About GMScreen GMScreen's primary goal is to allow a game master to display a 'to scale' map to the players using a video projector to project the map onto the gaming table. Although player icons could be easily added (and you are free to do so), the program was created to work in conjunction with physical miniatures that the players can move just as on a printed battle mat on a hex/square grid. Once configured, the program will properly scale maps to have, for instance, one physical square inch representing each grid square. Features Provides a map to the game master on a computer screen. Provides a map to the players on a projection screen. Fog of War with rectangle, circle, and polygon selection revealing tools Zoomable GM map Drawable Cones (60 and 90 degree) on player map Drawable Circles of any radius on player map Measure tool - measures to scale distance between two points including 'waypoints' Common D20 spell effects such as fireball, web, flaming sphere, fog cloud, stinking cloud, light Other symbols such as a vision template, generic X markers, and a scatter template Map rotate (up, down, left, right) Location Marker (useful to show the players where they start on a map or marking the current overland location) Map specific properties configuration Requirements Java 1.6 (it may work on earlier versions, but testing has only been done on 1.6) Tested Operating Systems: Linux - Fedora 11, Fedora 9 - both running Gnome Windows - XP, 2000 Memory - depending on how large the maps you use are, the memory requirements vary. No special 'tiling' code is in place which means the entire 'uncompressed' version of the map needs to be loaded into memory. Here are some examples map sizes and corresponding memory usage: Image Size (pixels) Minimum VM Size (MB) 550x400 35 1406x1159 45 4608x3456 140 5792x5776 265 Initial Configuration * Mount the projector SECURELY on the ceiling pointed downward so it projects onto a table. * Start the projector and ensure it is connected to the PC. * Verify the PC's desktop is extended (verses mirrored) onto the projector. * Start GMScreen by double-clicking the appropriate startup file (gmscreen.sh or gmscreen.bat) * Select File/Properties * Measure the image projected onto the table (in inches) * Fill in "Player Display Physical Width" and "Player Display Physical Height" with the measured values (in inches) Example: width = 31.325 height = 23.625 * Find out the resolution the projector is running at and enter them in the appropriate fields. Example: Player Resolution X = 1024 Player Resolution Y = 768 * Set the Player Display Screen to the appropriate number (probably the default 2 unless you are using more than two displays including the projector at one time). Maps Map Resolution I create most of my maps with a square grid and use 72 pixels per square. GMScreen works with any map resolution and, once the map is configured, can switch between maps of different resolutions without issue. If you have existing maps or find maps from various outside sources, you will need to measure them yourself using a graphics program such as Gimp or Photoshop. Simply use the selection tool and select one square noting the size of the selection in pixels at the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Each map can be configured with its own resolution (50, 72, 100, etc), units (ft, m, mi, km, etc), and units per map inch (5' per square, 100 miles per hex, etc). Right now the values default to 72pixels, ' (feet), and 5'/unit. As for actually creating the maps, you can use any standard graphics program that can save files in JPG, PNG, or GIF formats. You can also use programs geared towards creating gaming maps such as: Campaign Cartographer 3 - http://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp Dundjinni - http://www.dundjinni.com Although CC3 does not do much advertising of the fact, it does work about as well in Linux under WINE as it does on Windows. I have not tried Dundjinni on Linux, but I have read reports of it working as well. No matter which program you decide upon, be sure to check out the CSUAC: http://gmsapprentice.com/ You will need to register and log in to then see a link titled "The CSUAC". The CSUAC is a collection of art work that can be used in either of the programs mentioned above as well as in any graphics editing tool such as Gimp or Photoshop. There are trees, wagons, barrels, animals, monsters, equipment, treasure, and a hoard of other great images useful for mapping. Using GMScreen Getting Started Start the program Choose File/Load Map and pick an image to open. Moving Around The area visible to the players is surrounded by a red rectangle on the GMDisplay. The player visible area can be moved by right-clicking inside the rectangle and dragging it around. You can zoom out on the GMDisplay to view the whole map to get more context and more easily drag the player's view around. Fog of War Use the "Selection Tool" menu to choose from Rectangle, Circle, or Polygon. Use left-click in the GMDisplay to select areas to clear the Fog of War on. You can also choose to disable the Fog of War under the View menu to reveal the entire map. The Fog of War is saved when choosing Save from the File menu and will be loaded back up next time the map is opened. Symbols Items in the 'Symbols' menu can only be used on the PlayerDisplay. Cones, Circles, and Measurements can be utilized by left-clicking on the Player Display and dragging the mouse in the desired direction. Other symbols below the separation line can be added to the player map by left-clicking the desired center point. Right-clicking any of the symbols will remove them from the map. Measurements can consist of waypoints by starting a new measurement where the last one left off. For instance if a segment 10' long is drawn and another segment is started where the first left off, it will start counting from 10 resulting in an additional 5' segment being drawn to be labeled as 15'. You can add your own symbols by creating a PNG or GIF image and placing it in the 'symbol' directory. To be scaled properly they must have a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. Animated GIFs are supported, but can slow down things especially when placed on large maps. Location Marker The location marker can be placed on the GMDisplay by Control-Left-Clicking where you want to put the marker. The location marker is saved when choosing Save from the File menu and will be loaded back up next time the map is opened.