Orr Group Q4 2017 Shows Large D&D Bump

The Orr Group - the company behind the popular Roll20 virtual tabletop - released its report for Quarter 4, 2017 recently. They report that D&D hard a larger than usual bump, and that Pathfinder also saw positive growth in the quarter. UP until recently, Roll20 has been an official licensee for D&D; as of this week, they are now an official licensee for Pathfinder and Starfinder, too, so those games might see a bump next quarter (though we won't see those figures for six months).

Starfinder rose from #15 to #11, and Star Wars increased to #5.

In separate news, Roll20 sent out a press release celebrating 3 million users. "Hot on the heels of our Pathfinder partnership, Roll20 has hit another new milestone: we now have over 3 million users! It's only been a year since we hit two million, but what can we say - these (digital) dice are hot. We've launched a major website update to keep those millions of players happy, with voice and video chat now integrated directly into our games along with an improved marketplace, fast adventure integration, and compendium upgrades to make finding, creating, and getting into games easier than ever."

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Roll20 Celebrates 3 Million Users; Launches New Voice and Video Chat, New Marketplace, and More

Premiere Virtual TableTop Levels Up Again as More Players Move Online

February 28, 2018: Roll20® celebrated reaching three million users today with the launch of new features to make the virtual tabletop experience even better. Starting now, all Roll20 users can chat with their groups using the improved voice and video chat, find great new adventures in the redesigned Marketplace, and set up games quickly and easily with a host of more streamlined features.

Three million users marks yet another critical success in the recent hot streak for Roll20. The service flew past the two million user mark in January 2017, meaning that it’s only taken Roll20 one year to grow its user base an additional 50%. Major publishers have already embraced the value that Roll20’s virtual tabletop offers players, with Paizo Inc. (Pathfinder®, Starfinder®) launching their official partnership with the service just yesterday.

With a huge variety of roleplaying systems available, players can start or join a game on Roll20 for free and play entirely through their web browser. Today’s new feature launch brings a host of additional creature comforts to make gaming easier than ever. The updates include:

• Improved Roll20 Video and Voice Chat: completely overhauled system makes talking to your party stable, simple, and fun (no guarantees about the plans they make using it, though!)
• Marketplace Redesign: easier to find, buy, and even gift new adventures to your friends
• Fast Adventure Integration: add publisher content to your games quicker than ever before
• Compendium Upgrades: page through a fully indexed, interactive guide styled just like the books

Roll20 Managing Partner Nolan T. Jones welcomed the news of this three million user achievement with a shout-out to the players. “When my friends and I started Roll20, there were only three players, and all of them were us. I'm pretty sure none of us had a million friends, so thank you to whoever keeps spreading the word.”

 

[Hussar]

Hola Hussar - yep plenty of upgrades and way more functionality than its competitors. Perhaps a skills gap that can be easily fixed with a little education? If you would like me to have a look with you at what you are having issues with Im sure they are easily solved.
It is true - I am a big fan of the product - but Im a fan because it is so bloody good.

Really?

So, howzabout that line of sight fog of war - something that Maptools has had for ten years?

Or layers - more than 10 years for other VTT's?

Or font control in chat? - going on twenty years, since OpenRPG had that one.

Or tabbed windows? Only had that for over a decade.

Or the ability to add minis to maps and have them stay on the map even though you remove them from the combat tracker so you can preset maps? Yuppers, only been decades of functionality for that one.

Or, the ability to actually draw a map in the program? Call it 15 years on that one.

Or the ability to be used without port forwarding so that I don't have to turn off my firewalls and play using Hamachi? Been about five years or so for that one with Roll20.

Or the ability to drag and drop images from a browser to the map? Yup, only a couple of decades on that.

Or any number of basic functions THAT EVERY OTHER VTT OUT THERE HAS that Fantasy Grounds still fails to have?

So, instead of rather condescendingly implying that I need a skills upgrade to use the program, howzabout ACTUALLY bringing out a program that keeps up with 10 year old Virtual Tabletops? The only plus for Fantasy Grounds used to be the WotC license. Since Roll20 has that now, the only reason I continue to use this is because I already spent the money on it.

I reviewed FG back in October 2015 Here and the funny thing is, EVERY single complaint I had three years ago has still not been addressed.

Hrm, I wonder if a bunch of sock puppet user names will be created to bury this behind pages again?

 

[damned]

Hey Hussar -

From your review:
Drawing one or more Pointers, cones, squares, circles you use the right click menu. Using the double click to draw a "quick pointer" is by design a single use pointer. From the menu you can have as many pointers as you want.

The Map will zoom in to 50x and out to full resolution. Use the middle mouse button (or scroll wheel) to move the map if you prefer. Plus the map if it has actor/tokens on it will centre on them when their turn is highlighted in the CT.

No piece of info is ever really more than 2 - 4 clicks away - not that much different in effort to accessing it thru a tab. I personally dont leave windows open. If Im not using that window right now I close it. I can access that info again so quickly from Hot Keys, From Campaign Tools, From Hot Links, From Pins on Maps, From the Char Sheet, From the Combat Tracker, From the Portrait, from the Chat Window etc. The data is so close. Yes - its a different interface. No secret there.

The Chat Window can be resized and moved -use the right click menu.

Setting up Encounters not only adds the tokens to the map and combat tracker when you are ready they are fast to setup and even faster to deploy.

All Windows can be resized and moved anywhere. Comments about the UI being not tabbed or different to other systems are pointless. Its like complaining that Windows isnt OSX or vice-versa. The interface works and works pretty well when you work with it and not against it.

The system is built on an old gaming engine that dosnt have some of the graphic and network functions that we expect in modern games. So we wont see dynamic lighting or dynamic fog of war or (without the use of the layers extension) multiple layers until the new engine is complete.

