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Use when working with 2D-specific systems — TileMaps, parallax scrolling, 2D lights and shadows, canvas layers, particles 2D, custom drawing, and 2D meshes in Godot 4.3+
Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 18 of 22 without it.
and 3 more in the full report
4 fixed18 passed either way0 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
This benchmark measured an earlier version of the skill.
A newer attempt on gemini-3.8-flash on 10/20/2026 did not produce a publishable comparison (not comparable). The snapshot above is the previously measured run.
One of 4 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
When organizing layer depth across nodes using CanvasLayer in Godot 4, what standard integer layer values should be assigned to parallax backgrounds, the default world scene, HUD/UI, and pause/transition overlays?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Specifies layer -1 for Parallax background layers. | Passed | Passed |
| Specifies layer 0 for default world node layers. | Passed | Passed |
| Specifies layer 1 for HUD or UI overlay. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs. GDScript is shown first, then C#.
Related skills: player-controller for CharacterBody2D movement patterns, animation-system for AnimatedSprite2D and sprite animation, physics-system for collision shapes and raycasting, camera-system for Camera2D follow and shake, shader-basics for 2D shaders and post-processing, godot-optimization for rendering and draw call tuning.
Within a single canvas layer, nodes draw in scene tree order — nodes listed lower in the Scene panel draw on top. Use z_index to override without rearranging the tree.
# Draw this node above siblings (default z_index is 0)
z_index = 10
# Make z_index relative to parent (default: false = global)
z_as_relative = true
CanvasLayer creates a separate rendering layer with its own transform, independent of the camera. Higher layer values draw on top.
| Layer | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| -1 | Parallax backgrounds |
| 0 | Default game layer (all Node2D without CanvasLayer) |
| 1 | HUD / UI overlay |
| 2 | Pause menu, screen transitions |
# Scene tree example
Main
├── ParallaxBackground (CanvasLayer, layer = -1)
│ └── Parallax2D
├── World (Node2D — default layer 0)
│ ├── TileMapLayer
test cases passed, vs 18 / 22 without
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.