Thread: Veil Vale - an experiment

Finally finished it.

You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giLeonpfwKE

I posted a few other demos of MT there as well, as did Dorpond who happens to be the "demo meister". I think I even have a couple Poser animations up there as well. Which you can see in the video listing and by clicking More From This User.

Anyway, enjoy.

Pretty cool - I wasn't expecting the total demo with encounters and everything! I also like the fact you zoomed into the lower falls area.

What did you think of the "rocks under the water" effect? Its hard to see that in the image WIP I posted, but the water is actually transparent and part of the rocks are above the water and some are under with the waves overhead, it looks strikingly real yet is a very easy effect to produce.

Oh, would you think it better for me to provide a version of this map - sans trees, so that VTT users can place their own trees? So their PC tokens can walk under, not on top of trees on the map.

It was a nice effect.

Yes, the more "decorations" that can be placed by the user the better. That is what is so nice about the individual stamps. You can take a base map, and then stamp all the "decorations" you want on it.

The demo was really brief and pretty short, but I think I got across the basic idea of what a VTT is and the types of things you can do with it. The video itself was just a bunch of screen captures put into a movie. I have an actual movie demo tool now that I still haven't tried out. I might give it another shot, but show the whole process via a video of the actual use.

If you want to make another map with no trees, and then post the trees as individual PNGs with transparency, I can make another video and shoot the whole thing live.

I just had a thought, if MT supported animated GIFs those waterfalls could be animated. That would make a cool effect. I wonder if Heruca has got flash working well in Battlegrounds yet. That would be fun to see, plus BG supports sound effects as well...

Originally Posted by RPMiller

I just had a thought, if MT supported animated GIFs those waterfalls could be animated. That would make a cool effect. I wonder if Heruca has got flash working well in Battlegrounds yet. That would be fun to see, plus BG supports sound effects as well...

Arg...isn't that just a bit too Flashy?

{Runs laughing maniacally from the room}

Originally Posted by RPMiller

I agree with both assessments. It would have to be bigger to work in a VTT though, but it is hard to judge without a scale of some sort. The sample looks like it has been reduced.

For VTT used for roleplaying games (GRIP / Fantasy Grounds), this map is just the right size for an encounter. For wargames (Battlegrounds / MapTool) the map would probably have to be bigger in area.

Originally Posted by Naryt

Arg...isn't that just a bit too Flashy?

{Runs laughing maniacally from the room}

I think I should hit you with my negative rep stick.

Originally Posted by Valarian

For VTT used for roleplaying games (GRIP / Fantasy Grounds), this map is just the right size for an encounter. For wargames (Battlegrounds / MapTool) the map would probably have to be bigger in area.

Personal preferences. The one he uploaded and that I made the demo with was much nicer than the small sample not to mention the details were much better.

Careful, Naryt, lest you are crowned King of the Bad Guild Joke.

Originally Posted by Valarian

For VTT used for roleplaying games (GRIP / Fantasy Grounds), this map is just the right size for an encounter. For wargames (Battlegrounds / MapTool) the map would probably have to be bigger in area.

I might try a 100' x 100' encounter sized map at 100 ppi = 5 feet, saved in both PNG and JPG, you could download either and test it out on GRIP / Fantasy Grounds for me, at least post a screen capture or two of the results.

I'll create a similar technique but different map for the test.

Oh and I saved a treeless version of the Veil Vale map to upload tonight, as well as many of my map object PNG files - trees and stuff.

I've got no problems this thread becoming a "test bed" for VTT mapping techniques.