Give me your virtual tabletop xp

[Hussar]

RE: The Online Tools comparison.

An excellent comparison can be found: Here

 

[Adso]

Do you have any fan-files you are willing to share? I am going to run this for my internet-only group, and I could certainly use some digital assets.

Basically I've just been using downloads available on the Paizo website. I take the PDFs into Photoshop, and make jpegs of the pictures and maps. Since I am a VoIP, I run it like I run a home game, just using the virtual table-top instead of a battlemap.

 

[catsclaw227]

Basically I've just been using downloads available on the Paizo website. I take the PDFs into Photoshop, and make jpegs of the pictures and maps. Since I am a VoIP, I run it like I run a home game, just using the virtual table-top instead of a battlemap.

I see. I have these already. I bought the PDFs of the whole AoW series rom Paizo a few weeks ago.

How does FG II handle non-SRD classes?

 

[Emryys]

RE: The Online Tools comparison.

An excellent comparison can be found: Here

Another comparison chart from ICoN - VGT convention can be found in my sig...

 

[rvalle]

How does FG II handle non-SRD classes?

One thing I like about FG is that in most cases it is 'dumbed down' in regards to the rules. Classes are just text fields so you can type in anything you like. Same with feats and races. It is up to you to apply the feats as needed.

Skills are listed on a page but you can add your own.

The only drawback right now in FG in regards to classes is that there is only room to list 3.

rv

 

[Wye]

What's it like gaming over the internet.

Gaming over the internet has its benefits and its drawbacks.

The biggest drawback is the lack of human interaction. Watching your buddy piling up dice because he is lost about what's going on in the game is a classic moment. Sharing pizza and talking nonsense is also a staple you'll not have. Bonding, I guess, is the word that best describes what I'm trying to say. Bonding is slow online, and sometimes nonexistent.

The biggest benefit is (in my experience) the heightened roleplaying; it's just easier to roleplay all the time when you only have to type. Usually shy people, those who wouldn't roleplay in a face-to-face game, are fine roleplaying online.

Another benefit is flexible scheduling; most of the time you can play that extra hour you need to wrap up the adventure as everybody is home anyway. No driving time, that's one more hour of gaming.

All in all, if you ask me, if you can choose between people around a table or online gaming, go with the people. Human interaction trumps all.

If you are still set on online gaming, let me give you a tip from my experience: do not use voice communication. I've tried it, it's terrible. When we talk, unless you are a professional voice artist, we tend to rely on other physical cues to convey and understand the meaning of what is being said. Without those you don't realize that the other person hasn't finished talking, for example, and people start talking on top of each other. When that happens enough times, tempers begin to flare.

Also, specially for people who don't do voices when roleplaying, you don't know if what's being said is in-character or out-of-character; an in-character discussion can be misinterpreted and quickly escalate into an actual player dispute. In person you might get a face or some other cue, like lifting a pencil; nuances you pick up without noticing.

All that said, it can be awesome! With the right people and the right attitude (i.e., no cheaters) the game can be magical. If you are a regular reader (as in book reader), playing online brings more of your imagination to play, as the act of reading the action and roleplaying will set your mind in the same state as when you are reading a book.

To finish up this long post, I play with my own software , which you are invited to try out. The link is in my sig. Enjoy!

 

[heruca]

I play with my own software , which you are invited to try out. The link is in my sig. Enjoy!

Cool, a new VT program I can add to my VT list!

Looks pretty cool, and the feature list looks quite decent. Will it be sold commercially once it's out of beta? How long have you been working on it?

 

[Hussar]

On a side note, I'm very, very curious what the DI will have in store for VTT play.

/edit to add another side note.

I will never, ever pay for a VTT program. And here's why: I almost always DM and I have for years. Yet every pay VTT program out there makes you pay extra to get the "DM Version" of the program. What the heck?!?! If I'm DMing, that means I've got at least one other player, and probably four or five. That means for every DM client they sell, they also sell four or five player clients as well.

Why am I being forced to pay extra for the privilege of selling more products for the developing company? Why are two versions being offered at all? Why not simply sell the full version to everyone and be done with it instead of screwing over GM's who are probably going to guarantee revenue for the company in the first place?

It annoys me to no end that just because I'm DMing, I'm being forced to pay extra for the privilege of running my game over Fantasy Grounds or whatever pay VTT program we happen to use. Sorry, I'll stick to OpenRPG which is free, open source and works very, very well.

 

[Wye]

Looks pretty cool, and the feature list looks quite decent. Will it be sold commercially once it's out of beta? How long have you been working on it?

Thanks! Yes, eventually it will be sold commercially. As for how long I've been working on it... it's a tricky question as this is the 2nd incarnation of the program. I'd say this incarnation started (with a head start in design because of the previous one) a few months before Fantasy Grounds was released, if that is any reference. I remember because I stopped development at that time and bought several FG licenses thinking I'll finally be able to play online, and ended up disappointed and using Gametable as a crutch until my app was playable.

...Why not simply sell the full version to everyone and be done with it...

My thoughts exactly, that's why GlitterComm comes all bundled together.

Anyway, enough thread hi-jacking. As I understand, this thread is about experiences of online gaming; if you want to talk more about software make a new thread in the software forum and I'll be there.

 

[Milagroso]

I've used OpenRPG and Fantasy Grounds before, finding more success with FG. Liek others ahve reported here, the games tend to be a tad slower. The good thing about FG is your ability to create your own tokens (cheaper then going to the store and buying minis). You can import maps that you've created with MS Paint. You can scan maps from the book too, save em as BMPs and import them too.

I definitely recommend using a voice chat program like Teamspeak or Ventrillo as the typing does get tedious.

To be honest, when I did run my FG game a while back I ran into only two problems.
1) Tying was taking too long. I didn't have a mic and one of my players refused to voice chat.
2) Sometimes the players kept getting kicked.. connection issues which were the fault of my ISP.

There are other options. There is a program/app not sure what its called I think Whiteboard? Anyway, it allows you to draw in real time on a white surface on your PC using an interface something like MS PAint and it appears concurrently on the screens of your peers.

Also, I have a group of about 3+1 myself I am running and I am having my best friend who lives in NY joining us over a webcam. Its not the best way to do it, probably, but at least I get to have him in my games.