I have investigated VTTs a few times, but have only started really using them during the COVID-19 situation. The only change in my buying habits is that I've purchased a few bits of content through Roll20 just to see what they are like. They don't add significant value for me as a GURPS player, so I will not likely spend more money on them. So far, we're mostly using Roll20 simply as a way to share visuals. I'm considering switching to just Zoom or Google Meet with a camera on the battlemat like @atanakar.
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VTT have affected my purchasing habits. You?
- Thread starter Doc_Klueless
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Prakriti
Hi, I'm a Mindflayer, but don't let that worry you
I have played exclusively on VTT for years now, and I am only really interested in D&D, so this isn't really a question for me, but... I would never play a game that wasn't supported on a VTT. There are just too many little inconveniences that make it not worthwhile.
Jacob Lewis
Ye Olde GM
I purchased a standard GM license with 4 complimentary players-only licenses for Fantasy Grounds years ago when it first came out. That was before they introduced the Ultimate license, and before Steam was even a thing. I even bought some basic 5e products years later thinking it was going to become more of a thing.
But I never used it for a game. Not once. I could never figure out the port forwarding issue, which seems to me like a thing that should have been addressed by the creators rather than requiring expertise to navigate such an obstacle on our own. (HINT: If I need to run command prompts to obtain my IP address and/or contact my ISP provider to get one piece of software to work, you're not doing me a service.) No other program in my life has needed me to do anything more than maybe log into a particular server, or allow it through my firewall. And while I had hopes for a new version using Unity would finally solve this issue for me to salvage my faith in what I believe to be a great program for running my favorite systems in a virtual tabletop, it has taken far too long to save my interest over a decade later.
Now we are here, in the days of self-quarantine and social distancing. Just when I am about to make a serious go at becoming a GM-for-hire in my area, something I have been building up and working towards for nearly a year, I find myself at a loss. With this unexpected turn, I no longer think this is an option for me. Respiratory infections have hospitalized me before, and until this virus is contained or eliminated, I don't know that I will feel safe enough to risk exposure to anyone who may not be taking serious and correct precautions. My world has changed.
Now enter Roll20.
First off, let me say that I had not thought much about it in the past. Maybe because I had been holding out for FG to get its stuff together, or that I still had trouble getting behind the idea of a subscription-based service. But since face-to-face games may be off the table for some time, I decided to take another closer look. And now, I finally get it.
I once believed that the complexity and depth of utility from FG's program offered a more satisfying and comprehensive experience. But the simplicity of Roll20's design is quite remarkable. Highly customizable to the point of being limited only by your own imagination, I have learned that the VTT does more than just provide a grid for minis and battlemaps. In truth, it was the idea of a landing page, and the creative ways that people utilized it in their games, that sold it for me. You create a page for a unique purpose, and then find ways to get the most use from it. Players can access handouts and tokens in unique ways, such as marking places visited on an overland map, or providing notes on locations with special tokens they can access on their screen. I've even seen GMs track the party's relations with various factions using tokens. Or create job boards by dropping handouts that look like parchment on the table. And don't get me started on the dynamic lighting!
Ok, let me say that dynamic lighting changes everything! When done right, your players will see much greater value and utility in things like torches, exploration, and line of sight. Darkvision is much more realistic when players realize how less effective it actually is; you don't just see everything automatically. Dim light can create an atmosphere where things can still hide and details can be missed. I even created special tokens, like torches and sconces, to drop in as light sources to make things easy and fun!
My biggest take away from all this is how my attitudes have changed over the last few weeks. I once considered Roll20 to be a limited utility that focused only on grids and minis. Now I see those how those limitations can fuel greater creativity and innovation. I'm already working on ideas to create unique inventions, even something as simple as tokens used as game peices for tracking things like victory points, or rations (i.e. things I might have used at my own table). I've already created a massive library of maps and tokens I purchased or accumulated over the years from my old PbP and RL games (I'm big on handouts and printing images).
The most surprising effect, however, is this is the first time I have felt really excited to run 5e games. I don't understand why just yet, but I think it has to do with the way I can customize things in the vault one time, and I can easily access and carry them over as a "physical" asset (like a token or handout) in the virtual space.
On topic? Yeah, I've sunk quite a bit into this already with a Pro account, several product purchases, and a whole lot of time working to create custom assets and learning how to use it effectively and efficiently. At this point, I'm all in!
