New Official D&D FAQ

[DarkAngel1979]

Does everyone using the Game Table have to pay the subscription, or just the DM?

Subscription comes with a certain number of passes for non-subscribers per month, or they can buy a one day pass. I don't know how many passes per month, or how costly they will be when bought as standalone.

 

[DMMo]

I have four players, which is probably about the standard. We try to play weekly, but real life frequently intervenes and on average we play bi-weekly. So I'm hoping that as the subscribing DM, I'll get at least 8 passes per month (16 would be ideal). If it's anything less than 8 free passes, I hope that the one day passes are really cheap.

 

[Hussar]

That's one thing that really discourages me - the pass system.

I've been playing weekly games over OpenRPG for years now. I've had anywhere from 3-8 players, usually 5. That means I need about 20 passes a month, minimum to use this with my regular group. If it's anything less than that, I simply cannot use it.

They should give paid subscribers a key that they can share with their players that allow the players to log onto that subscribers game table whenever it's running. Make the key individual for each subscriber and you're good to go.

Best way to go IMO.

 

[Umbran]

They should give paid subscribers a key that they can share with their players that allow the players to log onto that subscribers game table whenever it's running. Make the key individual for each subscriber and you're good to go.

Well, it seems to me that they are following some variation of the reasonable well-understood web-conferencing or conference-call model.

So, yes, there's a moderator, and he can hand out keys (passes) that allow up to some maximum number of people in on the call. But there may be limits on how many calls you can make, and so on.

The virtual table-top does sound a lot like web-conferencing. It can call for a lot of bandwidth and processing power for the servers in the middle - and that doesn't come cheap. Don't expect anything "unlimited" without a hefty price tag.

 

[Hussar]

Well, it seems to me that they are following some variation of the reasonable well-understood web-conferencing or conference-call model.

So, yes, there's a moderator, and he can hand out keys (passes) that allow up to some maximum number of people in on the call. But there may be limits on how many calls you can make, and so on.

The virtual table-top does sound a lot like web-conferencing. It can call for a lot of bandwidth and processing power for the servers in the middle - and that doesn't come cheap. Don't expect anything "unlimited" without a hefty price tag.

I can't see it eating a whole lot of bandwidth honestly. No animation for one will drastically reduce bandwidth. VOIP eats a bit I suppose, but, not a huge amount. I know that using OpenRPG, I can host a server on my regular ADSL line, host a dozen or so players and have no significant lag. Granted, again, no VOIP, but, everything else is pretty much the same.

I realize this doesn't come cheap, but, OTOH, it isn't cheap. Ten bucks a month per group buys a heck of a lot of bandwidth. And sells a lot of books as well.