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Assuming a map has no fog on it, does VBL only prevent showing tokens on the Token layer? I'm noticing that thing on the Object and Background layer will show for a player, even if the VBL blocks their vision of it.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just the way that VBL works, blocks sight of non-owned tokens on the Token layer ONLY?

xavram wrote:Assuming a map has no fog on it, does VBL only prevent showing tokens on the Token layer? I'm noticing that thing on the Object and Background layer will show for a player, even if the VBL blocks their vision of it.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just the way that VBL works, blocks sight of non-owned tokens on the Token layer ONLY?

Correct.

xavram wrote:Assuming a map has no fog on it, does VBL only prevent showing tokens on the Token layer? I'm noticing that thing on the Object and Background layer will show for a player, even if the VBL blocks their vision of it.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just the way that VBL works, blocks sight of non-owned tokens on the Token layer ONLY?

You might have a misunderstanding of the purpose of VBL. VBL and FOW work together. Without FOW, a players token sees everything on the map excluding stuff on the token layer. This makes a certain level of sense when you follow ALL of the possible paths of logic.

The point of VBL is to either:

a: prevent players from seeing enemy tokens(no FOW)
or
b: prevent players from seeing both enemy tokens as well as unexplored areas(with FOW).

In the latter, under normal circumstances, a player won't know whats in a specific location until he sees it with his own eyes. After which, it almost certainly does not change (room layout, room contents, etc) OTHER THAN creatures when he leaves the room and has no direct line of sight on it.

Bottom line, if the players are in the first room of a dungeon and you don't want them to see the entire layout, use FOW, that's what it's purpose is!

Yep, I get it...I just wanted to make sure.

For my current project, players should be able to see the entire map (the arena/racetrack) but they shouldn't be able to see other players OR any hazards the other players create. That was my issue, I had those hazards on the object layer.

So I think I need to change those to the Token layer, but make the hazards Npcs. Just have to re-work some logic and that should be okay.

Thanks for the confirmation

You can change the ownership, so if a PC places the hazzard. So if Player1 places a hazard, set ownership to Player1 and change visible to owners only. That way the GM & Player1 can see it but Player2 can not. Player1 can also move it.

Whether it's a PC or NPC doesn't matter for this use case. It can drive FoW changes and vision depending on settings.

I think making the hazards on the Token layer, as NPCs, will work. If they are blocked by a building or whatever, it doesn't matter whether or not you created the mines/spikes/whatever, you shouldn't be able to see them.

I just have to fiddle with some "sendToBack/bringToFront" calls. I had originally put them on the Object layer because I always wanted them "under" the players cars. But that shouldn't be too bad.