This program is the best battle map (and perhaps generic dungeon map in general) creation program available, especially if you play online via a virtual tabletop like Fantasy Grounds 2 or Battlegrounds.
What is it? In a nutshell, it gives you access to all of Skeleton Key Games tile sets (at last count more than 2500 individual tiles) that you can mix and match via a very simple drag and drop interface to create a unique map. It then lets you export your finished product to a .pdf in one of three different sizes. The results are incredibly good looking and take no more than a couple of minutes.* Since they’re based on SK’s map tiles, they make it easy to pre-plan your encounters although you still need SK’s tile sets if you want to use them with miniatures because the program’s output is too low of a resolution to produce full-sized battle maps.
Obviously these are best suited for D20 and 4E where grid movement is used but they can be used with almost any RPG. For example, they’d work well for Savage Worlds and I may even use them for my Burning Wheel game to provide a more visual representation of the battle even though the game doesn’t need any map at all.
You aren’t just limited to fantasy tiles either: While the selection is still pretty small, there are a number of sci-fi (mainly spaceship) tiles as well as a few others. What I’d love to see are some modern settings, especially city streets.
If you’re playing via a VTT, the program is awesome because you can assemble your map, export it to a pdf and then copy & paste it directly into an image editor. Once you’ve done that all that’s left is cropping and resizing it to meet your needs and then saving it as a .jpg or .png file. Done. I’ve done this with to use with my 4E campaign I run on Fantasy Grounds 2 and the results are awesome.
Why do I love this program?
- It’s simple to use: Just select the tile, select it’s orientation, and drag it to where you want it. That’s it.
- It’s extensive: You’ve got more than 2500 tiles to choose from. The possibilities are practically infinite when you start mixing and matching sets.
- The maps look good: No they’re not photo-realistic, but neither are the tokens I use in FG2, nor the minis I use for my tabletop game.
- It’s very fast: This is related to my first point; I can put together a map for my FG2 game in under 15 minutes, from start to finish. That’s a huge improvement over the 60+ minutes I was using to work with Dundjinni (which runs incredibly slow once your map gets even modestly large) and the results look better.
What’s the cost? $30 via RPGNow which is really cheap for a VTT gamer, considering you’re essentially getting access to all of the Skeleton Key’s map tiles which are worth hundreds of dollars.
Part of this month’s Blog Carnival.
*A clarification: After doing some more research, the maps produced don’t reproduce well for miniature battle maps; they print out great if you want to produce a dungeon map but they are too low of a resolution to print out full-sized tiles at the 1″ per square size. I’ve amended the above review to reflect this.
I’ve thought about getting it but 30$ feels pricy. I think if the price was 25$ or less, I’d have bought it already.
Can you show us examples of maps you’ve made with it? Can you show us Dundjinni maps for comparison? Can you add “dungeon dressing” in the Skeleton Key program or would you have to edit the maps elsewhere as well for that?
Oh, one more question. There’s a random dungeon generator online using the Skeleton Key tiles. Can you make a map with that then import it for editing into the Tile Mapper? That’s important to me, to be able to import files and edit them graphically.
It looks decent, but I’m really hesitant about paying that kind of money for a web-service…particularly when they’re right up front about if they decide to discontinue it tomorrow you’re just out-of-luck, and no promise of any future expansions or upgrades. It seems to be the worst of both worlds between purchasable software and an ongoing subscription.
Theoretically you can generate all the map tiles yourself so you have local copies, so if you’re industrious (and have time) you can get your money’s worth out of the fee even if it eventually goes the way of the dodo. Of course you’d have to make individual tiles and then resize them properly to guarantee the 1″ scale but it shouldn’t be that hard.
I would completely agree that the terms of usage suck but given the amount of $$$ I’ve wasted on programs like Dundjinni (which runs incredibly slowly and takes forever to build something in) and Campaign Cartographer (which has an incredibly steep learning curve and is very expensive if you want the add-ons, which you generally do), I figure it’s a small risk especially if I crank out a few dozen encounter maps.
As for the no promises for expansions, so far the tiles have been expanded on a regular basis (AFAIK every single SK tile set is available currently).
@Viriatha – I’m not a sales person for the company. Some of your questions are better addressed to someone with RPGObjects. I’m not sure I see the distinction between $25 or $30 though; I mean, I wouldn’t call myself wealthy but $5 is just….$5.
Regarding the question about importing maps from the random generator, the answer I think is no. The software is designed to work with the existing tile sets and doesn’t actually import or edit anything: It simply allows you to arrange the dungeon tiles and then create PDFs. There’s no graphical editing at all going on – that you do using paint.net or Adobe PS.
I’ll see if I can post up a map I’ve made with the program later. I’ll have to see if I can dig out some old Dundjinni maps for a comparison though I can’t make any promises on that front because I’ve been nothing but disappointed by Dundjinni’s performance and quality given the amount of time you have to invest to create even a single map.
Is the printing at 1″ scale good, or does it get too blurry? Are you scaling them up to print them out, or does the program print at a 1″ scale automatically?
I may get this program…
On second thought… it seems you need to own the tile sets you want to use… I’m not understanding the website… whats the program, a web version?
I’ll stick to Dungeon Tiles and photoshop….
@newbiedm – No, that’s the map organizer that you need to own the tiles for. The mapper version you get access to the tiles online.
Oh ok…