SCALE: Virtual Tabletops typically have a way to handle the scaling themselves and the measurement is in units. Not feet, meters, yards, or parsecs... units. For example, in MapTool you typically assign a pixel number per unit measurement. MapTool is usually 50 pixels per unit. What that unit is is entirely up to you. To use D&D as the example since most are familiar with it. Each square is 5'. That constitutes a unit. Therefore, based on the previous 50 pixels per unit, that would mean that you would have 50 pixels per 5' or 10 pixels per foot. I personally prefer to go up one doubling to 100 pixels per unit so that when I zoom in the image does not get pixellated. Therefore, it would be 20 pixels per foot. I think for most VTs that would be a maximum. Does that make sense?
Bill Stickers is innocent! It isn't Bill's fault that he was hanging out in the wrong place.
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Thanks...now, a check of my understanding.
I can set my map where 1 unit is considered to be 1 foot OR 1km OR 1mm?
And then I also define how many pixels are in that unit. So I could have 50 pixels represent 1 foot OR 1km OR 1mm depending on the unit defined?
And there you have it... understanding at its finest!
Bill Stickers is innocent! It isn't Bill's fault that he was hanging out in the wrong place.
Please make an effort to tag all threads. This will greatly enhance the usability of the forums.
Thanks, guys. Now I can at least set my map to a good size and not be totally stupid.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
In fact, here is the preferences panel from MapTool to show you what I'm talking about. I've highlighted the pertinent portion for you.
Bill Stickers is innocent! It isn't Bill's fault that he was hanging out in the wrong place.
Please make an effort to tag all threads. This will greatly enhance the usability of the forums.
And a .png/.jpg etc are fine? Or do I need to use one of the VT tools to make it?
Most VT(T)'s use a normal JPG / PNG or something like that as a backdrop for all the static stuff. Anything that moves or might need to be altered, or is hidden from players - as part of the gaming - like characters, monsters, doors, pits, etc are all done with tokens on top. Tokens are also just smaller PNG images which the VTT app puts on top of the backdrop to make up the scene. Its like those books of stickers you used to get as a kid where you place them on the printed card sheet backdrop.
For scale it depends on whether you plan on viewing it on screen or whether printing it out. For VTTs thats normally on screen. So taking about a real inch of screen space for a characters 5 foot base which is say 100 pixels that would be something like 20 pixels per in game foot. So a 15" wide monitor could show about 15 * 5 ft of in game dungeon or 75ft which would be 1500 pixels. Yeah ? Now some apps can deal with more or less res than others so it depends on what your using too.
If the map is for a VTT but you dont have one then you can make the backdrop and the movable items as separate PNG files. Theres several free VTTs out there inc MapTool, DungeonForge, GameTable and RPGTonight. You can also use the layers in Gimp or use an HTML web page with style sheets to place down the tokens at specific places if your feeling really nuts.
Thumbnail entrants below as usual...
Code:### New Challenge Entry:Drahyden,5428 ### New Challenge Entry:Gamerprinter,5434 ### New Challenge Entry:ravells,5448 ### New Challenge Entry:Ascension,5454 ### New Challenge Entry:torstan,5550 ### New Challenge Entry:Darken,5555 ### New Challenge Entry:Steel General,5561 ### New Challenge Entry:MysticMagellan,5562 ### New Challenge Entry:CBDroege,5588 ### New Challenge Entry:Xyll,5646 ### New Challenge Entry:gorkamorka,5663
Last edited by Redrobes; 05-26-2009 at 07:47 PM.
Thank you for the education! I really appreciate your taking the time. I'm off to have a look at these programs now.
Damn ... all of "Leapfrog" is a chase across the Solar System. I swear, these challenges are keyed specifically to antagonize me.
Venus Public Transit, Map Of Ceres, Jack Vance's Ports Of Call & Lurulu ... why do I only have 3 maps here?
You can still enter, toff a solar system map would be cool. Then again, your Venus Transit map (which I still drool over) would have also been a winner.
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