Just platform updates - not DLC additions or DLC improvements - I count over 600 improvements, enhancements and new program features in the last 4 years.

No other VTT makes content creation as easy, makes game prep as easy, makes combat just work like Fantasy Grounds does. I use it for things it does do.

I am happy to go thru any of these with you if you would like.

 

[Ben M]

Strange

Strange that the number of d&d 5e players is only a small percentage more than number of games. I would expect at least 3:1 ratio.

Yes, I though that was very odd too. Makes you wonder what conclusions we can really draw from these statistics. E.g. are their loads of D&D 5E sessions being setup and never played?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Hussar, I remember having a good look at Maptools when I was looking for a VTT and thinking that this was too much of a good thing. The trouble with a rich functionality is that it comes with a steep learning curve and I tried to get my group onto Maptools and they would not buy in. Too much to learn.
They went for Roll20 because it was easy and it provided enough.
In my opinion, a VTT should give a space to create characters easily, show a map with tokens and move those tokens, and roll dice. Being able to draw a map on the fly would be very nice also but it must be as simple as Paint.
Roll20 did that as did Fantasy Grounds and my group would not have switched to Fantasy Grounds if not for official support. What Fanstasy Grounds did at the time over Roll20 was organising the DM information. The ability to hyperlink the campaign is wonderful.
About the only change to Fantasy Grounds I would make would be a proper DM drawing layer that would allow better mapping in the application and change the MDI layout. I would like a UI where I could drag images and story windows outside the main application frame to make the best use of multiple monitors.
All the other stuff, 3d terrain and so forth is going to make the application harder to learn and get in the way of playing D&D or your rpg of choice.

 

[vikeen12]

Massive congrats to roll20. That kind of user growth YoY is amazing for most companies. And that is pre pathfinder partnership which will add even more of their loyal fans.

 

[Hussar]

Hey Hussar -
/snip
No other VTT makes content creation as easy, makes game prep as easy, makes combat just work like Fantasy Grounds does. I use it for things it does do.

I am happy to go thru any of these with you if you would like.

That review is three years old, so, yup, there's a few things that have caught up.

But as far as content creation being easy? Or prep being easy? Yeah, no. That's simply not true. The only real advantage Fantasy Grounds had for functionality was the WotC license. Since that's no longer true, I would never, ever recommend Fantasy Grounds to anyone.

It really is that bad.

Maybe if it wasn't for the crashing every single session (at least one player or DM every single session crashes), the kludge of an updater engine that forces me to turn off my virus scanner just so I can update (hey, thanks for letting me know that beforehand, not like I wasted gobs of time trying to update), complete lack of anything resembling a modern UI, and lack of anything resembling an ability to, oh, I dunno, actually create any content like maps, then, maybe, just maybe, I'd think it was worth the couple of hundred dollars I was forced to spend just so I could run a game.

Just no.

Instead of trying to patch a leaky ship that should have been let go years ago, why not actually spend the time and money bringing out that updated Fantasy Grounds that was announced THREE YEARS AGO? I mean, I know you said that there wasn't an announcement, but, hey, they previewed it on Youtube in 2016. I'm pretty sure I can find older videos if I actually tried.

 

[damned]

...

I feel for you Hussar.
You have this application that is terrible, absolutely terrible and you are still stuck using it for 3 years after having been forced to buy it.
It appears that there might be the odd thing or three that you arent aware of and maybe catching you up might ease your burden.
Im willing to have a look with you at your challenges and see if we can work them out - although I dont think we can turn this virtual table top into a map creation tool.

If you had given up on the software 3 years ago I wouldnt bother but as you are still using it lets try and make it work for you?
Your comments about easy prep and content creation not being true really suggests that a little assistance and your game sessions and prep time could be far more enjoyable.
Most people dont experience crashing every single session - maybe we will find its something else quite simple.

On the topic of 5e content you might be happy to know that the 5e content is about 40% cheaper on Fantasy Grounds than on Roll 20 and usually is available on FG the same day its available in stores.

Let me know. Serious offer.

 

[MarkB]

Strange that the number of d&d 5e players is only a small percentage more than number of games. I would expect at least 3:1 ratio.

It would suggest that a fair percentage of players are currently in more than one game.

 

[vikeen12]

It would suggest that a fair percentage of players are currently in more than one game.

This would be my guess as well. Rings true with my anecdotal experience.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

That review is three years old, so, yup, there's a few things that have caught up.

But as far as content creation being easy? Or prep being easy? Yeah, no. That's simply not true. The only real advantage Fantasy Grounds had for functionality was the WotC license. Since that's no longer true, I would never, ever recommend Fantasy Grounds to anyone.

It really is that bad.

Maybe if it wasn't for the crashing every single session (at least one player or DM every single session crashes), the kludge of an updater engine that forces me to turn off my virus scanner just so I can update (hey, thanks for letting me know that beforehand, not like I wasted gobs of time trying to update), complete lack of anything resembling a modern UI, and lack of anything resembling an ability to, oh, I dunno, actually create any content like maps, then, maybe, just maybe, I'd think it was worth the couple of hundred dollars I was forced to spend just so I could run a game.

Just no.

Instead of trying to patch a leaky ship that should have been let go years ago, why not actually spend the time and money bringing out that updated Fantasy Grounds that was announced THREE YEARS AGO? I mean, I know you said that there wasn't an announcement, but, hey, they previewed it on Youtube in 2016. I'm pretty sure I can find older videos if I actually tried.

I reckon that the DM experience on FG II is the best I have tried and have had no issues with it crashing. Just curious as to your experience, did you get it through Steam? and what OS are you running it on?