Coreyartus
Explorer
Well, for anyone that already has an Android or iOS phone, that's not a problem. If you really want to use a stick computer, go for it. More power to ya.
Digitial Battlemapping on the Cheap
Well, for anyone that already has an Android or iOS phone, that's not a problem. If you really want to use a stick computer, go for it. More power to ya.
innerdude
Legend
Another option similar to this is to use Tabletop Simulator on Steam. Compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
I'd been wanting to do something similar to this for AGES, but all of the other options, like Roll20, Fantasygrounds, etc., were all more about the "campaign management" aspects than the battlemap. I couldn't care less about campaign management; the free OneNote application that comes with my hotmail account more than covers anything I could want and more for that side of things. I just wanted an easy to use, digital battlemat that would get out of my way, while still giving more "immersion" into scenarios.
With Tabletop Simulator, you can easily pull any image hosted on the web on to a game 'board' which acts as the battlemat. Can resize the image, add or remove a grid (square or hex), drop tokens on, recolor the tokens to show conditions, etc.
The only thing it doesn't do well is to do fog of war on a local display. But otherwise, if you've already got a laptop to hook up to a TV or projector, it's a great investment. It does require a laptop or desktop to be connected to the display device though (or have a chromecast, etc.).
It's regularly $20, but I've consistently seen it on sale for $10; you just have to find it during one of Steam's many on-sale events.
I'd been wanting to do something similar to this for AGES, but all of the other options, like Roll20, Fantasygrounds, etc., were all more about the "campaign management" aspects than the battlemap. I couldn't care less about campaign management; the free OneNote application that comes with my hotmail account more than covers anything I could want and more for that side of things. I just wanted an easy to use, digital battlemat that would get out of my way, while still giving more "immersion" into scenarios.
With Tabletop Simulator, you can easily pull any image hosted on the web on to a game 'board' which acts as the battlemat. Can resize the image, add or remove a grid (square or hex), drop tokens on, recolor the tokens to show conditions, etc.
The only thing it doesn't do well is to do fog of war on a local display. But otherwise, if you've already got a laptop to hook up to a TV or projector, it's a great investment. It does require a laptop or desktop to be connected to the display device though (or have a chromecast, etc.).
It's regularly $20, but I've consistently seen it on sale for $10; you just have to find it during one of Steam's many on-sale events.
heruca
Explorer
Sounds like you've never looked at Battlegrounds.
It's ideal for use in face-to-face game sessions, using a projector or HDTV, and it has both manual and dynamic Fog of War. Requires a Windows PC.
innerdude
Legend
I actually have looked at Battlegrounds, and found it to be only slightly better than Roll20. The way you are forced to organize tokens, maps, etc., all as separate assets within its specific folder structure--just so you can USE ANYTHING--is just a massive pain to work through on a "spur of the moment." For everything I've tried other than Tabletop Simulator, the UI is just a constant irritation. Everything is just too . . . fussy, futzy. The stuff you use the most is either buried within menu options, not intuitive, or both.
Then there's trying to resize tokens to fit the map size or grid, having to set the grid snapping on or off for both you and the players . . . it's all just too much hassle.
By comparison, once you have the basics of Tabletop Simulator down, it's truly a joy to use. It's intuitive because you're actually manipulating 3D objects, which respond as such. I love the ability to just quickly copy/paste 3D models in Tabletop Simulator. Need to throw 8 orcs on the table? Drop one down, copy and paste it 7 times, done. Need to do a quick hand-drawing of a cave complex? Pull out your trusty draw tool, draw out a few boxes, and off you go. Want to change to a different map? Right-click the game board, select a new image URL from the Web, and bam---the new map is loaded.
Want to break things up and add some slightly different terrain? Drop a few 3D models of rocks and trees on to the map, move and resize--and it doesn't take any longer to do than it would take to draw it with a dry erase pen. Basically, anything a GM can hand-draw on the table, you can recreate in Tabletop Simulator in almost the same time right in the app, once you understand how to combine pre-printed map images with the existing 3D models.
I realize it's largely preference, but nothing I've ever used besides Tabletop Simulator has really worked for what I've wanted---to simulate a battle map tabletop I could use in a live session that requires barely, if any, additional overhead from an actual battle mat.
Then there's trying to resize tokens to fit the map size or grid, having to set the grid snapping on or off for both you and the players . . . it's all just too much hassle.
By comparison, once you have the basics of Tabletop Simulator down, it's truly a joy to use. It's intuitive because you're actually manipulating 3D objects, which respond as such. I love the ability to just quickly copy/paste 3D models in Tabletop Simulator. Need to throw 8 orcs on the table? Drop one down, copy and paste it 7 times, done. Need to do a quick hand-drawing of a cave complex? Pull out your trusty draw tool, draw out a few boxes, and off you go. Want to change to a different map? Right-click the game board, select a new image URL from the Web, and bam---the new map is loaded.
Want to break things up and add some slightly different terrain? Drop a few 3D models of rocks and trees on to the map, move and resize--and it doesn't take any longer to do than it would take to draw it with a dry erase pen. Basically, anything a GM can hand-draw on the table, you can recreate in Tabletop Simulator in almost the same time right in the app, once you understand how to combine pre-printed map images with the existing 3D models.
I realize it's largely preference, but nothing I've ever used besides Tabletop Simulator has really worked for what I've wanted---to simulate a battle map tabletop I could use in a live session that requires barely, if any, additional overhead from an actual battle mat.
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