Mapping with Tile-Sets + Hexmapping + DungeonPainter *New*

[GrindGod]

Mapping with Tile-Sets

Greetings,

so if you like Mapping with Tiles here is a great Resource for Tiles and how to make them usable in MapTool in an easy and fast way:

1. Download the Tiles you need.

I recommend using Firefox with the AddOn DownThemAll (https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/a ... wnthemall/). With this AddOn you could download multiple Images with only a few clicks. Surely you could download the images with any Browser one-by-one, but this way its really faster

Go to: http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?c=tiamat

Launch Tiamat
Apply Filters (the middle button in the Tile Selection window at the Bottom of the Page)and download the images of the Tiles you want to use.

2. Import the Tiles to your MapTool Libary

If you want to use many Tiles/different Tilesets i recommend making a organized Folder Structure with subfolders for the specific Tilesets.

Open MapTool - Open the Menu File - Import Ressources to Libary (i am using a german version of MapTool so i dont know hot its exactly called in the english version) - Search the Folder where you have saved your Tiles an import them.

3. Resize the Grid to the Size of the Tiles

All the Tiles from Tiamat are 30x30 pixels - Open the Map Menu - Adjust Grid - Grid Size 30
For easy use of the Tiles Open the Preferences and check: Start Snap to Grid for the Layer you want to place your Tiles (e.g. Backgrounds)

Enjoy Mapping

[GrindGod]

Hexmapping with MapTool

So the dungeon tile thing is nice for making fast battlemaps and maybe for entire dungeons. But you may need a mapping tool for the big scale - your worldmap...

I am playing a sandbox campaign and therefor i needed a nice worldmap too. IMO best style that fits is an old good hexmap! So i searched some hexmapping software and yes there are some great programs out there, but have you ever tried to fit your MP Hex-Grid to an external Map - thats not too easy.. but there is a solution... make MapTool to a Hexmapper!

AND the good thing is its not too complicated to do so...

1. You need Hex-Tiles/Graphics

You could make this Graphics by your own with Gimp or similar programs, but here you will find really nice ones: http://gallery.rptools.net/v/contrib/Jshock/

2. Put your hexes into your Libary (howto? read the abough posting...)

3. Make a new map with a hex-grid of 50 pixels/hex - as background you could take an oceon or water like texture...

4. Go to your Preferences - Background - Check Snap to Grid and Uncheck Start Freesize

5. Ready for Mapping...

Short Advise: If you want to make a bigger world you will find it easier to copy one of your hexes (Select the hex - Strg + C) and paste it in (Strg + v)


Here is an example of what i have done with these hexes... http://uploaded.to/file/wdoxzf8w CAUTION: This is a large Map (16.4 mb)
This map is completly made with MapTool without any other drawing or mapping Programs. It´s still WIP - if you like it feel free to use it for your own. (Grid Setting 50 Px; 1 Hex=5 Kilometres)

[GrindGod]

Dungeon Painter

Today i found this: http://pyromancers.com/dungeon-painter-online/

For me it was totally New... but it exists already for a while.. an its awesome!
There are really not much mapping programs I haven´t tried out! I am no professional in mapping and therefor i always search for programs that are easy to handle and have a good professional outcome.

After i played around with Dungeon-Painter for some hours i could give you some general advice..

- If you want to use it with MapTool always keep in mind that the map you created will be your Background and you could not apply many changes to it. Anything you want to be interactive like maybe doors, chests, Traps and so on.. you should draw in MapTool. Everything that is static could be drawn to the Background.

- I have had problems integrating my own textures/art to the tool; export as png does not work as intended for me..

So finally here is a short example of my work - its no great example of mapping just a try... NOTICE: this is a file you only could open with this application, but if you want to use the map just load it on the side posted above and export it. http://www.2shared.com/file/1-5-TciR/map.html

[Azhrei]

Heh, that's pretty cool. Pyromancer is the author of TTopRPG. It's another VTT application written in C# so it's Windows-only, but otherwise it's a pretty cool application. I've used it a few times as part of games announced via PFSOC.

[GrindGod]

Yeah its pretty cool and fun mapping with it! I liked the fact that the walls have shadows. The maps really look better with wall shadows.. I wondered if i could make use of an shadow effect when i map inside MapTool and here is the way you could do this

You need 4 textures - transparent with a gradient like this one:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

one upward, one downward, rightside, leftside

Then draw the basic Floor to the Background.
For the nothern walls now take the downward shadow texture as filling and fill one block down the wall.. do the same for the right side, left side and southern walls. At last draw the walls...

Here is an example:

Surely this technique has its limitations... but for me its exactly what i needed in MapTool

[Phergus]

You need 4 textures - transparent with a gradient like this one:
...one upward, one downward, rightside, leftside

Actually you only need the one as they can be rotated once inside of MT.

[GrindGod]

How do i rotate a texture im drawing with..?

[aliasmask]

How do i rotate a texture im drawing with..?

Instead of using the draw tool, you can drop the image on the map as a token and rotate it with shift-scroll or ctrl-shift-scroll. You can also use the facing option on the right-click menu of token.

[GrindGod]

Ah okay yes surely. I knwo that But i find it easier and faster to use textures and draw them to the map especially if its not a one-room dungeon as in the example

[Phergus]

My bad. Didn't notice you were drawing them as textures.

You might try dropping them as background tiles on a drawn dungeon. It's actually very fast and it becomes easy to vary the "depth" of the shadow.

Also handy for adding shadows to elements like bridges and such that might not line up neatly with the grid.

[GrindGod]

Yeah i tried this too. I know MT isn´t intended to be a mapping program and never will be as powerfull as painting- or specific mapping software, but i liked playing around to see how far i can get with it

And this is the result so far...



It has taken about 1 hour to do this.. For the reason that i am far away from being good with painting programs and that stuff its okay IMO

[Phergus]

Looks good. Adding in shadows can really make a drawn map pop.

[GrindGod]

Today i really asked myself why i haven´t recognized all this interesting ways of mapping before... maybe i have to much freetime atm^^

I played around with textures of different opacity and overlays to create a nice looking rocky Hill. And this is the result:



The overlays i have used for this all could be found at the dundjinni forum - just search there for overlays and you will find a bunch of amazing stuff!

Mapping Artist Level 0 -> Mapping Artist Level 1