A D&D Shell: Live play remotely (Ideas/Help Request)

[Runnerwwr]

A D&D Shell: Live play remotely (Ideas/Help Request)

Because I hate the inflexibilities of games such as NWN and am annoyed with the slow progress of play by post games, I have set upon a quest to make it possible to play live D&D games remotely via a program. I’m interested in any suggestions also any one interested in helping with the creation of the program. (Artists, Anyone who knows VB6 or VB.net) Some of the possible features in consideration are:
- Live microphone talk
- Same time combat turns (will be optional)
- Map assisted play (based on tile D&D rules)
- Automatic calculations (will be optional)
- Direct connect or search games
- Pause, save, and resume games (so they can be finished at a later date)
- And of course text messages
- In program character sheets (to easily allow DM to check stats, give items, ect.)
- Based on 3.5 rules
Keep in mind all these will not affect flexibility ultimately the DM will make the final decision on all issues if he/she wishes.

When the program is finished I plan to make it open source code so future improvements can be made.

 

[Chaldfont]

I'm a developer too, so I know how fun it can be to write new apps. But if you want to get down to playing, check out OpenRPG (http://www.openrpg.com), or WebRPG (http://www.webrpg.com) along with Roger Wilco (http://rogerwilco.gamespy.com/).

I've used OpenRPG alot more, and It's a lot of fun. But I like the "shared-tree" of WebRPG. OpenRPG is Open Source, so if you're interested in programming python, I'm sure they would love the help.

 

[Samuel Leming]

I've used OpenRPG alot more, and It's a lot of fun. But I like the "shared-tree" of WebRPG. OpenRPG is Open Source, so if you're interested in programming python, I'm sure they would love the help.

I've heard that the OpenRPG crew will be switching to Java for OpenRPG2 They may have lost their enthusiasm for Python help.

Sam

 

[Janx]

Plus, check out GRIP. They used to advertise in Dragon magazine.

For myself, I used to use mIRC for online gaming and had built up a pile of scripts to automate character management. It worked alright.

I think you're pretty close to what people need:
a char sheet
interaction with the char sheet and the ongoing game (damage tracking, healing, attacks and skill usage rolls)
map and minis interface. DM should be able to prebuild or draw on the fly the current map and set everyone's starting location

System should be able to handle 'split' party such that the DM can watch multiple windows and respond as needed.

Turn based system in combat so the DM can control the pacing. The system would give a player X seconds to respond on their turn or "skip" them. The time-out would need to be a reasonable number (30 seconds to a minute of no action). System would not time-out the GM.

Also bear in mind the d20 license requirements expect that the code be readable, in order to ensure the rules are "open source" making it a pain to write an application.

Incorporating voice-chat makes it easier for people to use.

Stick with .NET, vb6 sucks. Preferably do it in C#.

Janx

 

[Runnerwwr]

Reason for program
I’m aware of the alternatives but in my opinion, and with no offence to their makers, their out of date. In addition to that Web RPG has started to charge for their program. I have a small team together and if we can get some positive feedback about the idea and maybe some additional help we plan to write the program.

 

[wedgeski]

Reason for program
I’m aware of the alternatives but in my opinion, and with no offence to their makers, their out of date. In addition to that Web RPG has started to charge for their program. I have a small team together and if we can get some positive feedback about the idea and maybe some additional help we plan to write the program.

I've been working on a similar project myself for a while, so I wish you luck. One word of advice: design document.

 

[Verequus]

Stick with .NET, vb6 sucks. Preferably do it in C#.

I second that. Imagine a program, which reads data files in the megabyte range. No changes to program and data file. Two runs. Two results.

It hasn't got much better from VB4, where even some sample programs didn't function correctly.