An Open letter to the D&D R&D team.

[Zoatebix]

You are not alone in thinking that having a Killer App would be absolutely fantastic. This thread doesn't deal with 4th edition, but it's well-worth reading: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=203938

 

[BluWolf]

I pretty much only get to game online these days, and that's mostly via Instant Messenger. Our group is scattered across the East Coast,

A common issue. A barrier to playing. Eliminate barriers and you get more players. Also may problem exactly.

1. Make dice rolling as easy as can be.
2. Computers are visual media.

3. Give us the ability to seperate the out-of-character chatter from the game.

All do able and more or less promised.

4. Make the character sheet seamless with the tabletop.

5. Make sure that the tabletop supports all the mapping that 4e supports.

6. The table has to be integrated 100% with the rest of D&D Insider/Gleemax.

7. If you want to truly be "D&D anytime, anywhere" give me that option! Set up "constant tabletops" arranged like taverns or markets in the Dalelands or Sharn.

8. Let me advertise my game and my characters!

Now this is the kind of stuff I am talking about. Well said. These are the kind of features that will change how we play.

9. And to reitterate the most important point: The interface has to be fantastic. Not "good". Not "okay". Fantastic. I have to be able to game at this virtual table as easily as I do in real life, if not more easily. I don't want to have to learn a bunch of commands to do everything I want. Make it easy for me to do what I want when I want. Let me root through my inventory with my mouse wheel, or declare an attack by clicking on the monster. If I forget what a spell does, let me roll my mouse over it and get the text right there. This virtual tabletop could eliminate the old pain of flipping through the book looking for tables or spells. Eliminate it. Interface, interface, interface.

This point cannot be over stated.

10. And as a little add-on, it'd be really nice if I could use some of that player-created content at the virtual tabletop.

I believe if you look at the business model implied, this does not become a deal killer but an actual extension or natural out cropping.

I believe the books will be just a little bit better than break-even from a profitability stand point. What they will become enamored of is the annuity that the online model will bring.

 

[(contact)]

I saw a demo of the virtual tabletop, and it was literally that-- it takes the place of Dungeon Tiles, miniatures and dice.

There is a 3-D display that looks just like dungeon tiles, and you can move figures that look just like minis around. You can roll dice, and there is an animation of dice.

You can build your own mini--build your PC, make changes, add armor and weapons, change the pose, etc. then use that character on the virtual tabletop.

There will be voice chat.

What it's not going to do is track effects, hit points, durations, etc. Just like in real tabletop D&D, that's your job, and you'll need a character sheet and pencil.

All the VT is doing is simming the miniatures of a RL D&D game, so you can play with friends who aren't in the same room.

The DM will be able to reveal hidden things, change tiles on the fly, etc. All WotC Dungeon Tiles and maps from Dungeon adventures and modules will be available for the Virtual Tabletop.

Eventually, there may be a way for fans to create and save our own "tabletop builds," so we can share fantastic locations, etc. with one another.

 

[the Jester]

I saw that demo on Youtube. It's also available over at the WotC site, though you'd have to dig around for it.

The VTT looks totally cool to me. I wish it had additional functionality, but its purpose is to help people play more dnd; it will certainly serve that purpose, imho. I'd love to game some more with some of my friends from other places in the world who I never see anymore.

 

[Lanefan]

All this is fine for a "killer ap" for online gaming, but how does it help me when I'm sitting at a table with several other people in the same room, and nary a computer in sight?

*That* is what needs the killer ap.

Lanefan

 

[Agamon]

I saw a demo of the virtual tabletop, and it was literally that-- it takes the place of Dungeon Tiles, miniatures and dice.

There is a 3-D display that looks just like dungeon tiles, and you can move figures that look just like minis around. You can roll dice, and there is an animation of dice.

You can build your own mini--build your PC, make changes, add armor and weapons, change the pose, etc. then use that character on the virtual tabletop.

There will be voice chat.

What it's not going to do is track effects, hit points, durations, etc. Just like in real tabletop D&D, that's your job, and you'll need a character sheet and pencil.

All the VT is doing is simming the miniatures of a RL D&D game, so you can play with friends who aren't in the same room.

That is not a virtual tabletop. Not a complete one, anyway. Map, minis and chat won't cut it, no matter how nice it looks. Tracking effects, hp, initiative, modifiers, etc, is a MUST. Not a "it would be nice", a MUST. Really, what online gaming software doesn't do this (to different effect, but they all try and succeed to some point)?

