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New Update 11/11/2014: Dynamic Lighting (Restrict Movement, Low Light Support, Global Lighting), Character Sheet Buttons on Macro Bar, and more!

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Edited 1415743374
Riley D.
Roll20 Team
Hello everyone, There's a new update today! Hooray! The summary along with some preview images is up on the blog: <a href="http://blog.roll20.net/post/102365534160/new-updat" rel="nofollow">http://blog.roll20.net/post/102365534160/new-updat</a>... Without further ado, here's all the details: Restrict Token Movement There's a new option for the Dynamic Lighting system which allows you to restrict the movement of tokens so that they cannot cross through the walls you draw on the Dynamic Lighting layer. In order to use it, just toggle the new "Restrict Movement" setting in the Page Settings dialog box. Note that you can choose to use this feature without using Dynamic Lighting, but you still have to draw the walls on the Dynamic Lighting layer. Any token that is controlled by a player and has the "Has Sight" box checked will be restricted from traveling through walls. Tokens will not be restricted for movement by the GM, unless you press "Ctrl+L" to "view" as that token -- while that mode is active, the token's movement will be restricted (assuming it "Has Sight"). Dynamic Lighting Multipliers To better support systems such as Pathfinder which have a concept of "Low Light Vision", we have added the ability to set a multiplier on the sight of tokens. For example, in Pathfinder if a character has "Low Light Vision", they essentially see all light doubled (i.e. light sources put out dim light twice as far, and bright light twice as far). To do this in Roll20, you would now open up that token's settings, and under the Advanced tab change the Light Multiplier to "2". The light multiplier will automatically increase the bright and dim light of all light sources that are viewed by character who can control that token by the designated amount. In this case, doubling the distance. Note that the token must have the "Has Sight" checkbox checked, and the benefits will only be seen by players who can Control that token. By default, GMs (even though they can control all tokens) will see all light at the standard 1.0x multiplier. If you highlight a token and press "Ctrl+L" to view as that token, you will see the increased light distances if that token has a light multiplier set. Global Illumination In addition, there is now a new setting under the Dynamic Lighting section of the Page Settings called "Global Illumination". When this is checked (along with "Enforce Line of Sight") the players will be able to see anywhere that their tokens can see, without the need to add any additional light to the environment. So you can use that if the setting is daytime in the woods or even in a house that is well-lit. Note that using this option is much more performant than setting a super-high radius on each player's token, or then adding lots of lights of your own to the scene, so you should start using it instead if you are doing those workarounds. Essentially, with "Dynamic Lighting Enabled", and "Force Line of Sight" and"Global Illumination" turned on, you are effectively just using the LoS feature without the "lighting" features. Ctrl+L Is Now More Accurate We now show a more accurate representation of a player's view when you (as the GM) select their token and press "Ctrl+L" to view as that token. NOTE: If you are using the Rejoin as Player button and notice that now everything you are seeing is black, please double-check that you have at least one token on the tabletop that has the "Has Sight" box checked, and its "Controlled By" setting includes either "All Players" or "you" (your display name). Previously you may have seen things during Rejoin as Player that you shouldn't have because of this bug, but it is now fixed. Note that all Dynamic Lighting features above are part of the Dynamic Lighting System and as such are only available to GMs who are Supporter or Mentor subscribers . Drag and Drop Character Sheet Rolls onto the Macro Bar You can now drag and drop rolls directly off the Character Sheet into your Macro Quick-Bar! This is a great way for new players to keep track of their most frequent rolls, especially if they are using the Character Sheets to manage their characters and roll from the sheet. Just have your Macro Quick-Bar (the one along the bottom of the screen) open, then click and drag on any roll button on the Character Sheet. Drop it onto the bar and you're all set! Note that the button will be specific to the Character that you dragged it from. Here's an example of it in action: <a href="http://i.imgur.com/39YGs2X.gif" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/39YGs2X.gif</a> You can also now remove macros from your Quick-Bar by dragging them "up and off" the bar -- the button will turn red, then just release and it will be removed. You can do this for the new Sheet Rolls that you add, as well as normal Macros and Character Abilities. Turn Order Counters You now have the option of adding a "turn calculation" when you add a custom item to the Turn Order. You can enter any simple increment or decrement amount into this box, and every time