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I'm testing out RPTool's MapTool. So far it's pretty OK, but there are a few things I'm missing.

One of the most important is how to create drop shadows underneath platforms (elevated pieces of floor) that are drawn with the pencil tools.

I thought about putting a "shadow" tile underneath the drawn paths, but background.paths is the very lowest. you can't put anything underneath it.

Any ideas?

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    \$\begingroup\$ It's not clear what you're using these platforms for. If the answer ends up being, "you can't have drop shadows if you do it that way," knowing what you mean by "platform" will make it easier for people to suggest alternatives to the pencil tool that might do what you want. \$\endgroup\$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Commented Aug 30, 2010 at 23:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ @SevenSidedDie altered OP. Hope that makes it more clear \$\endgroup\$
    – Boris Callens
    Commented Aug 31, 2010 at 14:52

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You can't put anything underneath the "draw" layer, as you've noted. Your best bet is to create the platforms as tiles/tokens in a separate program, then place them as tiles. You can them place dropshadows as tiles ordered below the platform tiles.

Torstan's Backgrounds pack might be useful to you in this regard. From the File menu, select Add Resource to Library... Select the third vertical tab, the one marked with the dagger in the gear. This displays a list of libraries from the RPTools Website. Select Torstan's Backgrounds, and download it.

It'll show up in your Resource Library window after it's done downloading. Drill down into Torstan's Backgrounds, and open Stairs and elevations -- there are some prebuilt shadow textures in there that might save you some effort.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks. I'm checking it out as I write this. Are you using MapTool frequently? I feel like it has great potential, but there are lacking some essential drawing tools. \$\endgroup\$
    – Boris Callens
    Commented Aug 31, 2010 at 14:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, I use it all the time, and I completely agree with you. It's a great tool for play, but it's a fairly poor mapping tool -- if I'm doing anything beyond laying down tiles I use Dundjinni, Photoshop, or Inkscape. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bryant
    Commented Aug 31, 2010 at 14:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ Hmm, not being able to use the pencil tool to create my floor kind of defeats the purpose of creating my maps with this tool. The shadows will come in handy though. Thanks. \$\endgroup\$
    – Boris Callens
    Commented Aug 31, 2010 at 14:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ Map tool does seem to be geared toward square tile maps, which is unfortunate, because the systems I prefer are generally designed for a hex maps, which makes Map Tool a bit less ideal. \$\endgroup\$
    – foxxtrot
    Commented Sep 1, 2010 at 3:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ All the tutorial videos are with hexes \$\endgroup\$
    – Boris Callens
    Commented Sep 1, 2010 at 9:35

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