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View Full Version : Check out my DIY portable digital tabletop map!



seanpecor
2009-11-04, 05:31 PM
I just finished this project, and then wrote a rudimentary article w/ photos describing how to build it yourself:

http://www.rpgenome.com/digitalmap.html

I'd really love some feedback, good or bad!

Sean

Fax Celestis
2009-11-04, 05:45 PM
You, sir, are a god amongst men. This is awesome.

PinkysBrain
2009-11-04, 06:16 PM
Very very cool, although the huge piece of plywood and single piece struts limit the mobility a bit. It's not really much more portable at the moment than say a padded wooden box for a 40+" LCD panel ...

BRC
2009-11-04, 06:21 PM
Very very cool, although the huge piece of plywood and single piece struts limit the mobility a bit. It's not really much more portable at the moment than say a padded wooden box for a 42" LCD panel ...
I think he means it's portable compared to other such DIY systems. One person could move this system (perhaps with difficulty, but still). I think the important thing is that this can be put away when not in use, freeing up the table for other uses. It's also probably easier to build than other such systems.

seanpecor
2009-11-04, 07:08 PM
Very very cool, although the huge piece of plywood and single piece struts limit the mobility a bit. It's not really much more portable at the moment than say a padded wooden box for a 40+" LCD panel ...

Thanks for the comments! It's actually tons more portable than a 40+" LCD:

1. The entire cube - including the map and projector - is half the weight of a 40" LCD.

2. The top lifts off the legs, and the legs pop out of the bottom. The top weighs about 10 pounds, and the bottom only 15 pounds :) You can toss the entire thing easily into the trunk/backseat of a compact car.

3. A 40" LCD is flawed because you have to drop a glass on top and this causes some visual disjointedness, when the minis are "floating" above the map.

Sean

Lupy
2009-11-04, 10:23 PM
As an Archbishop, I can authoratively confirm that you are a god amongst men. This is amazing! :smallbiggrin:

Emmerask
2009-11-04, 11:19 PM
This is truly amazing, Iīm loving it now how to tell my group that everyone needs to give me some money for AWESOMNESS :smallsmile:

Your future Enhancements though are pretty ambitious :smallsmile:

The overlay for animated terrain is doable (with some programming knowledge)
Atleast I donīt know about a third party tool that is capable of doing such things. same goes for video overlays.

The interactivity on the other hand is not that trivial the program would need to recognize a miniature (perhaps using markers on the bases would work best there[like in augmented reality solutions]) know the exact location on the playing field then display the appropriate effect there, if you want to go the fully automated route ;)

Otherwise a compared to the above solution relativly simple program where you can drag and drop an effect onto a grid by hand would do the trick as well :)

seanpecor
2009-11-05, 06:59 PM
Your future Enhancements though are pretty ambitious :smallsmile:

I promise I'll start small and work my way up :) I'm a much better programmer than I am a projector map builder lol. This afternoon I developed a web-based map utility that outputs a DM map and a separate Player map in a second window. Playing around right now with fog of war support, so far I've got it so that you can click on 1x1 squares on the DM map and the fog of war is toggled on the Player map.

I'm using the GD library to assemble a singular JPG to render the viewable portion of the map. It works well, but I'm going to try breaking up the map into a grid of actual map squares. Then I can have some fun generating some dynamic animated GIFs on static tiles. What affect I apply depends on the predominant color (blue is water, so let's make it ripple a little, or sand is yellow so let's make it shimmer a bit, etc). I could really freak my group out when we game next :)

Sean

Triaxx
2009-11-05, 07:14 PM
I suggest altering the legs so that instead of being removed, that they fold together into the center of the long side, and the entire projector mount can be removed.

Yes, it makes it heavier, but it also means that A) if you drop the table, you've not broken the projector, and B) you don't risk losing the table legs.

Katana_Geldar
2009-11-05, 07:20 PM
That frame gives me an idea for 3D space battles, just need some perspex or wire for the shelves and there's no more Space Is An Ocean stuff.

Great table!

Thatguyoverther
2009-11-05, 07:21 PM
This is so cool it make me want to cry. :smalleek:

Gnomo
2009-11-05, 07:28 PM
This.Is.Awesome.

I'm so hyped with this I might end up buying a projector just to do it.

Although, now i'm thinking in another way that can be easier for me:
metalic board magnetic figurines projector
See where I am going with this?

crazedloon
2009-11-05, 07:39 PM
I am currently working on a similar project (mine however is projected form below and will hopefully be touch based) what did you use to make the maps or are they pre-made?

Nice job

ericgrau
2009-11-05, 08:40 PM
Vader always said it best. Impressive.

