D&D (2024) I am highly skeptical of the Unreal VTT

[MarkB]

Here's what I don't like about it.

• Many players are already invested in a VTT. That investment will be made worthless in a couple years - or you can't play the current edition.

Only if they don't allow other VTTs to license the current edition. That's possible, but far from certain.

• You're going to be paying to customize your token (a la HeroForge). We can currently just pull images from the Internet, make our own, or even use generic tokens. I'll bet that's not possible in this 3d environment.

I'll bet it is. My best guess is that you'll be able to import images and turn them into virtual paper minis like these:

• My current setup has some lag when a teenager is playing online games, my wife is streaming HBO, and I'm running a game on voice chat and a VTT. This stuff isn't going to work, and I'll bet it's going to require a high end PC to do what you're seeing in the preview.

Possibly, but how good do you need the performance to be? Lag is a potential issue, but this isn't a fast-paced action game - getting some dropped frames while you're spinning the camera isn't a serious problem, and most of the time your camera will be static.

 

[Charlaquin]

Not skeptical that it will come out, but skeptical that it is a good way to play D&D. I honestly believe that the fancier the VTT, the more it detracts from anything not combat, and makes it harder to run things on the fly or even homebrew prepped.

Thoughts?

I agree wholeheartedly, and I’m also concerned about its potential for predatory monetization. If there is a physical option, I’ll be sticking with it. If there’s not a physical option, I probably won’t be supporting the game financially any more.

 

[Hussar]

Ok. Fantasy Grounds runs on Unity. Which is also a 3D engine. Yet everyone still plays on a tip down 2d map.

The last WotC vtt allowed you to import your own tokens and maps and I doubt WotC is going to light the community’s goodwill on fire by doing anything different.

I do foresee deluxe editions of modules for sale that use all the bells and whistles.

But this idea of micro transactions where you are forced to buy basic items just to play is baseless.

How many micro transactions are there in the MTG online game? Massively popular platform that’s been running for years. But for some reason people need to think that WotC is going to do a 180 on their behaviour? Why?

 

[darjr]

Did the minis articulate? Or the terrain? Or were they like posed and frozen minis?

 

[ReshiIRE]

I don't trust Wizards to be very consumer friendly with their VTT considering I think Paizo's complete openness of rules and options minus fluff is significantly more friendly to everyone. Mind, Paizo is the exception compared to every other company, but I hope that they would set a standard now.

I wouuld also be somewhat weary in terms of the system requirements for their VTT considering the use of Unreal. It can scale down but I wonder if they will have any difficulty in reaching a market that other VTTs do not.

Finally, the fact the VTT is specifically for D&D means it's going to not get the revenue streams of others or allow pivoting, which a sizable percentage of customers likely would want. And I know D&D is nearly the entire RPG market, but it's still a flaw.

This is semi-offtopic but I will note that Fantasy Grounds only changed to Unity in the past few years. No idea why they changed too Unity in particular, but I'm guessing it was purely for easy of development and they did not invest a lot in performance.

Hussar, I am guessing you have tried other options than Fantasy Grounds? It seems like quite an expensive option commpared to current competitors, but I presume there's reasons you've had to stick by it.

 

[Reynard]

Did the minis articulate? Or the terrain? Or were they like posed and frozen minis?

They made a point of saying they wanted you to feel like you were at the table, not playing a video game, so I doubt there is articulation.

 

[LordEntrails]

This seems needlessly hostile. The table top in that video looked cool.

Then you misunderstand me.

Currently using Fantasy Grounds, I cannot use an image greater than 100k because it hangs for one or more of my players. Chosen randomly, week by week. Yeah, I'm going to think that that WotC can't do much worse than that.

I don't have that problem, I use images every week, often in the 100MB range. I wnder what it is about your environment FG doesn't like?

Speaking of FG, @smiteworks has made a statement on their forums; Fantasy Grounds and One D&D - predictions for the future
Including an very interesting video of a proof of concept they are working on;

 

[Hussar]

I stuck with Fantasy Grounds primary because of sunk costs but also because for a long time it was the only DnD supported VTt. Everyone else forces you to do all the work yourself. From a dms perspective of adventure creation FG is fantastic. You can fully stock an entire adventure, with pretty much everything prepped in a few hours. From that perspective it’s great. And at least as good as if not better than anything else on the market.

But that’s a very low bar.

I have very high hopes for WotC on this. Their last vtt attempt was fantastic. Easily head and shoulders better than anything else available at the time. Now? With the kind of money they’re going to sink into this? Backed by DnD Beyond? This is going to be great.

See I only play DnD. I haven’t played another rpg in years. So a DnD specific tabletop is great for me. And it means that future development will focus on DnD. Why should I care about how many Pathfinder adventures Roll20 supports? I’m never going to play them. So it’s just wasted effort porting it I for me.

I’ve been playing over vtt since 2002. I know what I want.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Not skeptical that it will come out, but skeptical that it is a good way to play D&D. I honestly believe that the fancier the VTT, the more it detracts from anything not combat, and makes it harder to run things on the fly or even homebrew prepped.

Thoughts?

They are going to sell so many electronic minis and maps...

My experience is a lot like yours. I use VTT's almost exclusively these days and I don't even like putting up a combat grid (theater of the mind baybee!). I'm thinking the potential market there is just too lucrative to let go entirely, though. If you get folks to pay $1 per mini or $5 for a dungeon room...

 

[MarkB]

Stray thought: What if WotC acquire HeroForge, and then allow minis produced and purchased there to be imported to their VTT.