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Thread: Animated Maps

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by damned View Post
    You can however still take a beautiful third party map and a running water effect on the river to one section and some rain to the outdoor sections etc. it is quite a nice touch. I have never used FG to make maps either.
    I do this quite often when I play using FGU; another thing I do is add a rain effect with a strong intensity to show a storm, but unfortunately I can't make the trees on the map move and bend with the wind like in many beautiful animated maps I use in other VTTs.
    Do I need itto be able to play? Hell no. Would it make my games more awesome? Hell yes.

  2. #12
    LordEntrails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lo Zeno View Post
    I do this quite often when I play using FGU; another thing I do is add a rain effect with a strong intensity to show a storm, but unfortunately I can't make the trees on the map move and bend with the wind like in many beautiful animated maps I use in other VTTs.
    Do I need itto be able to play? Hell no. Would it make my games more awesome? Hell yes.
    Try applying an ocean FX to the trees.

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  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by LordEntrails View Post
    Try applying an ocean FX to the trees.
    I've done that, and I've applied the water effect too - it's the closest I can get, but it's still... watery.

    Thing is, it's still just a workaround: there's only so many effects that FGU can apply to an area of a map, while a map that is built as an animated picture by an artist can show animations that are simply not feasible in FGU.
    An example: I have a sewers map purchased from a map maker that I use in 2 games, one is a Dishonored 2d20 run on another VTT, and one is a Cyberpunk RED game on FGU. On the other VTT I use the animated version which shows drops of liquid dripping from the pipes, ripples of water where those drops fall, gusts of steam blowing at regular intervals from other pipes at the entrance of the enemies' lair to represent "the trap", rats peeking out of their holes then running towards another hole (in a 45 seconds loop); on FGU, I use the static version, which lacks all these visual niceties - some of those I could replicate partially by applying carefully masked water effects, but the drops falling and the steam gusts and the rats there's just no way. Plus, even the effects that I could somehow replicate take a long time to apply.

    Obviously it doesn't prevent my group from playing Cyberpunk RED on FGU - the ruleset implementation on FGU is so good that using the other VTT is simply not a good choice; but animations on a map do improve the player's immersion in the game, create involvement, and keep the players' attention high (if that was not the case then FGU wouldn't even have the set of animations it provides), and as has been said, there are already better map-making tools than FGU, yet FGU can't import the best results from those tools and insists instead on having its own subset of map-making features.

  4. #14
    I agree. I’m not slamming FGUs effects so I don’t want people, especially employees of smiteworks, to think I’m ripping on the system for the sake of it.

    However my mind is a little blown when someone says , in a context of playing online …in front of a computer screen…on a vtt…”I don’t get the big deal people want with visuals like animated maps …that doesn’t make your rpg good”.

    Wait what? I can see the argument if you are playing an in person game maybe. Because the immersion is heightened a bit automatically by the fact you are physically there. Facial expressions, emotions , heck you can act out stuff by getting out of your chair and doing so..plus you have miniatures, 3D maps with terrain etc

    When I’m playing over a vtt I want all the eye candy , sound effects and general “pop “ I can have to add to immersion.

    It does not mean you use it all the time but I want the tools and ability to do so at certain story moments.

    That’s why I’ll never take anyone serious who says “just do theatre of the mind” or “animated maps aren’t needed’ and we are talking strictly about playing online with a vtt. More so if your players aren’t on camera.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mytherus View Post
    I agree. I’m not slamming FGUs effects so I don’t want people, especially employees of smiteworks, to think I’m ripping on the system for the sake of it.

    However my mind is a little blown when someone says , in a context of playing online …in front of a computer screen…on a vtt…”I don’t get the big deal people want with visuals like animated maps …that doesn’t make your rpg good”.

    Wait what? I can see the argument if you are playing an in person game maybe. Because the immersion is heightened a bit automatically by the fact you are physically there. Facial expressions, emotions , heck you can act out stuff by getting out of your chair and doing so..plus you have miniatures, 3D maps with terrain etc

    When I’m playing over a vtt I want all the eye candy , sound effects and general “pop “ I can have to add to immersion.

    It does not mean you use it all the time but I want the tools and ability to do so at certain story moments.

