Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
Thanks a lot!
With my two groups we have grown a bit tired of drawing every encounter on the battle mat and we are actively looking for alternatives.
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Does a definitive Map/tiles program exist?
- Thread starter Fabio Andrea Rossi
- Start date
With my two groups we have grown a bit tired of drawing every encounter on the battle mat and we are actively looking for alternatives.
Krensky
First Post
Thanks a lot!
With my two groups we have grown a bit tired of drawing every encounter on the battle mat and we are actively looking for alternatives.
Were you more interested in making maps, or in converting scanned/downloaded/extracted maps into 1" battle mats?
Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
The latter. We would like to create battle mats from maps in PDF files.
Krensky
First Post
OK... Sorry, real life got in the way this weekend.
First, a caveat. Maps blow up like this will generally look poor. Most PDFs do not have 300 dpi graphics, 72 dpi seems to be the norm. They are usable, but they will usually look like they've been blown up.
Now that I've got that disclaimer out of the way. I'm using GIMP 2.4.6 for Windows and PosteRazor 1.5.2 for Windows. GIMP is relatively user friendly, but make sure you download the help files. If you're confused because something isn't happening, look at the status bar at the bottom of the window to see what you need to do next.
First you need to scan or extract the map. If you're scanning, take the time to get a good, high dpi image. 300 dpi is the 'standard' here. Make sure you scanning with the highest quality settings you can. If you're extracting from a PDF, the snapshot tool in Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader are the easiest and will generally work, even on locked PDFs. Please note that printing a 72 dpi image out at 300 dpi and then scanning it back in will not give you a better result here, the source is still 72 dpi.
Since you said where primarily looking to extract, once you open GIMP, press Shift+Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the clipboard to a new image. If you're scanning you can either acquire the image using the app that came with your scanner and save it (try to use something like BMP or TIFF) or you can capture it from within GIMP (File->Acquire->Scanner/Camera).
If you can crop (Shift-C / Tools->Transform Tools->Crop / the razor knife button in the tool palette) the image to only include map squares, or the image you captured is all grid, this easiest way is to count the number of squares in each direction, which tells you how large the image needs to be. For example, if the map is 15 squares by 20 squares, the final image needs to be 15" by 20". You can scale the image in GIMP, but since we're going to use PosteRazor it's not necessary. Now you need to save the image. PosteRazor can open a number of different formats, but you'll get the best results using BMP. File (Image)->Save. Give it a name and then add .bmp and save someplace you'll remember. Skip down to the PosteRazor section. I really, really recommend this method for large maps, because the below method involves scaling the map up, often by a lot, and will result in a very large file.
This is the complex way for when you can't just count the number of squares in each direction the map has. It will also generally produce slightly more accurate scaling.
Now, go back to GIMP and select the Measure tool (Shift-M / Tools->Measure / the compass looking button in the tool pallet. Click on a vertical grid line, then hold down the Ctrl key and click on the little cross to create a guide line. Now, release Ctrl and hold down Shift. Click on the cross and drag it to another vertical grid line. Use one as far away as possibl. Move the mouse away from the cross and look in the status bar. The should be a line that says something like "179.0 pixels, 0.00° (179 x 0)". Note the number of pixels, this is the horizontal (or X) dimension on the map's squares. Count how many squares are between you measurement points and divide the X dimension by that and round to two decimal places (in my example, it's 20, so 179/20 = 8.95) and write it down. Do this again for the vertical, replacing the holding down Alt to set the guide instead of Ctrl. I get 179 and 20 in my example, so I'll write down 8.95. Note these number may not be the same if you're not precise enough or if the map squares aren't really squares.
Now you need to make a choice. If you're going to be using PosteRazor to print the map out on a normal printer, things are simple. If you want to rescale the map so the grid is a specific dpi resolution, then things are harder. Generally, you'll only do the later if your printer absolutely needs a specific resolution, or you want to use something like Maptool with it.
For PosteRazor printing, go to Image->Print Size..., if your numbers aren't the same click the chain next to the X and Y resolution boxes and then enter the numbers you calculated earlier, click OK. If they are, just enter the numbers and click OK. Save the file as a bmp. Go to the PosteRazor section.
If you want to rescale the image, you need to determine is the native resolution of your printer. If you're going to have these printed as large format at Kinkos or the office you'll have to ask. If it's a printer attached wither locally or via a network to your machine, you cna query the printer. In Windows, open the Printers and Faxes dialog on the start menu and right click you printer and choose Printing Preferences... and then click Advanced. Look for the item labeled Print Quality remember or write down the numbers. In my case, it's 300 x 300. You also need to know the size of the image in pixels, so go to Image->Image Properties (Alt-Enter) and note the Pixel Dimension line, writing those numbers down. You could also look in the title bar if you're lazy. My example is 476 x 611. Now you need to determine what the new size should be. Do this by multiplying the image horizontal dimension by the horizontal dpi of your printer, and then divide by the, by the horizontal square dimension. Repeat using the vertical numbers. Round to the nearest whole number.
