Jumpgate Quality of Life & Feature Improvements

April 11, 2025 05:17

Jumpgate, Roll20’s Improved Tabletop Experience, is the largest overhaul and modernization of our VTT platform since we started. Alongside reworking the engine that powers our Tabletop, we took the opportunity to lean into the recent UI improvements that we’ve been making over the past year (such as the new Measure Tool and Page Folders). We’ve extended the effort to improve the Roll20’s Interface in Jumpgate, and we are going to continuing this effort in the future.
Here’s the incredible list of new features and quality of life improvements that Jumpgate offers thus far!

Now available in all Jumpgate games created by Plus/Pro Subscribers: the Foreground Layer adds depth and dynamic interactions to your games.

This GM-accessible layer renders above the Token Layer, allowing foreground objects like roofs, treetops, and overlays to obscure the map and tokens in your campaign.
Customize fade actions of foreground objects triggered by token interaction to create hidden surprises, dramatic reveals, and more.
Let us know what you think on our Forums, and read more about this feature on our Blog and Help Center.

The GM hamburger menu has been updated to make it easier to access settings and features at the click of a button:

Adjust GM Darkness, Foreground, and GM Layer opacity
Toggle the Foreground Layer on and off for players
And as always: quickly preview your map as a selected token, copy your game link, turn Dark Mode on and off, report a bug, access the help center, and exit your game

Exciting improvements have been made to the upload process for animated graphics:

Faster upload speeds for animated graphics
Increased maximum file upload size (from 10MB to 20MB for free users, from 20MB to 50MB for Plus users, and from 20MB to 100MB for Pro users)
A more intuitive file upload interface with multi-file selection for batch uploads
The ability to multitask, allowing you to keep working while your uploads process
For more information, please read our Blog and Help Center

Dungeon Scrawl can now be connected to Roll20, bringing new drawing tools to the VTT!

Whether planning ahead or improvising on the fly to accommodate a party going off-script, this feature lets you create and edit maps without having to manage files or impact your storage.
In Roll20 Tabletop, use the new drop-down menu when creating a Page to either begin a new connection or connect an existing map.
For more information, check out our Blog, Help Center & FAQs, and join the conversation in our Forums.

New Dynamic Lighting tool in Left Toolbar, letting you focus on gameplay and vibes, not troubleshooting:

Subscribers now have access to a fully revamped Dynamic Lighting tool accessible in Left Toolbar, which consolidates all relevant settings in one place.
You’ll see real-time updates to your map as you adjust things, with updated tooltips providing additional clarity. This eliminates the need to navigate to and switch between tabs in page settings.
Dynamic Lighting will also include Explorer Mode (formerly “Explorable Darkness”), enabling a map area to become and stay revealed to a player – in a neat sepia color – once their token has seen it. Explorer mode is still editable, but in a new context, so that users don’t get confused between explorer mode and hide/reveal! Learn more here.
To help troubleshoot lighting issues quickly, we’ve added a diagnostics section to the footer of the Dynamic Lighting tool (helping callout tokens with vision, and light sources on the map). When users mouse over the footer, "tokens with vision" and "light sources" are highlighted on the map to help diagnose and troubleshoot setup issues quicker.
Added animated darkness effects, such as Dark Fog or Pale Mist to create a more immersive experience.
“Preview as Token” tool now located in the DL tool footer for ease of access.

Updated Hide / Reveal Mask tool to make GMing smoother and more intuitive:

All users can enjoy a simpler and clearer interface for hiding and revealing areas of the map during game play with Hide / Reveal Mask tool. Previously called “Permanent Darkness” within Fog of War, this tool allows for quick hide-and-reveal actions to manage map visibility on the fly.
We simplified the language and instructions to make things clear and more accessible, removing ambiguity around terms like “add” and “subtract.” We’re also retiring references to Fog of War, Permanent Darkness and Explorable Darkness to remove perceived overlap with Dynamic Lighting – just hide or reveal some stuff! Learn more here.

Play with Both D&D 5E Character Sheets in Your Game on Jumpgate:

You can now use both D&D 5E (2014) and D&D 5E (2024) Character Sheets on Roll20 when using Jumpgate - pick your preferred sheet for characters & NPCs! Learn more here

Copy Mods (API) scrips on game copy:

We added a new capability to copy Mods (API) scripts when copying any game

Character Sheets (and Characters in your Journal) are easier to use in Jumpgate:

Using shortcut shift+double click on PC/NPC tokens now opens up their character sheet
Sheets that were minimized now re-maximize when accessed from the right-click menu or journal, making keeping track of sheets easier.
Sheets written with Beacon SDK advanced sheet infrastructure (including Dungeons & Dragons 2024, Candela Obscura, Coyote & Crow, and Marvel Multiverse RPG character sheets) now have enhanced usability and performance.
Duplicating a character or a handout via right-click of that item in your Journal Tab is now easier: reduced from 5 clicks to 2!

Effects (FX) Tool has uplifted UI and effects and is available to all users!

The Effects (FX) tool, previously exclusive to paid GMs, is now available to everyone as part of Roll20’s improved tabletop experience, Project Jumpgate.
This update includes a revamped pre-built Effects Library featuring and updated UI, enhanced visuals, new Effects, and a better interface featuring quality-of-life improvements like more precise click-and-drag gesturing and measurement. Pro subscribers can access advanced customization options, allowing for unique particle effects tailored to any scenario

Zooming is overall smoother and more refined:

Zooming will now zoom to the location of your cursor
Radial menus will remain in the correct position while zooming
You can hold down the Shift key while zooming to do precision zooming

Panning is more performant, smoother, and unrestricted:

Freely pan beyond bounds of the page, to focus attention anywhere and positioning your game however it suits your setup

Re-Center Map feature allows you to easily re-center your map view:

When pressing the new “Center the Map” button by the Zoom control, all it does is center the map.
If you hold Shift while clicking the button, it also resets to 100% zoom.
If you press the “Home” shortcut, it only resets the map.
If you press “Shift + Home”, it resets the map and resets to 100% zoom.

