MapTools as Battle Map

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OscarGuy
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MapTools as Battle Map

Post by OscarGuy »

I apologize if someone has already asked this, but I see the application can be used to host others and run games, but I have an in-person table top game that I would love to use this tool for so we can project it on the wall or display it on a TV. However, in looking it over, I can't seem to figure out how to do something like that.

Any suggestions? Resources? I want to be able to run it all as GM and reveal portions of the map as they come and then put mobs on there for positioning while allowing the players to roll their own dice and maintain their own characters.

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by aliasmask »

Yep, this is how I first used it too. There are a couple of ways to do this but the best way is to run 2 instances on the same computer and have a dual monitor set up. You start a server and then the 2nd instance connects to it via the LAN tab. That way you can have a player view for the 2nd screen and a GM view for the server.

taustinoc
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by taustinoc »

Since all my players except one are local, I find myself in the same position. I use two computers (dual monitors work the same). I also find it quite useful to have a wireless mouse on the players' computer. It's become the "talking stick." If you don't have the mouse in your hand, it's not your turn.

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Full Bleed
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by Full Bleed »

taustinoc wrote:I also find it quite useful to have a wireless mouse on the players' computer. It's become the "talking stick." If you don't have the mouse in your hand, it's not your turn.
Gyroscope mice (sometimes called "Air" mice) are particularly good for this.

Gyration makes great gyroscopic mice: http://www.gyration.com/
Maptool is the Millennium Falcon of VTT's -- "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by aliasmask »

If you want to control 2 computers with the same mouse I'm pretty sure there are plenty of programs out there. There was an old one just for the mouse driver which I can't remember but you can also use any screen sharing program like VNC or the like. But that would probably be resource heavy.

What I do is go to Tools and lock players to current view continuous (ctrl-shift-F). So, you can move the map around on the server and the player view changes including the zoom.

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lmarkus001
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by lmarkus001 »

Before moderately priced touch screen monitors ( http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=859-BBBC ) I would get a few very cheap Logitech mice with universal wireless controllers, and bind them all to the same controller, then spread the mice around so everyone could move the cursor at the same time. Obviously they had to take turns :-)

OscarGuy
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by OscarGuy »

Will this work cross platform? As in I use my Windows Laptop and someone else use a Mac Desktop?

So, the only way is to dual monitor? You can't do it with a single set up?

The only idea I came up with is creating black tiles set on the token layer that overlay the sections of the map I want to hide. Then just delete those portions when they open the door? Does this sound like something feasible?

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aliasmask
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by aliasmask »

Platform doesn't matter if you can connect via a LAN connection.

If sharing the same monitor you could select "view as player" and use VBL and FOW to cover up parts you don't want players to initially see. But view as player can be a little temperamental when dealing with tokens. I think if you explicitly add your name as the owner (rather than no owner for NPCs) then you can see the tokens when using that view. But having 2 monitor on one source I think is best.

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Bhoritz
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by Bhoritz »

Sharing the same monitor is probably going to become very tedious quite quickly for you (switching from GM to players view while hiding content,...)..
I am mostly playing with one laptop and one external monitor (as described here), which means that I carry my laptop wherever we are playing (with some cables) and that I connect it on any screen available (computer monitor or tv). When possible (playing at home) a second computer and a wireless mouse are fine, but that's icing on the cake.

Btw, I intend to try connecting with chromecast or apple TV to be free from cables. Has anyone tried it?

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lmarkus001
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by lmarkus001 »

Yeah, use your TV as your second monitor. Depending on the age of the TV/Computer, you might need adapters to get the two working, but most modern computers have HDMI out. Then your players can have a nice BIG monitor to look at an you can use your computer monitor for your GM stuff.

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Cherno
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Re: MapTools as Battle Map

Post by Cherno »

I started a thread long ago detailing my experiences in using Maptools primarily as a battle map for F2F sessions:

http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php ... t=dark+sun

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