diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fd15f0197..c2af76b08 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ Because `libpng` isn't included in the iOS SDK, you will need to build a cross-a
 yourself. Run `./setup-libraries.sh`, which is derived from Mapnik's cross-architecture build
 scripts. This will also run `./configure`.
 
+Then, `make iproj` to create and open an Xcode project with an iOS-specific view controller housing and basic gesture support. 
+
 Target devices: iPhone 4 and above (4S, 5, 5c, 5s) and iPad 2 and above (3, 4, mini and/or retina).
 
 ## Ubuntu
diff --git a/include/llmr/map/map.hpp b/include/llmr/map/map.hpp
index e82ef42b5..4600e1a96 100644
--- a/include/llmr/map/map.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/map/map.hpp
@@ -109,14 +109,18 @@ private:
     void updateTiles();
     void updateClippingIDs();
 
+    size_t countLayers(const std::vector<LayerDescription>& layers);
+
     // Prepares a map render by updating the tiles we need for the current view, as well as updating
     // the stylesheet.
     void prepare();
 
+    enum RenderPass { Opaque, Translucent };
+
     // Unconditionally performs a render with the current map state.
     void render();
-    void renderLayers(const std::vector<LayerDescription>& layers);
-    void renderLayer(const LayerDescription& layer_desc);
+    void renderLayers(const std::vector<LayerDescription>& layers, RenderPass pass);
+    void renderLayer(const LayerDescription& layer_desc, RenderPass pass);
 
 private:
     // If cleared, the next time the render thread attempts to render the map, it will *actually*
@@ -145,6 +149,8 @@ private:
 
     bool debug = false;
     time animationTime = 0;
+    float strata_thickness = 0.0f;
+    int strata = 0;
 
 private:
     bool async = false;
diff --git a/include/llmr/style/layer_description.hpp b/include/llmr/style/layer_description.hpp
index 405c884e5..97cb7d6f2 100644
--- a/include/llmr/style/layer_description.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/style/layer_description.hpp
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ public:
     std::string name;
     std::string bucket_name;
     std::vector<LayerDescription> child_layer;
+
+    size_t size() const;
 };
 
 std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream&, const LayerDescription& layer);
diff --git a/include/llmr/style/style.hpp b/include/llmr/style/style.hpp
index 2f1e42c4f..213a0b94c 100644
--- a/include/llmr/style/style.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/style/style.hpp
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ public:
 
     void loadJSON(const uint8_t *const data, size_t bytes);
 
+    size_t layerCount() const;
     void cascade(float z);
 
 public:
diff --git a/setup-libraries.sh b/setup-libraries.sh
index cd5dd4385..d43461111 100755
--- a/setup-libraries.sh
+++ b/setup-libraries.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ set -e -u
 
 UNAME=$(uname -s);
 
-MISSING_DEPS=false
+MISSING_DEPS=""
 
 function ensure_dep {
     if [[ ! `which $1` ]]; then
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ ensure_dep aclocal
 ensure_dep cmake
 ensure_dep automake
 ensure_dep autoconf
+ensure_dep pkg-config
 if [ ${UNAME} = 'Darwin' ]; then
     ensure_dep makedepend
     ensure_dep glibtool
@@ -23,11 +24,13 @@ elif [ ${UNAME} = 'Linux' ]; then
     ensure_dep gccmakedep
 fi
 
-if [[ $MISSING_DEPS != false ]]; then
+if [[ $MISSING_DEPS != "" ]]; then
     if [ ${UNAME} = 'Darwin' ]; then
-        echo 'Please run "brew install autoconf automake libtool makedepend cmake" and then re-run ./setup-libraries.sh'
+        echo "Missing build deps: ${MISSING_DEPS}"
+        echo 'Please run "brew install autoconf automake libtool makedepend cmake pkg-config" and then re-run ./setup-libraries.sh'
     elif [ ${UNAME} = 'Linux' ]; then
-        echo 'Please run "sudo apt-get install automake libtool xutils-dev cmake" and then re-run ./setup-libraries.sh'
+        echo "Missing build deps: ${MISSING_DEPS}"
+        echo 'Please run "sudo apt-get install automake libtool xutils-dev cmake pkg-config" and then re-run ./setup-libraries.sh'
     fi
     exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/src/map/map.cpp b/src/map/map.cpp
index 5476f21d3..6775f4721 100644
--- a/src/map/map.cpp
+++ b/src/map/map.cpp
@@ -423,8 +423,27 @@ void Map::render() {
 
     painter.finishClippingMask();
 
+
+
     // Render per layer in the stylesheet.
-    renderLayers(style.layers);
+    strata_thickness = 1.0f / (style.layerCount() + 1);
+    strata = 0;
+
+    // - FIRST PASS ------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Render everything top-to-bottom by using reverse iterators. Render opaque
+    // objects first.
+    painter.startOpaquePass();
+    renderLayers(style.layers, Opaque);
+    painter.endPass();
+
+    // - SECOND PASS -----------------------------------------------------------
+    // Make a second pass, rendering translucent objects. This time, we render
+    // bottom-to-top.
+    --strata;
+    painter.startTranslucentPass();
+    renderLayers(style.layers, Translucent);
+    painter.endPass();
+
 
     // Finalize the rendering, e.g. by calling debug render calls per tile.
     // This guarantees that we have at least one function per tile called.
@@ -447,42 +466,30 @@ void Map::render() {
     }
 }
 
