Gaming Setup

[Sylrae]

I saw a post from Steel_Wind (Whom I had never realized was part of the DLA team for NWN way back in the day) about his gaming setup using a projector.

Has anyone done anything fancy with this?

I'm now dreaming of a shiny backlit DLP Projector laid flat, embedded into a table with a glass covering on the top, and getting a big plastic tablecloth that's dry-erase friendly to use instead of battlemats or maps for the gaming table. It would have to be pretty big though. Our gaming groups often go up to 6 or 8.

*drool*

I just need to get a projector that will work when laid on its side, with computer connections I can make.

I'm imagining the 6-foot map of Faerun/Golarion, and the 1-inch square battlegrids...

I'd build the table myself and pay to have the glass cut if I could afford it/find the projector.

And when everyone is gone, I'd load up WC3 with a top-down camera hack setup and tell some orcs 'wot they be doing' and then 'spelar lite dota', or something to that effect.

 

[Mark CMG]

That's a tall order for a university student. I'm thinking it isn't going to be too long before the earlier flat screens will be cheap enough second hand to experiment with making one into a game table. The projectors are cool but I think there might be better solutions to the idea.

 

[Thanael]

See also this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/122099-coolest-gaming-set-up-evar.html

 

[Sylrae]

That was the one that inspired the idea.

But from what I gathered, he went out and got a regular projector, I want the projector that does it in reverse, so I can mount it on the inside of a table, point up, and have changing images on the tabletop.

A screen would be the cheap way if it's a smaller table, but a projector would be cheaper for something 5-feet long or more (like an entire tabletop).

It'd be great for D&D, warhammer, and PC Strategy Games.

If you wee going to specialize in th PC stuff, you might want to do it with an expensive touch screen setup on top of that.

Damn would I love to have a table like that, with or without touchscreen.

 

[Umbran]

I think the dream is beyond projectors now. The dream's now in "huge tablet" format - iPads the size of tables, or Microsoft Surface (which is using a projector in the table).

 

[Sylrae]

Yep. That's the one I was talking about/want. I want a table with a projector inside, some nice switches and controls on the side, and a laptop hookup.

Ideally the surface would be magnet usable too (though I doubt I'll get that one with a projector screen).

Touchscreen optional and not needed one way or the other.

 

[IronWolf]

Yep. That's the one I was talking about/want. I want a table with a projector inside, some nice switches and controls on the side, and a laptop hookup.

Ideally the surface would be magnet usable too (though I doubt I'll get that one with a projector screen).

Touchscreen optional and not needed one way or the other.

We got to play with a Surface at Origins a bit. Touchscreen would be a must for me. Being able to move pieces simply by tapping and dragging is awesome. It brings a lot of utility to many common board games as well as RPGs.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I'm technically "In the process" of making a touchscreen table right now. Unfortunately, lack of funds has prevented the project from getting very far. However, I've done most of the research on how to build it.

Also, software is the real limiting factor. There aren't enough "touch aware" programs for doing things like running a battlemap. It probably wouldn't take much for someone with the right programming skills to add these features to existing programs, but I lack those skills.

Luckily, I have a programmer friend who is willing to help me. But the project is kind of daunting and I keep being distracted by things like...actually gaming.

 

[Aloïsius]

I'm technically "In the process" of making a touchscreen table right now. Unfortunately, lack of funds has prevented the project from getting very far. However, I've done most of the research on how to build it.

Also, software is the real limiting factor. There aren't enough "touch aware" programs for doing things like running a battlemap. It probably wouldn't take much for someone with the right programming skills to add these features to existing programs, but I lack those skills.

Luckily, I have a programmer friend who is willing to help me. But the project is kind of daunting and I keep being distracted by things like...actually gaming.

Can't you replace touch with a pen+Ir-led +wiimote? Something like this :
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wiimote[/ame]

 

[ruemere]

FYI, use of projector may produce quite a strain on your eyes. Be careful with that.

Regards,
Ruemere