Roll20 uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. Cookies enable you to enjoy certain features, social sharing functionality, and tailor message and display ads to your interests on our site and others. They also help us understand how our site is being used. By continuing to use our site, you consent to our use of cookies. Update your cookie preferences .
×
Create a free account

Center map on player token when map first loaded

Score + 369
November 12 (10 years ago)
Josh
Pro
Currently, when changing maps, it is difficult to find your token unless the GM shift-pings. The players have to change the zoom or pan around to find their characters.

I would suggest adding an option to player controlled tokens to automatically center the map on their token when the map first loads. Since this would only happen when the map first loads, it wouldn't be disruptive at other times. Possibly add a GM option to toggle this feature on or off globally or at the map level.
January 12 (10 years ago)
Lithl
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
What to do if the player controlls more than one token?
January 13 (10 years ago)
Josh
Pro
I would say just focus on the first one in the list. I bet in most scenarios, if a player controls more than one token, they would be close together anyway. But, even if they aren't, at least the player will have a frame of reference. They probably know where their other tokens are in relation to each other.
December 01 (9 years ago)
I want this! Just spent half an hour on the wiki trying to figure out an easier way to do this, guessing there isn't one? Please consider it!
September 26 (8 years ago)
Yes. This really seems like a major oversight. I am currently playing with some people who aren't all that computer savvy, and my god if it isn't a chore to have them find their pieces when on a large map. The simple ability to focus on a selected player would be just wonderful. You could have different ways of doing it. You could click on their portraits in their video/audio windows, or click the characters character sheet (if they're using more than one character). Seems to me there should also be a lock to character option, so the view is always locked to a specific character if the player wants.
February 12 (7 years ago)
I agree this would be a great feature.  The way a GM can select a token to Ctrl-L and see things from their perspective, so also let GM centre either whole game or that PC's view on that point.
June 16 (7 years ago)
Ulti
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
Currently, our only solution is to move the entire party to a given position on the screen. It would really help if the player and/or the GM could mark a token a the main token for that player, and the player could in one click or keyboard shortcut center the map on that token.

I tend to use teleport to deal with stairs, so that would be a great help. In addition, that would help with the awkward way players have to scroll their maps to follow their tokens.
February 22 (6 years ago)
Ulti
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
I haven't found any alternative to deal with that issue. I'm starting a new game with a beginner, and it really makes life difficult on big maps with fog of war.
May 11 (6 years ago)
This would be very useful for play by post type games.  Even if a character controls more than one token- often the party is all together, so centering on any one of them is better than just the pure darkness players are confronted with if they load into a dark map with no token nearby.
August 16 (6 years ago)
Mike W.
Pro
Sheet Author

+1 or a GM\MAP token that centers the map for everyone on this one specific token. Either way it needs to be an option at the map level for the GM to turn on\off..

August 20 (6 years ago)

It might be better to make this a little more feature rich? How about a button that takes your screen to a token you control (cycles through all tokens you control if you have more than one) that you can use any-time?

Upvoting this, this is especially useful on large maps. It will avoid a lot of player complaints over "where am I" on your large maps.

March 11 (5 years ago)

Wow! Yes, this would be incredible

+1 This would be very useful. Very. Useful.

YES! Really not sure why this isn't a thing already!

June 28 (5 years ago)
Sirjohn
KS Backer

This would be very helpful and would make it so much easier on the GM and the players. Why is this still a request option 4 years later? 

June 28 (5 years ago)

Should already be in the application.

This still hasn't happened yet?

+1 !

+1

August 29 (5 years ago)

While having each players view center on their primary character token on page switch, I'd even be happy with a "starting point" marker, where the map focuses everyone's view on initial map load. Generally when switching maps most of the time the whole group is going down the same set of stairs or ladder or whatever, so they end up in the same starting point on the new map anyway. Once a map is in play, the GM can move the "starting point" marker to wherever the party left off.

I see this functionality exists in the turn tracker, when switching to the next creature in the turn tracker, the map auto centers and pings the token - though this might have been added with VTT, regardless, the functionality exists, and works great in the turn tracker - just need it for map switch.

August 30 (5 years ago)

+1

September 10 (5 years ago)

Came here hoping this was fixed by now. This would be an incredibly helpful feature.

+1

Okay, I'm not sure I understand the options everyone else is looking to do, but I would like a feature where a Player could click on their token in the Journal page, have this as a menu item, and center on that character.  This would be awesome for both Players and GMs, and using the Journal links allows Players running multiple characters (regardless of race or animal) to switch between them readily.

Alright, Roll 20... are you working to figure this out, yet?  Pretty please with a cherry on top.

December 16 (5 years ago)

Could this be expanded into two options? Either it centers on players token (default) or it centers on a spot that the GM determines.

+1 for pre determined point on load. 


Jens F. said:

Could this be expanded into two options? Either it centers on players token (default) or it centers on a spot that the GM determines.


