The Road Ahead: Join Our Journey to Improve the Maps VTT

Apologies if these have already been mentioned. My top two requests are:

1) A CTRL-Z style undo function - too often I'll accidentally hit "reveal all" on a map I've got mostly covered up ... or I'll accidentally delete a PC's icon instead of the icon for the monster they've just killed. Or I'll cover up part of the map instead of revealing it. It would be great to be able to quickly undo these mistakes with a single key press. The accidental "reveal all" is the worst, especially when it's a fiddly map.

2) Layers or something similar. I would love to be able to reveal hidden features on a map (like secret doors) without having to awkwardly draw them on or the like. Or even just a big friendly S sticker in the sticker collection that you can slap on to indicate a secret door. Something like that! (On a related note - it would be great if whoever is responsible for making the player-friendly versions of maps can ensure that no secret things get left on that version of the map. I've come across a number of official "player-friendly" maps that still have things the players shouldn't be seeing right away on them ... and I end up just having to say "Pretend you can't see that" to my players.)

Quote from Voltaire87 >>

My least favorite part of Maps is dealing with fog of war. Can we please get an area select tool instead of MSPaint erase to remove fog of war?

 I second the want for better fog, but also would add preset reveals, such as allowing preselecting a whole room to be revealed when a door is opened.

Quote from Hargin_Ironshell >>

One potential feature that I think would set this VTT apart that I haven't seen in other VTTs is a line of sight or personal fog of war for players.  This would put more on the DM and may not be used by everyone but in my experience each player opens the map from their character sheet and is looking at their own version.  This would be an interesting addition that would make exploring more immersive.  Obviously easier said than done but a neat concept in my opinion.

 This would be great. Vision based on the character's location, sight stats, and whether they require / have a light source.

I would love to be able to change the size of the tokens to show my players the bbeg has changed size to large from medium or small. Or even when they use enlarge to show their player has changed size as well. 

Omg yes, and have the fog disappear automaticity   to the player, instead of me having to remove the fog for the players while they move their character. Cause at times that will freeze the program for me or the players on their devices. 

I'd like the built in maps to have the map names and compasses as stickers instead of built into the background. Revealing a map to my adventurers shouldn't give insight into the encounter name. Having "Occult Ritual" splash across the top of the Heroes of the Borderlands map for that encounter, for example, is in the way.

Quote from WOTC_Zac >>

Quote from NivekKevin >>

Exactly what I asked for, thank you!

 

Happy to oblige! 

 

 +10000000! This made my day.

Quote from AKADDK >>

Some initial thoughts:

1. Please, please, please, please, I'm literally begging you, no so-called 'AI'. Not for anything. Ever. I would literally pay money to specifically not have AI 'features'.
2. Not sure what magic is required to pull this off but I've read that other VTT's allow you to 'cast' a player map to a screen whilst maintaining a DM view on your own screen. This would allow people to use the VTT at a physical table and that would be marvellous.
3. Basic features common to most VTT's whilst keeping this one simple to use. Too many VTT's are so complex and convoluted creating a huge barrier to entry. If people want that, they have a myriad of other options. I think that keeping this one simple, straightforward, functional and accessible is important for the hobby in general, not just this site.
4. Proper grid movement (lock minis to grid). I think this is gonna be a common request. Have it togglable if there are enough people who insist they don't want it but I think if you did a survey, most people would say they want it. It's pretty core to every VTT I've ever seen as it makes everything so much easier.
5. Area of Effect templates. It'd be amazing to be able to pull up a spell and click on its AoE entry to give you a moveable, low opacity AoE template which you can lock to a grid intersection that then mathimagically tells you who is affected by it as per AoE miniatures rules.

Also, in the Get Involved form linked in the article there's a question about the age of players with no option for, "Mixed." It's only younger, older, same-same, or "I don't know."

 Forever DM who switched from Roll20 to Maps last year and haven’t looked back. The ease of use is astounding. 

Hard disagree from me on no AI and snap to grid. A good AI Tool specifically trained for 5e would be wonderful. And for the grid, I love the way the Freeform style of maps works to make it almost a theatre of the mind hybrid. I love to tell my players that the map is just to help imagine what’s going on, not be a literal representation, and it works to make battles much more fluid and dynamic IMO. 

I'm a little late to this conversation but here goes....

I really don't use the Maps VTT a whole lot. I really like the use of physical minis and props on battle mat and I think my players engage a bit more with physical items. Plus I have one player who is technology averse. I primarily use Maps to plan encounters since the Encounter Builder is not updated to the 2024 rules but I then build the encounter in the encounter builder. 

I wouldn't want to see any AI being used.

Why is there a new feature in beta when Encounters has been in Beta for several years?

good points. i kind also want a way to place locations on world or city maps or maybe thats just me :D

hear hear

The new Maps tools have been great, but I feel like as a result of all the focus on Maps, the Encounter Builder has really fallen by the wayside.

