Suggestions for on-line rpg tools

[wiley15]

Hello all,

I am planning to GM an online game of M & M 3E in the near future. Currently I am experimenting with Maptool (with Skype for voice) and the M & M 3E campaign framework someone put together for it. However, it just doesn't feel quite right. All I really want are -- shared white-board for drawing simple maps (and placing/moving tokens on) and a shared dice roller. Hmmm, sounds like MapTool but Maptool has all the complications for visibility, grid movement, etc. Just wondering what people would recommend in this case.

 

[lud]

Can't go wrong with Maptool+Skype, used this mix for many 3.5 games.

If you don't want the fog of war, just don't use it.

(removed comments about the grid...)

 

[Kzach]

Teamspeak or Ventrilo over Skype any day.

Whether you think Skype is crap (I do) or not, the plain fact is that it doesn't have a PTT option, and that's just plain freaking annoying.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Hmmm, sounds like MapTool but Maptool has all the complications for visibility, grid movement, etc. Just wondering what people would recommend in this case.

I would recommend you turn off the visibility and grid options on MapTool, since you don't want to use them.

It don't get much simpler than that.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'm a huge proponent of using MapTool + Skype (as you can see from my blog).

MapTool can be very complicated if you want it to be. It can also be very, very simple. If all you want is a shared white board to draw on and drag tokens around on, MapTool can absolutely do that. Just don't use Fog of War or Vision Blocking Layers. Personally, I've never used Vision Blocking Layers in MapTool (though I love Fog of War).

If you have any questions about getting your game running in MapTool, let me know!

 

[IronWolf]

All I really want are -- shared white-board for drawing simple maps (and placing/moving tokens on) and a shared dice roller. Hmmm, sounds like MapTool but Maptool has all the complications for visibility, grid movement, etc. Just wondering what people would recommend in this case.

As several others have chimed in already - use MapTool, just don't turn on all the options. You can easily use MapTool without the Vision Blocking layer and the Fog of War. And by putting some time into MapTool now, if you do decide to use Fog of War or VBL then you'll already have VTT that is capable of handing it.

Don't let MapTool intimidate you. You can start out simple with and grow with it as you want.

 

[teach]

Well, I know a lot of people are recommending MapTool, and I would as well, if we could actually get everyone to connect. We followed all the FAQs we could, still couldn't make it work. We've moved to using google+ for voice/video chat and have been using Twiddla for our mapping, and catch your hare for dice rolling.

You can read about the specifics about how we do it here.

Now with the upgrades to google+ that allow you to use google documents we might move away from using twiddla, since a google draw document can be right in the same window as the chat windows.

And the best thing? It doesn't require any kind of software install (other than a browser plug in). Since we have a rotating group playing each week, having a method of playing online that doesn't require a lot of setup is great.

 

[KJSEvans]

I am also big on MapTools ... it is a very, very useful program. Actually I'm a bit spoiled... a guy on the Kenzer forums has written an outstanding Macro for HackMaster and Aces & Eights.

However, I know some folks are less interested in the macro and would rather have web cams and that sort of thing... apparently Google Plus has the ability for you to webcam with as many as 6 people at once and has a "white board" option as well.

Jolly Blackburn is very interested in the possibilities - he's not keen on Maptools at all - and I think some of us Kenzerites will be exploring it in the near future.

 

[Oryan77]

Currently I am experimenting with Maptool (with Skype for voice) and the M & M 3E campaign framework someone put together for it.

Is it possible that you are not liking Maptool because of the M & M 3E campaign framework?

If all you want is a whiteboard to move tokens on and a dice roller, why did you import the framework? Have you tried starting a new campaign file and just make the battlemat white and practiced drawing on it and using tokens?

I really enjoy using Maptool and I just got finished making some really cool condition/states macros. I originally got Maptool with the intent of just using the bare essentials. The more I keep playing with it and learning what it can do, the more I find myself using more complicated features.