Lets see your GAME ROOM.

[NewJeffCT]

ok, after seeing some of the game rooms here, I'm starting to feel game room envy. I thought having a sturdy table topped by a Mondo Mat and some wooden chairs with padding, coupled with putting some left-over carpet on the floor and having a few bookshelves for miniatures and books, and I was in gamer heaven...

 

[Steel_Wind]

Yup love those projector set ups guys, thanks for sharing!

Here's my little set-up in the game cave. I use a 46" LCD atm but plan on making the upgrade to a projector and custom table in the future. The LCD works brilliantly (no really, its quite bright with full lights on) but I'd like to expand the size of my digital battlemat to be a bit bigger if I can. Currently running, via maptools, a Kingmaker AP campaign for my game group!

"Upgrading" to a projector? I have two projectors and was one of the first to start the whole trend here on ENWorld.

I'm in the midst of planning and shopping to "upgrade" to a 46" flat panel!

What you are doing is a better method of displaying an electronic battlemat. What isn't optimal in your setup is simply the table and the fact the panel is resting on it in the manner that it is. The problem with large 3' x 4' projected images is that the pixel concentration drops like a rock and your image is washed out and pixelated. Your envy of projection tech is misplaced if you are thinking you will get an image as awesome as the one you get but 3x4 in size. It doesn't work that way -- not even close.

Having to move the TV back and forth? That's the problem. The tech solution itself is COOL.

Your electronic solution is awesome. It's the woodwork that needs upgrading to "optimal".

And playing Varnhold Vanishing on it too. NICE!!

If you have more shots of this, I'd love for you to post them on our website. Use of this technology came up for discussion on episode 011 of the podcast, as a matter of fact.

 

[cyderak]

I'd love to upgrade to a 40 some inch LCD T.V. but my wife has given me so many concessions with my game table and Man Cave that I'm in hock to her for alot of money. We're a blue collar family so I work 1st shift and my wife works second shift. We have 3 kids so I don't goto the bars anymore and seldom goto parties so she says she'd rather see me spend money on something harmless like Playing pathfinder in my basement than coming home from the bar stumbling drunk.


Besides that she works while I play so in between playing I have to watch our 3 kids. My kids play pretty good on their own so we get a ton of Pathfinder play time in.

To sum up, my wife's let me buy so much to create the man cave, even I have reservations about spending more money because i'd feel guilty. Occasionally I kiss-up by giving her gift cards to her preferred Dept. store.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I'd love to upgrade to a 40 some inch LCD T.V. but my wife has given me so many concessions with my game table and Man Cave that I'm in hock to her for alot of money. We're a blue collar family so I work 1st shift and my wife works second shift. We have 3 kids so I don't goto the bars anymore and seldom goto parties so she says she'd rather see me spend money on something harmless like Playing pathfinder in my basement than coming home from the bar stumbling drunk.


Besides that she works while I play so in between playing I have to watch our 3 kids. My kids play pretty good on their own so we get a ton of Pathfinder play time in.

To sum up, my wife's let me buy so much to create the man cave, even I have reservations about spending more money because i'd feel guilty. Occasionally I kiss-up by giving her gift cards to her preferred Dept. store.

40" is a little small. 42" is getting there. 46", imo, is optimal for the technology.

You might want it bigger, but it isn't going to get much bigger than that without significant degradation in pixel concentration to the point where you are quickly playing with NES16 style blocky graphics.

46" on the diagonal is pretty much optimal, in my view.

I apppreciate that this might not be affordable to everybody, but it's not "thousands of bucks". It's accessible and relatively affordable to the gainfully employed.

There is an Insignia 46" LED which is, admittedly, SLOW for console gaming, and has poor contrast in relation to more expensive models. Still, it is AOK and a better image than you'll get from any of the projector models typically discussed on these forums. You can grab that at Best Buy for $600-649 right now.

There is a kick-ass 5000 series 60Hz Samsung OLED with is 1.5" thick for $899 in my local Futureshop. It's the same price in the USA at BestBuy. This would be the Triple A version of such a flat panel - the high water mark of this tech for electronic battlement purposes. You can do it cheaper than the price for this one, but this seems to be the best tech available right now. Extra Hz, be it 120 or 240 has ZERO impact on value-in-use as a battlemat. So keep your eye on this 60 Hz unit as it is being phased out in favor of 120 and 240 Hz tech. If this stuff interests you at all, please go into your local Best Buy and have a look at the model. You'll apprecaite the picture and the thin design the moment you see it. The gears will start spinning about 1 second after you lay your eyes on it

The beauty of the Samsung is that it is REALLY thin. Exceptionally easy to mount into a table -- and thin enough you can just lie it down flat on a table if you want without going the carpentry route. Plus, it's light. So you don't even need help moving it around if that's what you want to do. One person can easily maneuver that thing around without difficulty.

