Token Size?

[DarkStar]

Oh man, this is a HUGE feature for me. I drop a token into the map, zoom down till the token fits in a square, lock it and then zoom back out till I get a good viewing size for the game.

Can I first place tokens on a map, then scale it and then share it with the players? Or do I have to share the map, then place the tokens, then scale them?

[bobthebuilder]

DarkStar,

from what I understand, each new change you make to the map during play (zooming in to one area, for example) requires you to hit `share sheet' again, if you want the players to see it from the new perspective. Thus, when showing the map for the first time you would click share sheet, then when you make a change (zooming in to one area), you hit share sheet after the changes have been made. I am pretty sure this is how it works.

[Snikle]

Can I first place tokens on a map, then scale it and then share it with the players? Or do I have to share the map, then place the tokens, then scale them?

You can do it any way you want. I often open the map, start pre-loading it with the players (the spider web thing), mask if I need to, then zoom into where the session is going to take place, place my tokens, then share with the players. Doing in this order ensures the players do not see part of the map I dont want them too and it seems to be the most stable for me. I get very few disconnects or players reporting they cannot see a map or token. And yes, everytime you move or re-zoom the map (when you pull back you will see an rectangle outlining what the players are seeing), you will need to re-share the map if you want the players map to reflect changes you are seeing. Not token moves though, those are automatic.

[richvalle]

Yes, you can do it in any order you wish. Every time you 'share all' it updates the other players.

I did my first 'split party' game last time. I had a new player joining the game and I had a backstory worked out with her. So I made a copy of the map we were going to use, and just shared it with her by dragging the map item from the Images list to her characters portrait. Then I did a 'share all' on the map for the other players (I didn't care if she saw it).

I then ran her and the other group at the same time. I did her with /whispers and the rest with voice. She got into a fight and the rest of the party heard it... as they got close enough to see it I moved all the tokens over to just one map and we ran the rest of the game from that.

It was a little combersome but not bad at all.

rv

[Snikle]

Wow, I am impressed! I consider myself a pretty affluent DM, and I would not even consider running a split party game! kudos to you rv!

[DarkStar]

I will have to run a split party game at some point, because my scenario is constructed like that. What about a different (and more difficult, I'm afraid) variant - two groups, let's say 2 and 3 PCs, every group has to see a different map? From what you say my idea is to share the appropriate map with every single character, as I can't choose to 'share this map with Jim, Tom and Anna', right?

[richvalle]

I will have to run a split party game at some point, because my scenario is constructed like that. What about a different (and more difficult, I'm afraid) variant - two groups, let's say 2 and 3 PCs, every group has to see a different map? From what you say my idea is to share the appropriate map with every single character, as I can't choose to 'share this map with Jim, Tom and Anna', right?

I think you can do selective sharing. There is one tricky part... sending them the updates.

What you do is this: make a copy of the map you need for the parties. After everyone logs in, drap map1 from the images folder to each player that is going to be playing on that map. Then do the same for map2. You should see the players portraits at the bottom of each map.

As for updates... one thing you can't do is 'update all'. I did it once by habit and so, of course, eveyone saw both maps. What I had to do to update is redrag the map from the images folder to the player's portrait.

But, I only had one player on that map. I'm not sure what would happen if you had 2-3 on each. Can you just drag it to one of the players and it will update for all? That would be the best case. If you have to drag it to each player each time you need to send an update, I think it will be too cumbersome to use.

rv

[DarkStar]

As for updates... one thing you can't do is 'update all'. I did it once by habit and so, of course, eveyone saw both maps. What I had to do to update is redrag the map from the images folder to the player's portrait.

So, if I change something on that map, like masking, when I redrag it from the images folder it gets updated with the changes I made while having it open on my DM screen?

[richvalle]

Masking is updated in real time. You don't need to 'reshare' for that. Same with dropping a token on or moving a token around or drawing a line or arrow on the screen. All done in real time.

When you have to reshare is when you move the map to expose more of it, or change the zoom size. Then you have to reshare it to update it on the players side.

rv