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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 4762427" data-attributes="member: 8835">I'll check out MapTool, thanks.Dial-up guy is the GM, so he'd have all the map files....All of the MN guys are my old gaming group, they still game together, about once a month.  So it's no problem for them to co-locate (1-2 hour drive for each of them).  As a whole, we get together with them about once a year (with my new group).  I'm looking into ways to get all of us together, skipping the travel part.Having done IRC, I like how it "organizes" communication with the players and DM.  Secret messages are handled within IRC.  And you don't have to repeat yourself, because the messages stay on screen.  The GM can handle requests as they come in.Voice/video is nice, but it suffers from "con-call" syndrome of being harder to keep everyone focussed and taking turns.  Plus, now and then, the signal goes out, losing communication (not everyone clues in to switch to text during the problem).Some of the plans I see are:A) Each player gets their own computer, using text chat/map tools.  Probably at their own home (no travel, possibly include voice chat)B) MN players co-locate, and TX players co-locate and use video conferencing to bridge the two sites together.  May have communication issues if network gets glitchy.  Could use Skype/Google Talk/ Xbox Live Party.C) MN players co-locate, using seperate computers, using text/voice/video chat and map-tools.  TX players stay at home, using the same.One quirk I see, is that if the MN players co-locate, they'll have more access to the GM than the TX players.  They may skip using the tools, resulting in missed communication.  Plan B helps alleviate this, because both sides are actively using a simple conference.  If the signal drops, both parties know to wait and resolve the issue before continuing the game.  Whereas, with Plan C, the MN players may "forget" and just talk to the GM, bypassing the shared communication system that players at a normal table have naturally.  It's not a matter of cheating, so much as missed information sharing, which can cause miscommunication.Thoughts?Janx</blockquote>

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