Creating and Editing Scenes
This article will provide an overview of how to create new Scenes in Realm VTT. Scenes can be created from an image file or from a UVTT (Dungeon Draft format) file.
Creating a Scene
Scenes can be created from a JPG, PNG, WEBP, WEBM (for animated scenes), or UVTT file if using the “New Scene” button."
You can either:
Click “New Scene” on the Scenes Tab or
Create a new Image in the Compendium, right click the Image, and click “Create Scene.” If creating an Image in the compendium, UVTT is not supported.
Whether adding an Image in the Compendium or directly as a Scene, you will be prompted to select or drag and drop the image file.
If you wish to use a UVTT file, click “New Scene” on the Scenes tab and upload your UVTT file. Walls, Windows, Doors, and Terrain Line of Sight points, as well as Lights, will automatically be placed per the UVTT file.
The maximum upload size for an image is 20 MB, but for performance reasons it is highly recommended to keep images used for scenes under 10 MB and under 16 Megapixels (e.g. 4000 x 4000 px) as players with slower machines may not be able to handle the load of larger files. Realm VTT does support very large scenes images, but when Lighting and Fog of War are enabled on larger maps, there is a large performance impact.
Editing the Scene
Once a Scene is created, you can click on the Scene to view it. Right click the Scene if you wish to either:
Toggle Active: This will make this the default active Scene to players when they load the campaign as well as switch the player views to this Scene.
Show in Top Bar: This will make the scene visible in a top bar for easily changing scenes, above the Combat Tracker Carousel (if that is open.) GMs can view all Scenes, and Players can only view those that are active or shared with them.
Rename: Give the Scene a new name.
Categorize: Just like in the Compendium, you can apply a Category to use a filter for your Scenes.
Delete: Remove the Scene and clear up the space used on your profile from this Scene.
Panning and Zooming
To pan a Scene right-click and drag anywhere within the Scene area. The scene will pan with your mouse.
To zoom in and out of a scene, scroll the mouse wheel up or down. By default, Scenes load in at around the center of the image at a mid-level of zoom.
Levels
As shown in the screenshot below, you can add additional Images or UVTT files to a Scene to indicate other “levels” within a Scene. Levels are used for the “Teleport Tool” (described later in this article). Levels can be toggled by players and they can view the other levels of the active scene, so keep this in mind. If Vision is not enabled for a Level, a Player can toggle it and view it directly, otherwise, they require a Token on that level to have vision.
Levels are mainly useful for Scenes that have multiple floors such as a larger building, or perhaps a Scene that has a separate image for the exterior vs. the interior.
Scene Controls
To open the Scene controls, hit the Settings button in the top right of the VTT Area.
This will open the Settings Panel and show the additional Scene Controls on the right. The Settings Panel shows you the Grid Settings and Light & Vision Settings.
Grid Settings
From this panel you can:
Alter the Grid Size manually (minimum of 50 Pixels Per Square/Hex)
If you have a map with a grid smaller than 50 pixels per square, you should first resize your image to meet the minimum. If the resulting image is very large, consider breaking out the map into separate images. You can use the "Levels" feature as well as Teleports (in the Scene settings) to connect pieces for token movement.
Set the color of the Grid
Change the Offset (X and Y) of the Grid to get pixel perfect alignment
Change the Type of the Grid
Current support Types are: Square, Vertical Hex (flat-top), and Horizontal Hex (pointy-top)
Add “Padding” to the Scene
This allows for extra squares above and below the Scene image for moving tokens around
Set the Units / Square
This changes how much each square represents of the given unit type (feet, meters, etc.) and also impacts the range of lights used in Effects only
Set the Units
This changes the displayed units of measurement when dragging tokens
Light & Vision Settings
This panel has the following settings:
Enable Vision: Allows you to on and off Vision. If Vision is enabled, Players will only be able to see if they have a Token on Scene that they own, and will use the Line of Sight (walls, windows, doors, etc.) that have been drawn on the Scene.
Vision & Light Preview: This is for the GM only. The GM can press “G” to toggle this setting on and off. When on, it shows a preview of what the line of sight will look like for Players. This is useful for testing the drawn line of sight points.
Enable Lighting: This options toggles on or off Dynamic Lighting. Lights will only render on a map if this is toggled on. When on, if the Ambient Light is set to full darkness, only lit areas of the map will be visible to players.
Note: GMs will always “see” some amount of the map, even with this setting enabled. When turned on, for GMs, it uses a 90% opacity. Otherwise, GMs see the unlit areas of the map at a 50% opacity. This is so that it is easier to see where all tokens have been placed, etc.
Ambient Light Color: Use this setting to set the color of the ambient light on a scene. Set it to full black for complete darkness, or perhaps a dark blue-ish color to give it a moonlit look.
Scene Controls
The following controls on the right can be used to edit Line of Sight, Lighting, Sounds and Teleports:
Draw Grid: Use the Draw Grid button to assist in setting the Grid. If using a square map, first click the top left of any square, then move the cursor down and click the bottom right. If using a Hex grid, click somewhere in a hex and move the cursor to get the shown hex roughly the same size. Use the Grid Size and Offsets in the Grid Settings panel to adjust manually after drawing it.
Draw Walls: Use this button to draw walls for Line of Sight. Walls cannot be toggled and always block player vision and movement.
Draw Terrain: Use this button to draw walls for Terrain line of sight points. Terrain does not block Player Movement. It does block vision, unless they are within the enclosed terrain; in this case, players can see through the points. Terrain can be toggled by the GM to disable it entirely for players, or re-enable it.
Draw Doors: Use this line of sight tool to draw a door between two wall points. A door need only be one segment. The block vision and movement and allow players to toggle them to open them. Open doors do not block vision or movement.
A door once placed can be “locked” by Right-clicking the door as the GM.
A locked Door cannot be opened by a player.
Draw Windows: Use this line of sight tool to draw windows. Windows behave just like doors, except they cannot be locked and they never block vision.
Draw Hidden Doors: Use this line of sight tool to draw doors that are only visible and toggle-able by the GM. Once discovered and “opened” the GM should toggle the door so players can see and move through it.
Draw Ambient Light Mask: Use this tool to draw an area in which Ambient Light is not rendered. This is useful for scenes where there are “holes” in a cavern which let light in, or an exterior that is lit and an interior that is not. (You can also achieve a similar effect by placing very light and bright lights outside of an unlit area.)
Add Lights: Use this tool to place lights in the scene. Click anywhere to add a light, click an existing light to edit or delete it, or click and drag an existing light to move it. Lights currently support setting the Range, Intensity, Flicker, Angle (for directional lights like flashlights), Direction (if a directional light), and the color.
Edit Sounds: Sounds are added to a scene by first adding one the Sounds in the compendium. Once a sound is added to the compendium, click and drag the Sound onto the map where you want it placed. Use this tool to see sounds placed on the scene, drag them to a new location, or click a sound to edit the settings or delete it. Sounds have settings for a description name, max volume, and the fall-off radius. Players will only hear sounds if within the radius of the sound, and gets quieter the further they are from the location of the sound.
Add Teleport Points: Teleport ports instantly move a Player’s token from one point on the Scene to another. First place the first point on the Scene. Then, either place the second point on this scene, or switch to a Level added to the Scene and place the second point. In the settings for the for second point, select the first point as the destination. Then, go back to the first point and click it to edit its settings. Adjust the first point’s destination to point to the second you just added.