GM Layer/Token Layer Overlay issues

Hello, I'll describe my issue as best I can. For my scenario, I have a series of tunnels that have been dug out by enemies. I have a version of the map where you can't see the tunnels set to the Map Layer and I have another image that works as an Overlay of the tunnels that matches with the map perfectly.  I don't want the players to see the tunnel overlay, I only want to see it myself for reference so I can have enemies pop in and out of the tunnels during combat, so I set the tunnels to the GM layer. Doing so with 50% GM layer opacity made it difficult to see the tunnels, so for this instance I turned GM layer opacity to 100% so I can see the tunnels. If I do that, the map loads fine and when I rejoin that battle as a player to view the fight as my players would, then tokens appear on top of the overlay without a problem.  The issue is this: When I'm actually running the fight- I need to be in GM mode to see the tunnels. When I leave it in GM mode, with the tunnels set to GM layer, then nothing is visible to me under the tunnels. All token layer units that move into the tunnels area are swept under the GM layer and completely invisble.  I tried selecting the tokens in GM mode and telling them to "Move to Front" but it has no effect. If I rejoin the game as a player, then from the players perspective everything looks the way I want it to- I just want to be able to see the tunnels image from the GM perspective without losing the ability to see where tokens are above.  Suggestions would be appreciated.  (Alternatively, I thought maybe I could something move the tunnels image to the token layer and turn it invisible to everyone but the DM? If anyone knows how to do this - then it could solve my issue.)

Hi Zynyx! There are some scripts that might help with this, but you need Plus-level solutions. I can think of two, neither one perfect: 1) find a level of GM layer opacity that allows you to see both tunnels and tokens. Not ideal perhaps, but this sounds like a one-off encounter and might be possible with extra effort. 2) Run a separate instance of the game also in GM mode. You can set the GM layer opacity in that instance separately, since it is a session-level setting, and Roll20 thinks of that separate instance as a different session. I would recommend running the second session in a private window. This solution does lend itself to a separate monitor, if you have that as a resource. Bonus possibility: Re-do the tunnel overlay to have heavy opacity on the tunnel edges, but low opacity in their fill area. This would require some image software skill though, and without seeing the images, it's hard to tell how realistic this solution might be. Other than that, it sounds like the only workable solution is to continually change the GM layer opacity, and that sounds like no fun.

Does pro level have an easier solution to this issue? It seems weird to me that the Token layer always appears on top to players, but not GMs. There is no way to change that in the GM view?

Zynyx said: If I do that, the map loads fine and when I rejoin that battle as a player to view the fight as my players would, then tokens appear on top of the overlay without a problem.  I always strongly suggest not using 'Rejoin as Player'.  Instead, you should use a ' Dummy Account ' in a separate browser window. It's completely free to do, and the only downside is it may be more taxing on an older computer.   What is your specific reason for needing to see the fight as your players would during the actual combat?   I find that I usually just need to check player-view during setup, but I don't tend to use it too much while actually running a session, and I stay in GM mode the whole time without looking at my Dummy Account view. I tried selecting the tokens in GM mode and telling them to "Move to Front" but it has no effect. If I rejoin the game as a player, then from the players perspective everything looks the way I want it to- I just want to be able to see the tunnels image from the GM perspective without losing the ability to see where tokens are above.  When I leave it in GM mode, with the tunnels set to GM layer, then nothing is visible to me under the tunnels. All token layer units that move into the tunnels area are swept under the GM layer and completely invisble.  Roll20 has a somewhat specific ' z-ordering ' (visibility layering) hierarchy that will override some other settings.   It sounds like you might have the 'tunnels' map image set somehow that is overriding any other general 'move to back' or 'move to front' settings of the other NPC tokens.  I'm guessing you have the 'tunnels' map image set with you as GM in the 'Can be Edited and Controlled By' section, or it has vision turned on, or something else like that.  Otherwise you should be able to click on the tunnels map image and select 'move to back' and have that work to move it behind the other NPC tokens, even on the GM layer. (Alternatively, I thought maybe I could something move the tunnels image to the token layer and turn it invisible to everyone but the DM? If anyone knows how to do this - then it could solve my issue.) This isn't possible in this way. However, another possibility is to create multi-sided tokens for all of the enemies and have the additional side be a transparent token, then instead of moving them to the GM layer, you could switch them to the transparent side and turn on a GM-only-visible aura. Or a simpler (but not as seamless while you're running the encounter) approach would be to have a single 'transparent' character with a GM-only-visible aura that you could pull out for each NPC when they move into the tunnels, and you'd just have to change the nameplate to track each one. With a Roll20 Pro subscription this would all be fairly easy to automate, but with a Plus or Free account it would take a lot of work and probably not be worth it if you have a lot of NPC enemies.  (Or even easier with a Pro subscription you could just use the Bump script to do basically the same thing without creating the multi-sided tokens.) 

Zynyx said: Does pro level have an easier solution to this issue? It seems weird to me that the Token layer always appears on top to players, but not GMs. There is no way to change that in the GM view? I just had this discussion with the Aaron recently. GM Layer opacity is not currently settable with the API. I can't remember the details, but it might be stored locally, not in Firebase. However, you could easily create a rollable token for the map, with one side being a transparent png and the other being the map. A macro could be constructed that would use the script Token-Mod to flip those two images, even without the graphic being selected. I use that all the time with map overlays. Thus you could flip the overlay on and off with a macro button push.