🧑‍🌾 Stardew World Workshop • Episode 4 of 12 • See All Episodes
🗂️ Episode 4 · Improver · Map Layers

Stack the World
Episode 4: Layers Explained

A Stardew map is a stack of transparent sheets. Paint on the wrong one and your tree floats in front of the player. Learn the stack, and you will never lose a layer again.

👶 Ages 10+ ⏱️ ~45 Minutes 🌱 Stardew Valley ✓ Free workshop
🧺 The layer stack 🌿 Back layer 🏠 Buildings 👣 Paths 🎋 Front layer ☁️ AlwaysFront
🗂️ Let's Stack! Start Step 1 ← All Episodes 🖨️ Print Guide
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Ember says: think of layers like clear plastic sheets stacked on a table. You draw on one sheet at a time, and the top sheet always wins where they overlap.
🛠️
Try it right here: paint on the Back, Buildings and Front layers, then play-test it. This is the real Stardew Mod Studio, live in this page. Open it full size →
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What Is a Layer?
A stack of transparent sheets
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Goal for this step

Understand that a map is layers stacked on top of each other.

  • 1A map is not one picture. It is several layers stacked up.
  • 2Each layer holds its own tiles. Lower layers show first, higher layers draw on top.
  • 3In Tiled, the Layers panel lists them. The top of the list draws over the bottom.
  • 4If something is hidden, you painted it on a layer that is covered.
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Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
A map is a stack of . The one higher in the list draws the ones below it.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Your painted tiles do not appear in-game. Most likely cause?
AThe tiles are the wrong colour
BYou painted them on a layer that something higher up covers
CTiled is broken
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Back: the Ground
Grass, dirt, water and flooring
Locked
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Goal for this step

Know that Back is the bottom layer for the ground.

  • 1The Back layer is the ground: grass, dirt, sand, water and floors.
  • 2Almost every change starts here, because everything else sits on top of it.
  • 3If you paint the ground on a higher layer, it covers trees and buildings. Always ground on Back.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Which layer holds the ground?
ABack
BFront
CAlwaysFront
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Buildings & Paths
Objects and the floor you walk on
Locked
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Goal for this step

Know what Buildings and Paths are for.

  • 1Buildings holds houses, sheds, walls and objects that sit on the ground.
  • 2Paths is for walkable flooring such as stone paths and decks.
  • 3Buildings draw over the ground but behind the player, so you can walk in front of them.
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Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
Houses and objects go on the layer. Walkable flooring goes on the layer.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
You want to add a stone path. Which layer?
APaths
BAlwaysFront
CFront
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Front: Over the Player
Tree tops and things you walk behind
Locked
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Goal for this step

Know why some tiles go on Front.

  • 1The Front layer draws over the player.
  • 2Tree tops, roofs and arches go here, so you can walk behind them and they hide you.
  • 3Paint grass on Front by mistake and you get a green block that floats over you. That is the classic bug.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
A green patch floats in front of your character. What happened?
AYou painted the ground on the Back layer
BYou painted ground tiles on the Front layer, which draws over the player
CThe tileset is missing
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AlwaysFront & Draw Order
The very top, and the golden rule
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Goal for this step

Meet the top layer and lock in the draw order.

  • 1AlwaysFront is the very top: weather, mist and full-screen effects.
  • 2The usual draw order, bottom to top: Back → Buildings → Paths → Front → AlwaysFront.
  • 3Golden rule: ground low, objects middle, over-the-player high.
  • 4When something looks wrong, ask "which sheet is it on?" before anything else.
✏️
Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
The very top layer is called . The layer that draws over the player is .
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Which order is bottom to top?
AFront, Back, Paths, Buildings
BAlwaysFront, Front, Back
CBack, Buildings, Paths, Front, AlwaysFront
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Practice: Move a Tile
Fix a misplaced tile on purpose
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Goal for this step

Prove you can move a tile to the correct layer.

  • 1Open your map, pick a tile, and paint a patch on the Front layer on purpose.
  • 2Save, load the game and see the floating patch. That is your bug on purpose.
  • 3Back in Tiled, delete those tiles with the eraser, then paint them on Back instead.
  • 4Save and load again: fixed. You can now debug by layer.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
To move a tile to a different layer, what do you do?
AChange the tileset
BErase it on one layer and paint it again on the correct layer
CRestart the computer
🎉🗂️👣✨🎉
Layers, Mastered!
You know the stack, the draw order and how to fix a tile on the wrong layer. Episode 5 makes tiles behave: walkable, tillable and water.
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Accuracy
🚶 Episode 5: Tile Properties →
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🧩
Stack the Layers
+20 XP
Drag the layers into draw order, from the bottom of the stack to the top.
Front (draws over the player)
Back (the ground)
AlwaysFront (the very top)
Buildings (houses and objects)
Paths (walkable flooring)