darn it's ugly

Talk about whatever topic you'd like, RPG related or not. (But please discuss things related to our software in the Tools section, below.)

Moderators: dorpond, trevor, Azhrei

bobifle
Giant
Posts: 219
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:36 pm

darn it's ugly

Post by bobifle »

That's the first words that came to my mind when I first tried Maptool.

It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how amazing this tool actually is. The potential is limitless and the ugliness turned into a vintage, old school feel
I kinda dig 8)

I'm currently trying to populate 350 monster tokens using data from http://www.dnd5eapi.co/
I heavily steal the work provided in this forum on 5e frameworks. It's quite overwhelming
but I slowly start to get things done. I'm using python to generate the token files, because
I know feces about Java.

While trying to retro engineer the framework I noticed people have gone batshit crazy about token macros, I'm not sure anyone achieved the stage where everything is manageable by clicking on macros but surely some were pretty close.

I'm planning to use maptool this week end for a dnd session. I'll be using a dual screen setups, one for all the players in the room, the other for me. Just the fog of war + sight feature is priceless, I'm sure my players will enjoy it.

I'd like to thank all the contributors for this wonderful piece of free software. They've gained inspiration point for life !

User avatar
aliasmask
RPTools Team
Posts: 9024
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:11 pm
Location: Bay Area

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by aliasmask »

It's often referred to as the Millennium Falcon of RPG software.
Attachments
millennium falcon meme.png
millennium falcon meme.png (223.32 KiB) Viewed 1731 times

User avatar
Jagged
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1306
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:27 am
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Jagged »

You can automate practically everything in Maptool, but people usually step back from going the whole hog because :

1) its an awful lot of work

and

2) it disconnects players from the game.

So I generally refuse to automate things like damage because its better to get the players to do it.

User avatar
JamzTheMan
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1872
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 12:59 pm
Location: Chicagoland
Contact:

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by JamzTheMan »

FYI: You may want to look at my fork @ http://maptool.nerps.net to take full advantage of that API.

I have a sendURL() macro that you can use to post a payload (or just URL get requests) to that API and get that jSON payload back within MapTool... I use it, for example, to post XP logs to our personal Slack channel. :) (I need to find an API site like that for Pathfinder)
-Jamz
____________________
Custom MapTool 1.4.x.x Fork: maptool.nerps.net
Custom TokenTool 2.0 Fork: tokentool.nerps.net
More information here: MapTool Nerps! Fork

taustinoc
Dragon
Posts: 516
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:30 pm

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by taustinoc »

Jagged wrote:You can automate practically everything in Maptool, but people usually step back from going the whole hog because :

1) its an awful lot of work

and

2) it disconnects players from the game.

So I generally refuse to automate things like damage because its better to get the players to do it.
My players would rather watch paint dry than not roll their own dice (even the one who lives 1,500 miles away, and whose kids keep losing his actual dice). For that matter, so would I.

But everyone agrees that MapTool is no indispensable, even for face to face play.

User avatar
Full Bleed
Demigod
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:53 am
Location: FL

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Full Bleed »

bobifle wrote:That's the first words that came to my mind when I first tried Maptool.

It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how amazing this tool actually is. The potential is limitless and the ugliness turned into a vintage, old school feel
I kinda dig 8)
And the good thing is that you're probably only just scratching the surface.

In addition, over time you can do some things to make what matters most "prettier." I started doing cosmetic things well after all the most important functional thing I wanted to do... but I'm happy with the way things look.

I think my character sheet is as "pretty" as any VTT out there... with more functionality and customization to boot.

If you look around the forums a bit you'll find a number of drop-in that will help you beautify things.
Maptool is the Millennium Falcon of VTT's -- "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

User avatar
JamzTheMan
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1872
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 12:59 pm
Location: Chicagoland
Contact:

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by JamzTheMan »

That's a dang 'purty sheet ya got der!
-Jamz
____________________
Custom MapTool 1.4.x.x Fork: maptool.nerps.net
Custom TokenTool 2.0 Fork: tokentool.nerps.net
More information here: MapTool Nerps! Fork

User avatar
Full Bleed
Demigod
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:53 am
Location: FL

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Full Bleed »

JamzTheMan wrote:That's a dang 'purty sheet ya got der!
Thanks... here are some other key player/GM interface sheets:

Here is my GM Control Sheet.

Sample Character Combat Sheet.

Gear Sheet.

All thanks to devs and contributors like you giving us this "ugly" framework to works with. ;)
Maptool is the Millennium Falcon of VTT's -- "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

bobifle
Giant
Posts: 219
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:36 pm

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by bobifle »

Ran my first session using maptool.

I think tt's been a success (it's an all players in the same room setup, I extend my laptop screen to the host TV), in the sens that it adds clearly some benefits to the table, it's not just a gadget.

I used very few features of MapTool, basically I was just displaying the map with the fog of war on, I had setup the vision blocking and I as the DM was actually the only interacting with the token. I didn't use any macro and didn't feel the need to. I guess macro are only required when playing online.

Technically speaking, I had no problem with the client I started on the same machine than the server. One player, just for the sake of trying, used the client on his computer, and was brought the the token library instead of the map I was currently displaying on the GM/server side, weird but nothing game breaking. I think I yet have to understand what the client can do and how I can restrict the client to smooth the experience.

