# bevy_sparse_tilemap

A Tilemap crate for the Bevy game engine with a focus on large map sizes and ECS sparse maps

Features

• Sparse-set style tilemaps
  • Only the minimum amount of data is stored for each tile. Furthermore tiles that don't need it don't get their own Entity
  • Built in API to handle spawning, despawning, and accessing tiles optional entities
• Massive tilemap sizes.
  • Because of the above feature, maps can be ludicrously large and have very good performance.
• Purely focused on the tilemap logic - rendering is left to the user

Tilemap Construction

bevysparsetilemap includes a TilemapBuilder SystemParam that is used to spawn and setup a tilemap correctly in the world.

rust fn spawn_tilemap(mut tilemap_builder: TilemapBuilder<TileData, MapLayers>, mut commands: Commands) { tilemap_builder.new_tilemap_with_main_layer( TilemapLayer::new_dense_default(5000,5000), ChunkSettings { max_chunk_size: UVec2::new(100, 100), }, ); let tilemap = tilemap_builder.spawn_tilemap(); } ## Tilemap Access

bevysparsetilemap includes a handy TilemapManager system param that has a bevy of helper functions to make accessing, editing, and interacting with tilemaps that much easier.

```rust fn access(tilemapmanager: TilemapManager, mut commands: Commands) { let tiledata = tilemapmanager.gettile_data(TilePos::new(9,16)).unwrap();

 //

} ```

What about bevy_ecs_tilemap?

bevy_ecs_tilemap is a fabulous crate that will probably cover most of your needs in an easier to use plugin and you should reach for that first.

You should use bevy_ecs_tilemap if: - You don't need very large maps (sub 200x200 in my experience) - You want every tile to be its own Entity for ECS integration (This crate tries to avoid unnecessary entities and uses a Voxel like approach) - You want a more mature and more feature rich plugin - You want tilemap rendering handled for you

You should use bevy_sparse_tilemap if: - You want very very large maps (bevysparsetilemap can reach substantially larger map sizes) - Basically the above is the main reason, giant maps that are more cumbersome to work with but can be millions of tiles - You don't mind a more cumbersome api in pursuit of the first goal - You are willing to implement your own tilemap rendering (This crate does have an optional feature for integration with bevy_fast_tilemap however it is not the focus of this crate and does not do a lot)