-void Map::renderLayers(const std::vector<LayerDescription>& layers) {
-    // TODO: Correctly compute the number of layers recursively beforehand.
-    float strata_thickness = 1.0f / (layers.size() + 1);
-
-    // - FIRST PASS ------------------------------------------------------------
-    // Render everything top-to-bottom by using reverse iterators. Render opaque
-    // objects first.
-    painter.startOpaquePass();
-    typedef std::vector<LayerDescription>::const_reverse_iterator riterator;
-    int i = 0;
-    for (riterator it = layers.rbegin(), end = layers.rend(); it != end; ++it, ++i) {
-        painter.setStrata(i * strata_thickness);
-        renderLayer(*it);
+void Map::renderLayers(const std::vector<LayerDescription>& layers, RenderPass pass) {
+    if (pass == Opaque) {
+        typedef std::vector<LayerDescription>::const_reverse_iterator riterator;
+        for (riterator it = layers.rbegin(), end = layers.rend(); it != end; ++it, ++strata) {
+            painter.setStrata(strata * strata_thickness);
+            renderLayer(*it, pass);
+        }
+    } else if (pass == Translucent) {
+        typedef std::vector<LayerDescription>::const_iterator iterator;
+        for (iterator it = layers.begin(), end = layers.end(); it != end; ++it, --strata) {
+            painter.setStrata(strata * strata_thickness);
+            renderLayer(*it, pass);
+        }
+    } else {
+        throw std::runtime_error("unknown render pass");
     }
-    painter.endPass();
-
-    // - SECOND PASS -----------------------------------------------------------
-    // Make a second pass, rendering translucent objects. This time, we render
-    // bottom-to-top.
-    painter.startTranslucentPass();
-    typedef std::vector<LayerDescription>::const_iterator iterator;
-    --i;
-    for (iterator it = layers.begin(), end = layers.end(); it != end; ++it, --i) {
-        painter.setStrata(i * strata_thickness);
-        renderLayer(*it);
-    }
-    painter.endPass();
 }
 
-void Map::renderLayer(const LayerDescription& layer_desc) {
-    gl::group group(std::string("layer: ") + layer_desc.name);
-
+void Map::renderLayer(const LayerDescription& layer_desc, RenderPass pass) {
     if (layer_desc.child_layer.size()) {
+        gl::group group(std::string("group: ") + layer_desc.name);
         // This is a layer group.
         // TODO: create framebuffer
-        renderLayers(layer_desc.child_layer);
+        renderLayers(layer_desc.child_layer, pass);
         // TODO: render framebuffer on previous framebuffer
     } else {
         // This is a singular layer. Try to find the bucket associated with
@@ -491,6 +498,20 @@ void Map::renderLayer(const LayerDescription& layer_desc) {
         if (bucket_it != style.buckets.end()) {
             const BucketDescription &bucket_desc = bucket_it->second;
 
+            // Abort early if we can already deduce from the bucket type that
+            // we're not going to render anything anyway during this pass.
+            switch (bucket_desc.type) {
+                case BucketType::Line:
+                case BucketType::Point:
+                case BucketType::Text:
+                    if (pass == Opaque) return;
+                    break;
+                case BucketType::Raster:
+                    if (pass == Translucent) return;
+                default:
+                    break;
+            }
+
             // Find the source and render all tiles in it.
             auto source_it = sources.find(bucket_desc.source_name);
             if (source_it != sources.end()) {
diff --git a/src/map/source.cpp b/src/map/source.cpp
index 2f2668e7b..384cb0a62 100644
--- a/src/map/source.cpp
+++ b/src/map/source.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ size_t Source::prepareRender(const TransformState &transform) {
 void Source::render(const LayerDescription& layer_desc, const BucketDescription &bucket_desc) {
     if (!enabled) return;
 
+    gl::group group(std::string("layer: ") + layer_desc.name);
     for (const Tile& tile : tiles) {
         if (tile.data && tile.data->state == TileData::State::parsed) {
             painter.renderTileLayer(tile, layer_desc);
diff --git a/src/style/layer_description.cpp b/src/style/layer_description.cpp
index d4b8b7d67..53c6230cb 100644
--- a/src/style/layer_description.cpp
+++ b/src/style/layer_description.cpp
@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 #include <iostream>
 
+using namespace llmr;
+
+size_t LayerDescription::size() const {
+    size_t count = 1;
+    for (const LayerDescription &layer : child_layer) {
+        count += layer.size();
+    }
+    return count;
+}
+
 std::ostream& llmr::operator<<(std::ostream& os, const LayerDescription& layer) {
     os << "Structure: " << layer.name << std::endl;
     os << "  - bucket_name: " << layer.bucket_name << std::endl;
diff --git a/src/style/style.cpp b/src/style/style.cpp
index 9c766419b..18fe0f416 100644
--- a/src/style/style.cpp
+++ b/src/style/style.cpp
@@ -123,6 +123,14 @@ void Style::cascade(float z) {
     }
 }
 
+size_t Style::layerCount() const {
+    size_t count = 0;
+    for (const LayerDescription &layer : layers) {
+        count += layer.size();
+    }
+    return count;
+}
+
 void Style::loadJSON(const uint8_t *const data, size_t bytes) {
     rapidjson::Document doc;