The interactivity idea could be done the easiest with a touch screen. Then finding a placed mini's location would be just as easy as finding a mouse cursor's location; i.e. a trivial matter requiring some minor software. Trying to pull of a camera and imaging software would be insane.

seanpecor
2009-11-05, 08:55 PM
what did you use to make the maps or are they pre-made? Nice job

Thanks! The maps are scans of published D&D modules. I have Dundjinni but I've only toyed around with it. Map making is hard.

Sean

seanpecor
2009-11-05, 09:02 PM
Trying to pull of a camera and imaging software would be insane.

Frame grabbers are actually pretty easy and image recognition isn't terribly difficult once you train the software. Basically, one approach would be to place a specific player mini on a map square painted by the software in training mode. The software would frame grab, and via edge and color detection create a double sided data reference (two webcams on opposite sides of the top frame, pointing downward at inverse angles). In theory, the software could then tell where minis are located on the map AND know which minis are which. Someone else suggested colored bases, and that would be the best method for telling minis apart that are otherwise identical (i.e., six goblin enemies). I don't really know what application the software would have, it just sounds cool :) I think it would only be really useful if you were developing a complete game tracking system. That's really not where I'm going with the map though. Just some beautifully simple map software is all I need, and I'm working on it right now. I hope to have it done by the end of Monday.

Sean

Moff Chumley
2009-11-05, 09:05 PM
You win.

Have an internet. No, take two.

xPANCAKEx
2009-11-05, 09:12 PM
im not sure i'd call this "portable" by any stretch of the imagination... and the cost is hugely off putting

but kudos anyway

Chrono22
2009-11-05, 09:17 PM
Neat. I looked up the microsoft surface cost- 12000 dollars- and this is a much more flexible and cost effective alternative.

seanpecor
2009-11-10, 11:26 AM
im not sure i'd call this "portable" by any stretch of the imagination... and the cost is hugely off putting

I think that role playing should be given as much gravitas as any other hobby one enjoys. If someone enjoys fishing on the weekends, they might spend $10,000 or more on their hobby. If you enjoy golf, you could easily sink thousands into that hobby annually. And so on.

I'm going to update my DIY article today to better visually illustrate portability of the "cube" through photos. The cube disassembles in about 60 seconds through the removal of 8 wing-nuts. Once the wing-nuts are out, the top which weighs about 15lbs (including the projector) lifts off the legs, and the legs lift out of the base. Then you just toss the legs, the top and bottom into the backseat/trunk of your car and go drive to your game :)

We used it in our weekly game for the first time last night and it was an absolute success. Everyone loved it. It brought the game to an entirely new level. The shadows weren't an issue at all. Best of all, when you're all seated around the table, the cube legs do not obstruct your view of any of the players, you're really not aware of the frame itself because you're so focused on your fellow players and the map, which is as it should be. I couldn't be much happier with the setup; I needed a portable solution and this is working beautifully.

We're in the middle of the Keep of the Shadowfell and - since the map itself is much larger than the 25"x35" projection area - the DM could easily
"move" the map around with the mouse as we explored.

I love the lively discussion on the project. Everyone has their own take, and hopefully others will try their hand at building their own digital map solution and then share their results :)

Sean

Fax Celestis
2009-11-10, 11:55 AM
The shadows weren't an issue at all.

TBH I kinda like the shadows.

seanpecor
2009-11-15, 03:16 PM
Just posted a Youtube video for those interested in seeing the map in action:

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

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

http://www.rpgenome.com/digitalmap.html

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

Volos
2009-11-15, 03:40 PM
Gods when I have the cash...

CockroachTeaParty
2009-11-15, 04:02 PM
Few things make me more upset to be unemployed at the moment...

Guinea Anubis
2009-11-15, 06:15 PM
That is very cool.

Tyndmyr
2009-11-15, 11:23 PM
Kudos, I like this idea. Honestly, I probably wouldn't bother making it portable, but just mount it in the game room as is, but I can see the attraction. Lots of attention at cons, no doubt.

The LCD idea has come to mind, protected by a thin sheet of lexan. The hovering issue gets solved by simply keeping the sheet thin enough to minimize it, and the box gets removed as well. Unfortunately, weight/cost of that remain an issue, and the heat might be a concern as well. TVs running for a while tend to create a bit of that, might not be ideal on the legs.

The microsoft tabletop idea is, of course, awesome, but cost is...out of range for even us relatively well off hobbyists.

As for tracking minis, may I suggest RFID chips? Cost wise, the actual chips should be trivial in the overall system, though the readers might add a bit. You'll likely still be doing image caps and/or screen scraping for terrain based data, but it'll remove the problem of identifying minis in variable lighting.

PinkysBrain
2009-11-16, 12:28 AM
Actually if you discount labour costs the cost for a DIY version of the microsoft table is about the same as this (in both cases the major material cost is the projector). It's just a "slightly" more complex project.