VTT Consistency in the pdf

[Faunus]

I would love it if all the pdfs were formatted in such a way that people using VTTs can extract the images easily. Sometimes this is quickly done, sometimes the NPCs/Ships/Maps are merged into the background so we have lots of cutting/cleaning to do. Sometimes things are chopped into sections so we have to sew it back together again also.

Basically when you sit down to run a paizo AP in FoundryVTT for example, the amount of time you're going to spend on prep depends which AP you bought. Some, it's very quick. Some: it's hours in photoshop. You won't know which it is until you buy at least 1 of the pdfs. :/

Is this just inconsistency in the finish process of pdfs? Is it a security feature?

In an ideal world, I would get a .zip with all the images in png along with the pdf. I'd even pay for it as a separate product because it could save me hours.

Some of the newer APs are so rough to just get decent NPC art into the VTT, I'd just rather run another one where the art is easier to get. :D

[John Mangrum]

The images in the Devastation Ark and Fly Free or Die APs were chopped into sections as a patch for a formatting element that was, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, causing the PDF file sizes to balloon wildly.

Other than that, though, Paizo's Starfinder PDFs are generally pretty friendly for VTT use.

[Leon Aquilla]

Quote:

Basically when you sit down to run a paizo AP in FoundryVTT for example, the amount of time you're going to spend on prep depends which AP you bought. Some, it's very quick. Some: it's hours in photoshop. You won't know which it is until you buy at least 1 of the pdfs. :/

I use FoundryVTT and have never spent hours in photoshop adjusting a map, and I wouldn't recommend it either. For a map that you'll maybe spend an hour on, maybe two, that seems excessive, reminiscent of creating a life story, tragic divorce, three job losses, and a bout with chronic illness all for an NPC that the group will spend 3-5 minutes talking to.

Just use Grid Scaler and make it gridless after or make the lines really thick to contrast with the lower-res lines in the default maps.

I have heard (anecdotally) that starting with Drift Crisis the maps are much more consistent, but you're probably not going to get a revision done to all the old content any time soon.

[Nefreet]

I convert the PDFs to PowerPoint Presentations, then just cut and paste the images I want into wherever I need them.

Works for everything from Society Scenarios to APs and even the Hardcovers. Super quick and easy. And none of the "black fuzzies" that you get from right-click-copying directly from the PDF.