RPG Virtual Tabletop
Creating Dundjinni Maps for Virtual Tabletops
Prologue
Prologue
For a lot of people, a map is an important part of the role-playing experience whether you play an RPG online or offline. It
adds something extra to the adventure when players can see where they are in relation to where other
creatures/objects/structures/etc. are. There are of course different types of maps you can use: maps that show a whole
country, maps that show a whole city and maps that show the inside of a building. Let’s call that last one a Miniature map,
because you can put miniatures on it to play. It’s that last map type I like to discuss in this series of articles.
A Miniature map is meant to represent an area the players use to actual move on with miniatures, tokens or other
representations of their characters. Most often that happens during a fight or when exploring certain areas (like a
building or even a whole dungeon). A map with a grid will give the players the opportunity to move around. A grid can be
square or hexes and can have different scales. A grid can be on the map itself, or put on the map in a VT.
There are a lot of resources on the internet where you can find maps like that. A few of these are the Dundjinni Maps
and Contests Subforums, the RPGMapShare map gallery, the MapTools map gallery, the Wizards of the Coast map
gallery, maps from map Artist galleries (Tintagel for instance), etc.
So, how do we create such a map if we cannot find the one we need somewhere on the internet? To do this, you either
use a drawing program like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, the Gimp, MsPaint, etc., or you use an actual mapping
application like Dundjinni, Dungeon Designer 3, Dungeon Forge, etc.
Here are some points to take into account when creating/getting maps for online gaming.
Map Transport
Keep in mind that the map has to be transported across the internet to your players, so the map cannot be too big. A
Dundjinni map exported at full size and then converted to a JPG will still give you a map that is somewhere between 7MB
and 15MB. If you still like to use a map like that, see if the VT offers the possibility to send the map in pieces (for instance
chunks of 2MB that are put back together on the player’s machine), or can use a map that is on a webpage (in effect use
a link to a map that is already somewhere on the internet), or you resize the map to a smaller size.
Map Scale
Pick the right scale for your map and keep to it. The most used is 1 inch = 5 feet. The actual size you draw in depends on
the program you use or the size you pick. Dundjinni for instance represents one inch as 200 pixels by default, so you get
a lot of detail in the program (but also a very large map).
Detailing the map
Don’t put too many details in your map that may spoil the experience. Most VT’s can use tokens to represent moveable
objects (like chairs) or parts players can walk under (like trees). It’s not a necessity, but if you can, use the possibilities
the VT offers you in this. A forest map could actually be just grass, bushes, scatter material, a river and a path. The
Trees and bridge might be added within the VT, using art pieces as tokens.
Mapping Application Choice
Choose a mapping application that does what you like it to do and gives you the results you want. Each application has
its strengths and weaknesses. Try a demo version first. There is a big difference between drawing a B&W map without
details or a full colour map with an enormous amount of detail. Dundjinni is point-and-click but focused towards smaller
maps, CC3 is powerful but with a steep learning curve, FM7 is easier than CC3 but with more cartoony graphics.
Virtual Tabletop Choice
Choose a VT that fits your needs and has all the options you want. Also look at the options and limitations the VT has in
relation to the use of maps. F.i. some VTs will give you the option of putting a grid on the map within the program, so you
won’t have to draw a grid yourself. Others even let you create maps within the program.
When you follow these points, you should be able to find the right mapping program for your online gaming needs a bit
more easily. Some of these points will be discussed more in other articles.
Sometimes you want something specific in a mapping program; a feature you just got to have. Here are some details you
can check out and compare:
Map attributes
Of course you don’t have to check all these points and the list doesn’t contain every possible detail, but you pick the
ones that matter the most to you.
The next article will discuss the use of Dundjinni to create Battlemaps. For all the articles I will use the VTs Battlegrounds,
MapTools and Fantasy Grounds II to illustrate the use on Dundjinni maps for online gaming.
Here is a link to a large amount of VTs, Mapping Programs and other aids.
http://battlegroundsgames.com/links.html
Happy mapping,
Kepli
adds something extra to the adventure when players can see where they are in relation to where other
creatures/objects/structures/etc. are. There are of course different types of maps you can use: maps that show a whole
country, maps that show a whole city and maps that show the inside of a building. Let’s call that last one a Miniature map,
because you can put miniatures on it to play. It’s that last map type I like to discuss in this series of articles.
