D&D General Next Generation VTT

[Don Durito]

Easily programmable and intuitive interface to make macros. The ability to easily and intuitve program and edit your own character sheets. Smooth and functional 3D dice roller with a result outpout which is always clearly visible.

That's all I ask for really. I don't really need fancy graphics output and feel they mostly get in the way of what is a verbal medium anyway.

One thing that would make a big difference however, is a scaling map function for exploration. For some reasons VTTS don't tend to differentiate, but if you're exploring a dungeon you should able to do that at a zoomed out party scale, rather than an individual token scale and then smoothly and fluidly zoom in to a combat/individual token layer when the situation requires it. The way VTTs tend to work now you either need to turn the entire dungeon into a battle map or you need to know exactly where every combat is going to occur, or you need to have a seperate page to draw out the the battlemap using draw tools.

Even better if there's some kind of rough function where you can just put in a map with a scale and the VTT can output an appropriate sized auto-battle map of a part of that location should you ask for one. (I remember the old Gold Box games used to sort of do this).

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Astral TBletop has some of that, is easy to use, and has pretty quick dev cycle that responds meaningfully to community feedback.

 

[Guest 6801328]

So let's see. We want a AAA quality game graphics where a team of designers and artists spend hundreds of hours hand crafting 3D environments and models. But we also (presumably) want to be able to make our own maps in less than 100 hours.

As long as you're at it we might as well wish for VR or even a holodeck version.

Don't get me wrong, I've wanted realistic VR D&D since I started playing the game. I just don't expect it to happen any time soon. Give it another decade or more so an AI can help you build the environment and maybe then.

So if it's just a wish list then to be honest, my ideal would be nearly total immersion. I mean if you're going to dream, dream big. Something like Niven's Dream Park where you put on a feedback suit and step into a totally artificial world would be cool.

Short of that? It already takes to much time to make maps for Roll20, unless you just use pre-generated ones. Same with monsters, NPCs and so on. Seems like it would take away a lot of what makes D&D the game that it is.

Maybe you missed the part where I said ca. 2005 graphics. That is, 15 year old technology.

If you can't envision how the actual dungeon design process could be pretty quick...admittedly maybe with an initial steep learning curve...don't worry about it. There are lots of people who have trouble envisioning something new and better. You have good company.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Easily programmable and intuitive interface to make macros. The ability to easily and intuitve program and edit your own character sheets. Smooth and functional 3D dice roller with a result outpout which is always clearly visible.

Yup. Just let me get in there and write my own logic. Is that too much to ask?

One thing that would make a big difference however, is a scaling map function for exploration. For some reasons VTTS don't tend to differentiate, but if you're exploring a dungeon you should able to do that at a zoomed out party scale, rather than an individual token scale and then smoothly and fluidly zoom in to a combat/individual token layer when the situation requires it. The way VTTs tend to work now you either need to turn the entire dungeon into a battle map or you need to know exactly where every combat is going to occur, or you need to have a seperate page to draw out the the battlemap using draw tools.

YES! And that's the advantage (or one of many) of building something with a real graphics engine, rather than just displaying a static JPG for a map.

Even better if there's some kind of rough function where you can just put in a map with a scale and the VTT can output an appropriate sized auto-battle map of a part of that location should you ask for one. (I remember the old Gold Box games used to sort of do this).

Hmmm. That sounds tricky. But it makes me think that you could have a feature where you pick a visual "theme", draw a map strictly in 2D, dropping in doors and lights and other features, then let the software generate the 3D models.

 

[Don Durito]

Hmmm. That sounds tricky. But it makes me think that you could have a feature where you pick a visual "theme", draw a map strictly in 2D, dropping in doors and lights and other features, then let the software generate the 3D models.

It, no doubt, wouldn't be a particularly good model (and I wouldn't need it to be 3D) but it would still be quicker and easier than using draw tools.

But I think the thing that holds back this kind of function is the fact that it wouldn't look good - it's the aesthetics that sells.

 

[Stormonu]

What about Tabletop Simulator? Seems to check all the boxes. It even has a VR mode that would have me consider shelving my plastic/metal miniatures for good if I could get others to buy in.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

Yup. Just let me get in there and write my own logic. Is that too much to ask?

you clearly have never done anything like this.

 

[Burnside]

I will say this - I’m running VTT games as DM for two groups during C19 (12 people total, plus me) and I’m a player in another group of 5. With the exception of the other DM and myself, none of these 16 people would be willing to pay for a VTT service, and some of them might not be willing to download it (we use Roll20, which is completely free for all my players and completely web-based). Roll20 is often awkward and sometimes aesthetically ugly, but it’s hard to improve on free. I’d love to have something more intuitive, more dynamic, less buggy, and 3D, but if it cost any real money I’d lose most of my players.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

We had that with Neverwinter Nights. Persistent worlds and homebrew scripts kept us going for years. It was awesome. Nothing has come close before or since.

Edit: reload new image after other link died.

 

[Nebulous]

As much as I like roll20, and think the dynamic lighting and macros are other features are great, it's still....primitive. I keep thinking about what a VTT could look like if a real video game put their minds to it. And maybe...just maybe...an outcome of C19 is that VTTs are getting enough traffic and revenue to warrant significant investment. Not GTA levels of investment, but indie video game levels.

What features would YOU like to see in a VTT?

Here are some of mine:

• 3D (instead of 2D), with a graphics quality ca. 2005
• Maneuverable/zoomable camera, including POV, so you can look out of your character's eyes and see the cool architecture.
• Animated monsters and PCs. Doesn't have to be highly sophisticated, but subtle movement and posture change when standing still, walking animation, and a simple animation for each attack. Also spell effects.
• Environmental animation and sound effects. Doors creaking as they swing open. Water gurgling. A fog rolling in.
• Huge library of models for monsters and PCs.
  • Toolkit, similar to the HeroForge designer, for making your own.
• A toolkit for creating/editing dungeons. (This is probably the hardest part of the whole thing.)
• Editable (and shareable) AI for monsters, and scriptable environment.
• Integration with RPG rulesets. (This one is tricky. The answer is probably just to build D&D into it, but expose the API so anybody can write a plug-in, and character sheet, for specific systems.)

What's your wish list for next-gen VTT?

I think in the next 5 years or so all of that will happen as VTT games blend with Baldur's Gate style games and Virtual Reality. Maybe 10 years, but it's coming. Look, at some point you can plug the pleasurejack into your brainport and be all Moloko plus