Roll20 user question

[Lanefan]

Preamble: what I know about roll20 could fit in a thimble with space left over - I use it only because I've no other choice if I want to stay in the game I play in, and only as a player - so if this is a dumb question I apologize in advance; please humour me.

So, for you roll20 experts out there:

In roll20 there's a 'draw' function where you can use your mouse to draw lines or freehand or shapes onto the map, and everyone can see what you've drawn.

My question is, what has to be done (or is it even possible) to have that input come from a touchscreen rather than a mouse? Drawing with a finger (or a stylus) on a screen is both much easier and immensely more accurate - not to mention considerably faster - than trying to draw with a mouse, thus my interest in doing it that way. I just tried this, however, using my touchscreen windows PC, and it doesn't seem to work.

Why am I asking? If one can accurately draw on the screen then the DM doesn't have to futz around uploading maps etc.; he can just upload a blank grid once and then draw on it the same way we use the chalkboard when playing face-to-face, meaning he's not caught scrambling if we-the-players pull a left turn on him and go somewhere he hasn't uploaded or prepped maps for.

 

[Retreater]

I have been using it all year, and I don't think it supports touch screens. I've found it best to preload generic maps during my prep that can be used in a variety of situations. If that doesn't work, I do theatre of the mind or ask the group to be patient as I draw something.
To my knowledge, no VTT has this capacity.

 

[tommybahama]

I have a ten year old Wacom Bamboo tablet I tested out and it does work as a mouse but some gestures don't work. It comes with a stylus and can be used as a mouse to draw whatever you need. They can be found used on eBay for around $20.

Here's a YouTube video someone did showing it in action:

I guess you can use an iPad to draw your map with the iPen, upload it to cloud storage, and then put it into Roll20 from your PC.

But, it's probably just as easy and as fast to google free vtt maps and pull them into Roll20. I've had DMs do that and it works fine.

 

[billd91]

They're currently working on a tablet-based app. Mobile - Roll20 Wiki

 

[Lanefan]

I have been using it all year, and I don't think it supports touch screens. I've found it best to preload generic maps during my prep that can be used in a variety of situations. If that doesn't work, I do theatre of the mind or ask the group to be patient as I draw something.
To my knowledge, no VTT has this capacity.

Ah. That's too bad. Thanks for the answer.

 

[Lanefan]

I have a ten year old Wacom Bamboo tablet I tested out and it does work as a mouse but some gestures don't work. It comes with a stylus and can be used as a mouse to draw whatever you need. They can be found used on eBay for around $20.

Here's a YouTube video someone did showing it in action:

I guess you can use an iPad to draw your map with the iPen, upload it to cloud storage, and then put it into Roll20 from your PC.

But, it's probably just as easy and as fast to google free vtt maps and pull them into Roll20. I've had DMs do that and it works fine.

None of us use anything Apple if we can possibly avoid it.

And sure, one can find free maps and pull them in but you're still restricted to just what that map is showing you; and it's of no use if the party decides to go somewhere else.

The reason I'm asking is that in the game I play in we're in a situation where we could come out of downtime next session into any one of a half-dozen different adventures or activities plus whatever things we haven't thought of yet, and asking the DM to pre-prep all of those possibilities is a bit much. Adding to the fun is that the players don't have much if any communication with each other during the week, so trying to get us to commit ahead of time might not fly.

But, if there was a way he could more easily map and draw things on the fly (we don't really do TotM) this wouldn't be a problem. He does have some sort of drawing tablet in his household, though; I'll suggest he try it and see what happens.

Thanks for the answer.

 

[Lanefan]

They're currently working on a tablet-based app. Mobile - Roll20 Wiki

Thing is, wouldn't that then require all the users to have tablets? Or would desktop users still be able to make use of it as well?

 

[Lidgar]

Two suggestions.

First, I assume you are aware how to snap to grid when drawing. If not, I think it is holding the cntrl key - but anyways, helps when trying to draw quickly and accurately.

Second, there are many map templates you can find online that can be used on the fly - just preload them in your library.

Sorry if you were already aware of these options.