If $899 is the high water mark THIS YEAR? We are 1, perhaps 2 years at most away from a $500 price point for kick-ass thin LED/LCD models. You can already build a thicker 46" LCD or use a cheap 46" LED unit into a table for ~ $500-600 already. So I think, fairly stated? We're there already - right here -- right now.

While this is not cheap, I am certain that there are THOUSANDS of ENWorlders who have vastly more money than that tied up in 3.xx hardcovers or miniatures than a mere $500-600.

My point being, even at the absolute top-end of the tech curve, this is not pie-in-the-sky stuff we're talking about here.

We live in interesting times

 

[cyderak]

40" is a little small. 42" is getting there. 46", imo, is optimal for the technology.

You might want it bigger, but it isn't going to get much bigger than that without significant degradation in pixel concentration to the point where you are quickly playing with NES16 style blocky graphics.

46" on the diagonal is pretty much optimal, in my view.

I apppreciate that this might not be affordable to everybody, but it's not "thousands of bucks". It's accessible and relatively affordable to the gainfully employed.

There is an Insignia 46" LED which is, admittedly, SLOW for console gaming, and has poor contrast in relation to more expensive models. Still, it is AOK and a better image than you'll get from any of the projector models typically discussed on these forums. You can grab that at Best Buy for $600-649 right now.

There is a kick-ass 5000 series 60Hz Samsung OLED with is 1.5" thick for $899 in my local Futureshop. It's the same price in the USA at BestBuy. This would be the Triple A version of such a flat panel - the high water mark of this tech for electronic battlement purposes. You can do it cheaper than the price for this one, but this seems to be the best tech available right now. Extra Hz, be it 120 or 240 has ZERO impact on value-in-use as a battlemat. So keep your eye on this 60 Hz unit as it is being phased out in favor of 120 and 240 Hz tech. If this stuff interests you at all, please go into your local Best Buy and have a look at the model. You'll apprecaite the picture and the thin design the moment you see it. The gears will start spinning about 1 second after you lay your eyes on it

The beauty of the Samsung is that it is REALLY thin. Exceptionally easy to mount into a table -- and thin enough you can just lie it down flat on a table if you want without going the carpentry route. Plus, it's light. So you don't even need help moving it around if that's what you want to do. One person can easily maneuver that thing around without difficulty.

If $899 is the high water mark THIS YEAR? We are 1, perhaps 2 years at most away from a $500 price point for kick-ass thin LED/LCD models. You can already build a thicker 46" LCD or use a cheap 46" LED unit into a table for ~ $500-600 already. So I think, fairly stated? We're there already - right here -- right now.

While this is not cheap, I am certain that there are THOUSANDS of ENWorlders who have vastly more money than that tied up in 3.xx hardcovers or miniatures than a mere $500-600.

My point being, even at the absolute top-end of the tech curve, this is not pie-in-the-sky stuff we're talking about here.

We live in interesting times

Its not really the Pie-In-The-Sky that I'm worried about. Its my wife's foot-in-my-ass that has me concerned.

And I would'nt blame her a bit because of the $500 HD projector.......$600 Laptop......$350 in Oak wood supplies......$200 in under cabinet lights.......and $60 in various software, all of which were for my Game table. I realize this seems in excess but I wanted to build a game table that would last and look good doing it.

Not to mention all the decorative-type items I bought for atmosphere. About $600 there.

And of course the $800 in D&D minis I've bought over the years.

So I'd say I'm probably going to lay low for a while. Not to say I won't get more in the future but for now I'm taking a breather.

 

[cyderak]

Here is another pic of the Bar brawl art panel which will be attached to the table when its finished:

2nd Game Table panel -WIP Pt.2 by ~cyderak on deviantART


Its a little fuzzy because of the Pic being taken by a cell phone but it is turning out awesome. Stephanie, the artist whose painting the art panels for us, Got a little more of the Orc's armor done in this WIP pic.

 

[cyderak]

found some more game table pics.......

My version of the Sultan game table | Gaming Brouhaha

The Sultan Gaming Table

 

[cyderak]

Even more new pics of RPG Game Tables......

My new Gaming Table: The Emissary from Geek Chic (Picture Heavy) - RPGnet Forums



This would make an interesting DM station......

http://pixelatedgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/gamer_table.jpg

 

[cyderak]

Anyone else have Game Table pics?

 

[falcarrion]

some of you might intrested in this.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJU8sBt7eC8]YouTube - How to Make a Multitouch Table - MTbiggie[/ame]