DDI, are you ready to game on the Net?

[Aria Silverhands]

If DDI is popular enough, I can definately see it being worth the price, imo. It'll be nice to have a central place to meet and play games. Or just hang out and chat while waiting for a game or players to run a game for. That's one thing I like about OpenRPG over MapTools. It had a lobby you could just hang out in. DDI needs that.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Since cost has come up a couple times I figure I post this idea for those on the fence.

If you have a established group of online/distant friends you want to play with on the VTT, but don't want to waste money this is what you can do:

1. Have one paid-account. This would be a "group account" which everyone has access to its username and password.

2. You and all your friends create free-accounts.

3. Everyone chips in to pay for the paid-account. 5 people in total would come out to a total of $24 per year.

4. Whoever DMs will use the paid-account to DM the VTT and send off Guest Passes to the free accounts so they can play.

Thus you have the ability to play on the VTT with your friends and have all those friends access to everything on DDI for only $24 per person.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

I have a friend who lives in Sri Lanka who I haven't gotten to game with in 5 years.

Anything to make it easier to game with him is a major plus. I mean, I can do it with Webcams, and Vent, but this will make it easier.

 

[Aria Silverhands]

I have a friend who lives in Sri Lanka who I haven't gotten to game with in 5 years.

Anything to make it easier to game with him is a major plus. I mean, I can do it with Webcams, and Vent, but this will make it easier.

You realize there have been virtual tabletops and irc channel games for years? http://www.rptools.net or http://www.openrpg.com

 

[Jack99]

I cannot emphasize my "no" enough. I can already play online without having to pay a service charge for it for it, and then making people pay for the "privilege" of using minis in the service they ALREADY pay a fee for is just asinine.

I think the question is directed at people who actually plan on playing 4e. Are you really going to switch?

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I think the question is directed at people who actually plan on playing 4e. Are you really going to switch?

I'm not sure if I will or won't switch. I'm on the fence.

Fortunately, that is completely irrelevant as the opening post doesn't say anything about 4e or alludes to it in any way.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I have never played real-time on the net and I do not intend to start, especially as I have to pay 10.00 or so a month to do it. I do you yahoo groups extensively. The ability to post anywhere and anytime I want to is its biggest plus for me. I usually post to my games from 4-5 different computers a week.

I have too much to do to set aside hours to game except on Saturday nights for my FtT.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

I am seriously considering going virtual for a campaign, for the following reasons:

Age = 40, getting the guys together for a game is much harder to do with all the family/work/college requirements {Current Gaming Buddies {CGB?} can only meet once a month.}

Old Gaming Buddies {OGB?} are now scattered about the continental US and I would like to get back together with them around a gaming table. We have a Yahoo group and have occasionally bantered the idea around. Unfortunatly the OGBs have the same time problem of my CGBs!

PBEM has, for me, always missed some of the best parts of DnD. I think its great for strategic wargaming where you are expected to plan your actions for days on end. Not so much for a 6 second combat round.



I am, however, very concerned over the WoTC history when it comes to digitial initiatives. I saw the potential of the 3x character designer and e-tools...and watched the company destroy a really solid market opportunity with poorly designed and supported software. These are the same guys who put up an 'Alpha' for public consumption... which made it a Beta {According to the software release life cycle}. Worst, they didn't mention it was a test version until after thier customers publicly complained about the major problems in the software!

My hopes are not high, but what I expect from the DDI is*:

- Virtual mapping shared by the group that can enforce a PCs movement on the map, preferably multi-level and 'fog of war' enabled
- tracking of the combat numbers {hp, ac, to hit, etc..}
- Voice link {It would be nice with a whisper mode to specific participants}
- No lag
- Easy setup
- Validated character generation

Anything less than that is not worth a monthly subscription!



* Haven't had the time to follow up on how its developing

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

DnD to me is a social thing, involving face to face contact. I would never even consider using the VTT, I would rather not play.

That sums it up for me, too.

 

[Vael]

My group is scattered across different cities, it'd be nice to play online with them.

But I'm also intrigued with the notion of playing DnD with complete strangers, who may only know me through my avatar and roleplaying. There's a possibility for greater character immersion.

That said, I'm leery of subscription games, and I won't be shelling out for DDI until I've tried it.