Map Idiots Unite!

Man does anyone else feel totally flabbergasted still with aligning maps? I have had Gauss himself help me out and a few others...sometimes I can finagle it enough..but man there has to be a system or something that just works lol. Please let me know I'm not alone... I want to run games..but taking multiple hours to setup online is a heavy deterrent, and I'm not even talking adding music. If someone can point me to another resource for help with setting up maps...one for idiots it seems lol, it would be greatly appreciated.

There are so many map resources out there that you should not really need to build maps. Using the Mapping 101 thread it is really easy to pull in maps and quickly re-sizes them to the grid. I use many of the WotC maps or build in Masterplan or PyMapper with dungeon tiles and then import.

Well, I have the maps already..so not building from the ground up, also(not being snippy here) I have looked at the map 101 alignment ..many, many times,..also the guy who wrote it has helped out as well (Gauss)..I can usually make it happen..but after a long hiatus, it's not any easier for me to do.. was merely asking if there are any other resources out there to help people out aligning maps on roll20 as I am not grasping the current sticky it seems.

Easiest way is to figure out the size of the map in squares (I use Picture Viewer or Paint) and then pull them map into Roll 20 and resize the image (there is an option for sizing by squares). Make sure that the page (canvas) is larger than your estimate before you pull the map in. then set the page to have a nice dark grid and drag it around the map layer until it looks like it aligns. Use the ALT- Left Mouse to NOT snap to grid. I spend more time setting up tokens and Dynamic lighting than I do on maps. Now that I have a "default creature" character set up I don't even need to really build macros (Basic attacks are already there). I can probably get a delve set up in a couple of hours if I was rushed. I prefer to set aside a day to build a whole adventure that may take 4-6 sessions to run through. ( I need to get the next chapter set up in one of my campaigns soon)

Yeah depending on players they can really plow through stuff, so I try to work in batches. I can really get things rolling, and then one map will just cripple everything. Don't get me wrong, I'm a smart enough guy, I just have a traumatic brain injury so remembering is not my strong point, and when I go back to the 101 guide..just not happening. How are you able to find the amount in squares using a pic viewer or paint? that may help. The map I'm currently stuck on has no grid.. which probably isn't helping, but sometimes isn't that big of a hick-up..

Most of the Maps i use have a grid, I just count squares (and ball park if the squares don't go the the edge). Sometimes I'll trim the image to a size in even squares to make it easier. If the map is grid less but has a scale I try to work with that to get an estimate. Once on the table I'll play with the size to get it closer.

Alright thanks for your info Michael. lol For now I'm walking away from the map before I delete the whole campaign.

The beauty is that it is real simple to start over.

A few things could be happening here. Does the grid on your map image run true? I have seen a bunch of WOTC maps where the map is stretched. The adventure path PDF maps almost all have to be re sized to get a true grid. if the map grid is loosing 1-10 pixels per square you will never get the Roll20 grid to match up. You can check the image grid by importing the map into GIMP, or Photoshop and dropping an appropriate sized grid. if the grid id off, then you can shrink/grow the image or layer size until the image grid runs true. To get the image grid to line up in Roll20 a few things have to happen: 1. You need to know what the grid size is in px 2. You need to crop the image to a whole number of grid squares (if you have a grid size of 50px, crop your image to multiples of 50px, like 500x500, 500x800, not 432 x 675) Notice i said crop not stretch!!!!! or shrink!!! that will throw off grid size 3. when you import your map Roll20 will often make the image slightly larger/smaller by stretching or shrinking. this can be fixed by setting the dims to the original image size. then set your grid size.

well it is always easier to fine tune with the grid, this map is grid-less and may be the main cause of worry. I don't know crap about Photoshop. I am setting the image to the correct dimensions(the first thing I learned to helping make images fit).. no stretching or anything. Yeah had to learn to crop and not stretch along the way as well. I can look up this GIMP deal and see if that would help me out. I have a feeling if the grid is set it would become a lot easier to do this. Making adjustments to the dimensions can help move things a bit with a good bit of trial and error I've found but it's touchy. I'm seriously considering just no grid on this map, but since it's where a lot of combat will go down not sure how that will play out for range of spells and whatnot. It's past frustration now so lol

If you need help aligning send me a PM and I might be able to help you write up a guide for yourself that you can more easily follow.

Hey guys, I wanted to thank you all for shooting me some help, It's really appreciated. Gauss I am going ot prob have to reach out to you lol. Tonight though, I relax..no use getting stressed before I've even done anything.

lol I Figured it out!!... Thank you again everyone.. I guess taking a break from it and coming at it fresh did the trick.