What do you like about Gaming online?

[Keefe the Thief]

A) I can do in 3 hours what ftf would take at least 6 hours, with all the table talk, eating, running around etc. Its damn efficient.
B) Even though some of my players disagree, i find that i´m much better at roleplaying online than ftf. I think you can easier "fade into character" when all that is staring at you are 2 computer screens.
C) Stay at home, game unshowered, drink single malt whiskey without others wanting some.
D) Nobody wants to play ftf on weekdays - but they´re all coming if you say "from 8-11 online."
E) Maptool & its community is awesome, Skype is perfect, Onenote holds my campaigns - what else do i need?

And most importantly:

DDI. Thank you Lord Gygax, patron of gaming, for allowing Wotc to develop this blessing for every online gamer. Also, thanks to saint Asmor for his DDI-compatible toolpage.

 

[Starbuck_II]

I have only played by pbp online, but usually it is because I have no gaming group anymore offline (like at moment).

Currently; I find it fun, but slow (since everyone isn't on at same time).

It gives me more time to think how I want to say or do something.

I meet people/personalities I might never have met offline.

 

[Hussar]

For one thing, it lets me play despite the fact that I have no face-to-face group anymore. I live at almost the opposite end of the country now from where my friends live, and it's not easy to get a new, let alone consistent, gaming group together. Particularly for any given game system and day/time slot. My few attempts here in Arizona have flopped, after a few weeks or a few months. I can far more easily find a group online who's game and style are at least acceptable to me. I've now been playing and DMing with a particular group over OpenRPG for the past 7-8 years. And have played briefly with several other groups online.

Secondly, it's possible to find a game or start a game at any given day and time that I'm available and have access to my computer. Sometimes it means I'm gaming with folks from the other side of the U.S., or people in Europe, Australia, South America, or wherever. And that's neat.

Thirdly, it's a lot easier (and like a million times more likely) to find people for a game other than D&D or another major system. Even if it's still not particularly easy to do so.

Primarily it's just #1, but #2 and #3 are nice aspects as well. And even if I still lived in my hometown, my friends are flaky about gaming so I hardly got to play much D&D with them, let alone anything else, so I was starting to seek out additional groups or means of gaming even when I was there.

I game primarily over OpenRPG now, which is essentially like a chat-program melded with a map and some tools like a diceroller and character sheet/notes stuff (in the form of nodes). But for the past year or two I've been PbPing on EN World as well (which is very slow and unreliable), and I've tried a few PBeMs before but they proved even more unreliable.

This.

And everything Treebore said.

The ability to find a group of gamers that share your schedule/tastes is a huge draw. My current group is probably the most stable group I've played with since junior high. I've got people in my current group that I've played with for almost 5 years now. That's a record for me.

 

[Arkhandus]

DL SKYPE and Maptools (we started out with OpenRPG too) and you can have a game practically every night, except Saturdays, between 6 PM to 9 PM. Mondays is Warhammer right now, but will soon be switching to something else. Tuesday, Wed, Fri, and Sundays are Castles and Crusades. Starting next week Thursdays will be L5R 3E (D10) for 7 to 10 weeks. After that I believe I am running Twilight 2013, or maybe Aces and Eights.

If your a 4E/3E fan we won't hold it against you, as long as you can accept our liking C&C, and Warhammer, and various others systems. Several of us even played 4E for a few months, and we like it well enough, its just far from being our favorite. Many of us are ex 3E players too.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't work for me. This is an old computer running an old version of Windows, buggy and low on memory. Installing two more programs would bring back the extra-bugginess and problems that I had before I deleted old stuff over the past year. I can't run any normal computer games on this thing anymore (no NWN or the like).

But primarily because I don't have any of those systems.....while I do have a few non-D&D systems, I don't have many, and can't afford more yet. So I play/DM primarily 3.0 and 3.5 D&D, sometimes Shadowrun 3e or D20 Modern/Future or something else. And it's a lot easier to save notes on an unfamiliar system using OpenRPG text-nodes than over voice-chat.

 

[Treebore]

Unfortunately, that wouldn't work for me. This is an old computer running an old version of Windows, buggy and low on memory. Installing two more programs would bring back the extra-bugginess and problems that I had before I deleted old stuff over the past year. I can't run any normal computer games on this thing anymore (no NWN or the like).

But primarily because I don't have any of those systems.....while I do have a few non-D&D systems, I don't have many, and can't afford more yet. So I play/DM primarily 3.0 and 3.5 D&D, sometimes Shadowrun 3e or D20 Modern/Future or something else. And it's a lot easier to save notes on an unfamiliar system using OpenRPG text-nodes than over voice-chat.

Well C&C has a free Quickstart rules that at least gives you all the basics. However your comp is likely a serious issue. Maptools and SKYPE do use a good bit of RAM. Plus I am not sure about what processor speed it needs. If you have at least 500 MEg of RAM you would be OK on that part, but if you have a old/slow processor, yeah, you would likely have lots of problems.

Well, hopefully you will find yourself with $500 to spare in the near future for a newer computer.

Plus a lot of the games we play we have either free Quickstart type rules provided by the company, or in the case of Twilight 2013, I have the PDF, and will provide a "player pack", which would essentially be my version of a "Quick Start" guide so that all players will have the rules basics. Which is what we typically do for our games.

Like Shadowrun has a Quickstart Guide provided for the current 4E version, by the company. Warhammer has tons of fan made stuff provided for it. Etc...

 

[Treebore]

One thing I want to say about my on line gaming experience. It took me a long time to warm up to it. Like over a year. Now it only took me 4 or 5 sessions to start liking it, but it took over a year to start to really like it. I think it has a lot to do with all of us learning to communicate effectively via the internet.

Now that most of us use the SKYPE Chat feature for our out of game chat, the MAtpools Chat window for in game comments, and the voice chat part of SKYPE is primarily for communicating between the game master and players currently taking actions, I have really taken a liking to the on line environment. Even to preferring it over face to face now.

We "chat" about whatever we would normally talk about at a gaming table, sharing relevant links, etc... but unlike at a face to face game, our chatting doesn't intrude upon the main game. We are all hearing what is going on via the voice chat. We can do in character comments via the Maptools chat, and ask game master type questions, without interupting the actual play. The Game Master responds when they are most comfortable doing so.

Plus when we are given important names, clues, treasure lists, usually in the SKYPE chat window, we copy and paste it into our digital character sheet, keeping up to date on everything. I really like it when the game master has the PDF, or a good scan is made of their module, because then they copy/paste relevant descriptions into the SKYPE window and I can copy/paste them for me to reference whenever I find the need.

I can even copy and save relevant maps for future reference, in or out of game.

So I find on line gaming superior to face to face in many ways. I don't even have to gather up books, load them into my car, unload them, reload them, inventory them to make sure I am not leaving any behind, etc... Nor do I have to spend 15, 25, or 60 minutes driving to wherever I would have a face to face game.

Plus the mini's are all digital, right there in my/our library folders. Same with the maps. Plus you can create macros for your PC, which with the click of the button can make the roll for all to see, or secretly to the GM only.

So no transporting of maps or mini's, or dice. No worrying about damaging them or losing them.

There are lots of reasons why I like on line versus face to face.