How to make your own Fantasy Googlemap with MapLib without needing to be a code monkey

NB: I've since written an update to this article which details my thoughts about MapLib 6 Months into a mapping project of my own.

I've seen a couple of campaign world maps which use the googlemaps api and wondered how easy is it to make your own.  The answer very hard if you're not a bonafide javascript code monkey.  I then came across www.MapLib.net, a free service which allows you to build your own maps with custom overlays.  This is far too useful to keep to myself so here goes:

You'll Need:

• A JPG, PNG or GIF of your campaign world.
• A MapLib account (they're free)
• Plenty of patience

Add your map to MapLib.net

Once you're logged in, go to the "My Pictures" section and upload an image. If you want a 4:3 ratio map use the settings below.  Place a map pin to define a location and type in it's name in the pop-up box.  You can add descriptions (see the example below) to the pins and include hyperlinks.  If you have them upload your own custom icons (or use the ones that other users have uploaded) and attach them instead of the bog standard pin.  If you've got lots of pins to manage you can create categories for Capitals, Cities, Towns or what ever takes your fancy. If you need to mark out an area or a line use the polygon or line tool.

Embedding Tips

Make your iframe at least 500px wide so your users can close any map pin pop-ups you create.

After much trial and error I came up with these settings for my 4:3 ratio (2046 x 1536 pixels) map:

Zoom Level 7

IFRAME SETTINGS:

WIDTH: 512px, HEIGHT: 409px, LAT: -53.750, LNG: 36.558, Z: 7

Zoom Level 8

IFRAME SETTINGS:

WIDTH: 512px, HEIGHT: 409px, LAT: -53.750, LNG: 36.558, Z: 8

Zoom Level 8

IFRAME SETTINGS:

WIDTH: 512px, HEIGHT: 409px, LAT: -53.750, LNG: 36.558, Z: 9

Dragonmeet 2010

This post comes to you live from Dragonmeet 2010.

10:00 - And it's the usual mad dash to the sign-ups table for the morning session.

10:30 - Playing Dead of Night, and being DM'd by one of it's authors Scott Dorward.

13:15 - Just finished Dead of Night, an excellent horror scenario set in an abandoned church in 1920's Islington, London.  I loved the "Tension" mechanic, a sort of timer which advances when PCs spend survival points to affect the plot, I can see this being used in my SBA games.  We all had a lot of fun, great job Scott.  Now off to buy C&C at the trade stands.

14:00 - Sadly no luck picking up C&C will have to look online.  Spot of lunch required.  Missed out on sign-ups for afternoon RPG session.

Leo Marshall

15:00 - Back gaming in the main hall.  Playing Le Cardo with it's author Leo Marshall, a fun little crossword card game with lots of replay factor.  Enjoyed it so much I had to buy it.  Thanks Leo.

15:30 - Playing Pitch-car in the foyer

16:00 - Goodbye Dragonmeet see you next year.

+++ VIDEO UPDATE +++

Here's a short clip of the Trade Hall full of gamers.

Castles and Crusades: What do I NEED to buy?

I'm at a nexus.  My mac had an update crisis at the weekend and ate my campaign world.  After a little bit of a cry, I came to the thinking that within this dark cloud lies the silver lining of opportunity.  I've been dissapointed with my experiences of DM'ing my campaign world with D&D 3.5 for a while so I'm off to Dragonmeet 2010 to buy Castles and Crusades.  I know I'll need the Players Handbook and probably Monsters and Treasure but is there anything else out there for C&C that I should definitely buy?  

Troll Hunter

Caught this movie trailer on The Book of Worlds.  

Released in Norway on 29 Oct 2010, but so far no details on when it will be scheduled for release in the UK, I expect it will be straight to DVD.  Enjoy...



I can see this having lots of potential for a modern horror scenario, perhaps Cthulhu Now, Delta Green or Conspiracy X. How about mixing in a bit of Kaiju, Godzilla vs Grimetosser perhaps?

Update: This film was fantastic and everyone should see it.

Tintin and Lovecraft Cover Art

I stumbled across these wonderful Lovecraft inspired imaginary Tintin covers by Murray Groat this morning thanks to BoingBoing and needed to share them.  I think this would be a great crossover genre with little or no modification.  In fact I think my next CoC character should be a boy detective.