User login
NEWS and HELP!
»Usage Indicator. Important!
»News Flash! Updated 04/16/2007
»How To Upload to the Gallery
»How To Link to Gallery Items
New forum posts
Gallery
 |
 |
 |
 |
Navigation
Who's online
There are currently 0 users and 4 guests online.
Who's new
- Selles72
- gahetan4
- netjiro
- MegaGremlin
- GreyFalcon70
Poll
Which type of map do you prefer?
Completely populated with secret, magic, monsters, etc, all static
8%
Populated with everthing except living or animated things.
42%
Just the map shell with no moveable objects at all, to be added by the GM.
45%
Some combination of the above. (please explain via comment)
3%
Something not mentioned above. (please explain via comment)
2%
Total votes: 191
|
Welcome to RPGMapShare.com, a place to share maps and mapping objects for any type of Role-Playing Game. The maps and objects are intended for use mainly with any of the various Virtual Tabletop applications, such as Battlegrounds or Maptool, but as long as you have a computer and a way to display images, you can use them for your games. We're about sharing here, so uploading of your own maps and objects is encouraged. Please follow the directions when uploading, especially regarding usage restrictions, and we'll all be happy. We'd also like to see you in the Forums, so stop by and say hi, tell us what types of games you play, how you use the images you've obtained here, etc. Enjoy! |
Map types
Submitted by Steel Rat on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 9:59am.Personally I think I look for encounter maps that I can setup quickly. They don't necessarily need a lot of fluff added to them, but for those times when I need that, it's good to have.
[img_assist|nid=15|title=|desc=|link=none|align=default|width=640|height=90]
RPGMapShare.com admin
I like the detailed city
Submitted by Dorpond on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 10:22am.I like the detailed city maps but the problem with most maps I find on-line is that they already have a name for them attached somewhere on the map. I might like your map, but I might want to call it something else.
This vote was a tie with Dungeon Crawls, but there too, I find that too many people make the maps look too real, with shadows, lights, monsters, animals and other ambient or "always in motion" objects. My thoughts are this: don't put an animal on the map -- It won't ever move for the players!! :)
With more and more advanced programs to display our maps, we are better leaving the lighting, shadows, people, animals, secret doors and or other moveble objects up to the program. It looks kinda funny removing a Fog of War only to find a torch lit room already in place when it should really be dark or to see an Ogre standing there that we cannot move around. I say leave many of the objects for the Maptool type applications - this way we can interact with them (put out lights, move creatures and reveal secret doors (or close the door for that matter).
Oops, I'm rambling again..
(Steel, delete if this is outside the discussion)
Detailed Maps
Submitted by Steel Rat on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 10:47am.I agree with you, Dorpond.
Seems that most people make the maps to see how pretty they can make them, with little thought to utility. I make maps for commercial RPGs (for the Infinite Realities products), and I like to provide two different maps, one for players and one for GMs. The latter having room markers, encounter markers, etc, and the latter being more spartan, which can be used as the playing aid by the GM.
[img_assist|nid=15|title=|desc=|link=none|align=default|width=640|height=90]
RPGMapShare.com admin
Have any ideas how we can
Submitted by Dorpond on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 11:06am.Have any ideas how we can promote that type of mapping? (as far as having a DM map and a Player map?
I am with you on this. Secret doors is a good example and doors. I wouldn't put doors on my maps. I wouldn't put secret doors on my maps either. The doorways are always doorless because this way we can just stamp down a door object and now we have the ability to leave it open or close it. As far as a secret door, I make it a wall just like the other walls. If someone finds it, stamp down an S on the wall to show it is secret.
Simple things like this can make a program like Maptools work a whole lot better.
So back to the question; any way we can promote this type of mapping up here? Should there be a naming convention of files that if it is a DM's map the name will be NameDM.jpg?
Hmmm....
Naming
Submitted by Steel Rat on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 11:12am.I think it would be difficult to enforce at best, impossible at worst. I think it's just a matter of making cartographers aware of the need out there.
I hadn't gotten as far as doors. I can see someone complaining "Where's all the friggin' doors??" on a distributed map, though, lol.
