Map Performance Question

[caballan]

Was not sure where to post this, but since the map is for Savage Worlds - 50 Fathoms, it will go here Has anyone done research on what setup for the maps gives the best performance during combat in FGU?

Background: The map is 89x104 at 100 pixels per square. During combat, I am expecting around 70-100 tokens between players, pets, and bad guys. So there is a lot of data moving around. Add in calculations for light sources and line of sight, and it is going to take up a lot of processing during combat.

Options:
1) Create the map in a different software package as PNG and import to fantasy grounds. The map so far is about 25 MB. Once in fantasy grounds, would still need to add line of sight and walls of course. As a PNG, other things could be added under the map later if needed because of the transparency layer.

2) Create the map in a different software package as JPG and import to fantasy grounds. The map is about 5mb and you still need to draw line of sight/walls like option 1.

3) Create the map in Fantasy grounds. Import the base images/textures into fantasy grounds, and then build the map. I do not know what the mb size of the map would be, but it will be much smaller because of how fantasy grounds handles images and the re-use of base images. Line of sight and walls would be added in the same locations as above, but would be done during creation instead of after import.

Because of the size of the combat map, I am less concerned about the initial load/send time of the map. The large area, multiple line of sight (walls, terrain), and all those tokens though will push my computer to the limit. So trying to figure out which map format will cause it the least amount of issues before I spend the time to build it all out.

Thanks!

[Zacchaeus]

I don't have an definitive answer for you but I don't think the map size is going to be your problem; it'll be the 70-100 tokens. Do you actually need that many tokens in a single combat?

Aside from that I don't recommend .png files - stick to jpg - they are much smaller. I can't say what impact creating the map in FGU would be. I think it might depend on how big and complicated it is - how many layers - how many assets etc. As you say the biggest impact of a big graphics file is the initial load. As far as lighting goes there's very little overhead for map lights. That is static lights added to the map. The biggest impact is the number of lights on characters and NPCs which again brings us back to that massive token count.

Finally as we've seen recently the impact of huge numbers of LoS occluder points can be substantial - so keep that number down.

[caballan]

Thanks!

As for the token count, yep, multiple maps have hit that number though I usually have to scale back to under 40 if we want to use the CT. Savage worlds is fun that way. The players can hire as many NPC helpers as they want. 8 plays, 3 pets, and 12 crew NPC for their side. The map is a ship with 150 crew/enemies on it. Have to find a way to do that in waves, still thinking on that part

[mac40k]

This doesn’t help answer your question, but personally, I’d be more likely to run that as a Mass Battle rather than a normal combat encounter. The Mass Battles subsystem handles this in a FFF way that still allows the PC’s actions to influence the overall battle, but abstracts things so you aren’t rolling 150+ separate attacks each round. I guess if your group likes that sort of thing, more power to you, but for me that’s just too much to get bogged down into that level of detail to resolve.

[Mgrancey]

Yeah, I have been working on Ship battles as a form of Mass Battle or Dramatic Task. If running that many Tokens would suggest the same.

As far as what Caballan is asking, if you are doing waves, you might be better served by setting up the wave(s) as separate Encounter(s). You can place tokens from Encounter on map ahead of time and when adding to the CT their tokens will show up on map in those locations. This would allow you to quickly add a group of reinforcements. Setup 2 different entry location groups.

[kronovan]

3) Create the map in Fantasy grounds. Import the base images/textures into fantasy grounds, and then build the map. I do not know what the mb size of the map would be, but it will be much smaller because of how fantasy grounds handles images and the re-use of base images. Line of sight and walls would be added in the same locations as above, but would be done during creation instead of after import...

There isn't any support for smooth, filled polygons in FGU, so IMO your number 3 isn't really an option. My conclusions from exploring the FGU painting tool, is that it's only suitable when you want to place some image objects or some image tiles on an existing map image. TBH, it's so scarce for features I wouldn't even call it a mapping tool - maybe a map embellishing tool. I'll ditto the suggestion to not create PNGs - they're most useful when you want a graphic with a transparent background, which is rarely the case for maps. Also useful for small graphics like symbols or logos that you're going to transfer to a DTP app or mapping software, since they have a lossless feature that helps maintain their quality. Maps saved as JPGs will typically be smaller and equal the image quality. 25 MB seems large for a FGU map image file and could be a slow download for any players with less than high speed bandwidth. I mostly use Campaign Cartographer 3+ and typically save my maps as JPGs with 150 or 200 dpi and they're rarely larger than 10 MB - usually less than 5 MB.