    That’s why I’ll never take anyone serious who says “just do theatre of the mind” or “animated maps aren’t needed’ and we are talking strictly about playing online with a vtt. More so if your players aren’t on camera.
    Different people have different desires. Don't dismiss others just because their viewpoint is not yours. Think how easy it would be for someone else to write exactly opposite of what you did, and therefore dismiss your desires as not serious.

    Both views, and everything in between, are valid and serious.

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  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by LordEntrails View Post
    Different people have different desires. Don't dismiss others just because their viewpoint is not yours. Think how easy it would be for someone else to write exactly opposite of what you did, and therefore dismiss your desires as not serious.

    Both views, and everything in between, are valid and serious.
    While people have different viewpoints, it is important to recognize that not all viewpoints are equally valid or deserving of consideration. Perspectives may be based on flawed assumptions and misinformation or bias. Telling someone they dont need something is a flawed assumption.
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  7. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by LordEntrails View Post
    Different people have different desires. Don't dismiss others just because their viewpoint is not yours. Think how easy it would be for someone else to write exactly opposite of what you did, and therefore dismiss your desires as not serious.

    Both views, and everything in between, are valid and serious.
    I beg to differ (for this specific case, because in general I agree with you).
    Here one view is: "When I’m playing over a vtt I want all the eye candy , sound effects and general “pop “ I can have to add to immersion"
    And the other is: "You don't need animated maps" (sometimes adding "just do theatre of the mind instead")
    One view expresses something a person need, another "view" tries to tell someone else that they don't actually know what they need, essentially. In this case, no, the two views are not both equally valid - especially because view n.1 is expressing a desire for an option (animated maps) that would not stop anyone from using only static maps and/or theatre of the mind if they have no desire for it, while view n.2 is effectively dismissing the validity of the first viewpoint.

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by LordEntrails View Post
    Different people have different desires. Don't dismiss others just because their viewpoint is not yours. Think how easy it would be for someone else to write exactly opposite of what you did, and therefore dismiss your desires as not serious.

    Both views, and everything in between, are valid and serious.
    Of course all this goes without saying, But I'm expressing my opinion just as others have. I'll always do so. That's me.

  9. #19
    I don't know if this has already been said, but animated maps created or imported from other "platforms" would be interesting, but would soon stop being used, I saw this happen in other tables that I participated in that had support for animated maps and animated tokens, but they were difficult to find and then the people gave up I think it's more interesting improvements in sound, light and vision... allowing to control its direction like a flashlight to put muffled music behind a wall, allowing the token to see only in the direction that look and not 360º, I would invest in improvements for high ground...but of course this is just opinion.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by celestian View Post
    While people have different viewpoints, it is important to recognize that not all viewpoints are equally valid or deserving of consideration. Perspectives may be based on flawed assumptions and misinformation or bias. Telling someone they dont need something is a flawed assumption.
    Agreed. And telling someone that you can't take their view seriously because they do not want something is also not valid.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lo Zeno View Post
    I beg to differ (for this specific case, because in general I agree with you).
    Here one view is: "When I’m playing over a vtt I want all the eye candy , sound effects and general “pop “ I can have to add to immersion"
    And the other is: "You don't need animated maps" (sometimes adding "just do theatre of the mind instead")
    One view expresses something a person need, another "view" tries to tell someone else that they don't actually know what they need, essentially. In this case, no, the two views are not both equally valid - especially because view n.1 is expressing a desire for an option (animated maps) that would not stop anyone from using only static maps and/or theatre of the mind if they have no desire for it, while view n.2 is effectively dismissing the validity of the first viewpoint.
    Agreed, and telling someone that does not want something that their view is not serious or invalid is not acceptable. Note, I know I have not actually said that wanting animated maps is not a real or valid request. I think it's a great idea and have voted for it on the Idea Informer. I just don't feel it is near the top of my list for enhancements.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mytherus View Post
    Of course all this goes without saying, But I'm expressing my opinion just as others have. I'll always do so. That's me.
    And I'm pushing back because you implied you could not take seriously someone who did not want animated maps. That comes across as a dismissal of those with a view different than yours. I think that was just a poor expression of your viewpoint.

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