What tabletop software do you use?

[Tom Strickland]

I dabbled with D20Pro as it has a Linux installer, but I found that in general the other players didn't enjoy the interface.

My first thought regarding this and seeing how it might/does apply in my situation is: all but one or two of the several players in my gaming group--including me as the DM--are software developers in some capacity and have been for quite some time. We are all also friends from childhood.

It is likely that we just took the time to learn a given interface for a tool that one or more had already learned how to use (hacking a path through the tangled jungle overgrowth as it were). It was probably an efficiency and reassurance of sorts for the members: go ahead and fiddle with this because someone else we trust says it will let us juggle the complex factors we want. Oh, and we all have played numerous CRPG's over the years with dramatically different interfaces--usually without consulting a manual--so we are probably used to experimenting to find out what a given button does, or how to do something (that is perhaps not obvious). We don't mind doing such things. I realize that different people will find different interfaces more intuitive, appealing, etc.

Is d20Pro the only tool that allows a particular set of VTT functionality, and does it have the "best" user interface? To the first: not at all. To the second: interfaces may share some conventions established and proven over time (right-click context menu, etc.) but there is no one (or "correct"?) way to allow user interaction with a software program to accomplish procedures such as those used for RPG tabletop simulation.

Again, I think my gaming group started and continues to use this tool because the majority of members will tackle any reasonable tool/interface if one or more people in the group state that it can be used to accomplish some desirable, shared goal (e.g. playing D&D online!). And as with so many things in life, we will tend to run with something that sufficiently does what we need until the appeal of a different approach is worth the expenditure of time, effort (and perhaps money). [Or if forced to change due to discontinuation, technical incompatibilities (operating systems), etc.]

I'm glad there is a market containing several offerings for VTT's (open and proprietary) which should meet the varied needs of many computer-assisted gaming groups, and which also should generally encourage crosspollination of capability and usability over time (as with other tech markets).

 

[Lwaxy]

The problem I sometimes have is that you can't get a group together because some players will totally refuse to use FG2 even if the GM has an ultimate license and will totally refuse Roll20 because they already bought FG2 or will only want to use Maptool because it's what they already know.

Can be frustrating at times.

 

[Full Bleed]

The problem I sometimes have is that you can't get a group together because some players will totally refuse to use FG2 even if the GM has an ultimate license and will totally refuse Roll20 because they already bought FG2 or will only want to use Maptool because it's what they already know.

Can be frustrating at times.

That's a bit crazy.

Players should follow the GM's lead. I'm normally a GM, but I know I'd go with whatever system the GM was comfortable using as a player. You have to trust that the GM is using the tool that works for them.

In the same vein, I actually never quite understood the pricing structure many VTT's used where the GM licenses were always more than player licenses. Sure, GM's require the most "features", but they are also the lynch pins and the driving force for the program's user base. I always thought that the GM licenses should be free and the player licenses should be where the money is made.

That said, since I use Maptool there are no fees.

 

[Lwaxy]

That's a bit crazy.

I always thought that the GM licenses should be free and the player licenses should be where the money is made.

Well FG2 requires everyone to have a license unless the GM has an ultimate license. If I ever was to get one, it would be if some players buy me one, which has happened in other groups.

Also I think most people who GM also play so would need a license anyway

 

[Dice4Hire]

I do not use any of these, but I have use map programs like campaign cartographer and even excel maps on occasion.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Do any of you use these tools at face-to-face games?

Or is this thread really about virtual gaming/interactions?

 

[Full Bleed]

Do any of you use these tools at face-to-face games?

Or is this thread really about virtual gaming/interactions?

I know that a lot of people use Maptools in their face to face games.

Most use a projector, big screen TV, or custom "surface" type table for a shared player view while the GM uses a laptop to handle their side of the action. Personally, even in a face to face game I'd prefer that each player had their own tablet or laptop so that we could preserve the individual view functionality that MT has... but I can see how people transitioning to a VTT from a F2F game might not see as much value in that feature (that is, until they've had a chance to really experience it).

 

[DM Howard]

My long time group of friends is using Roll20 at the moment, but I almost feel like there may be a better option. Roll20 is nice, but it's definitely not much to look at aesthetically. I've been looking at Fantasy Grounds, but I've heard that doing ad-hoc stuff, that Roll20 allows very well, is hard to do with it.

 

[azhrei_fje]

I voted for MapTool (which is not surprising to those who recognize my handle here ).

I've used d20Pro for some Pathfinder Online Society games and was not impressed. In fact, I'd use the word "underwhelmed."

I've used iTableTop a couple times as well and had a similar impression.

MapTool has its problems (as all software does) but the ability for users to add the features they want is a /huge/ draw because they're not beholden to some release cycle created by someone else.

Whichever tool you use, go as deep as you can with it! The features that are in the package are there to make your gaming experience as smooth and/or efficient as possible so you might as well take advantage of them!

 

[jtolman3]

I use Maptools.

I use it becuase it really has a Huge range of capabilities that My groups find very enjoyable.

I also use it because I can use it to make beautiful and detailed mas. Yes I know there are lots of programs out there to make maps... and I have tried using quite a few.
Dundjinni, CC1-3, Gimp, I tried ROll20 and Fanasy grounds.

I am not artist, and I have tried making such maps in the other programs, but they were always limited in some manner or the learning curve was so great that, without a teacher present, I wasn't able to grasp how to do it all on my own (even using youtube tutorials). I also found that when I saved maps from some programs and then imported them int other VTTs, I lost alot of fine detail.

Maptools is Quite simply a Very easy and versatile program to use in making maps....