+1 to this

December 20 (5 years ago)

+1

December 29 (5 years ago)

+1

January 03 (5 years ago)

I'm not in favor for this to be the default. Many times,the set up I have has players see their resource tokens first, which I place in the upper left so they will find it immediately. It would be a problem if everyone would just immediately center on their token, just to have to scroll back to the resources to then not find the token again.


+1

+1

March 13 (4 years ago)
Mike W.
Pro
Sheet Author
See this post and associated Video on how this can be done. 
https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8211194/video-tutorial-automatically-centering-the-map-at-a-specified-location

Had similar post:

When logging in for the first time, all players seem to have issues finding their tokens. I have trouble telling whether I haven't set it up correctly or they haven't found their token. (Some zoom all the way out but still have issues finding the token).  Lastly, the map, when zooming, does seem to jump around further complicating matters.

Recommend: Add a key command to jump to <your token>.  Maybe the 'Home' key???

+1

April 30 (4 years ago)
Kenton
Forum Champion
Translator

Great suggestion. I know I ping for my players once I'm ready to start the session, and there's the TokenMod OneClick option. I can see the need, but there are several unique iterations that would need to be considered.

  • Player controls one token
  • Player controls more than one token
  • GM wants to center on an arbitrary spot on the Page
  • Player can center themself after the page loads

Any others that I'm missing?

  • Players may center party (help)
  • set the default zoom level on map start
  • set view on map load to any token (only one token with this property) on the gm layer, so everyone starts their
  • ideal would be everyone starts the view at the zoom and location the gm had left last

I have always wondered if there was a way to have each map remember your last position (If the player has been on that map before then they return to last view) or if new to a map - it goes to a selected token.

Perhaps players could center a token with a macro to be able to self-only ping-center the map using a token name? [Simlilar to a GM ping but only for the player]

Good to see this under consideration by, or at least on the horizon for, the devs! If we can get this thread to 200 votes, it'll be assigned a status. Just three or so more!

September 15 (4 years ago)

Hello,

I have seen several similar suggestions, but what I want is just for a player when first loading or the map is switched that their view automatically centers on their token, if they have one present on the map.

Obviously, this would be for the token layer. If they have multiple, then I would center on one or zoom so that all are shown. If they have none, center on the revealed or visible (from the player) and zoom so that most or all revealed area is visible.

This would make switching maps so much easier.

October 17 (4 years ago)

Edited October 17 (4 years ago)
Raiko
KS Backer

I can't believe that such an essential feature of a VTT hasn't been implemented 5 years after being asked for and 2 years after I voted on this thread.
This is a large part of what made me give up on Roll20 and switch to FoundryVTT.
I just visit this website to browse tokens in the store now - I still get notifications whenever someone posts a new reply to this thread, and every reply makes me glad that I switched to Foundry.

+1

November 02 (4 years ago)

Edited November 02 (4 years ago)

Nick Olivo shows you how to ping a pre-determined spot on the map on page load this with an API:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqCk0sKYhr4

code here: https://gist.github.com/nolivo/a84152968ea221b2003eca11c4ee5ceb



Kenton said:

Great suggestion. I know I ping for my players once I'm ready to start the session, and there's the TokenMod OneClick option. I can see the need, but there are several unique iterations that would need to be considered.

  • Player controls one token
  • Player controls more than one token
  • GM wants to center on an arbitrary spot on the Page
  • Player can center themself after the page loads

Any others that I'm missing?


Hi, came looking for this solution, but for a different and extremely useful reason - streaming.   I have a game set up with an additional account "Camera" that every PC has dual control with. When logged on to using the Camera account, I can then live stream the game from an overview of the PCs point of view - otherwise, I am showing the DM map or just one.   This works great except when the players move off the screen, which then requires someone to pay attention to the live screen and pan it along, or only show it at 25% zoom.

As I am already controlling one computer for the GM screen, another that is set up to broadcast sound effects and soundtracks over Discord, and now this third which I will have to pan about to keep the PCs in view, not to mention, run the game, I am getting a bit stretched. 

Thanks for any help!


January 24 (4 years ago)


Kenton said:

Great suggestion. I know I ping for my players once I'm ready to start the session, and there's the TokenMod OneClick option. I can see the need, but there are several unique iterations that would need to be considered.

  • Player controls one token
  • Player controls more than one token
  • GM wants to center on an arbitrary spot on the Page
  • Player can center themself after the page loads

Any others that I'm missing?

For me the third option is all that is needed. Let the GM set the default center point for each session. avoids a lot of panning around looking for tokens.


+1

I'd like to keep the momentum moving on this. I am a new DM and I waste so much time recentering to locations on different maps that I am working on. Seeting a GM proscribed focal point for newly loaded pages would be very useful, and also a zoom setting!

+1 for my character token

+1