Place objects outside the bounds of your maps:

Objects that you place outside the page boundary will be visible to only the GM
Place objects outside the bounds of your maps, keeping enemy tokens, quick sketches, and more to the side, ready to bring in when needed.

Right-click context menu has been redesigned:

We surfaced many menu actions that were previously only available to players via keyboard shortcuts
You can now perform actions on groups of objects all at once with the right-click menu including locking their position
Players now have ability to flip tokens vertically and horizontal
Users now have the option to independently Disable Grid Snapping and Disable Token Menus

Page Folders has additional features:

"My Page" title in the top left corner of Page Toolbar is replaced by the user's current page, making it easier to identify where you are and access page settings

Fog of War and Dynamic Lighting systems has been closer integrated and improved to provide a more cohesive light and darkness interactions:

There's a new UI for the Fog of War tool that should make it more clear what it is that you're able to do with adding and removing fog
The basic Fog of War system is now integrated into the overall Dynamic Lighting system. So basic Fog of War and Permanent Darkness for Dynamic Lighting are now the same functionality
The Legacy Dynamic Lighting system has been removed and is not available in Jumpgate games
*Upcoming: we are working to further refine the Interface of Permanent and Explorable Darkness in response to user confusion, so be on the lookout for more updates!

Undo & Redo is updated and applies to a wider variety of actions:

We’ve added Redo! The Ctrl+Y/Cmd+Y shortcut will now Redo if you Undo something and want to revert your Undo
There’s now support for undoing and redoing a wider variety of actions; we’ll continue to add more
Undo and Redo are now page specific – so if you change to a different page and press Undo, you won’t have something weird happen

Ping system had a facelift:

The default ping look & feel has been improved when you click and hold on the tabletop
We now have a new system for pings in the backend, opening the possibility to customize ping images in the future

Align/Snap to Grid works with resizing:

Snap to edge for all grid types works
We also improved snapping when resizing, and you’ll now see that tokens will snap at half and quarter size inside of a grid cell

Tablets & Touch Devices have improved support:

The performance is majorly improved
Panning and zooming now work well, long-press to bring up the context menu works better, etc
Multi-gestures are possible (i.e. start a marquee select, zoom or pan, keep selecting)
We’ll continue to work on making this a better experience, but this work is still in early development.

Hex Grids have been updated, enabling precise setting and measuring of distances:

Measurement distances when using hex grids should now work properly
Improved keyboard movement for hex and iso/dimetric grid types
We made update to grid labels to increase the maximum number you can have on a map
Hex Grids have the number of rows and columns consistent with Page settings where you specify the number of cells

Doors & Windows are easier to set up and maneuver for game preparation:

You can now Copy and Paste doors and windows
We’ve also enabled you to multi-select doors and windows alongside other objects by pressing Shift and clicking on doors and windows on Lighting Layer
On Token layer, you can now multi-select to open/close multiple doors & windows at the same time
On Lighting layer, you can Shift Click to multi-select and more multiple doors & windows at the same time

Objects Multi-Selecting & Pasting have been improved:

Pasting multiple times in a row will now spread out the objects you have pasted so you can easily see them and move them
When dragging to select multiple objects with the marquee tool, you will now see immediate feedback on what you’re selecting
When a group is a member of a multi-select, you can hold down the Shift key while clicking a group member to remove all group members from the selection. (You can hold down Shift + Alt to remove only a single member of the group from the selection)
You can now apply all actions (e.g. lock placement, bring to front/back, add turn, etc) from the right click context menu to all of the objects in a multi-selected group

Token Extras, Token Movement, Token View have improved handling:

Token tooltips are more responsive to hovering and are easier to see
Auras resize dynamically with token and isometric circle auras are more accurately sized
There’s something here we may have also improved that’s missing (and not a bug)?
Pressing X to show previous token movement toggles into a mode where all previous moves will persist until deselected
You can use the V shortcut on your keyboard to view the tokens you control on top in the moment! If you would like to view your tokens consistently on top, you can also enable "Always display controlled tokens on top" in Graphics sections of your Settings. Players should expect to see only their name plates and token bars if darkness appears on the page, and can use the V shortcut or the settings update to view their token art on top
The Token Marker interface has been uplifted, now offering a button to clear all markers, as well as a search bar and a larger view area to find graphics.

Rotating & Resizing and dragging objects, maps and tokens is much easier:

Rotation resizing handle are always visible and easier to grab at any level of zoom
Token bars, nameplates, markers and auras smoothly and consistently rotate and resize with objects
Token bars and nameplates now scale to half-cell and quarter-cell size
Users are now prompted to switch to the map layer when an image above 1750x1750px is dragged onto the VTT, making it easier to upload to the correct layer

System Performance Improvements:

We’ll now automatically choose a default Frame Rate Limit for you based on the quality of your detected graphics card, enabling higher-end computers to see much smoother animation experience. You can override this setting and change it manually still under the Settings tab, in the Graphics section.
For Mac users, the CPU usage when joining a video call inside the Roll20 VTT using our Integrated Voice and Video platform has been greatly reduced, so you should have a better game experience. (We also rolled this out to non-Jumpgate games as well!)