You should read the Map Builder articles in this order:

  • Map Builder - Images and Textures
  • Map Builder - Placing Objects
  • Map Builder - Adjustments


    • Map Builder - Placing Objects

    When you first enter Map Builder, you are actually in Edit mode, which will be discussed in the next article, Adjustments (Edit Mode gives you access to the floating drag-able indicators that allow you to change an object's transparency, size or rotation).

    From this mode, you can immediately Place an Image, which is a rotatable, resizable, movable, singular graphic (like a chair or table).

    Some chairs and table PNGs placed as Images, above the grid for depth


    You can also right click and go into Draw Shapes mode, which brings up the Draw Shapes interface. From this interface you can:

  • Select placing a Freehand, Plotted, Box, or Ellipse Shape
  • Toggle the Border on and off by clicking the Border button
  • Select the border color by right-clicking the Border color box or left-clicking a color in the default palette
  • Select the Border thickness
  • Toggle Fill on or off by clicking the Fill button
  • Select the fill color or texture by right-clicking the fill pattern box or right-clicking a color in the default palette
  • Decide if the shape will be above or below the grid (usually non-walkable surfaces like walls are placed above the grid for a sense of depth)
  • Set the transparency for the drawn shape (0 being invisible and 100 being opaque)


    • Shapes in TTopRPG are the tiled, repeating, textured shapes that might make up a floor, cavern walls, lake, etc.

    A Freehand, Plotted, Box and Ellipse shape, textured or colored, with and without borders, fill, transparency, and above/below grid (the blue box doesn't actually have a border)


    When you draw a Freehand shape, just mouse down and draw out the shape. It automatically completes its loop when you lift up. Try to keep the shapes small, because TTop will complain if the shape has too many points in it. This might create a problem for those who want to detail out a lot of cavernous walls for a large map. Those users will end up having to detail parts of the map at a time with a lot of shape borders visible inside the walls. These can be hidden later by drawing borderless shapes on top to conceal them.

    Plotted shapes are laid much like shadow walls in Lighting. You lay one point at a time and can end the plot by right clicking (which cancels the plot and leaves the loop open) or clicking on the first point to complete the loop. Plotted vertices snap to 3 inches on the map (based on the grid's position, so again, don't move it after you start!) to assist in making nice straight walls. Plotted shapes are allowed a maximum of 500 points each, so beware of reaching this limit in the middle of a complex shape, since the shape with its completed loop may not appear correctly. Also note that plotted shapes are a slower but more efficient way of detailing a complex map, so they might be a better alternative to Freehand shapes.

    When you place a Box or Ellipse, you mouse down where you want one of its corners to be, then drag the shape until it is the size you want, then let go.

    In Draw Shapes mode, you can also still Place an Image (chair, table, etc.).

    Click the Done button on the interface or right-click and select Done Drawing Shapes to return to Edit Mode.

    In both Edit and Draw Shapes mode, when you aren't plotting or laying a shape, you can move the mouse around and highlight any Map Builder object that has already been placed. The right-click menu shows you everything you can do on any given object (delete, modify, place above or below grid, lock it so you don't accidentally drag it in Edit Mode, adjust the object's position in the layers, etc.). Plotted shapes allow you to delete points, insert points, drag points, split the loop, continue the plot, etc. All of these functions are also available as hotkeys. You can also ctrl-C to copy and ctrl-V to paste singular images, boxes, and ellipses, but not freehand or plotted shapes.

    Be careful when highlighting shapes. Since some of the first shapes you will lay are the floor patterns, you may have a floor section highlighted without realizing it. That's why it's a good idea to Lock the larger movable shapes so that you don't accidentally drag them.

    You can only move shapes (boxes, ellipses and images) and adjust vertex positions in Edit Mode.