But I never used it for a game. Not once. I could never figure out the port forwarding issue, which seems to me like a thing that should have been addressed by the creators rather than requiring expertise to navigate such an obstacle on our own. (HINT: If I need to run command prompts to obtain my IP address and/or contact my ISP provider to get one piece of software to work, you're not doing me a service.) No other program in my life has needed me to do anything more than maybe log into a particular server, or allow it through my firewall. And while I had hopes for a new version using Unity would finally solve this issue for me to salvage my faith in what I believe to be a great program for running my favorite systems in a virtual tabletop, it has taken far too long to save my interest over a decade later.
Now we are here, in the days of self-quarantine and social distancing. Just when I am about to make a serious go at becoming a GM-for-hire in my area, something I have been building up and working towards for nearly a year, I find myself at a loss. With this unexpected turn, I no longer think this is an option for me. Respiratory infections have hospitalized me before, and until this virus is contained or eliminated, I don't know that I will feel safe enough to risk exposure to anyone who may not be taking serious and correct precautions. My world has changed.
Now enter Roll20.
First off, let me say that I had not thought much about it in the past. Maybe because I had been holding out for FG to get its stuff together, or that I still had trouble getting behind the idea of a subscription-based service. But since face-to-face games may be off the table for some time, I decided to take another closer look. And now, I finally get it.
I once believed that the complexity and depth of utility from FG's program offered a more satisfying and comprehensive experience. But the simplicity of Roll20's design is quite remarkable. Highly customizable to the point of being limited only by your own imagination, I have learned that the VTT does more than just provide a grid for minis and battlemaps. In truth, it was the idea of a landing page, and the creative ways that people utilized it in their games, that sold it for me. You create a page for a unique purpose, and then find ways to get the most use from it. Players can access handouts and tokens in unique ways, such as marking places visited on an overland map, or providing notes on locations with special tokens they can access on their screen. I've even seen GMs track the party's relations with various factions using tokens. Or create job boards by dropping handouts that look like parchment on the table. And don't get me started on the dynamic lighting!
Ok, let me say that dynamic lighting changes everything! When done right, your players will see much greater value and utility in things like torches, exploration, and line of sight. Darkvision is much more realistic when players realize how less effective it actually is; you don't just see everything automatically. Dim light can create an atmosphere where things can still hide and details can be missed. I even created special tokens, like torches and sconces, to drop in as light sources to make things easy and fun!
My biggest take away from all this is how my attitudes have changed over the last few weeks. I once considered Roll20 to be a limited utility that focused only on grids and minis. Now I see those how those limitations can fuel greater creativity and innovation. I'm already working on ideas to create unique inventions, even something as simple as tokens used as game peices for tracking things like victory points, or rations (i.e. things I might have used at my own table). I've already created a massive library of maps and tokens I purchased or accumulated over the years from my old PbP and RL games (I'm big on handouts and printing images).
The most surprising effect, however, is this is the first time I have felt really excited to run 5e games. I don't understand why just yet, but I think it has to do with the way I can customize things in the vault one time, and I can easily access and carry them over as a "physical" asset (like a token or handout) in the virtual space.
On topic? Yeah, I've sunk quite a bit into this already with a Pro account, several product purchases, and a whole lot of time working to create custom assets and learning how to use it effectively and efficiently. At this point, I'm all in!
I don't choose not to buy games that don't have VTT support... but because I'm buying more VTT things, I am by necessity buying fewer non-VTT things.
LordEntrails
Hero
Yes. When I was able to get back into RPGs in 2015 I knew I was going to want to go digital. Since I wanted to play D&D and was willing to try 5E, I found FG and went that way. Never regretted my decision.
At the moment and for the foreseeable future, if it's not on Roll20, it's worthless to me (excepting that I can flip through it and look at pictures). Unfortunately, Roll20 has very few 3PP on board for 5e, nearly nothing for Savage Worlds, and even less for PF2e; and Fantasy Grounds is unusable for me.
So yeah, it's made "only official 5e content" the only game in town for my groups. No houseruling. No original (or even 3PP) content. Back to the lackluster official Wizards of the Coast adventures.
It's better than nothing, though, even if it means we have to play with the scant tools available. And on the plus side, I'm running far more games than I did before the pandemic (4-5 games on Roll20 currently).
So yeah, it's made "only official 5e content" the only game in town for my groups. No houseruling. No original (or even 3PP) content. Back to the lackluster official Wizards of the Coast adventures.
It's better than nothing, though, even if it means we have to play with the scant tools available. And on the plus side, I'm running far more games than I did before the pandemic (4-5 games on Roll20 currently).
@Jacob Lewis , that has pretty much modeled my VTT experience too. Went all in with FG, got discouraged, then tried Roll20 years later. It's so much easier to use. Never touching FG again. And I'm a little miffed at all the reviewers who told me it was superior to Roll20. It's a hot mess compared to Roll20.
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