TTopForums
Your support source for TTopRPG 2.0
(These forums are my beginning attempts at PHP/MySQL/CSS. They will improve bit by bit)
I started coding these forums on 5/20/2009 with almost no prior experience with PHP or MySQL.
Javascript routines work with IE 8, Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10, and Opera, so far
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| Posts for thread: TTopForums Thread - Lining up the grid |
| Pygon May 30th, 2009 2:20 AM Join date: May 22nd, 2009 Location: Fenton, MI Posts: 255 | When I chat with GMs using TTopRPG, one of the most common difficulties they encounter is getting the grid lined up correctly. This usually isn't an issue with a blank map since you'd typically leave the grid alone on a blank map and prepare the map around it. But if you're basing a map off from an existing graphic, in most circumstances the grid won't be lined up right. So, you need to work with the menu controls to line it up. By the way, to get to the grid aligning controls: Right-click the map, select the Map -> line and the grid aligning options will appear at the bottom of the sub-menu that pops up. Proper map scaling Usually, most maps you snag from PDFs or make yourself will have a map scale of up to 100 pixels per 10 feet. This is the maximum scale that TTopRPG's grid supports, so if your map is a larger scale than this, you'll have to re-sample the graphic to a smaller scale. 50 pixels per 10 feet (or 25 pixels per 5 feet) is optimal. Adjust Grid (sliders) This is the most straightforward way to line up the grid, since lining up the grid just involves getting the grid size right, then sliding it left-right and up-down until everything matches up. But it's also very difficult to get right, since the grid centers at the upper left corner of the map. So when you change the size of the grid, it expands diagonally to the lower right, which then throws off the horizontal and vertical positioning. Ultimately, this forces you to go back and forth adjusting both size and position until you get it close enough to be workable. To make this method most successful, you have to get the size right first, then slide it into position. To help dial in the correct size, you could also place a 5' icon on the map in the middle of a grid square and size the grid until the icon's size matches the square. Another way is to place a long path across many squares with Count Squares turned off in Settings, then size the grid until the path shows the correct length. This method tends to be more accurate. Eventually, I came up with a more visual and direct way to line up the grid... Adjust Grid (points) When you first enter this mode, zoom out of the map and you'll see two blue points near the center of the map. If you drag the left point around, you'll find that it always keeps a vertical and horizontal grid line centered on itself. Therefore, you can place the upper left point on a grid intersection on the map knowing that the grid will always intersect that point on the map and remain stationary. All that is left now is to size the grid squares correctly, which is what the lower right point is for. Before you use the second point, however, try to place the upper left point as close as possible to the upper left corner of the map. You'll see why shortly. After you have the upper left point placed where you want, you can drag the lower right point to resize and line up the rest of the grid squares. In order to make this more accurate across the entire map, select the largest number of squares that will fit across the map either vertically or horizontally. Then drag the lower right point to the opposite corner of the map until the grid squares line up. The reason this method isn't as accurate when you use a small number of squares is because of slight inaccuracies in placing the points. With only 10 squares selected, the grid might appear accurate for those 10 squares, but if it's off by only a small decimal amount, that amount compounds across the rest of the map and throws the grid off at the extreme ends. Selecting a large number of squares allows you to ensure accuracy over a larger area and reduces how much the inaccuracy compounds across the rest of the map. Hopefully, this explanation makes the points function easier to use. Why not just select the corners of a grid square to set the grid's position and size? Some programs allow you to establish the size of 5' on a map by selecting the corners of a grid square. It's a nice fast way of setting the size scaling for icons and spell effects. What it does not accomplish, however, is enough accuracy so that the pathing feature measures an accurate distance across the map. Selecting the corners of a single small square runs into the same problem as working with a small number of squares in the adjust (points) functionality - for small areas, it's fine, but for distances across the far end of the map, it will be way off. For programs that don't display a grid or use distance rulers, this wouldn't be a problem. I make regular use of the path feature for plotting movement and distance in TTopRPG, however, so accuracy in the grid placement is very important. If you have no need for grid or distance accuracy and just want things to appear with the correct size, then use the adjust grid (sliders) function to size the grid squares to a size that looks good, and you're finished. Non-square grid maps Unfortunately, despite all your best efforts, there is no way to line up the grid with a map graphic whose grid squares aren't perfectly square. Skewed grid squares can happen from poorly handled map generation or scanning in a physical map (scanners can often result in an un-squared image, more so if the printed map isn't square to begin with). Very old printed maps can also have irregular grid lines. Fortunately, most PDF maps out there today have grids that are square and line up across the entire graphic (such as a map with multiple buildings that have grids inside their walls but have empty space outside). At this time, TTopRPG does not support placing a non-square grid, nor does it support placing multiple grids for maps whose various grid sections don't line up. To get the grid lined up, you'll have to first reprocess the map to square up its grid and make the various sub-grids line up with each other. |
| skinnyfat July 31st, 2009 8:20 PM Join date: July 31st, 2009 Posts: 1 | I'm having difficulty just trying to even find the grid sliders, let alone use them. Could someone point me in the right direction here? |
| Pygon July 31st, 2009 11:42 PM Join date: May 22nd, 2009 Location: Fenton, MI Posts: 255 | Right click the map, go to Map -> and you'll see the options you need. |