Tiled height level collision

Question

I have created the below tilemap in tiled and I am wondering about a good approach to "separate" these two different heights in the map. I would like to keep it tile based, so adding a object layer for collision detection is a no for me.

I would like the player to move from the low ground to high ground using the ladder. But as you can see, two walkable tiled adjacent to each other should not be "connected" since they are on different heights.

Since I can only add properties to the tile in the sheet and not on the map itself afaik, I cannot mark the heights on my map. So I guess I have to work with different layers for each height. Check if the layer the player currently on has a tile or something, if that is even possible.

The reason I do not want to use a object layer is simple. My creatures move from tile to tile and I just want to check if that tile is walkable and on the same height level. No need to test vs a rectangle or polygonal object.

What I am actually looking for is having properties per coordinate. This would make it a lot easier (pseudo code):

tileMap[x][y].floorCount;
tileMap[x][y].walkable;

instead of:

map.getLayer(player.currentLayer).layerMap[x][y].tileExists;
map.getLayer(player.currentLayer).layerMap[x][y].walkable;

I simply cannot add properties to a "global" tile (tiled seems to only allow me to add properties to the tile on the sheet which is carried over to every usage of it. This image uses that same corner tile as in the above image, only this time the player is allowed to cross it, or perhaps hop over it.

Answer 1

In Tiled you can add layers. Use a layer for the ground level, elevation1, elevation2 etc.

Define a ladder/stairs tile with a property (in the tileset tile property) to indicate the player can move up or down one layer.

Answer 2

Instead of defining a tile-type as "blocked" or "walkable" in general, define the four edges of a tile as "blocked" or "walkable" separately (a completely impassable tile would have all edges as "blocked"). That way you can define a tile-type like that upper cliff corner which can be entered and left through the west-edge and north-edge but not through the east-edge and south-edge.

This system also allows you to create "thin" obstacles like fences which don't block a whole tile but only the edge between two tiles.

Answer 3

Looking at your responses to the two answer here so far, I don't think you're going to find a solution that works the way you want it to without it being some level of hacky because you're not using objects. The actual picture tiles do not have any properties support in Tiled. The only thing that has support for properties are the layers and objects.

The only solution I can think of that might work is to keep track of specific tile IDs (the picture tiles, not their location) and use that to help you determine things. For example, if your player steps on the "right-cliff edge tile", they can not move right anymore. If the player steps on to a "ladder tile", then they are allowed to move onto a cliff-edge tile.

I honestly wouldn't suggest this though as its VERY hacky. I think honestly using layers or objects is going to be a much better solution for you in the longer run and will allow you a lot more flexibility down the road, even if it doesn't seem as "nice to write in code" right now. That's what helper functions are for. :)