D&D 5E More details about the VTT from D&D Beyond

[JiffyPopTart]

Yes I know that, but a chunk of those people are also saying their TotM way is the only proper way to play and stuff like VTTs make RPGs worse as a whole.

I play a tabletop game that uses a laid-down TV to show battlemaps and in which some (but not all) players use phones/tablets/laptops with electronic character sheets.

The TV battlemat is a time saver and a big plus, as the GM doesn't have to wrestle with drawing maps or moving things out of the way to make room for different maps or tiles. The maps look great.

The electronic character sheets are a net negative. Players that use them tend to have less character mastery and take much longer to react to unexpected events. They also are MUCH more likely to be distracted by something non-D&D.

GM: Suddenly a pulsing wave crosses the room: Everyone make an INT save.

Players with paper sheets: Roll d20 and glance down at their save modifier.

Players with electronics: Unsleep, click a couple buttons, scroll to appropriate section, roll a d20.

The negatives of electronic gaming for some can be from many sources.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I think it will be something that you CAN play other games in... but you really shouldn't. All the support and automation will be for D&D, so you would probably not have other sheets and stuff like that.

I see no reason think you won’t be able to upload pdf sheets and put in assets for other games.

Ya, I think you could play other games, but why not use one of the VTTs that support those games?

Unreal Engine 5 is pretty supportive of modding, so idk if I agree. I also think that they are fairly likely to allow other games to use the platform and make automation and assets for them, and charge developers for it.

It’s fairly low investment income, and potentially positions them as the big tent for the whole hobby.

 

[Bill Zebub]

God I would have liked that demo video so much more if the players had all been in remote locations. It makes me cry to see people playing D&D in person, at the same table, and all of them looking at their laptops.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Players with electronics: Unsleep, click a couple buttons, scroll to appropriate section, roll a d20.

I’ve seen this a lot too.

I strongly encourage players to be plugged in, and set their phone to not go to sleep automatically for the duration of the game, and put it on driving mode or whatever to avoid distracting notifications. If that is hard for them, I’m happy to help them find a sheet they like and get it printed at the FdEx store for them.

But I can run a combat encounter pretty smoothly with dndbeyond on my phone.

Like I said upthread, I just want a vtt that I can fairly easily and intuitively run a game where we all have our devices and are comfortable in our seats, aome in the same living room and soon thousands of miles away, and just play.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Maybe, rather than ascribe snobbery to it first, consider it as expressing concerns about distraction?

Yeah, and I agreed with the first point. I shy away from player facing maps with any sort of realism for exactly that reason. I'd rather let player imagine it in their heads they way they like.

I mean, it's the same reason I prefer for my kids to read books before they see the movie.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Yeah, and I agreed with the first point. I shy away from player facing maps with any sort of realism for exactly that reason. I'd rather let player imagine it in their heads they way they like.

I mean, it's the same reason I prefer for my kids to read books before they see the movie.

God I would have liked that demo video so much more if the players had all been in remote locations. It makes me cry to see people playing D&D in person, at the same table, and all of them looking at their laptops.

While you can like what you like, this is basically the opposite of my opinions.

The people with the laptops as well can easily look at each and talk, there is no difference in my opinion from looking at the laptop, and looking at a paper sheet and map on the table.

 

[Malmuria]

God I would have liked that demo video so much more if the players had all been in remote locations. It makes me cry to see people playing D&D in person, at the same table, and all of them looking at their laptops.

You can see, even while they’re voicing their characters, they keep their eyes glued to their screens.

 

[Hussar]

Maybe other people prefer to visualize the scene in their own way and find detailed 3d environments to get in the way of that?

I dunno. Maybe? I have to admit though, I've seen the snobbery FAR more often than just a statement of preference. Years and years of people proudly proclaiming that online gaming is "ok for some" with a sniff. There has been a VERY strong current of pretty vocal poo flinging at any notion of online gaming. Heck it wasn't until Corona forced people to actually try online gaming that we've seen any real push back on the notion that anything other than face to face isn't "real" gaming.

I'd say @MonsterEnvy isn't too far off.

 

[Oofta]

While you can like what you like, this is basically the opposite of my opinions.

The people with the laptops as well can easily look at each and talk, there is no difference in my opinion from looking at the laptop, and looking at a paper sheet and map on the table.

While we don't use a VTT, everyone in the games I play use DDB and run their character from a screen instead of a piece of paper. It doesn't really change anything. The difference between being remote and playing in person is still huge, the interaction is just so much easier in person than remote.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I dunno. Maybe? I have to admit though, I've seen the snobbery FAR more often than just a statement of preference. Years and years of people proudly proclaiming that online gaming is "ok for some" with a sniff. There has been a VERY strong current of pretty vocal poo flinging at any notion of online gaming. Heck it wasn't until Corona forced people to actually try online gaming that we've seen any real push back on the notion that anything other than face to face isn't "real" gaming.

I'd say @MonsterEnvy isn't too far off.

Maybe there's snobbery from some; I haven't really noticed it, perhaps because I'm sympathetic.

But perhaps in the same way that fear and hurt often get expressed as anger, because anger feels less vulnerable, in this case it's sadness getting expressed as snobbery. I certainly feel sadness when I see my hobby becoming more and more video-game like. And I'm not anti-video-game: I basically sunk all of 2007 into World of Warcraft (dual Warglaives of Azzinoth, sukkaz). I just treasure RPGs for something different and hate to see those differences erode.