Help with creating maps with dungeon tile sets

[HavocSmurf]

Hi, I am looking for some advise on how to build custom maps using tile sets. I've just come over from the roll20 world where building maps with tile sets is a breeze. Just drag, drop and resize. With fantasy grounds, it looks like you need to use third party software to created JPG files for import. I don't even know where to begin with this, but I'm sure it's being done all the time. I would be very grateful if someone can share some knowledge about how this is accomplished. I currently have tile sets by Greg Taylor, Gabrial Pickard, and Sean Archer, which I would really like to use in Fantasy Grounds. Please and thanks!

[Mask_of_winter]

You import your tile assets as tokens and use this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AXrSMQdcvQ

[Trenloe]

Have a look at "Dungeon Painter online" or "Tiled" in the mapping software list here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20879-Map-Making-Software-summary

[Trenloe]

The extension in the video Mask links above can be found here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20231-Enhanced-Images-%28layers%29-for-FG-3-0-CoreRPG-%28and-rulesets-based-on-CoreRPG%29 It can be used to allow tiles (as tokens) to build up a map - but you will need to make sure the tokens are all the correct size as the FG token resizing to grid won't work for tiles unless they are all one grids square in size. It can be used, but I'd recommend looking at an application to make maps outside of FG rather than using the layer extension to make maps on the fly, at first. Once you get used to FG and can take time to experiment with the layer extension you can look into that, but I'd not recommend trying to use this as your first attempt at tile mapping for FG.

[damned]

Have a look at "Dungeon Painter online" or "Tiled" in the mapping software list here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20879-Map-Making-Software-summary

Welcome HavocSmurf. These are also my favourite tools for making maps from tiles.

[HavocSmurf]

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated!

[GunnarGreybeard]

I didn't see it listed in the other Map Making Thread but the old WotC Tile mapper (https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dungeontilesmapper/) is still out there too. Its pretty limited but I find it useful for recreating the maps from the many Dungeon Magazine adventures for use in 5E without the token images you see in the print versions.

[Diceman]

You import your tile assets as tokens and use this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AXrSMQdcvQ
I was trying to use the enhanced images extension, get familiar with it but I can't seem to get the masking effects to work while the extension is activated. Is this intentional? If not how to I get masking to work?

Also, I created a dungeon map using Campaign cartographer 3 and have exported the map to .jpg using several different resolutions but when I open them in Fantasy grounds they are all too grainy and any furniture or pillars etc. always end up as indecipherable blobs. Is there anyone familiar with CC3 that could point me where to find the correct settings to export .jpgs at in order for them to be useful as maps in Fantasy Grounds? And before anyone asks, I turn on effects on the map before I export it to a jpg.

Thanks for any advice.

[damned]

Hey Diceman. Did you see the notes in the Extension thread?

Check if you are following all of these:
Players can only interact with the top layer - GMs must put PC and NPC tokens on this top layer otherwise players can't move their PCs or target NPCs.
Masking only works on the base layer - and then only when the map/image is based on an image file (this is the usual FG mask functionality - you can't mask a freehand drawing).
As masking only works on the base layer, anything that the GM wants to mask should be put on the base layer - tokens that are used for mapping, etc.. If you want to hide NPC tokens don't put them on the base layer, put them on the top layer and use the individual token "visibility" setting (or the visibility setting for the NPC in the combat tracker) to hide/reveal the token to the players.

Also post a couple of your images so we can see if there is anything obvious.

[Diceman]

Hey Diceman. Did you see the notes in the Extension thread?

Check if you are following all of these:
Players can only interact with the top layer - GMs must put PC and NPC tokens on this top layer otherwise players can't move their PCs or target NPCs.
Masking only works on the base layer - and then only when the map/image is based on an image file (this is the usual FG mask functionality - you can't mask a freehand drawing).
As masking only works on the base layer, anything that the GM wants to mask should be put on the base layer - tokens that are used for mapping, etc.. If you want to hide NPC tokens don't put them on the base layer, put them on the top layer and use the individual token "visibility" setting (or the visibility setting for the NPC in the combat tracker) to hide/reveal the token to the players.

Also post a couple of your images so we can see if there is anything obvious.

okay I figured out the masking issue. That was rather simple. thank you. as far as the map resolution issue i am having. I downloaded gimp, saved my cc3 map as a .png per instructions i found in this post by Trenloe,
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?28143-Questions-for-the-map-making-gurus

It works great except my map was rather large (345x460 feet) to begin with and after saving it to a png file it was 20 mb. inside gimp I could not figure out how to save it as a jpg at 75% quality as Trenloe instructed. So my .jpg is also 20.7mb. Using Trenloe's recommendations the png would have been saved at 34,500x46,000. but my computer could not handle that so I saved it at "only" 3450x4600. And that is the 20 mb file. It looks good, really good. But my players will die of old age if I try to share a 20 mb map with them.

[damned]

In GiMP you do Export as... to get the other file formats.
PNG is not ideal - it retains too much Size-erm quality :)
Try JPG as low as 40% quality.
Export it as 40/50/60/70 and compare and I think you will likely find 40 or 50 will be just fine and you can see the size differences too.


354 feet = 345/5*40=3450 so you have the correct dimensions.

The players see the map with their eyes - but their imagination sees so much more!

[Diceman]

In GiMP you do Export as... to get the other file formats.
PNG is not ideal - it retains too much Size-erm quality :)
Try JPG as low as 40% quality.
Export it as 40/50/60/70 and compare and I think you will likely find 40 or 50 will be just fine and you can see the size differences too.


354 feet = 345/5*40=3450 so you have the correct dimensions.

The players see the map with their eyes - but their imagination sees so much more!

I exported the initial PNG file that was 20.7 mb at 40% quality and it brought the file size down to 2mb.

The map is level one of the old B-1 "In Search of the Unknown" module. Keep in mind I have only added a couple items to the floorplan for reference. Now that I know how to export it properly I am going to go back and finish up the detail work on the map, including making a DM version.

Thank you Damned for all your help.

[martel]

weird, i will send to export photoshop mode for web and png .. and align the color pallete has web..tu'd be surprised with a color restraint, your image will not be the any shade and size / 2 or 8.
Especially that the map is a flat (color level)
if you have the original I want to try a test and see how far we can dimiuer size without losing quality.
by like this, fg themes images were divided by 4 :-)

[martel]

ok i had tried... i dont do better... :-) jpg is better.

forget i had say :-)