TFT Map Maker

[kjamma4]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

New version of [B]

Please share any feedback that will help improve these new features!

Not feedback to improve features but I have to say this is fantastic!!!

Extra kudos for making an offline version.

Thanks.

[David L Pulver]

This is a very impressive map program - thank you for developing it and sharing it!

I tried creating several maps over the last month and they went pretty smoothly. Good features, easy to use with a bit of practice.

The two major things I would like to see (unless it's already in there and I overlooked it):

- a door that a bit more distinct than a flat line (which sometimes disappears into background if printing the map black and white), e.g., a door that was more of a slight rectangle shape like classic D&D map doors

- a spiral staircase feature (usable for megahex-scale maps where it should fit in a single megahex-style hex)

- an option to flip the hexgrid so the pointy sides of the hex are at the top

However, I have recently noticed something funny happening with Annotations.

Specifically, while annotations worked a few weeks ago, now attempting to add text (either to an existing map or blank page) causes the map grid to split in half diagonally or otherwise fragment; adding annotations to a complex map completely disrupts the map - it sort of breaks up into junk.

I've tried this on both my firefox and chrome browsers and with both new and existing maps and the problem is the same.

[kjamma4]

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

Specifically, while annotations worked a few weeks ago, now attempting to add text (either to an existing map or blank page) causes the map grid to split in half diagonally or otherwise fragment; adding annotations to a complex map completely disrupts the map - it sort of breaks up into junk.

This happens to me too.

[Shadekeep]

Thanks for the feedback, and glad that the program is proving useful!

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

- a door that a bit more distinct than a flat line (which sometimes disappears into background if printing the map black and white), e.g., a door that was more of a slight rectangle shape like classic D&D map doors

- a spiral staircase feature (usable for megahex-scale maps where it should fit in a single megahex-style hex)

Do you have graphic examples of these you could share? That would give me a better idea of what a solution would look like. For the stairs I am currently manually bending the half-stair pieces into a circle. Would a tool that automatically renders this at once be useful? Or is it a different kind of symbolism you would recommend for that?

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

- an option to flip the hexgrid so the pointy sides of the hex are at the top

I've considered that on and off, but it would require quite a bit of refactoring. That said, it's still a feature I'd like myself, so I probably will pick it up again and see if I can find an elegant way of implementing it without breaking too much else.

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

However, I have recently noticed something funny happening with Annotations.

Ah, good catch! It looks in my last Git merge some of my annotation test code made it into production. Specifically, the part that rotates the canvas context. That's what is causing the weird graphic behaviour. I've ripped it out now and reposted it. If you are using the online version, you may have to shift-refresh your browser to pick up the new Javascript file. The standalone version has been updated with this fix too. Cheers!

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

Thanks for the feedback, and glad that the program is proving useful!

Do you have graphic examples of these you could share? That would give me a better idea of what a solution would look like. For the stairs I am currently manually bending the half-stair pieces into a circle. Would a tool that automatically renders this at once be useful? Or is it a different kind of symbolism you would recommend for that?

I've ripped it out now and reposted it. If you are using the online version, you may have to shift-refresh your browser to pick up the new Javascript file. The standalone version has been updated with this fix too. Cheers!

Thanks for the quick response and excellent work! I'm glad you were able to fix the annotations bug without much problem.

- for doors, I was thinking of the basic D&D door symbol originally used by TSR in dungeons and common ever since. This website has an image of it: two lines with a box between them. This stands out a little better than a flat line.

https://deadmanstales.wordpress.com/...d-map-symbols/

(The graphic in the link is the standard map key that TSR and WOTC used to use in DUNGEON magazine for a decade or so).

- Stairs. The tricky part is whether the spiral should fit in a single hex or be better drawn as more than one hex. The half-stair bend might work; for larger megahex scale, maybe just a spiral graphic or something? There's also the standard D&D similar spiral stair symbol in the graphic above.

- Something else I thought of is whether it would be possible to have an option to have either double letters in a single hex (e.g., AA, BB) or double digit numbers in a hex e.g., 29. As is, if you want to number or letter rooms because only one number or digit goes in a hex you are limited to 26 lettered rooms (A-Z) or 9 numbered rooms! Due to the way the hexgrid is laid out, having a second number in adjacent hexes won't work.

Speaking of labels, I don't know if the system would support it or not, but if there were a way so if you clicked an option, the title you chose for the map was actually displayed/printed on the map sheet it would be cool (As in "Blackkeep Dungeon, Level 2" or whatever. Of course, I can use a different program, e.g., paint.net, etc. But it would convenient if it was integral (unless I missed a switch that already makes it so...)

[Shadekeep]

Thanks for the link and the further suggestions! The D&D doors might be a little tricky at first, because they actually overlap two hexes, and each hex is discretely rendered in my code. I would need to handle overlap cases in a special routine so that they don't get trashed in the individual hex draws.

On a more positive note, I've made some progress with changing the "grain" of the hexes from vertical to horizontal. I just need to update some of the symbol drawing code, as they were written with the assumption the grain would always be one way. Hopefully fixing them will actually make the code better as well.

Another improvement I've added and which will be in the next release is that the cursor now shows exactly what the hex will look like when painted with the current tool. The way it is now, the tool is merely drawn on top of the hex contents. In the new version the tool will appear at the correct layer. So if you are drawing on the Base layer, all the other layers will show on top of the tool. This should give designers a better idea of how the resulting change will look.

[kjamma4]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

The D&D doors might be a little tricky at first, because they actually overlap two hexes, and each hex is discretely rendered in my code. I would need to handle overlap cases in a special routine so that they don't get trashed in the individual hex draws.

Couldn't you make the door an open ended rectangle that butts up against the hex edge and just make it so you have to do it twice - once from each hex that shares the edge?

A little extra work on the part of the user but less (hopefully) on you.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by kjamma4

Couldn't you make the door an open ended rectangle that butts up against the hex edge and just make it so you have to do it twice - once from each hex that shares the edge?

A little extra work on the part of the user but less (hopefully) on you.

Yes, I am considering that approach too. Ideally when you add such a door to one hex, it would automatically add the other half to the adjacent hex. It would just require extra work from the user when using the eraser, unless I made that smart enough to detect overlaps as well. I'm leery though of automatically erasing outside the hex, as that would just get complex and potentially introduce further issues. So more likely the user would have to remove both halves themself.

[kjamma4]

FWIW - I just went back in and to be honest, I actually like what you have for a door there now but using one on each of the hexes of the shared hex side.

However, I do like the old school approach as well.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by kjamma4

FWIW - I just went back in and to be honest, I actually like what you have for a door there now but using one on each of the hexes of the shared hex side.

However, I do like the old school approach as well.

Thanks, and that door will definitely remain. The alternate door, and the spiral staircase if I can make one I like, will be new graphics the designer can choose.