Jumpgate Is An Overhaul of the Roll20 VTT

A new engine with a focus on improved performance and user interface.

Our Founder in Residence Riley introduces Roll20 Jumpgate: a major reworking of what powers our VTT + efforts to integrate the new UI redesign efforts for a faster, more modern experience.

Jumpgate is the name of our overall project to deliver to you the largest overhaul and modernization of our VTT platform since we started. It’s a major reworking of the lowest level of the engine code that powers our VTT, as well as an opportunity for us to bring together all of the recent strides we’ve made with our new UI redesign efforts.
Bottom line: it means a faster, more performant VTT, with a beautiful modern interface, built on top of the latest web technology that will last us well into the future.

Here is a stress test video.

 

[darjr]

Wonder if they need beta testers?

 

[Lanefan]

My first question: what increase in level of tech (if any) is this new version going to require at the user end?

 

[Umbran]

My first question: what increase in level of tech (if any) is this new version going to require at the user end?

Being browser-based, probably not much on the user end?

 

[schneeland]

Seems other platforms have really started eating into their market share.

 

[Rabulias]

Long overdue. Roll20 has a lot of technical debt that accumulated over the years. Before I left them three years ago for Foundry, I responded to one of their surveys by suggesting they needed to freeze legacy Roll20 development beyond maintenance, and start on Roll20 2.0 as a parallel project, maybe using another Kickstarter, and build it from the ground up using the latest and greatest in web technology. The web world changed dramatically in the years after Roll20's launch in 2012. Some of it they kept up with, but much of it they did not.

Very interesting that Riley is back. He was such a driving force at Roll20 back in the day, but I worried about so much being on his shoulders, both as a personal stress issue for him, as well as a company becoming too reliant on a single person's work. Now that he is back maybe he can provide a vision and roadmap to revitalize Roll20 without having to do so much work himself. I really want a robust VTT marketplace, each driving the others to improve. I wish them well, but they will have to do pretty magical stuff to woo me away from Foundry at this point.

 

[RestlessRevenant]

Seems other platforms have really started eating into their market share.

I think D&D Beyond rolling out its own VTT has Roll20 and others on their toes.

 

[SteveC]

Thanks for this, it's really interesting. I play on Roll20 with one of my groups and all of us will be glad to hear about something new. My experience with Roll20 is that it's really horrible. We have technical issues nearly every session and our GMs just laugh and end up saying "oh, Roll20, right?"

We keep using it because we have a fair bit of assets and ... habit, I guess? Honestly, if it were easy to get everything into Foundry, we would have been there for over a year now.

So I'm personally very glad to look at the improvements!

 

[jdrakeh]

Thanks for this, it's really interesting. I play on Roll20 with one of my groups and all of us will be glad to hear about something new. My experience with Roll20 is that it's really horrible. We have technical issues nearly every session and our GMs just laugh and end up saying "oh, Roll20, right?"

We keep using it because we have a fair bit of assets and ... habit, I guess? Honestly, if it were easy to get everything into Foundry, we would have been there for over a year now.

So I'm personally very glad to look at the improvements!

Yeah. I've used Roll20 to play in a few games and the experience was always... not great. I welcome a grand, sweeping, update.

 

[The Soloist]

I was going to use it with Dragonbane since the KS included Roll20 files. Do we know how long will it be until the new version comes out?