Interactive Maps

[Tsunami1768]

Quote: Originally Posted by siege  Alas, if you're still using it, I regret to say that ditzie will go offline for good on Dec 1, 2021. What up fellow Weavers! quick question, Has anyone found a similar site to this? Ditzie was perfect for ease of party interaction here on the weave and i have yet to find a suitable replacement. I was wondering if anyone has been able to find something at least close to its equal?

[X51]

On 8/25/2022 at 4:47 AM, Tsunami1768 said:

Quote: What up fellow Weavers! quick question, Has anyone found a similar site to this? Ditzie was perfect for ease of party interaction here on the weave and i have yet to find a suitable replacement. I was wondering if anyone has been able to find something at least close to its equal?

I know very little about Ditzie, but from what I've been able to dig up, it looks like Twiddla is what you're looking for.

[Roughtrade]

On 8/25/2022 at 4:47 AM, Tsunami1768 said:

Quote: Originally Posted by siege  Alas, if you're still using it, I regret to say that ditzie will go offline for good on Dec 1, 2021. What up fellow Weavers! quick question, Has anyone found a similar site to this? Ditzie was perfect for ease of party interaction here on the weave and i have yet to find a suitable replacement. I was wondering if anyone has been able to find something at least close to its equal?

I use Roll20

It is similar to Ditzie but you do not have to 'save' each time you make a move.  It is just there.

For a very small fee (like $5 a month) you can get access to a tremendously useful amount of bells and whistles.  Which you only need to do if you're a GM.  Players, paid subscription or not, can get the benefit of your upgrades in your game.  

The best one, in my opinion, is the dynamic lighting system which only allows players to see what their light source would show, and it takes into account walls and other obstacles which the GM designates as blocking view.  

The maps are fairly easy to build and not too difficult to figure their system for uploading icons to use.  Paid subscription gets more space to store stuff, obviously.

 

On 10/11/2022 at 11:08 PM, X51 said:

I know very little about Ditzie, but from what I've been able to dig up, it looks like Twiddla is what you're looking for.

Ravenborn's Crash Course to Ditzie

 

Ravenborn's Crash Course to Ditzie

Ditzie is essentially an interactive fridge door. By that, I mean its like having a bunch of magnets on your fridge and moving them around as you please. Or stickers. Whichever analogy you prefer. I say magnets because they're so much easier to take down than stickers.

When you view the map, it has a dynamic URL. Simply move your token on the map board according to your speed/action.

After you have moved your token, click the screen again (to make sure you have the map 'selected'. You won't see it, but its better safe than sorry. Then press ENTER on your keyboard. This "saves" the map in its current state, refreshes the page, and creates a unique URL for it.

Copy and Paste this URL into your post in which you took this movement. For ease, I also suggest including a statement saying that you 'moved' or 'charged' or 'withdrew' or what have you.

You can also add new items to the board by dragging them from the menu bar above. If you don't see an object you want to use, double click one of the objects on the bar above, which will open a pop-up (you may have to allow it if you have an ad blocker on) displaying all the objects in that folder. You can click the Beta link (at the top left corner of the pop-up) to return to the home directory for folders, and browse other images. Furthermore, the very first gallery folder are 'objects', including circles, squares, cones, and other basic shapes. I personally like to use red 'X's to mark creatures/players that have been slain, though I have seen players use them for spell areas and the like as well.

Lastly, you can edit objects as well by double clicking them. This creates a small pop-up that allows you to edit the token name, transparency (the little blue slider), size, and layer.

No matter what, ALWAYS remember to hit enter to save your map, and add the unique hyperlink to your post. If you don't move during your turn, then you need not provide a new map. You should always look at the most recent posts for the latest version of the map, be it from DM or from one of your fellow players. Everybody's link to the map is unique, so the most recent post with a map is the map that should be the most up to date.

 

 

[Neopopulas]

I'm not positive but i think Owlbear Roedo might be similar.

[Suzuki Stumpy]

There's also Tableplop that's in a similar vein.

[Malkavian Grin]

I use Aggie.io. It doesn't require anyone to log in, and anyone with the link can make edits (very similar to Ditzie, but without needing to copy the new URL which was always iffy in case someone else took their move at the same time). The file updates and saves in real time.

It works basically like a multi-user Photoshop file. You add a map layer, lock it. Add tokens and name them. It's not mobile-friendly, and sometimes people lock each other out of their own token, but I feel the benefits outweigh the issues.

My only issue is it's a teensy bit resource heavy, so I tend to close as much stuff as possible before using it.

[Melkar]

Sort of on-topic, but probably not worthy of a different thread in its own right, how do people handle hex mapping? Particularly for things like Starfinder which relies on hex maps for ship combat I've seen no decent sites that allow you to put together hex maps, and certainly not something that is user friendly at the very least.

 

EDIT: oops, apologies for the thread necro, didn't realise it was so old.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Melkar (see edit history)

[hakootoko]

I've seen GMs screenshotting Roll20, so that they get a non-changing image to put into a post. Roll20 also supports hex grids. My one game on Roll20 uses hex grids exclusively.

[Melkar]

Ha, I never thought of screenshotting Roll20 for it, I have to admit.

[BlackPhoenix]

If you're going the screenshot route, MapTool is a good option as well.

You could also leave MapTool running on your PC and have the players also install MapTool and log in to your running session, but there isn't a mobile client - you need an actual PC (Linux / Mac / Windows - it's written in Java).