What features would you put in a custom gaming table?

[JDRay]

I tried posting this question to Slashdot (I got rejected ), from my Journal here: http://slashdot.org/~jdray/journal/175435. Having not gotten any replies, I thought I'd try a more focused community. Here's the whole text:

As a teen in the 80's, we spent many hours designing paper-based aids to take some of the burden out of role playing, freeing us up to dive deeper into the scenarios. Twenty-five years later, there have been significant advances in three things: game mechanics, technology and our disposable incomes. Most members of our campaign group have six figure incomes, and several of us are technologists by trade. Lately we've been discussing the idea of custom building a gaming table. But where to start? Our campaign's host is willing to completely remodel the gaming room, which is about 12x15. Power, water and broadband Internet are all available. We have skills in electric wiring, plumbing, networking, cabinet making, house remodeling, software design, programming and engineering. We can probably commit a couple thousand dollars to the project overall, probably leaving out advanced technologies like that found in Microsoft's Surface, but not flat screens, individual displays, comfortable chairs or refrigerators.

So, what features would you put in? If there's a computer involved, what software? What should the shape be like?​

 

[GreatLemur]

Oh, wow. Sounds like you guys really have the potential for something of dream setup. If you're anywhere near Chicago, I wanna join your group.

Anyway, the obvious core to star planning around is some kind of tabletop projection rig, tied to a computer at the GM's station. I can't imagine any technophilic GM who wouldn't utterly love to scan or create maps and project them at miniature-friendly scale on the gaming table, and then alter them dynamically in Photoshop during play. I think the coolest way to do it would be to get a frosted glass tabletop and project the map up from underneath, but that generally requires some screwing around with mirrors, due to focal range issues.

The other big thing you might want to tie into the GM's computer would be a decent soundsystem for music, ambient noises, and situational sound effects. Maybe you could even go so far as to have some kind of mood lighting setup. The GM could kill or lower the room lights, so that everyone just has a desk lamp or something to read by. (Whether or not this would be of any use depends pretty strongly on what kind of games you guys play, of course.)

If you want to go so far as to set up a machine for every player, then everyone would be able to refer to RPG PDFs, use digital character sheets, replace note-passing with an instant message client, etc. (Of course, personal computers--especially with Internet access--can be a dangerous thing to have at a gaming table. A little while ago, one of my players spent half the session looking at some lolcats forum.)

Other things to consider would be storage space for books and minatures, comfortable seating, air conditioning, possibly a fridge for drinks, etc.

 

[The Lost Muse]

A projector for maps, a pseudo-medieval decorating scheme, bookshelves along one wall (for minis and books), and possibly a mounted dragon's head or something similar over the (not necessairly gas) fireplace.

Lighting controls, as mentioned above, a separate sound station (so the DM can focus on DM'ing, not the soundtrack), and a fridge with drinks.

 

[Festivus]

Having built one big table already, I can say I have learned a few things.

1. Big isn't best. My table sits at 4' x 8'... you can't reach across it. Next incarnation will likely be 3' x 6', still big enough that 6 players can set comfortably. My current table is just too big.

2. Computer projection from underneath. I have been toying with this idea after seeing a number of folks who suspend a projector over the game table or use a mirror to reflect over to it. The problem with this is shadows and ambient light can obscure the image on the tabletop. Instead, my idea was to project an image onto a mirror that reflects up onto some white lucite or similar plastic material. There won't be any shadows since the image is projected from beneath... ambient light however may be an issue. I am waiting for a cheap used projector at my work to come up for public sale to test this out.

3. DM shelving - a place to store minis, dice, books, etc when gaming that keeps things from player view.

4. Legs at corners - My current support structure is a couple MDF sheets slotted to make table support. It doesn't sag at all currently, my hope is with a smaller table it will take less room.

5. PC keyboard and mouse at tabletop with a monitor (separate from one used to display maps) at DM station. I use D20SRD a lot while gaming for quick rule look ups. My current laptop fan is noisy, so I want to bury it beneath the table and just have what I need up front (monitor, mouse, keyboard) Secondary display will be the map.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I've been thinking about this lately, as I'd like to do this if I ever buy a place. What I've been thinking of is ways to use some of the physical prop pieces out there - dwarven forge, etc. I was thinking of having two sections to a room, one where folks would sit primarily, and a second table set up to be the primary "set piece" combat of the night. Then, you could use the table without minis in the way and move over to the other table when necessary. If you do a more dungeon based game, you might be at the "dungeon table" almost all the time.