If I had to run a 3rd party DM Genie or DM's Familiar as well as use D&DI...well, it wouldn't happen. Software like FGII would be much better as an all-inclusive alternative.

In fact, having DM helper software in the D&DI that those of us that use laptops for our tabletop games would make it much more likely that I join in. Maybe I'm wearing blinders, but I think creating software that helps the tabletop experience is much more important than an online virtual tabletop.

 

[Hussar]

I saw a demo of the virtual tabletop, and it was literally that-- it takes the place of Dungeon Tiles, miniatures and dice.

There is a 3-D display that looks just like dungeon tiles, and you can move figures that look just like minis around. You can roll dice, and there is an animation of dice.

You can build your own mini--build your PC, make changes, add armor and weapons, change the pose, etc. then use that character on the virtual tabletop.

There will be voice chat.

What it's not going to do is track effects, hit points, durations, etc. Just like in real tabletop D&D, that's your job, and you'll need a character sheet and pencil.

All the VT is doing is simming the miniatures of a RL D&D game, so you can play with friends who aren't in the same room.

The DM will be able to reveal hidden things, change tiles on the fly, etc. All WotC Dungeon Tiles and maps from Dungeon adventures and modules will be available for the Virtual Tabletop.

Eventually, there may be a way for fans to create and save our own "tabletop builds," so we can share fantastic locations, etc. with one another.

I have absolutely no interest in this program if that were true.

You have an incredible opportunity in the VTT programs. They can handle ALL the math for you. All of it. Tracking your initiative, hp's, attacks, iterative attacks, rolling 16d6 for that spell, power attacks - EVERYTHING.

Why in the name of little fishies wouldn't you want the table top app to do that? Think about it, you could finally sit down and play your game with all the fiddly mathematical bits in the background.

I play over OpenRPG and have for years. I know what a VTT is capable of and it's a heck of a lot. Every attack I roll as a DM comes with an additional explanation if it needs it - such as a giant spider's web attack; it causes entanglement, so, why not include the text for the Entangled condition right in the die roller? Spells are listed with exact ranges, save requirements and descriptions and sent to the chat window - no referencing books. The Hypertext SRD plugin autolinks hot words to the Online SRD, so when I type in "fireball", it shows up as a hypertext link that when clicked, takes me to the Hypertext SRD and the Fireball spell.

My minis map allows me to hide minis so that I can do an entire module beforehand, placing each and every monster on the entire map and the players cannot see them. Fog of war allows me to hide sections of the map as needed. I can actually have an entire dungeon map (or outdoor or whatever) set up beforehand and react to the player's actions with ease.

All of this I can do for free right now. WOTC's VTT is going to have to rock on toast if they want me to pay for it.

We don't want a fancy chat program, we want an ap that will handle as much of the grunt work of D&D as possible and leave me, the DM the freedom to deal with the good stuff.

 

[BluWolf]

All this is fine for a "killer ap" for online gaming, but how does it help me when I'm sitting at a table with several other people in the same room, and nary a computer in sight?

*That* is what needs the killer ap.

Lanefan

See I think this is the very reason our hobby has grown stagnant and does not draw in more people year over year. The absolute need to be in a room in front of people limits your opportunities. There are other hurdles like complexity that need to be addressed in the mechanics but I don't think that is the biggest hurdle.

If you are part of the hobby that has the time, players and ability to play face to face all the time then the books and what ever accoutrements you have is good for you and they have said that 4E will support this. But for your population of the gaming community the other issue shave never been a problem regardless of edition.

What I am saying is that there are so many more people that could be brought back or brought into the hobby if the Virtual Table Top is done right.

 

[(contact)]

That is not a virtual tabletop. Not a complete one, anyway. Map, minis and chat won't cut it, no matter how nice it looks. Tracking effects, hp, initiative, modifiers, etc, is a MUST. Not a "it would be nice", a MUST. Really, what online gaming software doesn't do this (to different effect, but they all try and succeed to some point)?

Why? Does your tabletop at home track all these things?

The idea is to use an online connection to enable real-life D&D. In real-life, you're on your own to adjucate game rules, track hp, etc.

 

[(contact)]

All of this I can do for free right now. WOTC's VTT is going to have to rock on toast if they want me to pay for it.

I think the idea is that it's a value-add for Dragon & Dungeon, rather than the thing you're going to want to pay for.

For me, I'd prefer if there was a way to separate the online tools (which won't work on my system anyway) from the actual game content (which I'll be very interested in).