texture
Force the layer to always render to an intermediate texture rather than directly to the screen. This is useful for some kinds of effects. However, it slows down rendering, so it should be set to No unless specifically needed.

Scale rate
Change the rate at which the layer zooms if scaling is applied to the layer or layout, a bit like parallax but for zoom. A scale rate of 0 means the layer will always stay at 100% scale regardless of the scaling applied. A scale rate of 100 means it will scale normally.

Parallax
Change the rate at which the layer scrolls in the horizontal and vertical directions. A parallax rate of 100, 100 means ordinary scrolling, 0, 0 means it will never scroll (useful for UIs), 50, 50 means scrolling half as fast, etc. Also useful for multi-layer parallaxing backgrounds.

Visible in editor
Whether or not the layer is showing in the Layout View. Note this is different to the Initial visibility property which only affects previewing. This setting can also be accessed via the Layers Bar.

Locked
Whether or not the layer is locked in the Layout View. Objects on locked layers cannot be selected. This setting can also be accessed via the Layers Bar.

Parallax in editor
If enabled, the parallax properties will also be applied to the Layout View, allowing you to preview what the effect will look like.