In a nutshell, PROJECT DEIOS is a project we created to search for capable partners to realize our dream of designing a system that supports all kinds of map making needs. The result of PROJECT DEIOS will be an expansion of the existing DUNGEONFOG online editor, like a comprehensive creative suite, or “DEIOS suite”, with all the tools necessary to achieve boundless creation.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Our dream is to help game masters and storytellers create entire worlds in all their detailed glory. Creating something this boundless is a huge endeavor, and even though we value our own capabilities quite high (of course), we are a small team and would not be able to do everything all by ourselves. Especially because we are strongly committed to our ambitious DUNGEONFOG roadmap - (https://www.dungeonfog.com/news/roadmap-2019/), which always guides our daily work. Thus, we were looking for ways to expand our resources, since we only have little spare time to use on additional projects. By establishing PROJECT DEIOS, we could find project partners that bring valuable resources and knowledge to the table: Together with World Anvil (https://www.worldanvil.com/), the Great GameMaster (https://www.greatgamemaster.com/dm/) and Caeora (https://www.caeora.com/), we formed an “umbrella” team to be able to achieve our vision of creation without boundaries.

Next week, in our final reveal, we will show details of how we hope this campaign will make it possible to acquire the resources needed by hiring additional programmers who can help develop the “DEIOS” suite within a reasonable timeframe.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

At DUNGEONFOG, we are a small but dedicated team of RPG enthusiasts and once we have set our minds to something, we will not rest until we achieved our goals. However, we only have very little spare time while following our DUNGEONFOG roadmap (https://www.dungeonfog.com/news/roadmap-2019/), so we hope our PROJECT DEIOS campaign will enable us to expand our team to allocate more resources to developing our DEIOS suite. Expanding our team costs money, because high quality work is not for free - therefore, we were looking into ways to finance our dreams. More details on this will be revealed next week.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

If we can allocate the additional resources we need, we aim at releasing the first Alpha version in spring 2020. Please bear with us until next week, where we can give you all the details about how we want to allocate additional resources. As fellow map makers and storytellers, we will not give up our DEIOS suite anyway - however, without additional resources, it will take a bit longer.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

The result of PROJECT DEIOS will be an extensive world map editor, like a creative suite or “DEIOS suite”, which will be an expansion of the existing DUNGEONFOG editor and its subscription system. We will take great care to enable our users to choose between different packages and subscription models that suit your individual needs. The existing DUNGEONFOG battle map editor will be available on its own and the future “DEIOS suite” should function like an extended subscription that you can add to your existing DUNGEONFOG subscription. Of course, we are always open to suggestions and feedback!

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

As the very first step, you will choose which type of map you want to create. By choosing a specific map type, e.g. a city map, a battle map, or a world map, we can automatically offer the appropriate drafting tools for the chosen map type. Interconnectivity can then be achieved by using landmarks and locations. By assigning a specific location or landmark to a specific map, for example defining the location of a city on a region map, the individual maps are dynamically interrelated and can be accessed by simply clicking on the pin or its quick-info overlay.

When creating a new, more detailed map through connecting it to a bigger region or world, our editor will automatically draw some dynamic relations with the context of the new map. Through dynamic linking, the editor can then offer appropriate layouts, textures and regional particularities (e.g. rivers or forests) while you are creating your new map.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. With the experience we have gathered through our DUNGEONFOG blueprint system we will expand this feature to allow you to import map images and use them as canvas for our tools. Keep in mind that those maps will not offer the same amount of flexibility and edit options as maps that were created in DEIOS from start and might be limited when it comes to sharing those maps with the community due to intellectual property and licensing rights. We will make sure, however, that adding pins and locations as well as the basic drawing tools are functional.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

The very short answer is: Nothing. The DUNGEONFOG Battlemap Editor will continue to be available through the existing subscription models and we will continue developing new tools and features as before. Of course, if we realize that the development work on the “DEIOS suite” can be utilized for other creative purposes within the DUNGEONFOG Battlemap Editor, we will not rest until we explored these possibilities and implement them throughout all our tools.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

To be honest, we cannot fully pin down the final extent of the new functionalities before development has reached a more mature level. Our goal is to offer a subscription model as an extension of DUNGEONFOG. We want to make sure that prices are compatible with using the DUNGEONFOG system as a hobby. At this point, we estimate the full package (meaning the “DEIOS suite” including the DUNGEONFOG Battlemap Editor) to cost between six to eight Euros per month. We will offer monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly subscription models with respective discounts. As is usual for DUNGEONFOG, you will always be able to pause your subscription without losing your creative work.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

At this point in time, we plan to only offer the DUNGEONFOG Battlemap Editor as a separate subscription model. All functions that we have introduced in our PROJECT DEIOS campaign so far will be available in a one-stop-shop subscription package with the working title “DEIOS suite”. Of course, we are always open to suggestions and feedback - if we find out that there is a demand for various separate toolsets, we will surely look into this and create appropriate models.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

For start, we will offer the possibility to link your accounts between World Anvil and DUNGEONFOG. Our vision for this includes the possibility of importing and exporting maps and their metadata between the two platforms - but we’ll have to see what the future holds! Our aim is to make a worldbuilder’s journey as easy and intuitive as possible. Once we have gained more experience in the collaboration between the tools we will offer better ways to cross-integrate both systems. We are even considering possible bundled subscriptions in the future.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. Districts will come with several parameters (comparable to the room tool in DUNGEONFOG) that will allow you to customize their appearance.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. Districts will draw assets from a specific asset pool based on archetypes. Further down the road we will give you the option to manually create and define those pools yourself.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

To some extent, yes. Our goal is to populate each district with random assets from the specific asset pool. Once they are placed, we want to give you the option to manually adjust each single building (color, size, rotation, etc.). We still need to do some more detailed experiments to answer the question with a definite “Yes!”. However, it is our goal to get there.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

We want to approach this the other way around: Each building will have a basic “blueprint” battlemap associated, with the according floor layout. So if you link a battlemap to a building, you will have layout preset on your battlemap.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

We are currently looking at two different approaches:

A) Roads & Districts will get created simultaneously. This can either mean that you draw the road and we create districts around the boundaries of the road, or you create a district and we create roads around it, with the option to deactivate roads.

