Maps doesnt have a GRID option!?

At this point I’m convinced there’s a reason why they don’t want a grid option. Whatever their reason is, is beyond me. But they clearly don’t want to promote people using maps who play physically together vs online . 

I asked this elsewhere and got this response, for what it's worth:

Our product philosophy is guided by the experience of playing at a table. So in line with that, we opt for freeform placement over locking and snapping to grids. Both options come with their own set of pros and cons, and every time we add a new optional feature it adds complexity. Both in terms of more options to decide whether you want to turn on or off, as well as all the complexity that comes with freeform and all the complexity that comes with snapping to grid. So we have not invested in that feature. There are obviously areas where we deviate from the " replicate the experience of playing at a physical table" because we think we can objectively improve and/or simplify the experience. The general consensus is that it's not worth the trade-offs, but I'm always open to differing opinions and having my own suede over time. 

Quote from Gnomesftw >>

I asked this elsewhere and got this response, for what it's worth:

Our product philosophy is guided by the experience of playing at a table. So in line with that, we opt for freeform placement over locking and snapping to grids. Both options come with their own set of pros and cons, and every time we add a new optional feature it adds complexity. Both in terms of more options to decide whether you want to turn on or off, as well as all the complexity that comes with freeform and all the complexity that comes with snapping to grid. So we have not invested in that feature. There are obviously areas where we deviate from the " replicate the experience of playing at a physical table" because we think we can objectively improve and/or simplify the experience. The general consensus is that it's not worth the trade-offs, but I'm always open to differing opinions and having my own suede over time. 

This is a well-crafted, nicely worded, absolute cop-out. Bravo. 

It would have been better if they said nothing at all.

So you're upset they didn't say anything for a long time, then upset that they did say something and wish they hadn't? They just can't win, can they? I was glad they at least gave an answer. Maybe they'll figure something out one day. I wish they could do absolutely everything the way everyone wants, that would be wonderful, but I would much rather them say "I don't think we can do this" than try and implement a bunch of things, and end up being broken and always buggy, overly complicated, and end up just not being useable at all.

Their goal is to keep things as simple as possible, and I totally understand "but dropping a grid down should be super simple cause everyone else does it" but they gave an answer. You want a grid, use something else if it is that important (and I wholly support your decision to do so). But just saying it's a cop-out isn't helpful. 

Quote from TheriusDrake >>

At this point I’m convinced there’s a reason why they don’t want a grid option. Whatever their reason is, is beyond me. But they clearly don’t want to promote people using maps who play physically together vs online . 

Because maps was kind of like a side project that turned out to be insanely popular despite its simplicity….. or maybe because of it.  Sigil was where the big investment went, and would had superseded maps if it had turned out like they were expecting. 

Beyond was a primarily character builder when WOTC bought it.  not a full blown VTT like roll20. They were always playing catch up. 

It was popular with me bc of its simplicity for sure & by now you know they're doing a full redo of Beyond from the ground up.

That said, I still can't believe there isn't a grid option at this point. I've supported and provided feedback since it came out but this is one thing I've always asked for and many other users I know also want.

Honestly, while I don't worry too much about the grid itself, we know they've got a token size at a specific location, so snapping to a grid based on that token size would be nice.

Quote from AgrabartheRandom >>

It was popular with me bc of its simplicity for sure & by now you know they're doing a full redo of Beyond from the ground up.

That said, I still can't believe there isn't a grid option at this point. I've supported and provided feedback since it came out but this is one thing I've always asked for and many other users I know also want.

For what its worth, half azzing it would only cause more complaints.   You have to keep in mind that grid spacing and map scaling go hand in hand..... and you'd need a bunch of supporting tools and enforcing scaling standards to ensure grids work correctly, without forcing the DM to do it all externally first.  In that same vein I wanna see universal token scaling as a setting, and party logos to support better overworld maps..... but that adds a bunch of expectations that I don't know if the team even wants to tackle yet.  

Defaulting to looser systems makes things workable, without having to fight the system directly if its built on a incorrect assumptions. I would argue they need to focus more on making the UX experience on mobile better, as the browser version is in a decent enough place with how much the character sheet automation is carrying things.  Outside of that, the encounter tracker needs the most work; and improving that benefits everything.