Project Sigil All the Deets on Project Sigil the D&D 3D Virtual Tabletop

• Danger in Dunbarrow is the adventure designed to introduced the 3D tabletop.
• Bring in any character from D&D Beyond.
• 'Mini Maker' lets you design digital miniatures.
• Assets designed to feel like buying a high-end mini or figure somewhere between painted and realistic.
• Plug in locations like graveyard, mine, town each with a premade story you can use or ignore.
• "Modding games more than making them whole cloth."
• The Level Builder is like 'the best miniatures set that you could have'. Snap together different kit pieces.
• Secret doors, traps, lifts that go up and down.
• Also use 2D tokens with artwork you have.
• Also use 2D maps.
• You can play other games with it, not just D&D.
• Have Drizzt fight Optimus Prime.
• Share content with others.
• Starting on PC, other platforms later including mobile and console.
• Will be available to try out for free.
• Closed beta coming this fall for those with a DDB account.
• Pre-order 2024 physical and digital core rulebook bundle to get a free digital gold dragon mini to 'kickstarter your Project Sigil collection'.

 

[GarthS]

I have said this is a VTT, not an arcade. It can't work like the rest of videogame industry but we have to compare it with other VTTs.

Habro/ WotC is aiming to earn one billion plus per year on the D&D franchise. No TTRPG or VTT is anywhere near that, so I would expect monetisation to be more agressive than existing competitors and to look at F2P video game monetisation strategies for inspiration.

 

[Clint_L]

Habro/ WotC is aiming to earn one billion plus per year on the D&D franchise. No TTRPG or VTT is anywhere near that, so I would expect monetisation to be more agressive than existing competitors and to look at F2P video game monetisation strategies for inspiration.

They’re not looking to earn a billion dollars per year on the VTT or anything like that. Most people play D&D just fine without one.

What F2P strategies do you think would work well on a virtual tabletop?

 

[Vincent55]

A lot of people play with friends spread out across the country so I support them creating the tool. My worry is whether there will be predatory cost structures. If not, then I will invest.

Well I have roll 20 and discord that works just fine and it is free.

 

[Vincent55]

I've lost books and minis over the years. Houses burn down, flood or physical items are accidentally discarded. Ask anyone who has used one of the VTTs to play games online, it is not and never will be a video game.

right who is delusional now, all those things are a slim chance by comparison to what i stated i would put my money that they will make it a pay to play sooner than you think buck o, lol

 

[Oofta]

right who is delusional now, all those things are a slim chance by comparison to what i stated i would put my money that they will make it a pay to play sooner than you think buck o, lol

I spend more money on video games, especially if I average my spending out over a couple of years. I even go back and replay or continue to play old games on a regular basis.

Yet every single one of them could dissappear tomorrow unless I happened to have them downloaded. Some wouldn't work or have only limited functionality.

I'm just not concerned about it. There are no guarantees in life and there will always be things I treasured once that I no longer have.

 

[GarthS]

They’re not looking to earn a billion dollars per year on the VTT or anything like that. Most people play D&D just fine without one.

What F2P strategies do you think would work well on a virtual tabletop?

They spent $150M on D&D Beyond and industry insiderer Roll For Combat estimates $300M being spent on the VTT. D&D is an "accelerator brand" by their own shareholder statements and Hasbro did not spend that kind of money unless they were expecting a massive, exponential return.

They've already told you how they are going to monetise and I've already written it elsewhere in this thread. They are going to copy models like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortinght, because that's what they want to be. Are those brands exploitative now?.... It depends your your buyer behiavour... for some they are a one off purchase and represent great value... but they all allow for whale behaivour to buy ALL the things.

 

[Oofta]

They spent $150M on D&D Beyond and industry insiderer Roll For Combat estimates $300M being spent on the VTT. D&D is an "accelerator brand" by their own shareholder statements and Hasbro did not spend that kind of money unless they were expecting a massive, exponential return.

They've already told you how they are going to monetise and I've already written it elsewhere in this thread. They are going to copy models like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortinght, because that's what they want to be. Are those brands exploitative now?.... It depends your your buyer behiavour... for some they are a one off purchase and represent great value... but they all allow for whale behaivour to buy ALL the things.

Whales account for 60-70% of the money spent on online games (at a guess, it depends on who you ask). But guess what? You don't personally have to spend more than you want to. That could be $0, it could be a basic subscription whatever that is. But if you do get just the basics those whales are in essence subsidizing you. Meanwhile, in order to stay afloat they also have to have a fairly broad base of players so that the whales still keep spending. So for those that don't want all the extra visual bling, it can actually be a decent deal.

Unlike video games there will be no way to get anything that actually more effective, you will have enough basic stuff to run a game and can always fall back on 2D image files.

I fail to see what your concern is. I could go to a car dealership right now and spend more money on a car than most people earn in a year. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it.

 

[GarthS]

I already spend money of F2P games and have a weekly game of Destiny 2 with friends I've known for 25 years. I understand these models and I'm not worried about it at all. D&D Sigil may, or may not, be worth my investment.

However there's a number of people on this thread that clearly don't understand how these pricing structures work, haven't been able to read between the lines of the announcements, or the pros/cons of a F2P monetisation system.

 

[Oofta]

I already spend money of F2P games and have a weekly game of Destiny 2 with friends I've known for 25 years. I understand these models and I'm not worried about it at all. D&D Sigil may, or may not, be worth my investment.

However there's a number of people on this thread that clearly don't understand how these pricing structures work, haven't been able to read between the lines of the announcements, or the pros/cons of a F2P monetisation system.

Sigil is not a video game. They will sell assets just like I currently purchase minis and others buy terrain and features from Dwarven Forge. I know people who spend way more on dice than I ever would.

What will not happen is any kind of purchase that can change actual game functionality. So again, I don't see what the issue is.

 

[TheSword]

Folks are acting like there isn’t already huge monetization of D&D:

I spend about £30-£50 a month on patreon and platforms a month buying maps, tokens, adventure VTT modules/rules and subscriptions for Roll20 and Forge (host for Foundry). Which is fine because I spend about 30 hours a month playing and several more preparing. I can buy a set of virtual Devin Night tokens for $5 or a jpeg map pack from Heroic Maps for similar because it fits what I’m looking for.

WotC just want to get a share of that, because up to recently they were getting diddly squat. Though they are working on that with D&D beyond. That’s monetization. If you’re not currently spending money on these things then good for you, this won’t force you to pay. But don’t begrudge those who do and expect them to make you a great system for free.