2D Tiler vs QuArK

2D Tiler is a free, open-source web editor for 2D game levels, tilesets, pixel assets, palettes, and exports. Its layered map tools include painting, erasing, filling, selection, autotiling, and object placement. Terrain options cover standard, diagonal, sparse, and 16-slot Wang workflows, plus weighted fills. A built-in image editor offers drawing, selection, cropping, moving, and blur tools, among others. Palette imports include GIMP GPL, Adobe ASE, Aseprite, JASC PAL, Paint.NET TXT, and HEX lists.

An AI workspace can create tilesets, sprites, backgrounds, icons, UI elements, and visual effects using OpenAI, Google Gemini, xAI, and Together AI provider families. Provider choice determines availability, billing, content rules, and image privacy. The editor runs locally in the browser and stores project data through a browser-based workflow. Native formats are .2dp projects, .2dm maps, and .2dt tilesets. Map workflows support Tiled, Godot 4, Unity, GameMaker, Defold, Phaser, tIDE, and Mappy formats; raster support includes PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, and GIF where the selected path allows it. Tiled map and tileset files are supported, but Tiled project-container import and export is planned, not available.

QuArK is a free editor for maps and, to a limited extent, models used with Quake-based or similar game engines. It imports, exports and converts sounds, textures and other assets, and can modify .pak and .pk3 files. Compiled BSP maps can be opened so their entities can be inspected and changed. Map-building features include duplicators and shape builders for structures such as stairs and arches; edits to an original duplicator’s texture update its copies. Documented output formats include Classic Quake, QuArK etp, Valve 220 and Brush Primitives. The project lists 3D preview through software, OpenGL, Direct3D and 3Dfx Glide, plus Python plugin support with more than 60 plugins bundled in the installer. QuArK Explorer gathers assets into a .QRK file and links files from earlier projects. Support listings mention 31 games in the FAQ and 41 games plus five generic engines on SourceForge. Windows binaries are available, while the Linux guide uses Wine.