Tilequant
Overview
SkyTemple comes with a tool called Tilequant that allows you to automatically modify images so they can be used as backgrounds in the game. The game has very strict limitations on images (described in detail below), and Tilequant will modify any image it is given to fit these limitations. Tilequant can be accessed in SkyTemple from the "Open Image Converter..." button in the top right menu.
Tilequant Options
The table below shows Tilequant's options. Note that "No. of tile clustering passes" and "No. of color clustering passes" will only be shown if "Advanced Options" is clicked.
| Option | Description | Input | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Palettes | The maximum amount of palettes that the output image will contain (see Image restrictions) | Integer (1-16) | For normal backgrounds, this can be a max of 16. For map backgrounds, the two layers combined can have a max of 14. This is due to the last two palettes not being rendered in-game. |
| Transparent Color | The color in the input image that Tilequant will view as transparent. | Color hex code | Tilequant has a built-in color picker. |
| Mode | The method that Tilequant will use to make the image match the color limitations. |
|
"Reorganize colors only" is prone to failing, and will only work if the input image already follows the color restrictions. |
| Dithering Level | How strong the dithering will be. | Float (0.00-1.00) | |
| No. of tile clustering passes | Integer | ||
| No. of color clustering passes | Integer | ||
| Input Image | The primary image Tilequant will convert. | PNG image | |
| Additional Input Image (optional) | A secondary image to convert with the same palettes and Tilequant settings. | PNG image | This is helpful if two backgrounds need to look similar to each other. |
Image restrictions
The game requires background images to be tiled in 24x24 pixel chunks, where each chunk is made of 8x8 tiles. Each 8x8 tile has one palette assigned and can use its 16 colors. In total a background can generally have 14 - 16 palettes. Tiles can not use colors from multiple palettes.
SkyTemple can import backgrounds, tilesets and chunksets that follow these restrictions. It reads these from indexed PNGs. Tilequant can convert images into this format, however if the original image contains too many colors per tile, or if a total color limit is exceeded, there will be loss of quality.