D&D General ARcana -- Augmented TTRPG Platform from Actor Joe Manganiello

Mirrorscape, an augmented reality company which includes actor Joe Manganellio as Creative Director, is a way to view your game's tabletop in AR through a phone or tablet device. It's on Kickstarter now with a planned release at the end of this year.

ARcana: Augmented Reality Platform for TTRPGs

Bringing the table back to tabletop gaming!

www.kickstarter.com

The platform works as an iOS or Android app, and enables you to simulate a full tabletop with models, scenery, and miniatures, anywhere you have a flat surface.

You can purchase additional terrain or miniatures from Mirrorscape's partners, which include Dwaven Forge, Reaper Minis, Hero Forge, and Fat Dragon Games.

If you pledge $30 (or more) in the Kickstarter you get a starter set and a discount on terrain and mini packs; and at higher levels you get beta access (staring at $50) and Kickstarter exclusives.

 

[Morrus]

I'll believe it when I see it. I feel like this has been promised as "just around the corner" since forever but it's always just out of reach.

They exist. It just takes a company like Apple (or something) to make it mainstream. They've got them in development.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

They exist. It just takes a company like Apple (or something) to make it mainstream. They've got them in development.

They've been released multiple times, Morrus.

My friend who is a senior doctor here in the UK (and usually plays utter troublemakers in D&D!) has, what 2 AR headsets and a VR headset? Maybe the other way around? From his work.

None of them last, that's the issue. They get a bunch of hype, a bunch of people promising support, then they're not actually very popular, and they get dropped. At most they get some moderately serious use for a few months before they fade to niche-of-a-niche. All the ones currently in development that I'm aware of still have the same basic flaws that saw previous generations fail to gain traction. They're trying to incrementally improve a product that's never caught on, when what they really need is a revolutionary product that actually might.

With TTRPGs particularly, literally no-one is going to want to wear an AR headset that blocks their view of the faces of the other players (double minus points if it also blocks hearing them), even with an overlay or the like. And every AR helmet/glasses/goggles I've seen, and that actually works is pretty bad for that (some utterly hopeless ones do not, but... they're utterly hopeless).

It's quite possible something like this will really break into the mass market eventually, but I don't anything currently in development has a hope.

 

[Morrus]

They've been released multiple times, Morrus.

My friend who is a senior doctor here in the UK (and usually plays utter troublemakers in D&D!) has, what 2 AR headsets and a VR headset? Maybe the other way around? From his work.

None of them last, that's the issue. They get a bunch of hype, a bunch of people promising support, then they're not actually very popular, and they get dropped. At most they get some moderately serious use for a few months before they fade to niche-of-a-niche. All the ones currently in development that I'm aware of still have the same basic flaws that saw previous generations fail to gain traction. They're trying to incrementally improve a product that's never caught on, when what they really need is a revolutionary product that actually might.

With TTRPGs particularly, literally no-one is going to want to wear an AR headset that blocks their view of the faces of the other players (double minus points if it also blocks hearing them), even with an overlay or the like. And every AR helmet/glasses/goggles I've seen, and that actually works is pretty bad for that (some utterly hopeless ones do not, but... they're utterly hopeless).

It's quite possible something like this will really break into the mass market eventually, but I don't anything currently in development has a hope.

This is just what I said in 100 times as many words.

(and yes, I have several of these things too; I've been following the topic for a while)

 

[UngainlyTitan]

snip ....

It's quite possible something like this will really break into the mass market eventually, but I don't anything currently in development has a hope.

Something will, when it is becomes, cheap enough, lightweight enough and will a good field of view.

 

[Zaukrie]

My YouTube video on this:

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Something will, when it is becomes, cheap enough, lightweight enough and will a good field of view.

That's not enough.

It also not block the face/eyes significantly (good luck with that), to have a ridiculously long battery life, and to have an extremely sharp and powerful image, and also have a tracking method that is seamless and easy to set up, and basically requires no calibration. They're not going to break into the mass market until they're at "it just works" levels, and at the current rate, we're over a decade out from that.

