Hi Guys

Im building a 2D tile-based game using html5 canvas and JavaScript. It's an RPG and i plan on having large "wilderness" style maps for my levels.

Now what im looking for is a bit more information on how layers work with 2d tile maps to give a 3d like effect e.g. players can walk behind trees etc.

I would like to know:

• What kind of layers are there? i know theres forground and background, but what others might be useful?

• How many layers should i ideally have for my game?

• What is a basic way to implement a system to read and display layered tile maps in javascript?

• Are there any tutorials/guides/articles that could help me understand and also code this system?

Thanks very much guys, any help will be appreciated

Tom