that the turn order item reaches the top of the turn order, it will automatically add or subtract that number. For example, if you add a Custom Item with a turn calculation of "+1", it could easily keep track of what round you are on. You can add as many of these as you'd like, and they're also handy for things like keep track of the number of rounds left for a Buff ("-1") or even for Escalation Die! In addition, you can now pull values from the turn order into your rolls. The syntax is as follows: /roll 1d20 + @{tracker|Item Name} Where "Item Name" is the label you supplied when you created the turn order entry, or the name of the token if it's a token. So for example, you could create a round counter called "Escalation" and then use that as part of your macros. Now you have an automatic escalation die that you don't have to remember to increment manually! Re-Roll Once Mechanic We now support the "reroll once" mechanic, which is most popular due to its inclusion in the new Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition ruleset. The syntax is as follows: /r 2d6ro&lt;2 Notice that it's "ro" instead of just "r". You can also use any other re-roll-compatible modifier from the standard reroll mechanic. The only difference is that each dice that is re-rolled will only be re-rolled a maximum of one time. Better Dialog Positioning The application will now remember the last position of Character and Handout dialog boxes, and will restore the dialogs to those positions even after they are closed. So once you get your screen all nice and setup for your game, even if you close off a few boxes you don't have to worry about re-doing all that work! Shift+Z to Zoom Players Recently we introduced the "z" shortcut which will "zoom out" any item on the tabletop (such as a token) so you can get a better look at it. The GM can now also press "Shift+Z" with an item highlighted, and that item will be enlarged on the screen of all players (including the GM) who are on that page. Great for showing an important NPC or highlighting a difficult monster in an encounter. You can also now press "z" or "Esc" while zoomed in to unzoom.
WOW! You guys continue to get better and better. Thanks!!
So much great stuff here!
I love the lighting changes and the movement restriction! The Counters will definitely ease duration calculation for the Witch in my group.
I may have to dm a game again.
Love the new dynamic lighting additions! Keep up the great work ^_^
I might be looking at this a bit too literally, but I see this in the Shift+Z Zoom section: The GM can now also press "Shift+Z" with an item highlighted, and that item will be enlarged on the screen of all players (including the GM) who are on that page. Can players be on a different screen or do they all need to be on the same screen?
Do the Turn Order Counters show up in everyone's display or just the GM's?
Holy sh*t! The best just got significantly better. Every single one of those additions / improvement are useful to me. Thank you!
Mike said: I might be looking at this a bit too literally, but I see this in the Shift+Z Zoom section: The GM can now also press "Shift+Z" with an item highlighted, and that item will be enlarged on the screen of all players (including the GM) who are on that page. Can players be on a different screen or do they all need to be on the same screen? So, they all have to be on the same page -- meaning the same "map"/"encounter." Let me know if that clarifies it.
Jason W. said: Do the Turn Order Counters show up in everyone's display or just the GM's? They are normal Custom entries so they show up for everyone.
Riley D. said: Jason W. said: Do the Turn Order Counters show up in everyone's display or just the GM's? They are normal Custom entries so they show up for everyone. Is there anyway to set them as GM only, cause THAT could be very useful!
The potential for an Escalation Die is really cool! Is there a way to set a max limit? (13th Age Escalation maxes out at 6)
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Edited 1415734836
Gold
Forum Champion
Riley D. said: So, they all have to be on the same page -- meaning the same "map"/"encounter." Let me know if that clarifies it. Love this! As it should be. Proud that a suggestion I posted/stewarded has made the cut & launched officially. Thank you Roll20 for the new GM shift-Z to zoom a token view to full resolution. This opens up new gaming possibilities with reduced-size tokens that can be zoomed up to reveal some minor detail or semi-hidden secret ("Wait, what is that ruby-studded dagger he is carrying? Is that the one we've been searching for?"), as well as just being an attractive art feature for emphasizing the token-art of the marketplace creators or your own graphical uploads. Special tip: Don't forget it doesn't have to be a traditional token per se! You can zoom up a background image, a landscape scene, a puzzle image, or any graphic that you've placed on the tabletop token-layer. It's brilliant! The possibilities are vast. "You see a grove of woods in the distance." (Small token-size landscape of the forest). "As you get closer you can see the monsters eyes in the trees" (Shift-Z to zoom the forest picture to full screen). Sending one of my GM's a re-up on their Gift Subscription to celebrate and say thanks.