Great job guys !

User avatar
Jagged
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1306
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:27 am
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Jagged »

That's the best way to start using Maptool. One feature at a time :)

User avatar
Full Bleed
Demigod
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:53 am
Location: FL

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Full Bleed »

bobifle wrote:Technically speaking, I had no problem with the client I started on the same machine than the server. One player, just for the sake of trying, used the client on his computer, and was brought the the token library instead of the map I was currently displaying on the GM/server side, weird but nothing game breaking.
That will happen. Just have them switch to to correct map with the Select Map menu in the upper right hand corner or you can use Tool>Enforce Players to Current Map to pull them to the map you want them on. As a client, they will only be able to switch to maps that are "Visible to Players" (though you could create map switching macros that get around that).
I think I yet have to understand what the client can do and how I can restrict the client to smooth the experience.
One of the biggest "restrictions" of using separate clients is in setting ownership of particular tokens so that they can only interact with those tokens and see from the vantage points of those tokens.

You can also "Lock Movement" in the Initiative Panel (and Tool>Lock Player Movement) to keep them from moving their tokens (on purpose or accident) around when they don't have initiative.
Maptool is the Millennium Falcon of VTT's -- "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

User avatar
Full Bleed
Demigod
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:53 am
Location: FL

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Full Bleed »

Jagged wrote:That's the best way to start using Maptool. One feature at a time :)
Exactly.

Many people try to do too much out of the gate and miss the proverbial forest for the trees.

Start basic as a pure virtual table and then, as mastery comes, look to augment as desired for you particular game and play style.
Maptool is the Millennium Falcon of VTT's -- "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

taustinoc
Dragon
Posts: 516
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:30 pm

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by taustinoc »

Full Bleed wrote:
Jagged wrote:That's the best way to start using Maptool. One feature at a time :)
Exactly.

Many people try to do too much out of the gate and miss the proverbial forest for the trees.

Start basic as a pure virtual table and then, as mastery comes, look to augment as desired for you particular game and play style.
It has been my experience that, starting with just using it to share maps and token placement, every time I run a game, I find something where I think "I can automate this with a macro or some feature I know is there but haven't figured out yet." And then, between games, I figure out how to do so.

It's a very organic learning process, and I've yet to find something I can't figure out.

Dracones
Cave Troll
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:04 pm
Location: Fort Pierce, FL

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by Dracones »

bobifle wrote: I'm currently trying to populate 350 monster tokens using data from http://www.dnd5eapi.co/
I heavily steal the work provided in this forum on 5e frameworks. It's quite overwhelming
but I slowly start to get things done. I'm using python to generate the token files, because
I know crud about Java.

While trying to retro engineer the framework I noticed people have gone batshit crazy about token macros, I'm not sure anyone achieved the stage where everything is manageable by clicking on macros but surely some were pretty close.
I did this for Pathfinder, only I used Herolab as my "API" to pull data from. Their file format is open and they were supportive of me pulling data from their monster files. I also used Python and it worked really well for me: http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23623

If you're interested in the Python code for this, the main token creation code is: create_token() method which basically just creates a rptok file(zip file with xml and images in it). The class I use to generate the xml of the token with all the macros and what not in it is Pathfinder class, though I'm probably doing a lot more there than you'll need to do.

It looks like the 5e API data is pretty light which works in your favor. The Herolab files were really data heavy. Like a monster would have pages of spell data attached to it. I ended up saving that data offline and using JamzTheMan's NERPS variant of Maptool which allowed me to fetch the data via HTTP and that worked really well.

Only real PITA I found with doing this was for Python 2.7 the Unicode support was really bad and I kept running into parsing bugs because of that. Or if my "API"(Herolab files) got updated they could change a bit in format and break things. But the Maptool side of just stamping out tokens via a Python app worked marvelously. And since everything was on the token themselves they were pretty compatible with other frameworks, third party macro libraries and even my own updates(a 1.0 token could exists alongside a newer 1.1 version token).

User avatar
JamzTheMan
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1872
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 12:59 pm
Location: Chicagoland
Contact:

Re: darn it's ugly

Post by JamzTheMan »

@Drawcones, ya, your code was my original inspiration for getting HeroLab support in MapTool, cause, why not!? :)

If you add a portfolio to your MapTool repo, they show up as folders, and I show a "token" for every character in that portfolio. Drag it onto the map, bam, token created using first image (default) as portrait/token. If you add a second image, that is used for the token image. It saves a "link" back to that portfolio so you can 'update' it via macro or right-click-edit. I expose all 3 statblocks via macro and provide a xpath macro as well (I stat all my tokens using the XML statblock now using xpath. Much more reliable than regular expression I think)

Anyhoo, ya, you can also use my sendURL to send a json payload and return a string back (which could be a json object/payload). But if you can create all these on the fly, you probably don't need to create "in mass" all the tokens up front?
-Jamz
____________________
Custom MapTool 1.4.x.x Fork: maptool.nerps.net
Custom TokenTool 2.0 Fork: tokentool.nerps.net
More information here: MapTool Nerps! Fork

Post Reply

Return to “General Discussion”