B) Roads are a separate tool. This would mean that districts are created without roads and you can draw roads separately with a road-brush.

Both approaches have pros and cons and we need more experimentation and testing before we can say which approach works better in terms of map creation workflow and style.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Since we have toggleable asset states on our wishlist for battlemaps (eg. intact table vs. broken table), it would make sense to extend that functionality for city and world maps as well.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Our approach was to use the general environment of a region or world map to create a blueprint including directionality for your city map. This enables us to offer coasts, rivers, forests and other regional landmarks as visual aid on your map. The orientation would then come with this blueprint.

We are always happy to get feedback and hear about different approaches. This is a great idea, because we could instantly understand how rotating maps would be an additional help. Therefore, we will add it to our list!

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. We want to introduce a “notes layer”, which allows you to place pins and notes regardless of the map you are currently creating. Since we work closely with World Anvil (https://www.worldanvil.com/), we will make sure that our pins are compatible to the pins in World Anvil.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Theoretically yes, but our work with DUNGEONFOG has taught us, that this is a lot more complex than you might initially think (we need to consider the manifold relations between maps, assets and notes). We have it on our list, but we cannot estimate when/if we can make this happen.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

We will offer square and hex based grids. Regarding additional rulers or measurement tools: We do have some concepts we want to investigate, but we haven’t decided on the specifics yet. Let us know what tools you would like to use!

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Currently our biomes are tailored specifically to the requirements of Caeora as our art-advisor. Further down the development road, we are planning to offer customizable biomes that allows you to adjust the parameters and assets yourself.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Rivers will be drawn with a separate tool. This allows us to make rivers more customizable and will give you the option to manually define width, curvature, color/texture, river banks etc.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. Roads, pathways, and trade routes will be a separate tool and will come with a lot of parameters you can change and adjust manually.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

We would like to offer different filters or settings, similar to Instagram, whenever a map is exported.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes. Linking maps will work as a two-way system: You can define a map “exit” and a “landing location”. Both can be interlinked, so they lead back and forth between those linked maps.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

We will try to avoid unnecessary accounts. If everything works as intended, the player view will not require an account, unless players want to use World Anvil’s Heros features. But as always when it comes to programming - surprises can happen and we might need to adjust our concepts.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

To some extent, yes. You can always change the link leading to a specific map and prepare a different version of the map (e.g. the link placed on a region map leading to the detailed city map). When it comes to live editing the map, we are already working on toggleable states for props (on battlemaps) districts (on city maps) and biomes (regions / worldmaps).

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

Yes, we even want to go a step further:

A) You can import map images and use them as a canvas for your maps. This will work up to the point where you export the map with the imported canvas as part of the map image.

B) When creating a battlemap or city map based on a region, we want to pass certain parameters onto the new map. Landscapes (like rivers, forests or coastlines) can then be present as visual references for the new map.

C) For battlemaps, this might include specific stage textures and assets that could be pre-set based on the biome you link the battlemap to.

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

When it comes to layers, copying and pasting different objects between layers will be possible. However, we would like to offer additional functionalities for shapes when using export: You will be able to select those shapes and set them as “focus” for the export. For example, if you select a political region that you want to export, everything within the borders could be rendered in color, whereas everything outside could be rendered in black & white. Maybe we can do more with that - we are always open for new suggestions!

Last updated: July 21, 2019 17:18

If you would like to use DGNFOG maps in commercial works, such as games, books, or paid map commissions, you may be interested in this license.

The implication is that you need a commercial license, when you are offering maps for any commercial purpose that is relying on the maps being beneficial to your commercial success. (Like when you are selling a campaign / adventure that comes with DGNFOG maps).

Excluded from this restriction are: - occasional Patreon rewards - Streaming games - Free Giveaways as long as you mention in the credits or another visually represenative spot, that those maps were made with DUNGEONFOG.

As a legal entity you are eligible for commercial license as long as your Total Finances do not exceed €100.000,00 for the past 12 month. If that does not apply, please reach out to [email protected].

Last updated: July 24, 2019 06:04

Since there has been some confusion about lifetime backers from 2017 and how we handle them:

1) Your support WAS/IS what made DUNGEONFOG come to life. 2) Once we are launched with Project DEIOS you will automatically be treated as DEIOS lifetime as well. 3) Regarding Early Access - you will get ALPHA 1 access. 4) When it comes to CL and the KS exclusive rewards things get confusing, so here’s how we are going to handle it:

We will create a special “upgrade page” for lifetime 2017 supporters after the launch. There you will find options to purchase CL and all the KS exclusive rewards for a very special discount to lifetime backers.

I will send all lifetime 2017 backers this new link once the campaign is over.

Does that mean, you don’t have to back at all? We will hold any of your support with the highest regards, but technically - you are already covered,

Last updated: July 24, 2019 06:05