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Screen Monkey Feature suggestions
Hey, just found Screen Monkey... it's really nice, and it's great that the Lite version allows you to try before you buy. I'm considering buying it, once I playtest it a bit more.
There are a few areas where it could improve though.
It's kind of a bummer to have to interrupt play to switch maps and move the minis around when you hit the edge of the map. You get the same problem with real minis on a table, but in software you should be able to make it scroll and expand in all directions without bound.
Feature request:
1. The capability to plop down multiple maps in the GM map area and align them/ overlay them. (expanding in all directions).
2. The capability to define a viewing rectangle in the GM area that defines the rendering window sent to the client. This would allow the GM to somewhat control map bandwidth, as well as allow for seamless scrolling for the clients....with these two features the party can explore in any direction and not have to screw around with redoing the map each time you fall off the edge. The viewing rectangle should be able to be dragged around by the GM, which would also allow the GM to jump between multiple areas.
3. Along with #2 above, allow the GM to set a background fill. That way the GM can simply keep sketching on the edge of the map and slide the viewing area around with the map as he draws it. It's a pain to have to prep maps ahead of time.
4. The GM should be able to scale the view for the players. (zoom in/zoom out.) It's less critical than the above features, but very useful for large battlefields.
The above features can be implemented by using graph-based data structrures and algorithms, and rendering a view.
Some other suggestions:
Would like to see improvements to scaling capabilities. Being able to set a scaling factor for all icons or for each icon object would be very useful. (when playing d20, icons need to be scaled to the proper number of squares, and when playing other games such as 1st and 2nd. ed. AD&D or shadowrun which are not grid based, the map scales tend to jump around a lot and it would be nice to be able to quickly scale things.
Would like to be able to rapidly switch between different scenes, maps, and areas to accomodate visual aids (pictures for reference scenes), flipping to the campaign map, or larger city map for player reference, and dealing with split parties. Features 1 and 2 above would allow for this.
Player icon upload.
Seperate directories for player character icons and npc icons. Would rather not have the players seeing the monster graphics up front.
64-bit version ..makes loading a bunch of images in memory less of a space management problem since more than 2gb is available to the process.
There are a few areas where it could improve though.
It's kind of a bummer to have to interrupt play to switch maps and move the minis around when you hit the edge of the map. You get the same problem with real minis on a table, but in software you should be able to make it scroll and expand in all directions without bound.
Feature request:
1. The capability to plop down multiple maps in the GM map area and align them/ overlay them. (expanding in all directions).
2. The capability to define a viewing rectangle in the GM area that defines the rendering window sent to the client. This would allow the GM to somewhat control map bandwidth, as well as allow for seamless scrolling for the clients....with these two features the party can explore in any direction and not have to screw around with redoing the map each time you fall off the edge. The viewing rectangle should be able to be dragged around by the GM, which would also allow the GM to jump between multiple areas.
3. Along with #2 above, allow the GM to set a background fill. That way the GM can simply keep sketching on the edge of the map and slide the viewing area around with the map as he draws it. It's a pain to have to prep maps ahead of time.
4. The GM should be able to scale the view for the players. (zoom in/zoom out.) It's less critical than the above features, but very useful for large battlefields.
The above features can be implemented by using graph-based data structrures and algorithms, and rendering a view.
Some other suggestions:
Would like to see improvements to scaling capabilities. Being able to set a scaling factor for all icons or for each icon object would be very useful. (when playing d20, icons need to be scaled to the proper number of squares, and when playing other games such as 1st and 2nd. ed. AD&D or shadowrun which are not grid based, the map scales tend to jump around a lot and it would be nice to be able to quickly scale things.
Would like to be able to rapidly switch between different scenes, maps, and areas to accomodate visual aids (pictures for reference scenes), flipping to the campaign map, or larger city map for player reference, and dealing with split parties. Features 1 and 2 above would allow for this.
Player icon upload.
Seperate directories for player character icons and npc icons. Would rather not have the players seeing the monster graphics up front.
64-bit version ..makes loading a bunch of images in memory less of a space management problem since more than 2gb is available to the process.
Comments
1. Re-mask. This should be fairly easy as it is just the exact opposite of un-mask.
2. Right-click drag of map. Instead of having to scroll up/down/left/right you grab the map with the right-mouse button and then just drag it around.
3. I second the multi-map request. My suggestion is to use tabs only on the GM side of things and whichever tab is clicked on is the map that is sent to everyone else.
4. Use the shift key to draw perfectly straight horizontal and vertical lines. Also, 45 degree lines as well. When trying to unmask areas this would be very helpful.
5. Place a one inch border around any map that is loaded. It is really hard to unmask something that goes right up to the edge of the screen. By having a border around a map you have space to get the edges of any image.
Instead of/in addition to the slider to scale a grid on the map, how about a dialog where specific units canbe entered? If I know that my map is 1 pixel = 1 foot, then the ability to slap a grid on there that conforms to the scale needed.
Right now, I'm using Adobe Illustrator to put a hex grid on my maps that is properly scaled and showing that. Unfortunately, you can't use that grid to snap to.
1. Be able to do the simplest shapes. IE: Rectangle and ellipse. As a way to unmask an area. Most rooms are rectangular or ellipsoidal.
This may sound weird or wrong - but if Screen Monkey used something like SQLite, then a lot of problems (ie: Multiple maps, keep player information current, etc...) could be eliminated if SM allowed the GM to interact with a database. There could even be a repository of SQL scripts kept. So things like deducting hit points, figuring out what you need to hit an opponent, etc... could be put into SQL scripts which are executed (like triggers in a database). It would also allow a GM to associate images with characters or monsters so they are automatically loaded in to the program when the person logs on or when the GM loads that monster in to the program. Now, it might be that limited SQL capabilities are given to the GM (like can only add/delete records or can only write scripts that affect the database) - but this would increase the amount of flexibility the program has as well as providing a way to edit the database. There is already an SQLite program you can download for free to be able to edit a database. Thus, the GM would have a way to load in new monsters and such. I also say SQLite because it can be included in to an program, is free, and can handle up to Terabytes worth of information.
Anyway, just sprang into my head for no apparent reason and I ran over to this site to post before I forgot about it.
Later!