Using opengl ZBuffer with Libgdx Spritebatch

Question

I'm writing a 2d game engine using libgdx where multiple layers of sprites have to be rendered using SpriteBatch with an OrthgraphicCamera. My layers are sorted with az component: higher z layers should be rendered on top of layers with a lower z.

Currently, I have to render layers sorted by their z component to achieve that. Is there a way, using opengl Z-buffer, to have them rendered out of order, and still show up correctly?

Answer 1

Fixed by switching to DecalBatch instead of SpriteBatch. Here are the GL commands I use before drawing with the DecalBatch to enable depth-testing:

 Gdx.gl.apply {
            glClearColor(0f, 0f, 0f, 0f);
            glEnable(GL20.GL_DEPTH_TEST)
            glClear(GL20.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT or GL20.GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT)
            glClearDepthf(1f)
            glDepthFunc(GL20.GL_LESS)
        }