I'd also have a flat screen mounted (ideally on a mount that can turn a bit) for displaying handouts, maps, images and such. I'd also have a sound system that could run a CD/IPod/PC sound for sound effects and background music. I would set up dimmers and a certain level of controlled lighting for creating mood.

Overall, my approach would be a little lower tech than some have suggested - I think that using projectors and that sort of thing would end up being more effort than its worth (and thats coming from a gamer who was a videp production/AV tech for 15 years).

 

[JDRay]

Good ideas, guys.

There seems to be a foregone conclusion that center-o'-the-table projection is a good idea (we thought that, too). What software would help? BTW, at this point we're all familiar enough with the d20 material that there aren't any off-limits books or other published material in our campaign. The DM works entirely from notes, relying on us to provide him with adjusted roll results, etc. We're there for gaming, not self-aggrandizement, so there's never a question of whether anyone's mis-reporting die rolls on purpose or any such thing. That said, it would be nice to have character management software that held PCs in a central db where both the DM and the player could view their individual sheets, and have those sheets modify on the click of a button ("you're flat-footed" or "you're down 3 Con") to give a more real-time view of the character state.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I've obviously been a large proponent of digital projection here on ENWorld and I highly recommend it.

Having tested many projector rigs, I confirm that there is no need for below table projection. Above the table top is fine and there is no problem with shadows at all in actual use. People who say there are issues with direct above-the-table projection are people who have never tried it.

Unlike one of the above posters, I would go big in my table size if my room could accomodate it. A 4 or even 5 x8 would be great for my group.

If I had a projector with an awesome short throw distance (or indirect projection using a mirror to create the longer throw distance) I would defnitely add a second tier stage, 8 inches higher on the main table so books and so forth could slide underneath the miniature table stage. It's not critical to have - but it's nice.

I think table size is very much a function of the number of players at your game. I sometimes have as many as seven players, so bigger is better for me.

There was a guy who posted a few weeks back who had converted a garage in Texas to be his permanent gaming room. Nice decor, good size room, a 4 x 8 table in the middle of this big ass space. He had installed pull out trays and cup holders on his table which I thought was a nice idea and which obviated any need for a second tier stage on the table top. He had a nice grid surface on the table as well under plexiglass. While he had not added any projector rig over his table - it was certainly primed for it and looked to be ideally suited by all accounts for adding that technology.

I liked the table. I was envious as all hell of his room Add one of my projector rigs to what he had done and it would be the trifecta, in my opinion.

I would add one caveat that tends to get overlooked: you'll need decent chairs for your table. These can end up being the priciest component of whatever you do - even more expensive than a projector depending on the chairs you select.

 

[JDRay]

So, I started poking around at software. Can anyone comment on the utility of DM Genie for this sort of thing? From their web site, it seems like a near perfect fit, but after more than a decade of implementing enterprise software, I'm a little jaded by people's description of their own product's applicability to a task.

 

[Steel_Wind]

For projection software, the NWN1 toolset is probably the best utility for on the fly map making. Using a stripped down custom tileset with buildings as placeables gets rid of the boxy grid look to your maps if that is a concern.

For random widerness, caves and dungeons - using the correct tilesets - nothing beats it.

Using Klooge or Fantasy Grounds, through displaying the map via player client but revealing it through using the DM client achieves fog of war well enough, albeit with a little bit of fuss.

 

[Festivus]

I would add one caveat that tends to get overlooked: you'll need decent chairs for your table. These can end up being the priciest component of whatever you do - even more expensive than a projector depending on the chairs you select.

All add to this, if your players are big guys (like mine are) you will want to avoid the cheap $8 folding chairs at Target. The backs on those things pop out like bubblewrap, and leave sharp edges that shred shirts and skin alike. I was thinking of putting the metal back on there and doing some serious welds instead of the cheap spot welds they have used on the backs of those things.

A tip for finding cheap chairs is to look at tax sales and government surplus... you can get some good deals on furniture there.