Battlegrounds: RPG Edition (virtual tabletop software)

[heruca]

I am a long time enworld reader and I was wondering if you might be interested in talking with me a bit more about your software. I am a game journalist - I write for a few websites but I recently launched "The Analog Gamer" as a weekly column for news.filefront.com.

I am working on a piece regarding the virtual tabletop gaming space and would like to review Battlegrounds as one option to recommend to readers looking to game on the web. I also found the links from your site especially helpful and wanted to say thanks.

I've downloaded the software (since you put it on free demo the next few days) and will be testing it out a bit to see how the experience translates.

Shawn Sines
Game Reviewer/Gaming Today
Co-host, GameOn! and File-n-Forget podcasts

Hi Shawn,

Sorry for the late reply, but I've been away on travel.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the Battlegrounds software, either on the BRPG forums or via email. You can email me at this address: admin at battlegroundsgames dot com.

In the meantime, I'd just like to clarify for everyone that there is always a free Demo version of Battlegrounds available for download, not just when I'm running one of the "Free Use" promos like the one I mentioned above.

 

[LrdApoc]

Thanks for the response Heruca, I'll be sending you mail shortly.

 

[heruca]

BRPG v1.2 is now available for download. This version adds card deck support (including custom card decks) and fixes some bugs. Also included is a new batch of Devinnight's wonderful hand-drawn top-down figure tokens (26 figures in all).

You can download v1.2 and read more about it here.

 

[heruca]

Fair warning: The current Sale on all Battlegrounds software ends tonight (at midnight, EST), as does the current Free Use promo.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

The Player Client and the GM Client can both display the map full screen. If you have two laptops networked together with an ethernet cable (or wireless), one for the GM and one for the players (hooked up to a projector), you'll have some sweet capabilities at your disposal in a face-to-face game session. What won't be possible in this initial release is to output both the GM and the Player's views from a single laptop/desktop.

Has this been fixed yet?

 

[heruca]

Hi Ashrem Bayle.

It is currently possible (and has been for quite some time) to run both a GM Client and a Player Client on the same computer at the same time. As long as you've got at least two video outputs, you'll be able to drive both the GM and the Player views from a single computer. However, since you will be running two instances of the program, you will be using twice the RAM (not ideal), so this setup is only recommended on systems with a decent amount of memory.

I am still hoping to be able to someday have both views be generated from a single instance of the program, but this has not proven to be possible, as it would involve a major rewrite of the rendering engine. Therefore, I have put this potential feature on the back burner, in the hopes that it will be possible in Battlegrounds v2.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Thanks for the reply. I should be able to get by running to instances.

I do have a suggestion however:

The demo times out at 45 min right? I understand why, but I'm not sure it's long enough. For me to test your program sufficiently, I need to run a game session with it. Game sessions usually last about four hours.

Now, I can see why you wouldn't want to stretch the demo to four hours, but might I suggest a different approach?

Instead of a 45 min cap, what do you think about changing to something like 8-10 hours total. So you could use it for 8-10 one hour sessions, or one eight hour sessions or whatever. After you've accumulated 8 hours (or whatever) of use, it takes you to your website instead of launching the program.

This is enough time to test it properly, but not enough to negate the need to purchase a license.

Just a thought.

For myself, I'm very tempted to purchase a license, but hesitant to do so without seeing it play out in game.


Also, can I do two instances running on the same computer with one license?

 

[heruca]

No, you can't run two instances on the same computer with one license, because the program automatically boots any client connecting with a license key that is already in use.

You can run a licensed GM Client and the free Demo at the same time on the same computer, but the Demo will still time-out after 45 minutes.

Unfortunately, the 8-10 hour trial period you suggest would entail messing around with registry files, which I am loathe to do for a number of reasons (otherwise, people would simply re-install the Demo every time it expired, and never have to pay for the program).

I think running a couple of 45-minute sessions should be more than enough to try out the various features of the program and be able to assess if your group would like the software or not.

 

[heruca]

The BRPG v1.2a beta has just been released. This version adds high-resolution interface graphics, on-demand loading of external media bundles, customizable vision types, an optional on-screen button interface, and some Fog of War enhancements, including the addition of beam-style light sources (e.g., flashlights). It also fixes a number of bugs.

Download v1.2a and read more about it here (<--click).

 

[heruca]

BRPG v1.2d beta released

This "maintenance" release fixes a number of bugs that were reported or discovered since v1.2c was released. It is available in two formats: Patch, and Full Install.

Download v1.2d and read more about it here (<--click).

This should be the last release in the v1.2 series.

Next up (in a month or two), v1.3.