1415735935
The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
dodgepong said: The potential for an Escalation Die is really cool! Is there a way to set a max limit? (13th Age Escalation maxes out at 6) Bounds aren't built in, but you can add them with the dice expression you use: [[ 1d20 + {@{tracker|Escalation},6}kl1} ]] If you bump to mentor, I wrote a little script that uses the round counters to create an escalation die, which keeps bounds and handles resets gracefully and such: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1319616/script-e" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1319616/script-e</a>..
1415736075
The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
Gold said: Riley D. said: So, they all have to be on the same page -- meaning the same "map"/"encounter." Let me know if that clarifies it. Love this! As it should be. Proud that a suggestion I posted/stewarded has made the cut & launched officially. Thank you Roll20 for the new GM shift-Z to zoom a token view to full resolution. This opens up new gaming possibilities with reduced-size tokens that can be zoomed up to reveal some minor detail or semi-hidden secret ("Wait, what is that ruby-studded dagger he is carrying? Is that the one we've been searching for?"), as well as just being an attractive art feature for emphasizing the token-art of the marketplace creators or your own graphical uploads. Special tip: Don't forget it doesn't have to be a traditional token per se! You can zoom up a background image, a landscape scene, a puzzle image, or any graphic that you've placed on the tabletop token-layer. It's brilliant! The possibilities are vast. "You see a grove of woods in the distance." (Small token-size landscape of the forest). "As you get closer you can see the monsters eyes in the trees" (Shift-Z to zoom the forest picture to full screen). Sending one of my GM's a re-up on their Gift Subscription to celebrate and say thanks. Great idea! So long as zooming graphics on other layers works, I can totally see putting small versions of images I want to show players at some point, like the contents of signs, or wanted posters or the like. Gonna have to try that out...
I still want an option to block shift+z. I do not want the GM shoving images onto my screen without my approval.
1415739686
The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
That might be best fixed socially, but I do like your pending notification idea from the dev thread.
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Edited 1415741561
To me, it's no different than having someone walk up to me at the table and shove a book in my face and forcing me to deal with that book or the person. And since the GM cannot selectively shift+z to zoom to only specific players... it would be better to implement pending notifications for handouts/zooms or the simpler option, allow the player to block that stuff.
1415741493
The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
Yeah, I understand your concern and hope it gets addressed. In the interim, if my DM did that to me (the book thing) I'd stop playing with him. =D
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Gold
Forum Champion
HB, check Riley's closing comment on the original suggestion thread for that. Riley said, "If you feel like a suggestion you made in the comments wasn't done or you want this feature expanded upon, please start a new suggestion thread that outlines your requested additional improvements."
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Edited 1415743822
HoneyBadger said: I still want an option to block shift+z. I do not want the GM shoving images onto my screen without my approval. Unless my understanding is wrong as I have yet to play with these features, the shift+z feature would be no different from a GM using the Show to Players button on a handout. So should be something related to the game in progress. As a GM, I cannot think of a reason why a player would need to block me from presenting a handout. The only reason I can think of is a GM abusing his players, at which point, the best way to react to online abuse from a relative stranger is to ask them to stop, if they continue, leave the game and make a blacklist for yourself of GM's who are too childish for your tastes, and if the abuse is of a potentially illegal nature to report them to Roll20. edit: again to remove continued debate.
