What Does Your Dream VTT Do/Look Like?

[Celebrim]

I tried to get into a VTT but they all seemed overly complex with UI that seemed deliberately designed to make homebrew difficult. It was so much work trying to figure out how to use them that I considered for while that it might be easier to write my own. They seem designed mostly to provide a platform for selling add-on premade content, not for running whatever game you may wish.

 

[payn]

I tried to get into a VTT but they all seemed overly complex with UI that seemed deliberately designed to make homebrew difficult. It was so much work trying to figure out how to use them that I considered for while that it might be easier to write my own. They seem designed mostly to provide a platform for selling add-on premade content, not for running whatever game you may wish.

I’ve had so much luck with Foundry. Every time I think I need to code a new feature or system it’s already been done.

 

[MNblockhead]

interface uses all three standard buttons.

I with you for most of your post, but I'm not sure what this refers to. What are the "three standard buttons"?

EDIT - nevermind. Posted before reading the whole thread. Wasn't thinking mice.

 

[Reynard]

I tried to get into a VTT but they all seemed overly complex with UI that seemed deliberately designed to make homebrew difficult. It was so much work trying to figure out how to use them that I considered for while that it might be easier to write my own. They seem designed mostly to provide a platform for selling add-on premade content, not for running whatever game you may wish.

I think that is a largely accurate assessment, but some VTTs are more easily modded than others. i don't use Foundry (mostly because I just don't have the bandwidth to learn yet another VTT) but as I understand it, it is one of the most customizable ones.

 

[Zaukrie]

Foundry is close....

Great UI for character advancement with official rules support. Foundry is ok for 5e, but not great. We import from DNDbeyond.

Super easy to put in the basic stats and attacks and features for NPCs, which includes monsters. Foundry is not easy for 5e.

2.5 d..... So, you can get perspective, not play on a battle mat, like at home. The ability to add a door or key walls would be nice.

Conditions, effect tracking.

Support for official and home brew initiative, easily.

Ability to import maps, assets, 3d minis.

I want the table top experience, with the DNDbeyond, or better, PC and monster stat blocks. Better support for homebrew than beyond.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I am a regular user of Maps (D&DBeyond) and FantasyGrounds and I like both for different reasons.

I have used both as player and DM. I love what FantasyGrounds can do but appreciate that it is very complex.

I think that my ideal VTT would be able to be both, depending on the options chosen. I am unlikely to go out of my way to learn another VTT anytime soon.

 

[schneeland]

I more and more what bespoke VTT design to support specific systems. The dream would be Foundry with very well supported official game systems that truly support the games mechanics, but I'm starting to think that a generic VTT may just not be able to do that for many systems. The WFRP 4e game system for Foundry comes the closest but it is still kludgy, is basically created and support by one guy, and just isn't smooth and polished.

I'm starting to think in the same direction, though I think I would be willing to compromise in the automation department (having solid support up to the dice roll is fine for me, I don't need full result automation) if it improves the UX and keeps the overall complexity of the UI low.

As an example: we were recently playing Shadowdark on Owlbear Rodeo and after the game - besides spending a few hours obsessing over how to render good light and shadows - I thought how it would be neat to have the burning torch on the screen, maybe a small set of key information for characters and an easy way to roll 3D dice. Someone apparently built a Foundry module that goes into the right direction (Lights Out - Shadowdark theme for FoundryVTT). Still I'd like to see the whole right panel further simplified (and I wish these icons were not so darn small! ).

Generally, as far as VTTs that actually exist, Foundry is actually not too bad with good modules (I haven't personally tried the Warhammer module, but some of the Free League games also seemed pretty decent, and I was positively surprised by the new Call of Cthulhu Starter Set module). And it also has the advantage that it's a one-time payment for the base license and the modules, and that it allows some customization (at least if you are willing to dive into Javascript coding).
Still I'd love to see something that looks a bit less like a conventional application, minimizes visual clutter, and focuses just on a great gaming UX. But, coming back to the beginning: I'm not sure if that's something that can be built with a generic framework that needs to cover the requirements for a lot of games at the same time.

 

[kronovan]

I use Fantasy Grounds and Foundry and have previously used roll20, but I don't have a favorite. They all do some things well and others not so well, so IMO none is ideal.

I'll ditto being able to support other game types like tabletop miniatures and board games. With true Player vs Player support. I've done modding to get miniature games working on VTTs, but with them being so Player Vs GM based, it's always clumsy. There's Tabletop Simulator, but after a decade it remains a poor system for hosting games - wish it had improved/evolved because it can sure look pretty, but it just hasn't.

I'll also ditto better mapping tools. None of the mapping tools in any VTT I've used (ran Maptools for 2 years too) could entice me away from Campaign Cartographer or Dungeondraft. I can create > export > import > setup a map with either of those apps, far faster than I can monkeying around with their native mapping tools. Heck, even the simplest of maps are usually a pain. And it's not that I haven't given those VTT tools a concerted college try - I have.

Alternate, non character perspective Line of Sight. This goes with my desire to have a VTT that also supports miniatures and boardgames. Current LOS in VTTs is based around a character token persepctives and because mapping apps like Dungeondraft now export to the VTT those file formats, I fear it'll get harder to change. I'd like to see VTT LOS tools that don't just obscure/block, but support how LOS is handled in other game types.

Better viewing perspective control. We've had support for all sorts of player-controlled viewing and map scrolling for decades in Real-time and Turn-based strategy games, and I'd love to see it in more VTTs. It sort of works in TTS, but so much else doesn't in it. I realize it's budgeted for in RTS and TBS development and not for VTTs, but with so much code libraries and talent out there for how to do it, it puzzles me that not more is being done with it. And no, the 3D camera in FG doesn't come at all come close to what I'm thinking.

Apps on mobile platforms that allow for purchased game content to be viewed on mobile devices. And no, roll20s ability to display a PDF purchased from drivethru dosen't come close to addressing this. And if such viewer apps are too pricey to build, how about at least universal 1st and 3rd party license sync'ing. I'm thinking like Paizo does with some VTT stores, so you at least get a free copy of the PDF. I'm not bothered by the effort of having to go the the publishers website and dowload the PDF. Bits & Mortar has been around for years for supplying free PDFs for in-print book purchases and it's simple to use. Why can't we have the equivalent for VTTs?