Greetings again. I’m back with an updated tool like the World Forge 3D, but this time it’s got a much-requested feature: live community lore pinning. It runs in your browser, no download needed, and it works on mobile.

Here’s the link for the first run of Community Forge 3D:
https://www.tcpoole.com/communityforge3d/#General

Load in, wait a few seconds for the map to load, then double click/tap and you can add your first Pin. Click "Enable Live Updates" to see when others, in real time, create their own Pin.

Quick note up front: you’ll need a Google account to sign in if you want to place pins and properly test the tool. Viewing works without it, but pinning is tied to sign-in so it doesn’t turn into total chaos (it might anyway).

What it is

This is a shared 3D globe where people can drop lore pins in real time. We’ll literally see immediately (with a cool effect) when someone creates a Lore Pin. You can keep it simple and just say hi, or use a pin to share your own project, link your own site, attach images, and even a YouTube link.

The community worldbuilding potential is the best part, because this isn’t locked to just Funkatron forever. Each room can have its own map texture, which means a DM, a creator, or a whole community can upload their own world map onto the globe and then collaboratively build lore right on top of it.

Rooms and how to make your own

You’ll land in the #General room first. That one is meant to be the community commons where I've got my own map uploaded.

If you want to help test it, drop a pin in #General and:

  • write a hello message
  • share a link to your own site/project
  • share your world or campaign
  • claim a spot on Funkatron where you’d want to live

If you want your own room: change what comes after the # in the URL.
So instead of #General you can do #WhateverYouWant, and anyone with that exact link can enter your room.

If you want it more hidden, add some random numbers at the end, like:
#DragonRoom12345
So only people you share it with can find it.

Safety + moderation notes

  • Images only load from trusted hosting sites (Imgur, Discord CDN, etc). If you want your own site whitelisted, just reach out. I’m trying to keep it safe while still letting people share cool stuff.
  • If you claim ownership of a room, you can lock the globe’s map so others can’t change it.
  • As the owner, you can delete any pins in that room if you need to moderate.

If you want a private version

If you’re reading this thinking, “I want this as a private tool for my community / campaign / creator site,” reach out. This post is a testing phase, but I’m also ready to be put to work setting up private versions for people who want their own map and their own space.

It's going to be wild seeing all our pins. Let me know if you have any ideas for it or if you want anything added to it. You all have always had great ideas for my tools in the past. If you've used any of my others tools, tThanks.

  • i would 1000% want this as a personal tool, preferably offline

    parent

    Heyo, thanks for checking it out. When you say offline, do you mean only you, or you and friends on a local network? Do you want the shared live pinning feature, or just a way for you to pin your own lore, offline.

    parent root

    i had meant completely offline, just my and my own work without the need for an Internet connection.

    that said, being available on a local network word also be amazing

    parent root

    All variants could've be good.

    Offline version where it's runs on your PC.

    Possibility to host in on your PC to share with friends and work together (also it's will add possibility to make it available online if user knows how to)

    "Official Site" that will allow to work online with any amount of people without hosting on your PC. But it's requires budget.

    parent root

    Right, that's what I'm putting together now. All types of versions. Good feedback.

    parent root

    Check out Gateway Forge, features 3d maps just like this (and many other features) and runs entirely offline.

    gatewayforge.com

    parent root

  • Amazing. Honest questions: - whats the largest res map it can handle? - how many pins can it conceivably handle?

    Assuming it can handle it i'd love a version that only i can edit that i could share with followers maybe with a link

    parent

    Thanks. Quite a lot of pins could be stored (thousands). Soon they'll be many versions: a local, offline/LAN option which will store your pin data on your local harddrive, so infinite pins. They'll also be different tiers for creators who might need LOTS of storage on the server and still want it to be accessible to their friends/audience/party from anywhere (online). Right now, i'm testing metrics to see how much storage we might need/plans. I want to keep it as free/low cost as possible.

    parent root

    It can handle my map at 16383x10082, It can really handle any map since its just a hosted public URL (given the safe whitelists). In future versions, like the local offline version, they'll be an option to upload a map from your local harddrive in addition to the already functional shareable image URL

    parent root

  • This is great! Not long ago I was brainstorming a very similar idea for a fullstack dev project. Well done! 

    Now I’m considering some form of platform that can host people’s worlds for others to explore/share 

    parent

    Yo! Thanks. I'm hoping people use this for exactly that: sharing their worlds with others. Anybody can share their own room link (#roomname) . I'm hoping to collect some for a list on my site that is sort of a hub where people can click through, like you were saying, others' worlds.

    parent root

  • This is already incredible, seems like the kind of thing that would be good to put on steam if you do make the offline, single-person version? Or just a standalone app would be cool, but I do appreciate that the in browser version is better for collaboration.

    Just to clarify, you have to have a map texture to upload beforehand?

    Making a fullblown map editor inside this would bring it to completion imo, and whilst I know there are map gen tools out there I'm not sure how many of them can create images designed to be wrapped onto a sphere. Keep it up though this is great

    parent

    Thanks for the kind words and checkin git out. There will def be a standalone app in the very near future.

    And yes, you already have to a have a map to use/image to upload (unless your're just dropping a Pin in the #General room which is more for everyone like a town hub.

    There is also an update coming for Flat Map/2d projection. For those who don't have world maps and/or want to use regional or other type maps.

    - One day i might make a map editor, but that is far off. (I say that but who knows).

    The Flat map/2d should be a fun feature, because we'll still be able to place pins in real time, in private/public rooms, with our community/friends/etc but using a 2d plane in a 3d space. Buckwild!

    parent root

  • Would be really cool to use this as a personal tool. You should make it an app.

    parent

    Thanks, def now working on turning it into a standalone app. Shouldn't take too long.

    parent root

  • what if my world isnt a classic planet?

    parent

    Flat Map/2d is coming soon, and what is your planet shape?

    parent root

    Hard to explain 😅. Its basically a galaxy with flat land instead of planets.

    This looks super fkn good tho.

    parent root

  • Very cool!

    parent

    thanks for the kind words

    parent root

    You're welcome!
    Keep doing cool things!

    parent root

  • Can you upload images onto the globe??

    parent

    yes. You have to start a new room though, so in the url, instead of ending it with #General, name it whatever you want like #yournamehere

    This starts a new instance/room, and then you can claim ownership of that room and upload your own map/image to the globe

    parent root

    ... Or you can upload an image url, that will dispaly the image in the "about" of your lore pin (when someone clicks on your pin in the #General room.

    parent root

  • Is this related to Gateway Forge or no?

    parent

    No all my tools are my own, created by me

    parent root

  • OMG I need this

    For real though, this would be so cool to have on a personal website for my fantasy book series. I wouldn’t be interested in a community aspect, it would be more about giving readers an interactive way to explore the world’s locations and stories.

    parent

    Message me here or (pref) on discord. Thanks for checking it out.

    parent root

  • map locked :/

    parent

    The map's texture is locked only on the main page. You can still drop lore pins there. If you want your own room, just change whats after the # in the URL. name it whatever youd like. THe you can claim owner ship of that room, upload your own map, moderate/control that room.

    parent root

  • I've been working on something a little similar.

    I call it "Tales from the Spiral"

    its a shared setting, multiverse, designed around short story collections and actual book series.

    collaborative storytelling.

    parent

  • Like others have said, if I could just install it on my PC and use it, would be 10/10

    parent