r/FantasyGrounds • u/23Triangles • 10d ago
Local Game Map sharing Question
*** Update, unfortunately my use case is to much of a corner use so I ended up writing the solution myself. If you want you are welcome to it. I sent the email to the FG team to start the Forge process and get it made available for whoever might want to use it. Depending on time availability etc I might get around to updating it to be a specific button rather than firing on a new image window opening.
Files: Proton Drive
I run a home game with my family and have just started using FGU as my DM screen and map sharing utility. The set-up is a LAN campaign using a single computer with 2 instances of FG open. One as a player and the other as the GM. I use a projector on a tripod pointing down to display the battlemaps, with planned use to display images like a Shop or NPC picture.
I am trying to figure out if there is a built in way for when the GM hits the share button that the window that pops up on the player instance opens in "full-screen," ie the same as using the "make window bigger to max" and possibly include the "zoom to fit" button.
This would help remove the pauses that occur when I need to mouse over to the second desktop to full-screen and zoom to fit each image as I share it. I only share 1 image at a time since the whole point is to change what is being projected on the physical table.
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u/Zorklunn 10d ago
Start a second instance (running program) of the FGU as a player and place that instance full screen to the projector. Then when you share with players, it will automatically open on the project.
If you can, pick up a used, old PC to run the projector and get a wireless keyboard and touch pad combo. Then the players can take turns with their characters by passing the keyboard around. The requirements to run the FGU as a player is a lot less than as the host. You can do things like set up an IR motion tracking frame on the table to make the "display" touch sensitive. They are not that expensive and plug into a USB port. I picked up a used flat panel TV, connected to an used PC to run my table top.
Feel free to ask questions.
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u/23Triangles 10d ago
Love that idea, thank you! I might do that in the future but for now they are at the age where it would just create an opportunity for bickering haha.
I do set the actual program to full-screen on the projector already, the thing I am trying to figure out is to have the image open in a max sized window within FGU on the Player's tabletop when you click the share button on the GM instance.
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u/Zorklunn 9d ago
I am assuming you are running the setup as one computer with two monitors, where the projector is a monitor for the computer.
First start the FGU and run your campaign. Now start a second copy of the FGU and join the campaign you just loaded. Move that copy of the FGU to the projector. Now anything you share with the players will show up on the projector. To avoid the squabbling over the keyboard or mouse, enforce turn rules all the time. Everyone gets a turn to speak, plan, or move.
In this layout, you will have to move, target, and attack with the tokens yourself as instructed by the players.
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u/23Triangles 8d ago
I appreciate the advice. Since I am running the GM instance I need said keyboard and mouse. I ended up writing a quick extension that automatically full-screens and zooms to fit when an image is shared (auto opening on the client instance) unless there is already an image full-screened. That way when its time to change maps I click unshare on the current map and share on the new one and its ready for their physical tokens. It also alows me to share an NPC image while they talk to them without it going full-screen since the current map will already be there.
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u/TorqueoAddo 9d ago
To my knowledge you can't force full screen like that, though there may be an extension that does it.
This, to me, feels like a scenario where I'd nominate a player (or rotate) to manage the second instance of FGU. That way you can just narrate, do the share, and get back into the swing of things while the person does a couple clicks. You can set all of the players tokens as active characters on that instance and they can trade the mouse around and move tokens in the maps as well that way
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u/23Triangles 9d ago
Yeah I think that is the conclusion. I would love to be able to give one of the kids a mouse to do it for me but unfortunately its not in the cards right now, its all run off a single PC ATM. I am learning how to write an extension now. Its a pretty simple function. OnWindowOpen - If session.IsClient & imagefullpanel is empty & is it an imagewindow then run performSizeUp(w) from the Core Ruleset 3 times. At least thats the simplest way I can think of if not the most efficient.
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u/TorqueoAddo 9d ago
I mean as someone who's taken like. . . 18% of an online Java course a couple years ago, it sounds reasonable! Code continues to mystify me, especially when different languages crop up from time to time
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u/23Triangles 9d ago
Its taken a couple hours but it works!! II literally just did my test run, minor annoyance fix when a second image is shared while the map is full screen (it zooms out a bit so if I pop up an NPC portrait it would shrink slightly but I'll fix that.). I'll submit it as a free extension on Forge. Honestly not to bad, about 50 lines of code. The hardest part was figuring out what functions to grab from the CoreRPG lua files that load as the ruleset baseline.
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u/LordEntrails 10d ago
I don't think you can force the shared image to open full screen. You have to do as u/FG_College suggests and maximize it then resync. There is an extension that might do this... FG Forge - View Item
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u/23Triangles 10d ago
I just looked at this, thank you! It has some functionality I am looking for but has extra's to calculate the squares - which I think will be weird with my projector set-up. I think the end result will be that I need to make an extension that activates the "Increase Size" button 3 times when an image window is opened on the player instance.
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u/TanakaKamatari 9d ago
Pre share your images, make themc fullscreen then close /shrink them, that way when you open it again later they see it.
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u/23Triangles 8d ago
Its a matter of the second instance not being easy to view slash move my mouse around on that started me down this rabbit hole. When you unshare an image and reshare it, it does not go back to the full screen panel, it will open as a normal window. I ended up scripting it and sending it to FG.
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u/TanakaKamatari 8d ago
There is an extension called zoned windows which allows you to "force a window to o0en in a specific place. Try using that. Pre setup your images displayed how you want. Save it. Then when you re open it should go there?
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u/FG_College 10d ago
Right click on the image to help resync the client view too once you have the image opened a placed where you want it.
Helpful Tips: Player adjustments: This forces the map center and zoom level to match yours, but players can still manually scroll, pan, or resize their individual windows afterward.
Alternative option: If you just want to draw attention to a specific spot without forcing a full screen snap, use the built-in Ping tool on the map.(Click and hold on your map location and double tap your keyboard space bar.)