My new DIY portable digital tabletop roleplaying map!

[0-hr]

Thank you for the answers - I might actually look into trying this out as I could also use the projector for work (no, really) and movies at home.

I also really appreciate that you did the research to find a good projector - that's usually where I get bogged down.

 

[Steve Jung]

It's pretty stable. Since the whole thing moves as a single solid unit, the map doesn't deviate at all.

Sean

That's good to know. Thanks.

 

[WampusCat43]

Regarding fog of war: I use Paint.Net, although Gimp/Photoshop probably work similarly. I open the map for editing, then create another map, totally black. I then copy/paste rectangular sections from the master map onto the black one as layers, one per room/area.

When projecting the map, I do it within Paint.Net, which keeps a small control showing which layers are/are not displayed. I move that control down to the lower-right corner of the laptop screen (you only have to do this once, then it stays). I put a small DM-Screen style wall around this control as it appears on the tabletop, so the players can't see it.

On my laptop, when they enter a room, I simply click that layer on (I number them to match the room descriptions) and that room gets added to the displayed map. You can even click off the room they just left.

Works like a charm, and the editing gets much simpler with practice.

 

[catsclaw227]

Great Setup and Welcome to Cary!

I love it here and you are right about All Fun N' Games. It's a really nice store that I need to frequent more often.

 

[0-hr]

The projector you use has a Zoom Ration of zero. Does that mean that you cannot change the size of the projection area except by moving the projector up and down?

EDIT: I did some more research and I'm pretty sure that's what it means. Of course, with your set up it's not an issue because the projection area is fixed. If mine is going to double as a cheap home theater, it matters some.

 

[seanpecor]

EDIT: I did some more research and I'm pretty sure that's what it means. Of course, with your set up it's not an issue because the projection area is fixed. If mine is going to double as a cheap home theater, it matters some.

Once you design your home theater and chosen your screen location / size, then an optical zoom may not be necessary. Because you can then locate your home theater projector mount at the proper location to project the desired size. In a sense, both the projector for the map and the projector for the home theater are at fixed locations, or should be.

Sean

 

[Hussar]

Very, very, very cool.

Just as a suggestion, you might want to check out some of the virtual table top applications - Maptool for exampel - for fog of war and lighting needs. Maptool will actually take into account line of sight and light sources when erasing fog.

 

[falcarrion]

Maptools is great for this kind of setup. The nui group is a great place to learn about multi touch tables ( microsoft surface). Many of these use under the table projector setups with multitouch.

 

[seanpecor]

Just posted a Youtube video for those interested in seeing the map in action:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFVXfsd4Nao[/ame]

I also updated the DIY article with some new photos, design alternatives and the embedded video:

Portable Digital Map HOWTO

This was Nate's first time DMing with the map and he really hit the ground running. He said it was easy to copy/paste RPGA maps into MS Paint and just start running the mod. You can also see several folks including the DM making use of the map's "dry erase board" functionality by tracking things on the map surface.

Sean

 

[Mark]

I've been following this and think it's fantastic! I'd love to see even more videos, even if they are just a montage of short clips, of the various maps in actions, as they are revealed, the other advantages that the system/setup has, etc. (I guess a "training film" of sorts. ) Thanks for sharing this, making us all jealous, and causing us all to consider throwing money into a similar project!