Example:
Width: (476 x 300) / (179 / 20) = 142800 / 8.95 = 15955
Height: (611 x 300) / (161 / 18) = 183300 / 8.89 = 20619
Note, that if you're rescaling for Maptool, you'll use a much smaller number then 300. In that case it's the number of pixels you want your grid to be.
In GIMP, go to Tools->Scale Image... and click the little chain next to the top set of numbers and enter the new Width and Height you calculated. Click Ok. You may receive a warning (actually you almost certainly will) that the new image will be huge. Multiple Gigabytes huge. I warned you to try the other methods first.) Click Ok. Go get a soda, smoke a cigarette, whatever. This will take some time, and your computer may choke. When it's done, save it as a BMP and close GIMP. Go to the PosteRazor section.
PosteRazor:
Open PosteRazor and load the BMP file you saved earlier. If you changed the print resolution, the file should show as having the same resolution as you set. Click next and choose the type of paper you have in your printer. Click next again change the overlap settings if you want. A 0.5" overlap is easy to work with. Click next and choose "Size in percent" and set it to 100%. Click the two center buttons for the image alignment. The preview will show you how many pages it will take to print the map out. My example comes to 8 X 8 (64) sheets of letter (8.5" x 11"). Click next again, and then click the disk to save the map as a pdf. Open the PDF and print it, making sure you are not fitting it to the page or zooming it at all.
Cut and tape/wax/paste/mount/whatever the map to your play surface, poster board, or foam core.
First, a caveat. Maps blow up like this will generally look poor. Most PDFs do not have 300 dpi graphics, 72 dpi seems to be the norm. They are usable, but they will usually look like they've been blown up.
Now that I've got that disclaimer out of the way. I'm using GIMP 2.4.6 for Windows and PosteRazor 1.5.2 for Windows. GIMP is relatively user friendly, but make sure you download the help files. If you're confused because something isn't happening, look at the status bar at the bottom of the window to see what you need to do next.
First you need to scan or extract the map. If you're scanning, take the time to get a good, high dpi image. 300 dpi is the 'standard' here. Make sure you scanning with the highest quality settings you can. If you're extracting from a PDF, the snapshot tool in Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader are the easiest and will generally work, even on locked PDFs. Please note that printing a 72 dpi image out at 300 dpi and then scanning it back in will not give you a better result here, the source is still 72 dpi.
Since you said where primarily looking to extract, once you open GIMP, press Shift+Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the clipboard to a new image. If you're scanning you can either acquire the image using the app that came with your scanner and save it (try to use something like BMP or TIFF) or you can capture it from within GIMP (File->Acquire->Scanner/Camera).
If you can crop (Shift-C / Tools->Transform Tools->Crop / the razor knife button in the tool palette) the image to only include map squares, or the image you captured is all grid, this easiest way is to count the number of squares in each direction, which tells you how large the image needs to be. For example, if the map is 15 squares by 20 squares, the final image needs to be 15" by 20". You can scale the image in GIMP, but since we're going to use PosteRazor it's not necessary. Now you need to save the image. PosteRazor can open a number of different formats, but you'll get the best results using BMP. File (Image)->Save. Give it a name and then add .bmp and save someplace you'll remember. Skip down to the PosteRazor section. I really, really recommend this method for large maps, because the below method involves scaling the map up, often by a lot, and will result in a very large file.
This is the complex way for when you can't just count the number of squares in each direction the map has. It will also generally produce slightly more accurate scaling.
Now, go back to GIMP and select the Measure tool (Shift-M / Tools->Measure / the compass looking button in the tool pallet. Click on a vertical grid line, then hold down the Ctrl key and click on the little cross to create a guide line. Now, release Ctrl and hold down Shift. Click on the cross and drag it to another vertical grid line. Use one as far away as possibl. Move the mouse away from the cross and look in the status bar. The should be a line that says something like "179.0 pixels, 0.00° (179 x 0)". Note the number of pixels, this is the horizontal (or X) dimension on the map's squares. Count how many squares are between you measurement points and divide the X dimension by that and round to two decimal places (in my example, it's 20, so 179/20 = 8.95) and write it down. Do this again for the vertical, replacing the holding down Alt to set the guide instead of Ctrl. I get 179 and 20 in my example, so I'll write down 8.95. Note these number may not be the same if you're not precise enough or if the map squares aren't really squares.
