Online Gaming... with actual minatures and a battlemap

[Scrivener of Doom]

Has anyone else tried this?

Because I have an aversion to preparing maps - I prepare encounters and sometimes have rough maps but otherwise ad lib my maps to suit the game - and an even greater aversion to preparing maps good enough for VTTs.

My proposed solution is to actually have a webcam over a battlemap that I draw, create with tiles or that is preprinted and then actually use miniatures. Of course, that means moving the players' minis as well which is probably anathema for some groups.

Has anyone else tried this and, if so, how did it work out? And, of course, the corollary to the latter question is to also ask for any advice you might have.

Thanks in advance.

 

[amerigoV]

I'll just say being on the player end is not much fun unless you have a couple of camera angles (ie, so you can actually tell where you are at and where you want to go).

 

[Radiating Gnome]

The value add of using the physical minis is only really on your end -- your remote players are still not getting the advantage. Instead, you introduce a variety of additional problems -- not being able to zoom in or look from other angles at the situation, etc.

The problem you're trying to solve is not having prepared maps -- but VTT does not require prepared maps. It's perfectly possible to create your maps on the fly while using any number of different VTT tools -- and a little practice will go a long way towards making it quick and easy. I'd suggest that you're better off practicing with the VTT tools for quick ad lib maps rather than trying to perfect your webcam plan.

If part of the challenge is that you like to draw your maps longhand, you might try a trick I've used several times now for VTT games-- draw out the map on normal graph paper long-hand, then scan it and use that as the image in the VTT. That's not quite quick enough to do during play, but it's a way to do your old style prep for a VTT game.

-rg

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Thanks for the feedback.

One of the things I was planning to use was a webcam on a USB cable. That way I can have it hovering over the battlemap but simply take it off its hook and have it pan around the battlemap if the players ask.

But I suspect you're right, [MENTION=150]Radiating Gnome[/MENTION]; I should probably just make the effort to learn how to do basic maps.

I'll try my version tomorrow and see if it sucks. If it does, roll20 here I come....