The original Encounter Builder is something I still use far more than any feature on DnD Beyond as a DM. Its fantastic for when I have an in person map, or theater of the mind encounters, but also just as a tool for creating easy single page reference pages for groups of NPCs or Monsters for game sessions, regardless of if combat breaks out.
For that very reason, I've still stuck to using the outdated Encounter Builder rather than Maps, because most of the time I'm just looking for an easy quick way to design any multitude of Encounters, without any need for the extra bells or whistles of Maps.

Ideally I'd love Maps & the Encounter Builder to be their own separate systems that can work independently from one another, while also working together with one another as needed.

I've been a DM for almost three years now, and I've played most, if not all, of my matches on maps, and I'm a huge fan.

One of my biggest wishes would be pre-placed walls and doors on maps I haven't uploaded myself.

This ties in with what I've often read here: better fog of war and dynamic lighting.

For custom maps, a tool that allows me to create walls, windows, and doors that my players can actually use would be great.

Searching custom maps by name would be very helpful.

And YES, we need more stickers!

Quote from AKADDK >>

Some initial thoughts:

1. Please, please, please, please, I'm literally begging you, no so-called 'AI'. Not for anything. Ever. I would literally pay money to specifically not have AI 'features'.
2. Not sure what magic is required to pull this off but I've read that other VTT's allow you to 'cast' a player map to a screen whilst maintaining a DM view on your own screen. This would allow people to use the VTT at a physical table and that would be marvellous.
3. Basic features common to most VTT's whilst keeping this one simple to use. Too many VTT's are so complex and convoluted creating a huge barrier to entry. If people want that, they have a myriad of other options. I think that keeping this one simple, straightforward, functional and accessible is important for the hobby in general, not just this site.
4. Proper grid movement (lock minis to grid). I think this is gonna be a common request. Have it togglable if there are enough people who insist they don't want it but I think if you did a survey, most people would say they want it. It's pretty core to every VTT I've ever seen as it makes everything so much easier.
5. Area of Effect templates. It'd be amazing to be able to pull up a spell and click on its AoE entry to give you a moveable, low opacity AoE template which you can lock to a grid intersection that then mathimagically tells you who is affected by it as per AoE miniatures rules.

Also, in the Get Involved form linked in the article there's a question about the age of players with no option for, "Mixed." It's only younger, older, same-same, or "I don't know."

Point #2 - You can already do that with the Spectator view. I'm running a laptop with 2 monitors for myself as a DM, but I use a big smart TV for players - that's how I show them the artwork, images, maps etc.. Once you start the Session in the Maps app, start the Spectator view as well and it will open in a new tab. Simply drag that tab to the screen/device you're using for presenting, or just send the link of the spectator view to the players and they can open it on their devices.

When my friend is DMing and I'm in the role of player, we still use TV (Spectator view) for the general map overview, but I also open the spectator view on a tablet. That gives me the ability as a player to move my character and use all the useful tools such as ruler and overlays. 

Point #5 - This is what the Overlay tool is for. All the AoE spells use a limited number of shapes: Cone, Cube, Cylinder, Emanation, Line, or Sphere.  https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/phb-2024/spells. All of those shapes are already included in the Overlay tool and you can customize the shape size, color and even the pattern which can be used for damage types. 

I am glad to aee this thread! I love using the maps function but i definitely  have a few suggestions that would improve the experience, and retain subscribers.  Is  there  an avenue of communicating  thing that my group of players are picking up on. 

Hey Zac, 

I’ll fill out the form here later today and I’d love to talk with you. I’m a product manager as well in software and have been for some time and I’m a long time d&d beyond user and roll20 subscriber. I’d love a chance to talk and hear more about your vision and help provide some examples for my use case of why it’s hard to move away from other VTTs right now. It’s only my opinion but I’d love a chance to meet :) 

Movement Counter

I've already seen some really great suggestions in this thread, but I think the most important feature would be a movement counter (which has already been mentioned by a couple of posters in this thread) - something that measures and dynamically shows the number of feet between two clicks.

Use case:
You click on a player or monster token, and as you drag it across the map, a counter appears and shows exactly how many feet the token has moved.

Why this matters:
This completely removes the need for visible grids and really improves the visual clarity of maps. You’d still set an initial grid value when importing the map, but after that the grid becomes irrelevant during play.

More importantly, it gives you accurate movement tracking. When you’re using squares instead of actual feet, diagonal movement always breaks the rules unless you switch to the optional Diagonal movement  variant from the DMG. A dynamic in-app movement counter would remove the need for manual measuring, counting diagonals, or adding things up on both the DM and player side. It also helps in special cases, like when someone needs to jump exactly 18 feet, and similar distance-sensitive actions.

This. Premaking encounters would be so much better. 

I end up n a weird half way house using both maps and encounters

Quote from mtngoatjoe >>

I would LOVE to be able to add 10 bandits to a map and automatically give them each a different, randomly generated name and token. I don't want my players to know they're facing off against bandits.

 Absolutely this is somethijg really needed. I have been randomly assigning names to tokens based on a physical trait. Tall short old young fat thin drunk etc... this would really help with combat