Gold said: HB, check Riley's closing comment on the original suggestion thread for that. Riley said, "If you feel like a suggestion you made in the comments wasn't done or you want this feature expanded upon, please start a new suggestion thread that outlines your requested additional improvements." Gold is correct -- if you want us to change the way that Shift+Z is implemented, please make a new Suggestion post. This thread is for asking questions about the new features (like "How do I do X?") or for reporting bugs. Suggestions for improvements go in the Suggestions forum. Let's not have a debate here about whether or not Shift+Z should be able to be blocked, please.
You guys rock and I am proud to be a Mentor for you, keep up the good work. You're building the system I would if I was all technobabbly-programmy.
I might not have done it right, but I get an error message when I try to test the reroll once mechanic. Input: [[1d20&lt;ro2]] Error: Could not determine result type of: [{"type":"M","expr":1},{"type":"C","text":"d20"}]
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Pat S.
Forum Champion
Sheet Author
the mechanic should be, if I remember correctly, [[1d20ro&lt;2]]. You have the ro (roll once) in the wrong location.
Ah, so I did, thanks! Can you break down the syntax for me? I'm not sure I understand how to manipulate this to do advantage/disadvantage rolls correctly.
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Edited 1415748304
Pat S.
Forum Champion
Sheet Author
If you haven't had the chance to read it, try this page: <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Dice_Reference" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Dice_Reference</a> It contains all the dice syntax and has examples of the basic individual setups. Now some of the newer stuff is not in there yet but the simple roll here is just [[ inline brackets]] " 1d20 " number of dice and sides " r " reroll " o " once " &lt; " less than or equal to " 2 " target number If you have a question about how to do a macro, please post in the specific questions forum. More eyes will see it and respond.
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Edited 1415753767
I am unable to remove Buttons from the Macro Quick Bar. I was playing around with the Drag and Drop to Quick Bar feature to see if renaming the Button in the Quick Bar was possible. I am the GM of the campaign and used a player's sheet to drag two sheet buttons to the Quick Bar. I have tried holding them down, dragging them straight up, and then in every direction, unsure of what else to try really. Oh yeah, I exited and re-entered the game as well. Edit: I double checked and the character sheet is my journal as well as controlled and edited by me. Also when I hover over the buttons there is an oddity. It almost looks like the button image extends an extra 1/8th of an inch. Not a big deal and it may have been there before and I never noticed it.
Nice work on these updates. Can't wait to take advantage of the new lighting options!
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Edited 1415755928
Stephen Koontz
Forum Champion
Marketplace Creator
Sheet Author
API Scripter
Compendium Curator
Larry, sorry to hear about your button trouble. Just to the right of the buttons when hovering over them, extending that 1/8th of an inch, is the part you need to select in order to re-order or remove the buttons. When removing the button, by dragging it off the bar, the button should turn red. When you release the mouse the macro button should vanish.
Awesome, thanks a lot for the clarification. Worked like a charm. Thanks for the update Team Roll20.
Riley Can you please add either the ability to tie an emote to the counter in the turn counter OR the ability to advance the turn (Like pressing the arrow button the turn counter) as a macroable command. I am using '/desc Second @{tracker|Second}' to send the emote second 1 2 etc to the chat box as well and I would like to combine the advancement with the emote either in a macro or as part of the Custom item. It's a small thing but makes it much easier to handle fights in battle heavy games like hackmaster.
The restriction of movement feature is great, my players would often fly off into walls and be left in the dark so thats one feature Im ticking immediately, though my campaigns lighting appears to have been messed up. The only way my players can see the lighting is if I have enforce line of sight turned on and they have sight, but they like being able to see the areas of the map theyve explored, previously I accomplished this by placing a weakly lit token on the dynamic lighting layer after they leave a room. How would I do this now? without enforce line of sight they cant see anything, with it, they can only see the room theyre in
Riley D. said: Gold said: HB, check Riley's closing comment on the original suggestion thread for that. Riley said, "If you feel like a suggestion you made in the comments wasn't done or you want this feature expanded upon, please start a new suggestion thread that outlines your requested additional improvements." Gold is correct -- if you want us to change the way that Shift+Z is implemented, please make a new Suggestion post. This thread is for asking questions about the new features (like "How do I do X?") or for reporting bugs. Suggestions for improvements go in the Suggestions forum. Let's not have a debate here about whether or not Shift+Z should be able to be blocked, please. How about giving us more time to test these features on dev? We barely had any time at all. And extend the period of discussion about said features. I asked about it several times and not one dev commented on it.
