ANAmap: a free RPG Map Editor

ANA Map will no longer be updated

This version won’t be updated anymore. You can switch to the new RPG Map 2 which gets rid of Flash and implements many features requested by users. The source code of the original ANA Map is available on GitHub.

About the old Flash version

IMPORTANT : you need a Flash Player for this version to work. So far it has been tested on Firefox 59 and Chrome. For Chrome, you may need to click this link for it to work and choose “Allow” when asked to run flash. If nothing shows, there might be an issue with the Flash player: you should check if it’s enabled and not blocked by any third party extension.

For the last 20 years, I’ve been playing tabletop RPGs with friends on a very regular basis. I’ve spent a huge amount of time writing scenarii and missions. I did it with traditional pen & papers at first, and with Google Docs afterwards.

Problem is: it’s ok to write missions with Google Docs, until it comes to drawing the map of, say, a dungeon in Dungeon & Dragons, or a haunted house in Call of Cthulhu. Most of the dedicated tools are either:

  • Old: like with a Win95 interface with almost zero attention to ergonomic
  • Bloated: the tools allows EVERY single thing related to drawing a map, and therefore, is too complicated for my simple needs.
  • Ugly: the tool uses lots of terrible textures where I just want to draw walls and doors.

For some times now, I’ve been using Photoshop to paint my maps. But let’s face it. It’s a great tool, but it has not been designed for that purpose. And it’s not free.

So I’ve decided to work on my own tool, with the sacred KiSS principle in mind (Keep it Short & Simple).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Martha Isaacs:

    Ok

    April 26, 2018 at 09:33
  2. Philip:

    I've just started DMing a pathfinder game, and I agree – tons of bloated tools out there with too much detail (and awful textures)! I want my players to use their imaginations, but it's nice to have a physical reference. Thanks for putting this together.

    I intuitively knew to hit shift to draw squares – so happy that feature is there.

    April 21, 2018 at 19:16
  3. Mox:

    Freaking awesome little tool. I love the Blur option. Keep it up!!

    April 21, 2018 at 03:10
  4. Mikas:

    Great work. This really helps make a dungeon without fifty-thousand options for rocks to choose from. The one complaint I do have is you don't have a paint bucket tool, so making outdoor maps is a bit of a pain. If you could add that, it would be wonderful.

    April 18, 2018 at 22:36
  5. Matt:

    Great App! You could increase the versatility a great deal by adding a basic color choice and using the existing textures grey "small Dirt" for stone or blue for water, green for grass, etc. Thanks so much for sharing!

    April 18, 2018 at 21:39
  6. Alec:

    This is a great tool, my one complaint would be there doesn't seem to be a way to move the side tool bar, meaning i can't edit under it.

    April 16, 2018 at 15:51
  7. Taurel of Greywood:

    This is fantastic! Using it to make a big bad lair for D&D. This does everything I could want for a custom map developer to insert into Roll20. It would be GREAT to have a way to upload and share maps created with this tool. Thanks so much.

    April 14, 2018 at 05:56
  8. Kate:

    Hello

    April 11, 2018 at 09:22
  9. francisco:

    nada

    April 10, 2018 at 22:19
  10. alont:

    waw

    April 6, 2018 at 22:52
  11. blambson78:

    Can I embed this in OneNote or any other site?

    March 27, 2018 at 01:02
  12. ok:

    ok

    March 21, 2018 at 13:05
  13. Lighting_11 (D&D - New DM):

    You should be able to make an outside map. Basically, its the same as any other map, but all the walls are removed and there is a row of trees or something around the screen. Maybe it would be an example… It might also save differently. Instead of saving all the room square, it would save the wall squares. That way it could save hard drive space! Sound good?

    March 20, 2018 at 13:10
  14. Lighting_11 (D&D - New DM):

    LOL! When you reset, the program says "OMG omg omg! (CONTROL-Z to cancel)"! XD

    March 20, 2018 at 13:04
  15. Lighting_11 (D&D - New DM):

    To fill a large area, you can hold shift click and then drag to great a box. Its great for making large rooms!

    March 20, 2018 at 13:01
  16. Lighting_11 (D&D - New DM):

    How do you make secret doors? Is there a way besides putting a door and then putting a text box with an S over it? I think there should be a better way.

    March 20, 2018 at 12:59
  17. Robert:

    Oh, and secret doors!

    March 19, 2018 at 18:18
  18. Robert:

    Love this. I agree that this simple approach with high ease-of-use is awesome. My only recommendation would be to add water. Perhaps similar to how you handle "dirt". This would allow rivers or pools etc.

    March 19, 2018 at 18:16
  19. Kirisaga:

    Please, please, PLEASE help me! For some reason, my mud is always, white, even when I download the file! Also, just saying, a fill area bucket would prove useful. That pushed aside, this is an AWESOME tool, and I really think that this is the best map making software I have ever used.

    March 19, 2018 at 05:04
  20. Anonymous:

    :-)

    March 18, 2018 at 12:21

Links to this post