What Kind of VTT Do You Want

[Reynard]

Just out of curiosity, assuming that technical issues could be overcome, in your perfect world what sort of Virtual Tabletop would you prefer?

I see more and more kickstarters for very feature heavy, 3D, VR and AR immersive virtual tabletops and I... well, I'm interested in what other folks are looking for in their VTTs.

Note that I am allowing 2 choices because I know different people want different things for different games. Choose the most feature heavy you would want and the other end of the spectrum. If everyone clicks every option there won't be much to be gleaned from the poll.

Thanks.

 

[schneeland]

My favourite is unobtrusive 2D (like Owlbear Rodeo), preferably with simple map (Dyson-style, hand-drawn maps are my favourite, but unfortunately, I don't have the talent for that). Personally, I also prefer rolling dice on my desk when playing online, but I admit that
character sheets with automated rolling of animated dice (like Foundry + Dice so Nice) are actually nice sometimes. Same goes for the option to use playing cards in an online game.
I don't need full automation, lighting and related things, though. In fact I rather dislike them, both for the "video gamey" feeling they introduce and the technical complications that sometimes accompany them.

Side note:
What I would like to see is different layouts, with more focus on the actors in a scene (both protagonists and antagonist, incl. maybe relative, but not absolute positioning), their current state (conditions, wounds), and playing cards that are used for initiative (Savage Worlds or Forbidden Lands) or decision making (Itras By). Maybe also some light-weight tracking for pooled meta currencies (like Darkness Points in Coriolis or Momentum in 2d20 games). But I'm currently not aware of VTT that offers that (there's something for relative positioning in Fantasy Grounds, but Fantasy Grounds is also rather heavy and has a rather idiosyncratic user experience).

 

[ninjayeti]

I would say 2D with substantive, rather than graphical features. I like a fair bit of automation, but other than dynamic lighting don't feel the need for visual effects (e.g., animated maps or tokens).

ATM I don't have much interest in 3d / VR stuff. That said the technology is still just in the demo stage, so it is hard to get a sense of how well it will look or work. I reserve the right to fall in love with it if/when we actually get mature technology that does all the things it is supposed to without adding a ton of prep work.

 

[John Dallman]

The difficulty with 3D and VR is that only one of my eyes works. Anything relying on two eyes for 3D is doomed for me. I doubt that the systems which offer advanced visualisation will have fall-back to 2D that's effective, so they'll be somewhat exclusionary. At least, until lawsuits are threatened.

Since the start of the pandemic, I've played a lot of AD&D1e on Roll 20, using 2D top-down viewing, with and without dynamic lighting, but always with hex-based movement. The dynamic lighting is atmospheric, but I'm dubious that it's worth the trouble.

I've found playing over Jitsi with Inkscape as a map display system is just as much fun as Roll 20, even though I can't move my own token(s).

 

[darjr]

Super simple vtt. I want to play D&D and roll dice. Not a video game.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

The 3D, VR, AR, etc. stuff on Kickstarter all seem like total scams, or just pipe dreams that clearly won't happen. 100 percent the same as the countless goofy tech doodads on there that never materialize.

 

[payn]

Whatever Foundry is; is good enough for me.

 

[ART!]

If I'm going to use VTT, I want either very simple 2D, top-down design no frills tools or fully 3D (but not VR/AR).

 

[CleverNickName]

All I want/need out of a VTT is:

• a top-down grid or 2D map that people can scribble on,
• a built-in public dice roller,
• voice chat, and
• a way to share screens.

3D high-res maps, flashy animations, lighting and fog, mood music and sound effects, all those other fancy widgets make me cringe--they're never as good as the DM thinks they are, and they're always hogging bandwidth and causing lag. They end up being more of a distraction than an "immersive experience" to me.

Roll20 does everything I need it to do, without needing me to set up my own server or run multiple applications.

 

[aramis erak]

I'd love to find the one I never got to use in 88-89...

It was a TN3270 server with specific multi-window logins for map and for text. Not for 'nix.
It had per character LOS and lighting, too. Maps were rendered in text on the map window. (TN3270 protocol allows relocating the cursor on screen with 4 bytes, and disabling scroll.)

Be great fun to use that with modern games and VOIP.