Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

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xavram
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Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by xavram »

So another thing I noticed about Isometric maps....

Lights and vision work just fine in an isometric map, but the drawing tools/template tools don't. Yes, I know there is the "diamond" tool for both of those and that works for a lot of things.

But...the template tools are pretty much worthless in an isometric map. When you want to show the impacted area of say, a fireball (20 radius), the template tool for that doesn't work. Nor does the line template for showing the path of a lightning bolt. Not sure what the fix is for these (more template options? Iso-Radius, Iso-Line, Iso-Cone?) but without these, showing these effects to the players (or worse, having the players draw them themselves) becomes a lot more difficult.

The drawing tools suffer from similar issues. While the diamond tool nicely replaces the square tool, the circle tool is pretty much worthless in an isometric map. Alot of times, you know you want to draw a perfect circle (for a tower or chamber or something like that). Easy with the circle tool, using a snap to grid and creating it from the center point. But in an iso map, oof, now you're drawing an oval and having to really map attention to where everything goes, grid wise. Again, maybe an "Iso-Circle" tool, where a circle of 500 will actuall span a 10x10 grid of isometric cells?

Even with the isometric issues that are still out there, I'm super excited about using these kinds of maps for upcoming campaigns. I spent 2 years running Pathfinder's Carrion Crown campaign online via Maptools, then just recently finished a homebrew adventure (about 13 months) using maptool on individual laptops while playing face to face. Both were really fun/cool experiences for the players and myself. I think these Isometric maps and what they can bring "to the table" is just another facet to immersive gameplay, so I really want them to work correctly.

Thanks again Jagged for all you've done in this particular feature of Maptool!

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Jagged
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by Jagged »

Yeah, the template tools do not work on the iso grid. To be fair, they don't really work on the hex grid either.

I did take a look at them, but ultimately felt I would end up totally rewriting them and unfortunately didn't have the time. It may happen, but no promises ;)

xavram
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by xavram »

Hmmm...so how do you show something like, say, a 20 radius blast to the players? or a 30 foot cone?

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JamzTheMan
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by JamzTheMan »

Yea, the templates need a rewrite/update. Gridless needs some loving too...
-Jamz
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Jagged
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by Jagged »

xavram wrote:Hmmm...so how do you show something like, say, a 20 radius blast to the players? or a 30 foot cone?

You can use lights and auras

xavram
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by xavram »

Ah! That's certainly an option, didn't think of that. Thanks for the tip!

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RPTroll
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by RPTroll »

I auras those almost exclusively these days and have presets as part of my campaign. If you need a blast marker, just throw a blast token down and activate the aura.
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xavram
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Re: Isometric maps and drawing tools/template tools

Post by xavram »

Only "issue" with that is that aura's are nice and smooth...whereas blast radius/cones in a game like Pathfinder aren't. They are defined pretty rigidly by the squares they impact, so what shows in an aura won't actually show which squares are impacted. An aura may touch a square that is actually not in the fireball.

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