[VTT] Going Back to VTT Instead of Live Play

[Jd Smith1]

That's for the DM, right? How does that fix the lag-and-crash at the player end?

Get better players.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Older* PC here, and - other than this - no pressing reason at all to buy new hardware as it otherwise does what I need for the time being. I don't do any online gaming of the sort you're referring to and, to be honest, have little if any interest in it.

* - though it still seems new to me; but I'm one of those people who look at computers as appliances, the same as I look at dishwashers and toasters and cars - if you buy good quality once, and don't abuse it, you shouldn't have to buy another one for a very long time if ever.

Our DM, to his credit, is more than willing to do tedious work if he thinks the results will be worth it. And I gather it is for everyone else, but the other players all have fancy or quasi-fancy hardware either for gaming or for work reasons.

The hardware demands are quite small. But your view of a PC's role suggests that an entire era is passing you by...

Although it could easily be your Net connection.

 

[Retreater]

At the start of the pandemic I was running Roll20 on a Chromebook, which is hardly a powerhouse gaming rig. Some of my players are still using tablets to play, and they get along fine.
Maybe it's a bad Internet connection?
We don't always use all the bells and whistles. I sometimes use fog of war and reveal layers as they explore instead of dynamic lighting, especially on obscenely large maps (such as Barrowmaze).
But for basic positioning, character sheet management, die rolls, etc, I don't think VTT is very demanding, especially if you use something like Owlbear Rodeo.

 

[Lanefan]

The hardware demands are quite small. But your view of a PC's role suggests that an entire era is passing you by...

Oh, probably. To me if a computer can browse the net, act as a word processor and spreadsheet, allow me to keep my website going, and allow me to play tunes/videos/simple games, then I'm set.

Although it could easily be your Net connection.

If I'd had any other issues I'd agree with you, but everything else - streaming, browsing, etc. - seems to work the same as it always did, without issue. And roll20 works just fine when the dynamic lighting effects are switched off.

 

[Lanefan]

Get better players.

Except in this case I am the player...

 

[Jd Smith1]

If I'd had any other issues I'd agree with you, but everything else - streaming, browsing, etc. - seems to work the same as it always did, without issue. And roll20 works just fine when the dynamic lighting effects are switched off.

It still could be your connection. DL is a high-end draw, and if you're running video feed through Discord at the same time it could easily overwhelm an otherwise adequate connection.

 

[pogre]

I agree with the points about the advantages of playing remotely. I run a weekly Traveller game remotely for one-and-a-half to two hours for my brother and friends who live hours and hours away - it's really great to be able to play games with them.

The hang ups for me are I love miniatures and terrain and I find online meetings exhausting. I just don't get the energy back running online that I do in-person. That's why I keep my weekly four hour D&D campaign at the table.

If I didn't have people willing to come out to my house and my game room, I would be tempted to go online only also.

 

[TerraDave]

You really need a Pro account to make dynamic lighting work. With Pro, setting up and using DL is a breeze.

Sure. But its also a breeze not to use it. Jut light up the areas you want to light up.

This also does some mapping for the players. I guess for a purist thats a negative, but can work for some groups.

 

[damiller]

I have run games exclusively online for 10 years. Wow. I can't believe it. But it has been the richest and most consistent its ever been. From a pool of players that want to play in games I want to run (or how I want to run them) I found it very rewarding.

While I have not developed any friendships (except for 1 player whose played with me for 8 of those 10) but I don't think that is why I ever wanted to be in the hobby anyway. I grew up having to play with anyone who would play, I was in a small town in the 80s and liked RPGs, Comics, and the like and had few friends. For me gaming has never been about hanging out with friends, its been about gaming. For me that is the focus.

Plus I've found that I can focus more on the game. We have had some incredible experiences. I think that is a function of finding players who match more closely with what I want run (not just mechanically but thematically).

For me I've discovered that shorter sessions are actually better. For a long time I ran 3 hour game sessions. I then dropped it to 2 and I was amazed at how much more focused we were as a group. We got more game in the game. But again, we were gaming, not hanging out. I think hanging out is very hard to do with a group online. But again, that is not why I game. I don't game to hang out with friends. I never have had that luxury, and it isn't why I game.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I have run games exclusively online for 10 years. Wow. I can't believe it. But it has been the richest and most consistent its ever been. From a pool of players that want to play in games I want to run (or how I want to run them) I found it very rewarding.

While I have not developed any friendships (except for 1 player whose played with me for 8 of those 10) but I don't think that is why I ever wanted to be in the hobby anyway. I grew up having to play with anyone who would play, I was in a small town in the 80s and liked RPGs, Comics, and the like and had few friends. For me gaming has never been about hanging out with friends, its been about gaming. For me that is the focus.

Plus I've found that I can focus more on the game. We have had some incredible experiences. I think that is a function of finding players who match more closely with what I want run (not just mechanically but thematically).

For me I've discovered that shorter sessions are actually better. For a long time I ran 3 hour game sessions. I then dropped it to 2 and I was amazed at how much more focused we were as a group. We got more game in the game. But again, we were gaming, not hanging out. I think hanging out is very hard to do with a group online. But again, that is not why I game. I don't game to hang out with friends. I never have had that luxury, and it isn't why I game.

Well said.

For decades I have had to put up with marginal players just to keep up the table count. But online, there are so many players looking for games that once you work up a vetting process, you never have to settle again. I have two groups of five, no overlap, and every one of them is great.