Line of Sight Performance Improvements

July 7, 2009

Just a quick status update: I’m continuing to tie up loose ends in preparation for an alpha release. One of those is the performance of the line of sight engine. This is the set of algorithms that collectively make up what I’ve been calling EpicTable’s “TrueVision”.

Some of you may recall from the demo that updating the player’s view after a character move took 2-3 seconds, which is somewhat obnoxious. I’m happy to say that I’ve halved that already without doing anything too exotic. Moving light sources needs a similar boost, and I need to reevaluate my nightmare scenario: open field, high noon, single tree with a goblin hiding behind it.

I realize one could spend the rest of one’s life messing with vision calculations, and I have no intention of doing that. It’s getting close to good enough.

Keen observers will note that I’ve implemented support for top-down tokens since the demo as well. (Thanks to DevinNight of Four Ugly Monsters for the use of the token!)

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Blog, EpicTable Development  

Virtual Tabletop Maps: Differences of Scale

January 11, 2009

As a follow-up to a conversation in the forum about “large maps”, I’ve put together a list of different scales at which maps are drawn, partly as a way to drive conversation about the kinds of maps people want to use on a virtual tabletop, and partly just because it got kind of fun looking at examples. Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development  

Tavern in Virtual Tabletop TrueVision

May 26, 2008

In this post, I’m going to introduce you to EpicTable’s TrueVision. TrueVision allows you to show your players only what their characters would see. It takes into account lighting, line-of-sight, and visual acuity (e.g., low-light vision, darkvision) or equipment (e.g., nightvision goggles). Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development, Screenshots  

Main Screen (Map Centric)

May 23, 2008

This screenshot shows the main EpicTable screen. For map-based games, this is what you’ll often be looking at. The player characters, as well as an ettin they’re about to encounter, occupy the character bar near the top of the screen. The GM can drag these around into initiative order, or turn order, or whatever’s appropriate for your game. He can also drag them onto the map.

Center screen, you see the player tokens on the map. Naturally, these can be dragged around as well. The entire map is illuminated because we’re looking through the GM’s point of view. In a later screenshot, I’ll show you TrueVision in action— where each player only sees what his character would see.

Notice that you have your chat window at the right. (That’s dockable in case you don’t want it on the right.) Notice also the user-defined dice cups at the top. Often, you’ll roll dice right from your character sheet, but you have the option to use these ad-hoc dice cups.

Finally, it’s worth noting that because this is the GM’s view, there are some things available that wouldn’t be there for players; for instance, the ability to add images to the handout gallery and the buttons allowing him to create more maps. We’ll get deeper into some of these features in later posts.


Credits:
Map made using Dundjinni with textures and objects from the user art forum; notably, Cistacola’s cavern textures, Greytale’s arches (which became bridge rails), and Dragonwolf’s tile (north of the bridge). The tokens are courtesy of Fiery Dragon Productions. You can find links to all these on my Links page.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under Screenshots  

Finding Maps: Virtual Tabletop Tips, Part 2

January 8, 2008

If you’re using a virtual tabletop (or “VT”), you have the option of playing on maps that are much nicer-looking than a wet-erase mat. “Yeah, but I’m not an artist…” you say. The good news is, you don’t have to be. There are a lot of resources out there for the VT map-maker. I’ll introduce you to some of them in this post.
Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Blog  

Maps! – Virtual Tabletop Tips, Part 1

January 3, 2008

wet-erase battlemat and digital mapI wanted to call this “Virtual Maps are Better than Physical Maps…Unless You Use Dwarven Forge…And Have Unlimited Funds…And Unlimited Room…And a Really Indulgent Spouse”, but that seemed a little long winded for a title. So, “Maps!”, if only because I’d exhausted my own patience by then.
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Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Blog