Map Objects

MapObjects are objects placed on your tile map using the Tiled editor or utiLITI. They define where and how entities spawn in your game world. When a map is loaded, LITIENGINE’s MapObjectLoader implementations translate these map objects into game entities.

Map Object Types

LITIENGINE supports several built-in map object types:

Type	Description	Entity Class
`CollisionBox`	Static collision geometry	`CollisionBox`
`Creature`	Movable combat entities	`Creature`
`Prop`	Static or destructible objects	`Prop`
`Spawnpoint`	Entity spawn locations	`Spawnpoint`
`Trigger`	Area-based event triggers	`Trigger`
`LightSource`	Dynamic lighting	`LightSource`
`Emitter`	Particle effects	`Emitter`
`MapArea`	Named areas for scripting	`MapArea`

Adding Map Objects in utiLITI

Via Right-Click Menu

Select an object layer in the map
Right-click on the map view
Choose Add -> [Object Type]
Click and drag to define the bounding box

Via Resources Panel

In the Resources tab, find your spritesheet
Click the + button to create a map object
The object is created with pre-configured dimensions

Map Object Properties

Each map object has configurable properties accessible in the utiLITI properties panel:

Common Properties

Name: Unique identifier for the object
Type: Entity type (CollisionBox, Prop, Creature, etc.)
X, Y: Position in tile coordinates
Width, Height: Bounding box dimensions
Layer: Which object layer the object belongs to

Entity Properties

For entity-type objects:

Sprite: Spritesheet to use for rendering
Collision: Collision box dimensions and settings
Tags: Comma-separated tags for entity queries

Loading Map Objects

Map objects are automatically loaded when loading an environment:

Game.world().loadEnvironment("level1");
// All MapObjects are converted to entities by MapObjectLoaders

Accessing Loaded Entities

// Get entity by name
IEntity entity = Game.world().environment().get("my-entity-name");

// Get entities by type
Collection<Creature> creatures = Game.world().environment().getByType(Creature.class);

// Get entities by tag
Collection<IEntity> tagged = Game.world().environment().getByTag("enemy", "flying");

Custom MapObjectLoaders

Create custom loaders for your own entity types:

public class MyEntityLoader extends MapObjectLoader {

  public MyEntityLoader() {
    super("MY_ENTITY_TYPE");
  }

  @Override
  public Collection<IEntity> load(Environment environment, IMapObject mapObject) {
    Collection<IEntity> entities = new ArrayList<>();

    MyEntity entity = new MyEntity();
    entity.setLocation(mapObject.getLocation());
    entity.setWidth(mapObject.getWidth());
    entity.setHeight(mapObject.getHeight());

    entities.add(entity);
    return entities;
  }
}

// Register before Game.start()
Environment.registerMapObjectLoader(new MyEntityLoader());

Spawnpoints

Spawnpoints define where entities appear in the level:

// Get a spawnpoint by name
Spawnpoint spawn = Game.world().environment().getSpawnpoint("enter");

// Spawn an entity at the spawnpoint
spawn.spawn(Player.instance());

// Use spawnpoint in world loaded event
Game.world().onLoaded(env -> {
  Spawnpoint start = env.getSpawnpoint("start");
  if (start != null) {
    start.spawn(Player.instance());
  }
});