[img_assist|nid=15|title=|desc=|link=none|align=default|width=640|height=90]
RPGMapShare.com admin
John Paul Stoddard Wichita
Submitted by jpstod on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 11:32am.John Paul Stoddard
Wichita Falls Texas
Playing Dungeons and Dragons Since 1978
All you have to do is request.
I make a Dm Map and A Players Handout for Everymap I make. I just save two versions.
I tend to keep all my maps simple anyways..bare minimal
Agreed
Submitted by heruca on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 3:29pm.I'd just like to chime in to support the idea of leaving moveable items like doors, torches, animals, and figures off of battlemaps. This makes them much more useable in virtual tabletop software.
Then again, I'm biased.
Battlegrounds: RPG Edition is new virtual tabletop software for both Macs and Windows PCs that allows you to play any RPG online or offline. It's very easy to use and has useful features like Fog of War.
www.battlegrounds.com.
Forum topic.
Submitted by Steel Rat on Fri, 06/23/2006 - 3:38pm.Maybe these kinds of preferences should go into a forum topic.
[img_assist|nid=15|title=|desc=|link=none|align=default|width=640|height=90]
RPGMapShare.com admin
Comments
Submitted by Hylas on Sun, 06/25/2006 - 12:17pm.No Names
No Square or Hexagon Grids on them, I pass these up with out looking at how cool they are.
No Creatures. Animals, People or otherwise transient things that could wander off the map. But never seem to move.
Lighting or Fine Detail. Feel free to furnish it up but leave the smaller details to me. Like Kegs, statues, books, ect....
I have no problems with doors or windows, it is one less thing to worry about and I can make it work or I'll make my own.
Terrain details would make me use a map for someplace else that it would fit but I could come up with someplace if its my game.
I tend to make maps with lots of detail on them. I like the visuals they create so if I got another map I'd doctor it up.
I am currently more focused, myself, in getting the city maps worked up. The overland map is complicated and I like the hand drawn ones I have made. And there are a lot of really nice building maps that I can work in already out there though I have a few of my own.
Just thought I would jump in....
Hylas
We've got a dead heat
Submitted by Steel Rat on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 8:09am.We've got a dead heat between detailed city maps and quick encounter maps, with Overland way behind. Other and Dungeon Crawl being no-shows.
Does this mean that for "dungeons" people are using published adventures which already have maps?Â
Steel Rat
RPGMapShare.com admin
Never bought
Submitted by Dorpond on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 10:53am.I have never bought or used a published map in my life.. I make my own dungeon maps mainly because they revolve around my story..
This is a tricky question really.
1. Until recently, I had to draw my DM maps on a battle mat. As you know, the DM can have the prettiest map in the world but it is still going to look like crap to the players when drawn out with markers. Because of that, I didn't need grossly detailed maps so I just drew them out on graph paper.
2. Now with tools like MapTools and Fantasy Grounds, we can finally display detail to the players but what I am finding is that all the maps made by experts on Dundjinni and the comminity is that there is way too much detail. There are closed doors everywhere, objects laying around, bloods splats, creatures and other misc "ambiences" that I don't want. My games are very realistic where time is always moving. I used logic where monsters live real lives and move around. They are not going to be standing in an empty room waiting for an adventurer to come in. So now, I still can't use these very nice works of arts that the community makes.
3. I have a hard time trying to figure out what half of the objects are in a community map, what the maps function is, and end up screwed when I see stairs in the map without another map to use. Did you ever get a great map only to find there are stairs leading somewhere? Well where are the other maps? Sometimes I will be looking at a map for an hour trying to figure out what this or that is; that's when I slam down the map and just make my own :)
So I guess the question is this: Will I use more community maps if they are basic? Will I use a map if it is layed out logically? If I can drop my own objects in it, I think I will have a much greater need for dungeon maps and when that day comes, I am sure my vote will greatly swing towards needing more dungeons..
Re: Stairs going nowhere
Submitted by Steel Rat on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 11:20am.Steel Rat
RPGMapShare.com admin
Most of the time, I do use
Submitted by Varl on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 7:37pm.A little of this, A little of that
Submitted by Hylas on Thu, 07/06/2006 - 8:44pm.