That's still only the beginning of the requirements.

 

[Jaeger]

In-person, analog is my preferred approach - wet/dry erase hex mapboard, markers, tokens or minis - done.

Even in the virtual space, having used FG heavily for several years, we've moved to Owlbear Rodeo (rolls dice, simple maps, tokens) and are enjoying it a lot more.

Glad these are out there for folks who want them.

Hear hear.

After playing Roll20 waterdeep heist online, and an on/off AD&D game with Owlbear rodeo... Give me RPG's at a Real table like the Good Lord intended.

If I had to VTT; I'd use Owlbear because it is just simpler and lets me toss down what I need to let our imaginations do the real heavy lifting.

That being said...

In my opinion - To offset the lack of in-person interaction, VTT should deliver additional visual stimuli.

None of them do it.

The problem with every VTT that I have seen is that their 'virtual world' engine doesn't even rise to the graphical level of cheap turn based CRPG games like Demon's Rise or Chaos Reborn.

Just weak-sauce, 20 year old graphics all around. You can't even create a virtual mini/avatar of your PC like you see in most every CRPG out there since forever. They are all uninspiring, and literally flat, Yawn... The 70's wargamers called and they want their chits back.

All the name VTT's have been unable to deliver anything resembling a decent virtual visual experience since day one.

They exist. It just takes a company like Apple (or something) to make it mainstream. They've got them in development.

They've been released multiple times, Morrus.

None of them last, that's the issue.

I am of the opinion that VR goggles/headsets just have fundamental human issues (many already mentioned) that will perennially keep them from mainstream use.

Unless something completely revolutionary, not just evolutionary comes along, they will only ever be a novelty product.

 

[Michael Linke]

Jokes aside, a lot of the pushback was about secret and unauthorized recording. It's one thing to have someone whip out their phone and start filming you. That's pretty obvious, and easy enough to ask them to stop, and even, if you're a business and it's disruptive or threatening, kick them out. But if the camera is in their glasses and you have no way of knowing if or when it's on, the situation changes.

But don't forget the cultural context, too. This was the very beginning of the pushback against techbros in the U.S., and Google Glasses were the ultimate techbro accessory (including the fact that they looked awful and had no utility other than surreptitious recording, so they were mainly a warped status symbol). And most of the violent incidents were in places like SF, where the tech giants were just starting to wreck the housing market, clog traffic with their weird fleets of private commuter buses, and generally change the culture in ways that locals found gross.

Not saying it was cool when so-called Glassholes got their goofy eyewear snatched, but given how much worse things have gotten because of the techbro caste, I'm certainly not shedding any tears for them.

I can't wait until they miniaturise this technology into contact lenses so people can find ways to morally justify insane people clawing strangers' eyes out to protect their privacy.

People worried about privacy should be more concerned with the phone in their own pocket, than the camera that's in someone else's glasses.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I can't wait until they miniaturise this technology into contact lenses so people can find ways to morally justify insane people clawing strangers' eyes out to protect their privacy.

People worried about privacy should be more concerned with the phone in their own pocket, than the camera that's in someone else's glasses.

I used to report on that concept, every time a university researcher released details about progress. You have no reason to trust me, but still, this is not tech that's anywhere near to deployment. Unless you want a big cable running from your eyeball to a battery pack (wireless charging generates way too much heat exactly where you don't want it), and also have a century or more to wait for electronics to be miniaturized to that degree.

But if miracles occur, and the Spyball becomes feasible before the planet descends into complete climate chaos, I think we know who'll be sporting them first. It's not like the techbros are going to get less awful in the future.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I can't wait until they miniaturise this technology into contact lenses so people can find ways to morally justify insane people clawing strangers' eyes out to protect their privacy.

People worried about privacy should be more concerned with the phone in their own pocket, than the camera that's in someone else's glasses.

People concerned about privacy should be more concerned by in application tracking data than my camera in general.