Now you need to make a choice. If you're going to be using PosteRazor to print the map out on a normal printer, things are simple. If you want to rescale the map so the grid is a specific dpi resolution, then things are harder. Generally, you'll only do the later if your printer absolutely needs a specific resolution, or you want to use something like Maptool with it.
For PosteRazor printing, go to Image->Print Size..., if your numbers aren't the same click the chain next to the X and Y resolution boxes and then enter the numbers you calculated earlier, click OK. If they are, just enter the numbers and click OK. Save the file as a bmp. Go to the PosteRazor section.
If you want to rescale the image, you need to determine is the native resolution of your printer. If you're going to have these printed as large format at Kinkos or the office you'll have to ask. If it's a printer attached wither locally or via a network to your machine, you cna query the printer. In Windows, open the Printers and Faxes dialog on the start menu and right click you printer and choose Printing Preferences... and then click Advanced. Look for the item labeled Print Quality remember or write down the numbers. In my case, it's 300 x 300. You also need to know the size of the image in pixels, so go to Image->Image Properties (Alt-Enter) and note the Pixel Dimension line, writing those numbers down. You could also look in the title bar if you're lazy.
My example is 476 x 611. Now you need to determine what the new size should be. Do this by multiplying the image horizontal dimension by the horizontal dpi of your printer, and then divide by the, by the horizontal square dimension. Repeat using the vertical numbers. Round to the nearest whole number.Example:
Width: (476 x 300) / (179 / 20) = 142800 / 8.95 = 15955
Height: (611 x 300) / (161 / 18) = 183300 / 8.89 = 20619
Note, that if you're rescaling for Maptool, you'll use a much smaller number then 300. In that case it's the number of pixels you want your grid to be.
In GIMP, go to Tools->Scale Image... and click the little chain next to the top set of numbers and enter the new Width and Height you calculated. Click Ok. You may receive a warning (actually you almost certainly will) that the new image will be huge. Multiple Gigabytes huge. I warned you to try the other methods first.) Click Ok. Go get a soda, smoke a cigarette, whatever. This will take some time, and your computer may choke. When it's done, save it as a BMP and close GIMP. Go to the PosteRazor section.
PosteRazor:
Open PosteRazor and load the BMP file you saved earlier. If you changed the print resolution, the file should show as having the same resolution as you set. Click next and choose the type of paper you have in your printer. Click next again change the overlap settings if you want. A 0.5" overlap is easy to work with. Click next and choose "Size in percent" and set it to 100%. Click the two center buttons for the image alignment. The preview will show you how many pages it will take to print the map out. My example comes to 8 X 8 (64) sheets of letter (8.5" x 11"). Click next again, and then click the disk to save the map as a pdf. Open the PDF and print it, making sure you are not fitting it to the page or zooming it at all.
Cut and tape/wax/paste/mount/whatever the map to your play surface, poster board, or foam core.
Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
Thanks a lot for the information. Right now I'm rather busy, but I should have free time next week-end. I'll let you know how things go.
Fabio Andrea Rossi
First Post
Many thanks to everybody, especially to you Krensky for your time and patience, this seems like what I was looking for.
Well, sort of...it still seems less easy than I hoped, but that's may be because I'm an optimistic guy
If anybody hears of specific and quick tools on the matter every suggestion is welcome, hoping in the meanwhile that the producers, especially does providing a web based dedicated resource whose name I'll not spell here, will finally introduce pre made, ready-to-print battlemaps for all of the encounters.
Thank you again Krensky , I'll definetely try out your methods.
Well, sort of...it still seems less easy than I hoped, but that's may be because I'm an optimistic guy
If anybody hears of specific and quick tools on the matter every suggestion is welcome, hoping in the meanwhile that the producers, especially does providing a web based dedicated resource whose name I'll not spell here, will finally introduce pre made, ready-to-print battlemaps for all of the encounters.
Thank you again Krensky , I'll definetely try out your methods.
Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
Back when the digital initiative was first announced, I was so optimistically delusional to believe that such a thing would have been available...
Storminator
First Post
Krensky
First Post
Many thanks to everybody, especially to you Krensky for your time and patience, this seems like what I was looking for.
Well, sort of...it still seems less easy than I hoped, but that's may be because I'm an optimistic guy
If anybody hears of specific and quick tools on the matter every suggestion is welcome, hoping in the meanwhile that the producers, especially does providing a web based dedicated resource whose name I'll not spell here, will finally introduce pre made, ready-to-print battlemaps for all of the encounters.
Thank you again Krensky , I'll definetely try out your methods.
The simplest way I think I mentioned earlier, but if not:
Get the map so it's all grid, count the number of squares. Open the map image in PosteRazor, click through and choose Absolute Size and put the dimensions in and then print the PDF out.
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
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