A little 5E map help?

[Gwydion]

Hey, everyone. So I know there have been a ton of threads on maps. I have a specific question that I'm hoping someone can just point me to the right thread to refresh my memory. I'm going to be running The Dead From Above module from Quest of Doom Vol 1. As I look at the maps, I see they are all pre-gridded with room numbers, etc.. (ie. no player map). So, I'm just about finished in GIMP with removing all of the grids and the room numbers. I've saved a little square on the map so I know the grid size for a 10' square.

My question is this. Do I need to save it as a very specific jpg size before I import into fantasy grounds? I get a bit confused on this point. Do I need to count (as best I can) the actual number of squares horizontally and vertically and do the math so that each square ends up being 50 pixels? Ultimately when I lay down the FG grid, it will be half the size of the square I saved on the map as that square is 10'.

I'm sorry to post on something that has been covered so many times I just seem to have a problem with this topic. I'm happy to read the entire thread if someone points me in the right direction. I certainly don't expect folks to repost everything here!

Thanks, all!

[Nickademus]

Nothing that you really have to do, but there are tips to optimize FG's use of the image.

One tip I'll give you is in regards to the idea of a perfect number of pixels for 50-pixel squares. Sometimes FG clips a pixel when you set the grid and if there is not enough pixels for a square, FG will not allow a token to be placed in the square when snap-to-grid is on. Not a big deal, but it's best to have a small row of partial squares on each edge of the map rather than try to size the map to be divided into all whole squares.

Others will have tips regarding file size and image size.

[Gwydion]

Nothing that you really have to do, but there are tips to optimize FG's use of the image.

One tip I'll give you is in regards to the idea of a perfect number of pixels for 50-pixel squares. Sometimes FG clips a pixel when you set the grid and if there is not enough pixels for a square, FG will not allow a token to be placed in the square when snap-to-grid is on. Not a big deal, but it's best to have a small row of partial squares on each edge of the map rather than try to size the map to be divided into all whole squares.

Others will have tips regarding file size and image size.


Very good to know. Thank, Nickademus!

[Trenloe]

Save as JPG with quality 50-75 - as the maps (without checking) are B&W line drawing, you can probably reduce this to quite a low quality setting without seeing much issue. Your aim is to get the final file size down to well below 1MB.

You should also try to keep the map pixel dimension under 2048x2048 - using 50 pixels per square should make this doable for all but the largest areas - if your map is going to be over 2048x2048 pixels consider splitting it up into smaller sections.

[Gwydion]

Save as JPG with quality 50-75 - as the maps (without checking) are B&W line drawing, you can probably reduce this to quite a low quality setting without seeing much issue. Your aim is to get the final file size down to well below 1MB.

You should also try to keep the map pixel dimension under 2048x2048 - using 50 pixels per square should make this doable for all but the largest areas - if your map is going to be over 2048x2048 pixels consider splitting it up into smaller sections.

Question. So, its a big map. At 10' squares it is 44 squares wide and 46 squares hi. So, 88 wide and 92 high. If I'm understand the math correctly, that is about 4400x4600 using 50 pixels per square. Saving it at a quality of 50 still keeps the map at less than 1MG (.688). Should that work or am I still pushing it as its double the pixel dimension you note?

Thanks!

[JohnD]

In an official release, shouldn't there be player maps without the DM only content already included?

[Gwydion]

In an official release, shouldn't there be player maps without the DM only content already included?

Yes. I agree. Always my frustration with some of the third party mods. I love them but many of the maps just aren't made for vtt use imho. Still great modules, but here I am at least 1-2 hrs in trying to mess with the maps! But then again I'm not a very smart man! :)

[damned]

4400x4600 is too big.

Cut the map into - give or take 16 chunks.
Export the main map at 10px per square and overlay with a 4x4 grid matching (at least roughly) your smaller sections and pin the smaller sections to your over view map.
with your 16 small ones you might have them overlap each other a bit...

PITA? Yes.
Much easier for FG to work with.

Yes - hopefully converters/designers will start making the maps properly for VTT use.

[Zacchaeus]

It's actually easier to leave the grid on if it's baked in and then use the map align tool to adjust the map size to fit whatever grid size you want usually 50 or 100. In this case probably 50. I don't have this module so I'm shooting in the dark. Certainly any maps which are intended for battlemaps should have the room numbers erased - and it's not just 3PP which don't have unmarked maps available to the developer.

[Gwydion]

4400x4600 is too big.

Cut the map into - give or take 16 chunks.
Export the main map at 10px per square and overlay with a 4x4 grid matching (at least roughly) your smaller sections and pin the smaller sections to your over view map.
with your 16 small ones you might have them overlap each other a bit...

PITA? Yes.
Much easier for FG to work with.

Yes - hopefully converters/designers will start making the maps properly for VTT use.

Ok. Thanks, Damned. And I was wondering what the heck to do with my weekend... .lol. And that's only one of the maps out of 3! Oh well.

[damned]

Ok. Thanks, Damned. And I was wondering what the heck to do with my weekend... .lol. And that's only one of the maps out of 3! Oh well.

Yeah but a map that big might take your players 3 months to get thru!

[Myrdin Potter]

I have converted a few of the later Quest Of Doom modules for my personal use. The maps are all keyed, but they are simple black and white and it was easy to erase the numbers. Secret doors were slightly harder but I just erased the line and drew a new line in.

I have that module as well. Sad that a FG version did not have the maps fixed. I am bad at GIMP and it did not really take that long to do.

[Gwydion]

Thanks, Zacchaeus! Missed your message before!

[Trenloe]

Question. So, its a big map. At 10' squares it is 44 squares wide and 46 squares hi. So, 88 wide and 92 high. If I'm understand the math correctly, that is about 4400x4600 using 50 pixels per square. Saving it at a quality of 50 still keeps the map at less than 1MG (.688). Should that work or am I still pushing it as its double the pixel dimension you note?
There's very little detail on any of the maps in "Death from Above" so you'd be fine going with 25 pixels per 5' square - crop the map down so you just fit the edge rooms in. I've just extracted "The Ossuary" map from my PDF and the resolution at extraction is 25 pixels per 10 foot square, with a size of approx 1000x1050 pixels. So, you can double this size to be just just about the maximum recommended size (2000x2100 - just a bit above 2048x2048) and you'd be fine gaming with that.

[Gwydion]

There's very little detail on any of the maps in "Death from Above" so you'd be fine going with 25 pixels per 5' square - crop the map down so you just fit the edge rooms in. I've just extracted "The Ossuary" map from my PDF and the resolution at extraction is 25 pixels per 10 foot square, with a size of approx 1000x1050 pixels. So, you can double this size to be just just about the maximum recommended size (2000x2100 - just a bit above 2048x2048) and you'd be fine gaming with that.

Thanks Trenloe! I will try that.