Light is part of the map, not a filter over it
A flat map with a texture looks the same at every hour. TerrainTale lights the scene for real: a sun with shadows, torches you can attach to any lamp, bloom on flame, and a time-of-day preset that changes what the room feels like without changing a single tile.
Day, dusk and night from one map
Image-based lighting is picked per time of day, with a sun whose shadow frustum is fitted to the map and soft shadows across the floor. Switch the preset and the tavern that was cheerful at midday becomes a candlelit hideout at night, with no rebuilding.
Torches and bloom
Attach a torch light to any lamp, candle or brazier on the shelf and it lights the corridor around it; flames get bloom so a torchlit dungeon actually reads as lit rather than merely textured.
Scaled to the GPU you have
Quality tiers are picked automatically: integrated GPUs get a lighter lighting path, discrete GPUs get ambient occlusion, MSAA and 4K shadows. It is a web page, so there is nothing to configure by hand.
Questions
Can I set a fixed time of day for a scene?
Yes, the time-of-day / lighting preset is part of the scene and is saved with it.
Do walls actually block light?
Yes, walls and props cast real shadows from the sun and from torch lights, not painted-on shading.
Will this run on an older laptop?
Yes, the renderer detects the GPU and drops to a lighter lighting path on integrated graphics automatically.
Is lighting part of the free plan?
Yes, lighting and every preset are part of the whole table on the free plan.
Keep reading
3D Battle Maps for Tabletop RPGs
Make 3D battle maps in the browser from a realistic, CC0 library: PBR floors and walls, photoscanned props, trees and lights.
A Realistic 3D Asset Library for D&D Maps
A free, CC0 library of realistic 3D battle-map pieces: PBR-generated floors and walls, Poly Haven photoscanned props, and animated KayKit characters.
D&D Map on a TV: Build a Digital Game Table for In-Person Play
How to put a digital D&D battle map on a TV or projector: three hardware setups that work, a cheap computer to drive it, matching the grid to one-inch minis, and a free 3D map in the browser.
D&D Virtual Tabletop in 3D
A 3D virtual tabletop built for Dungeons & Dragons: realistic battle maps, animated miniatures, a ruler in feet, initiative and HP.
From the blog
Day, dusk, night: setting the mood with lighting presets
One map, three encounters: how TerrainTale's time-of-day presets change a scene's mood without touching a single tile, and when to reach for which preset.
· 5 min read
Measuring elevation in 3D combat
Why height needs its own number in a fight, how the elevation-aware readout works ("30 ft · 10 ft up"), and what a flat map has to fake that a 3D table just measures.
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PBR materials vs. flat textures: why the floors look real
What separates a PBR-generated floor from a flat cartoon texture, and why TerrainTale's 96-piece surface library reads as real stone and marble instead of a painted pattern.
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All articles on battle maps, grid rules and running the game
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