TFT Map Maker

[Shadekeep]

Whew, you all are giving me a lot to work on, but it's good stuff and hopefully will improve the tool for everyone. I'll address the latest items here.

Originally Posted by CON_Troll

Request: Is it possible to get custom levels of zoom rather than just the stepped ones?

Yes, I've added several additional zoom levels now. They aren't strict double/half steps now, but more graduated.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Perhaps an ambitious feature, but I found myself wishing for a line drawn with the partial-hex options (like Flat Half or Point Half).

My frustration with that is what led me to add the Skip Line, but yes, I think I can actually implement a Smart Line that will use the current Component to alternate the hexes for you.

One change I've made to the Line function now is that it locks to pure horizontal/vertical/diagonal lines. This should bypass the wonky angled line rendering of previous versions.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

A related observation: the new rotate/flip tools for the partial hexes save a lot of menu space. But you can't see their effect -- in fact, they apparently do nothing -- until you move the cursor back over the hex map proper. Perhaps the cursor should keep its partial-hex shape even over the menus, so you could see it rotate around as you click those buttons?

I can't easily retain the hex shape on the cursor outside of drawing canvas, but I've added a Preview next to the Rotate/Flip tools, so that you can see what the current drawing brush looks like.

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I'm not sure where you are headed next with this project, but if you pm me the relevant contact info I would be happy to send you a set of hex-based icons I developed for creating TFT maps of various scales, from tactical (1.5 m per hex) to regional (multiple km per hex).

Very kind of you to offer! However, everything on the canvas is a polygon draw, not a bitmap, so I am creating simple polygon symbology to use with the maps. I will be trying to reference the mapping standards in creating those, but they will be simpler than what one can do with pixels or pen-and-ink. The plus side is that they will scale cleanly, at least.

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I don't think it is 'fixable', so this is just a sort of loose end of the whole hex/megahex system.

Yes, it looks like it will be a challenge applying drawings consistently across these kind of transformations. That's why I'm focusing on one-hex scale mapping at the moment. It's the most fine-grained, and thus gives me a working baseline.

Originally Posted by WhiskeyVictor

EDIT: Being able to make Traveller (8-column, 10-row) star charts with this would augment its utility for other gamers. Only a few symbols would be required (arid world, water world, gas giant, naval base, etc.)

Shouldn't be a problem to implement that down the line. I do plan to get the ability to specify the grid size in there fairly soon.

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Shadekeep - I'd like to give you an advance look at an actual TFT labyrinth map. Your app looks like it's only a few short steps from being able to generate maps that look just like ours, and those steps could go faster if you knew what ours looked like. Contact info? sj@sjgames.com

Sounds good, email sent.

Please check out the latest changes and see what you think. I slightly rearranged the tools again, moving Rectangle/Area to the fore and then grouping the Line tools after. The Preview tool is not meant to be clickable, it just displays the current painting brush. I am working on the Load Map and Smart Line functionality next.

[RVA_Grandpa]

Originally Posted by Chris Rice

This looks very promising. Would it be possible to have icons or images for map features such as; mountains, castles, rivers etc.

I agree. Mountains, forests, swamps, etc. would be a great bonus.

[Helborn]

Shadekeep, this is outstanding. I eagerly await the MH overlay as that is THE missing piece imo

[Shadekeep]

Another update this morning, which finally adds the ability to load saved maps. The bad news is that previous maps aren't compatible with this, as I had to significantly revise the saved file structure. But going forward I will strive to ensure that the core format remains supported. Please report any issues saving and loading new maps.

Also added a Zoom slider, which may be more intuitive than the buttons. Let me know your preferences and I will remove the Zoom buttons if the slider is best. I added a numeric indicator to it and the Outline slider, since they didn't have much in the way of feedback before.

[Shadekeep]

More new changes just added:

• You can specify the size of the hex grid, from 1-500 rows and columns. Expect some performance hits on really big maps.
• Save files now store the current outline contrast and zoom level, so that you don't have to keep adjusting those each time you load.
• Fixed some under-the-hood logic, maps should behave as expected when loaded now.

[guymc]

This looks truly wonderful! I can’t make it work with my iPad, sadly... but I’m going to settle in at home tonight and spend some time with it.

I love tools like this, and have developed a number of graphics packages for preparing TFT materials on my own. Most are in GRAPHIC (formerly iDraw) for Mac and iPad, but the resulting PDF documents will probably work just fine in any program that imports PDFs with layers intact.

If people have interest, I can clean up some of the stuff I use and share. In turn, I’d love to see anything you folks are using successfully.

[GreyMage]

Looks very nice indeed!

I would suggest also adding to "Components" half of an "Apex", drop a line segment from the apex perpendicular to the line so that a proper outside corner can be made. You can combine a "Flat Half" with an "Apex" to get an inside corner. Maybe halves of all the shapes? to get the odd shapes and corners defined. Or possibly erase with those shapes to remove bits we do not need? Just some thoughts.

Thanks!

[tbeard1999]

Very elegant and intuitive.

<golf clap>

If you add a megahex overlay, you might want to allow the megahex lines to be shown in a lighter shade. And I'm sure you've thought about additional features like stairs, doors, secret doors, etc. But seriously, very nice.

[Shadekeep]

Added more features today. Here are the highlights:

• New Channel and Junction components allow for adding narrow halls and branching paths.
• Additional Materials. Working on functionality that will allow you to customise these.
• Renamed Layer names from Ground and Walls to Base and Overlay, which more accurately describes their behaviours.
• Changed the map background to pure white, which exports as transparent in Image Save.
• Application now expands to effectively use available vertical space in your browser window.

Planning on working to add map symbology soon, and hopefully the megahex overlay feature as well.

[Refplace]

I just looked at this for the first time and was so pleased I write a blog article.
https://refplace.blogspot.com/2018/0...ur-gaming.html