A Miniature map is meant to represent an area the players use to actual move on with miniatures, tokens or other
representations of their characters. Most often that happens during a fight or when exploring certain areas (like a
building or even a whole dungeon). A map with a grid will give the players the opportunity to move around. A grid can be
square or hexes and can have different scales. A grid can be on the map itself, or put on the map in a VT.
There are a lot of resources on the internet where you can find maps like that. A few of these are the Dundjinni Maps
and Contests Subforums, the RPGMapShare map gallery, the MapTools map gallery, the Wizards of the Coast map
gallery, maps from map Artist galleries (Tintagel for instance), etc.
So, how do we create such a map if we cannot find the one we need somewhere on the internet? To do this, you either
use a drawing program like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, the Gimp, MsPaint, etc., or you use an actual mapping
application like Dundjinni, Dungeon Designer 3, Dungeon Forge, etc.
Here are some points to take into account when creating/getting maps for online gaming.
Map Transport
Keep in mind that the map has to be transported across the internet to your players, so the map cannot be too big. A
Dundjinni map exported at full size and then converted to a JPG will still give you a map that is somewhere between 7MB
and 15MB. If you still like to use a map like that, see if the VT offers the possibility to send the map in pieces (for instance
chunks of 2MB that are put back together on the player’s machine), or can use a map that is on a webpage (in effect use
a link to a map that is already somewhere on the internet), or you resize the map to a smaller size.
Map Scale
Pick the right scale for your map and keep to it. The most used is 1 inch = 5 feet. The actual size you draw in depends on
the program you use or the size you pick. Dundjinni for instance represents one inch as 200 pixels by default, so you get
a lot of detail in the program (but also a very large map).
Detailing the map
Don’t put too many details in your map that may spoil the experience. Most VT’s can use tokens to represent moveable
objects (like chairs) or parts players can walk under (like trees). It’s not a necessity, but if you can, use the possibilities
the VT offers you in this. A forest map could actually be just grass, bushes, scatter material, a river and a path. The
Trees and bridge might be added within the VT, using art pieces as tokens.
Mapping Application Choice
Choose a mapping application that does what you like it to do and gives you the results you want. Each application has
its strengths and weaknesses. Try a demo version first. There is a big difference between drawing a B&W map without
details or a full colour map with an enormous amount of detail. Dundjinni is point-and-click but focused towards smaller
maps, CC3 is powerful but with a steep learning curve, FM7 is easier than CC3 but with more cartoony graphics.
Virtual Tabletop Choice
Choose a VT that fits your needs and has all the options you want. Also look at the options and limitations the VT has in
relation to the use of maps. F.i. some VTs will give you the option of putting a grid on the map within the program, so you
won’t have to draw a grid yourself. Others even let you create maps within the program.
When you follow these points, you should be able to find the right mapping program for your online gaming needs a bit
more easily. Some of these points will be discussed more in other articles.
Sometimes you want something specific in a mapping program; a feature you just got to have. Here are some details you
can check out and compare:
Map attributes
- minimum and maximum map size (in grid squares, or pixels)
- scales you can use (40pix per inch, 100, 150, 200, dynamic/fixed, … ?)
- amount of art you can use (do I have to create everything myself, should I search the internet, is there an art
repository, …?) - quality of the art and of the resulting map
- how quickly can you create a map in the program
- will it run on your system (Mac, Linux, XP, Vista, …)
- What options are present
- Is there an active user community
- what support is there in case you have questions or problems
- ask others about their experience with the program
- is the program still supported by the developers
- does it come with a good manual
- does the company listen to it’s community
- does it crash often and why is that (perhaps the solution is at hand)
- how easy is the program to install and maintain
- what is the learning curve of the program
- what is the UI like
- is there help present in the application
- how much does the program cost
- what do you get for that prize
- what else can you buy and is that fair (no “you also need this piece to run the application”)
- can you get free art and sample maps
- is the program often used for VT mapping
- what do others think of using the application to create VT maps
Of course you don’t have to check all these points and the list doesn’t contain every possible detail, but you pick the
ones that matter the most to you.
The next article will discuss the use of Dundjinni to create Battlemaps. For all the articles I will use the VTs Battlegrounds,
MapTools and Fantasy Grounds II to illustrate the use on Dundjinni maps for online gaming.
Here is a link to a large amount of VTs, Mapping Programs and other aids.
http://battlegroundsgames.com/links.html
Happy mapping,
Kepli
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