Playing in Person Is Just Better (for me)

[FitzTheRuke]

I agree 100%. Online is good when you're desperate, but doesn't hold a candle to face-to-face gaming.

 

[payn]

I agree 100%. Online is good when you're desperate, but doesn't hold a candle to face-to-face gaming.

I thought so too precovid. Since, I’ve seen the virtues of online which there are many.

 

[thullgrim]

I thought so too precovid. Since, I’ve seen the virtues of online which there are many.

I’m not saying it’s not without merit. Due to some scheduling issues I’m going to have to go find a fourth player. That is going to be much easier online. Also finding a specific niche game to play or run is much easier online.

I find the VTTs themselves to be a mixed bag. Sometimes I think they make everything harder. Other times, for instance when I ran WHFRP 4e (via Foundry) for the first time, it made learning the game much easier.

It sometimes takes us some time to find the happy medium between using the tool effectively and having the tool be an impediment.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, I wouldn’t go as far as that. There’s a lot to like about online play, as has been mentioned.

If I was somehow forced to give up either my weekly online game with @Manbearcat and @Campbell or my bi-weekly face to face game that I GM for my lo mg time group… I’d struggle with such a decision.

Luckily, there’s no need to pick!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I thought so too precovid. Since, I’ve seen the virtues of online which there are many.

I was happy to have it during the worst of the pandemic, and I do respect its virtues, but it really doesn't fully compare, IMO, to the great joy that I get from F2F gaming.

Call me a luddite if you wish, but I also think that a paper character sheet is significantly better than a (for example) DDB-on-a-tablet/phone at a table, and that plastic or metal dice are superior to a digital roller.

But I'd go as far as preferring a wooden pencil to a mechanical one, so...

It's not that I'm any kind of traditionalist, either! I have tried all of these things at length, and even preferred them at various points (usually early on), but have come to the conclusion, using fully considered judgement, that the "old way", in these cases, wins out against the new.

For me! You are free to prefer what you like, of course.

And It's not like I'd refuse to use any of these tools, or to play online. I just think F2F is better. Much Better.

I also think that coffee is better than tea, but I drink both!

 

[hawkeyefan]

Call me a luddite if you wish, but I also think that a paper character sheet is significantly better than a (for example) DDB-on-a-tablet/phone at a table, and that plastic or metal dice are superior to a digital roller.

You'll get no argument from me, there! I much prefer written character sheets, even when I play online.

I think there are benefits to some online versions depending on the game... there are some sheets that all players need to access and that kind of thing... and for those, google docs or whatever other version can be great.

But for just my character? Give me a handwritten version any day, regardless if we're playing in person or remote.

 

[payn]

I was happy to have it during the worst of the pandemic, and I do respect its virtues, but it really doesn't fully compare, IMO, to the great joy that I get from F2F gaming.

Call me a luddite if you wish, but I also think that a paper character sheet is significantly better than a (for example) DDB-on-a-tablet/phone at a table, and that plastic or metal dice are superior to a digital roller.

But I'd go as far as preferring a wooden pencil to a mechanical one, so...

It's not that I'm any kind of traditionalist, either! I have tried all of these things at length, and even preferred them at various points (usually early on), but have come to the conclusion, using fully considered judgement, that the "old way", in these cases, wins out against the new.

For me! You are free to prefer what you like, of course.

And It's not like I'd refuse to use any of these tools, or to play online. I just think F2F is better. Much Better.

I also think that coffee is better than tea, but I drink both!

It's the "much better" im surprised to find out, for me, is just simply not the truth with F2F. Then again, I struggled to find a good F2F group fit for decades and online has been way more consistent in that regard. As a GM, the virtual tools are indispensable. Im always surprised how efficient I am and able to accomplish in an online session.

 

[ART!]

When the pandemic hit I was just about to start running a game for our group. I decided to run it virtually, and HATED it. After a couple months I have up. Then someone else in the group ran something virtually, and they managed the interface better.

But after months and months of that, when we finally gamed together in person again for the first time, it was all hugs and tears. We all missed it soooo much.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It's the "much better" im surprised to find out, for me, is just simply not the truth with F2F. Then again, I struggled to find a good F2F group fit for decades and online has been way more consistent in that regard. As a GM, the virtual tools are indispensable. Im always surprised how efficient I am and able to accomplish in an online session.

That's really interesting, because I find the opposite - and not just for me, but for anyone I play with that uses virtual tools. (For example, IME people take FOREVER to find anything and roll anything, when they are using a DDB character sheet at the table).

But then, I make GREAT physical character-sheets.

And to be fair, I USE digital tools (such as DDB) to MAKE my character sheets! (I mean that I use the database, not the builder).

 

[payn]

That's really interesting, because I find the opposite - and not just for me, but for anyone I play with that uses virtual tools. (For example, IME people take FOREVER to find anything and roll anything, when they are using a DDB character sheet at the table).

But then, I make GREAT physical character-sheets.

And to be fair, I USE digital tools (such as DDB) to MAKE my character sheets!

I use Foundry (reluctantly roll20 sometimes) so im not familiar with DDB. Foundry allows me to make slick character sheets, a dice tray mode for easy dice and mods on fly, and endless journal capability, music/SFX, etc.. I know for some folks that are not tech savvy its not efficient, but as GM in a tech space I just kill it. I've even coded a few mods for Foundry myself for stuff I wanted.

I do get that some of my other friends dont love working all day on a Pc, and then gaming on one at night, but the tools just get s#$t done in a way physical cant even begin to compete. Then again, even F2F I was using a laptop for adventure notes, map reference, and combat tracking. Id say I was half way there already.