Chris S. said: The restriction of movement feature is great, my players would often fly off into walls and be left in the dark so thats one feature Im ticking immediately, though my campaigns lighting appears to have been messed up. The only way my players can see the lighting is if I have enforce line of sight turned on and they have sight, but they like being able to see the areas of the map theyve explored, previously I accomplished this by placing a weakly lit token on the dynamic lighting layer after they leave a room. How would I do this now? without enforce line of sight they cant see anything, with it, they can only see the room theyre in This was definitely a bug, Chris. You should now be able to leave "Enforce Line of Sight" off and not have any tokens with "Has Sight" checked and it should work as before. Sorry about that!
I would like it if the Z zoom would highlight the token that is being zoomed on, and/ or keep the nameplates and bars, icons etc. that it had on the battemap.
Drag and Drop Character Sheet Rolls onto the Macro Bar ... how do you remove it when you don't want it any more?
All good, thanks for the quick fix, ctrl-L shows blackness for all the player tokens, but being logged in as a player shows everything correctly. The updates Im most happy about though, is the players no longer going through walls, and appearing above the blackness (no more will my players be left in the dark by the torch bearer moving too quickly)
1415826985
Stephen Koontz
Forum Champion
Marketplace Creator
Sheet Author
API Scripter
Compendium Curator
Anthony, when you hover over the button there is a small extension to the right. If you click on that small part it will allow you to drag, reorder, and remove the buttons. When removing, you drag the button off of the macro bar into open space. The button will turn red and when you release the mouse it will vanish.
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Edited 1415828187
I seem to be unable to use drag and drop feature, for rolls from the spell book secotion of the 5th edition character sheet
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The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
John: Drag and drop doesn't work with repeating groups yet.
That would explain it, thanks.
I am having trouble with the global illumination. Whenever I try to set it up, it looks like it does not have dynamic lighting. Then when I look at how the character would see it, it is completely black. Any guidance would be awesome. Thank you guys for continuously making improvements.
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The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
See if this helps: Riley D. Roll20 Dev Team Mentor Permalink Quote Flag Update on this. There apparently was a bug (we finally tracked it down) where if you had "Enforce Line of Sight" OFF, and you had NO tokens on the tabletop with the "Has Sight" option checked, your players would only see darkness. This has now been fixed, so you can again ignore the Enforce Line of Sight option completely if you want. Sorry for any confusion. I'm not sure if that's what was happening in the original post or not but I thought I would point it out in case anyone else comes across this thread.
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Edited 1415872773
Thanks for the excellent new features! I have a bug to report, though: Copy/Pasting a token does not preserve it's light multiplier setting (Thus, requiring the GM to reapply this after copying player tokens to a new page). Steps to reproduce: Create a token, assign it a light multiplier of '2.0'. Copy/Paste the token. Click the options menu on the new token. Observe that the light radius is now '1.0'. EDIT: After testing, it would seem that this is a display issue. Despite the value being listed as '1.0' for the new token, the token's vision is multiplied as per the original token's setting.
Incredible stuff guys, proud to mentor this app!
Better Dialog Positioning is probably my favorite new thing. Thank you for this.
One of my players said you can't drag and drop spells from the 5th Ed. D&D CS to Macro Bar . Anyone else have this problem?
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The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
Dvergr76: Currently, you can't drag macros from a repeating group.
1415935842
Gold
Forum Champion
We played D&D tonight (epic session, first black dragon, etc) and my GM is a Mentor on Roll20. Shift-z for the GM to zoom a token to display size was good, and kind of funny (because my GM picks some funny token images). I found it was easy as a Player to close the image with 1 click of z, or escape, or mouse button. The dynamic lighting "not walking across walls" was really great. It was a game-changer on the atmosphere. I didn't realize how much it would change the feeling of being constrained within those walls of the rooms. Thank you for the Updates.