I have been meaning to get around to making my own tactical battlemaps for my games for awhile and so over the last couple of days, I finally got around to attempting just that. I found a set of tokens and icons that I wanted to use and had intended on using them in GIMP. Apparently, however, I underestimated my capacity to learn how to use a graphics program because GIMP turned out to be really bloody complex. I have since tried Dungeonographer (I've owned it for years but never used it), Dungeon Painter, MapForge, Astral Tabletop and a few others that I now forget the names of. They all came up short in some way or other. Dungeonographer imported 2,000 assets with no way to organise them by folder making it too slow to scroll, or find, those assets. Dungeon Painter has a very convoluted way of importing assets which I stopped trying to figure out after an hour. MapForge was a horrid abomination. Astral Tabletop seemed like it was going to work but then I came across a panning issue where there was no way for me to get back to the map I was creating.
It feels really odd to me that there isn't any program where I can browse these assets and drag and drop them as I please to build tactical battlemaps. That feels like it should be something simple but in GIMP, for instance, it seems to require ten layers and fifty settings all done in the exact correct order or else it implodes.
As a reference, here are the assets I'd like to use.
Not sure how intuitive it would be but have you looked at Sketch at all? It costs money but comparatively, its a valuable program for working in a vector based environment (i.e. easy snapping to grid points).
The tokens in those packs are designed for Roll20. You could import them there and then rearrange them. When you're happy with the layout just take a screenshot of them (shift+cmd+4) and voila you've got a battlemap. :)
The tokens in those packs are designed for Roll20. You could import them there and then rearrange them. When you're happy with the layout just take a screenshot of them (shift+cmd+4) and voila you've got a battlemap. :)
Unfortunately Roll20 have a 100mb limit for free accounts and the assets total about 170mb. And I am extremely loathe to give Roll20 any money.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
Oh gods, I just tried to use Roll20 with a small subset of the assets. That thing is a nightmare. Just trying to organise the most basic file structure is insanely difficult and clumsy.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
Quote from DrJK>>MapForge was a horrid abomination.
Care to elaborate? Did drag-and-drop not work for you, or something? Have you tried the recently-released v1.0.9, which has an all-new drag-and-drop implementation?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I have been meaning to get around to making my own tactical battlemaps for my games for awhile and so over the last couple of days, I finally got around to attempting just that. I found a set of tokens and icons that I wanted to use and had intended on using them in GIMP. Apparently, however, I underestimated my capacity to learn how to use a graphics program because GIMP turned out to be really bloody complex. I have since tried Dungeonographer (I've owned it for years but never used it), Dungeon Painter, MapForge, Astral Tabletop and a few others that I now forget the names of. They all came up short in some way or other. Dungeonographer imported 2,000 assets with no way to organise them by folder making it too slow to scroll, or find, those assets. Dungeon Painter has a very convoluted way of importing assets which I stopped trying to figure out after an hour. MapForge was a horrid abomination. Astral Tabletop seemed like it was going to work but then I came across a panning issue where there was no way for me to get back to the map I was creating.
It feels really odd to me that there isn't any program where I can browse these assets and drag and drop them as I please to build tactical battlemaps. That feels like it should be something simple but in GIMP, for instance, it seems to require ten layers and fifty settings all done in the exact correct order or else it implodes.
As a reference, here are the assets I'd like to use.
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/mansion-furniture-tokens/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/mercantile-tokens/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/dungeon-room-builder/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/cave-tunnels/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/dungeon-trap-tokens/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/cave-room-builder/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/roadside-forest-tokens/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/dungeon-passages/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/camp-tokens/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/castle-siege-weapons/
https://2minutetabletop.com/gallery/castle-furniture/
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Not sure how intuitive it would be but have you looked at Sketch at all? It costs money but comparatively, its a valuable program for working in a vector based environment (i.e. easy snapping to grid points).
Have you tried using Microsoft Excel? I've whipped up some pretty detailed battle maps using nothing more than that spreadsheet program in the past.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
The tokens in those packs are designed for Roll20. You could import them there and then rearrange them. When you're happy with the layout just take a screenshot of them (shift+cmd+4) and voila you've got a battlemap. :)
For beautiful battlemaps: DnD Maps Patreon
I love your content btw <3 haha look for a Patreon support from me soon ;)
Just to be clear, I'm not the creator of those assets. But 2-Minute Tabletop is definitely worth the patronage.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Unfortunately Roll20 have a 100mb limit for free accounts and the assets total about 170mb. And I am extremely loathe to give Roll20 any money.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Oh gods, I just tried to use Roll20 with a small subset of the assets. That thing is a nightmare. Just trying to organise the most basic file structure is insanely difficult and clumsy.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Care to elaborate? Did drag-and-drop not work for you, or something? Have you tried the recently-released v1.0.9, which has an all-new drag-and-drop implementation?