Fog of War, Snap to grid and Magnetic snap

[Zacchaeus]

I’ve seen this requested before but I’m not really seeing why snap to grid is important or even useful. So what am I missing?

[LordEntrails]

I’ve seen this requested before but I’m not really seeing why snap to grid is important or even useful. So what am I missing?

Some personalities, like mine, tend to prefer thinking that things are better when clean and even. That perfectly aligned elements are better for visualizing things, that if blockers et al are right at the edges it makes for clear and precise determination of line of sight for targeting and affects etc.

Is it really required to play the games we love? No, but when playing on a digital platform, their is a strong sense that things should be mathematically precise

[Zacchaeus]

Some personalities, like mine, tend to prefer thinking that things are better when clean and even. That perfectly aligned elements are better for visualizing things, that if blockers et al are right at the edges it makes for clear and precise determination of line of sight for targeting and affects etc.

Is it really required to play the games we love? No, but when playing on a digital platform, their is a strong sense that things should be mathematically precise

Ah, ok. It's just that 95% of the maps that I've added LoS to doesn't have the grid so perfectly aligned with everything to make snapping the LoS to a grid even possible. So be prepared to be disappointed

[Kelrugem]

I am not sure whether this was mentioned here: But when it is just about moving parallel to the grid then the wiki has some nice suggestion for hotkeys etc., e.g. using arrow keys moves the next node by one square and with space one can then place the node (and for finer tuning one can press SHIFT (or was it CTRL?) and then the arrow key to move per pixel basis I guess) With that one can move very fast along the grid and is in my opinion even more important than a snap-to-grid option due to what Zacchaeus already pointed out (not even on square-like maps the square grid fits always well due to small things adding up like thickness of walls)

[Rachael Kunkel]

The simple answer is that it's a little faster. It takes up more time being careful about clicking since I can't snap it- a grid has more tolerance for clicking so walls/drawings can be entered much more quickly.

I have to second LordEntrails as well. I very much prefer the clean lines. I'm used to using programs like Photoshop or drawing maps/lines in real life with a straight-edge, making things aestetically pleasing. I sometimes use a ruler on my tabletop whiteboard because it makes the map look more professional. Having a network of crooked lines just feels wrong and bad, especially when I'm used to things being better digitally than in real life! I can't even use a ruler to line it up manually... :c

It also helps keep angles for line of sight more symmetric. Since I can't snap them precisely, a cone/strip of sight ends up being a little different on both sides. I don't pretend to be a great artist, but it distracts me when I look at it. I guess aside from speed it's part of my personality. I'm putting a bunch effort toward finding tidy and high-quality maps, lovely character images, and immersive soundscapes, but I can't even get the lines on my maps to be properly parallel or perpendicular. Yuck.

It sounds like I've also been much luckier than you, Zacchaeus. I just bought Fantasy Grounds and I've started importing all my maps one by one into Unity. I've only had one map where the grid didn't line up perfectly when using the provided tool. That one was hand-drawn so it wasn't terribly surprising.

Thank you for the suggestion, Kelrugem! I'll definitely look into that in more detail.

Edit: The arrow keys work excellent! Also, to move pixel by pixel it is CTRL+Arrow Key. Whew. It's not quite as convenient as a snap, but now the lines are aligned and that was the thing I desperately missed.

[pindercarl]

The simple answer is that it's a little faster. It takes up more time being careful about clicking since I can't snap it- a grid has more tolerance for clicking so walls/drawings can be entered much more quickly.

I have to second LordEntrails as well. I very much prefer the clean lines. I'm used to using programs like Photoshop or drawing maps/lines in real life with a straight-edge, making things aestetically pleasing. I sometimes use a ruler on my tabletop whiteboard because it makes the map look more professional. Having a network of crooked lines just feels wrong and bad, especially when I'm used to things being better digitally than in real life! I can't even use a ruler to line it up manually... :c

It also helps keep angles for line of sight more symmetric. Since I can't snap them precisely, a cone/strip of sight ends up being a little different on both sides. I don't pretend to be a great artist, but it distracts me when I look at it. I guess aside from speed it's part of my personality. I'm putting a bunch effort toward finding tidy and high-quality maps, lovely character images, and immersive soundscapes, but I can't even get the lines on my maps to be properly parallel or perpendicular. Yuck.

It sounds like I've also been much luckier than you, Zacchaeus. I just bought Fantasy Grounds and I've started importing all my maps one by one into Unity. I've only had one map where the grid didn't line up perfectly when using the provided tool. That one was hand-drawn so it wasn't terribly surprising.

Thank you for the suggestion, Kelrugem! I'll definitely look into that in more detail.

Edit: The arrow keys work excellent! Also, to move pixel by pixel it is CTRL+Arrow Key. Whew. It's not quite as convenient as a snap, but now the lines are aligned and that was the thing I desperately missed.

The LOS points should snap to each other during editing if magnetic snap is on. If your issue with gaps is, for example, when two walls connect at a mid-point; overlaps the segments and a point will be added where the two lines cross. You can then delete any extraneous points.

A pretty kludgy way to snap LOS lines to the grid would be to: Use the paint line tool and hold CTRL while editing to snap-to-grid. Then switch back to LOS mode and, with the painting layer selected, press "Duplicate Paint Layer as Walls" button. Not a good long-term solution, but it might get you by in the the short-term. Note: this only works for regular walls. Terrain and doors must be added using the LOS tools.