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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7968214" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>Currently I've settled on running Map Tools and sharing the player map via Google Meet. I have the 100+ maps from my Rappan Athuk campaign, and tokens for all MM maps easily available and searchable from Map Tools. I just go to my Rappan Athuk maps folder, search for the battlemap image I want, right click on it and select new map. It opens with Fog of War. Sizing the grid is a little finicky but not hard and is pretty quick. Then I just drop the party tokens on it. </p><p></p><p>It offers rectangle, diamond, polygon, and freehand reveal. I can easily drop monster tokens on for encounters. </p><p></p><p>It is easy and reliable. No freezing. No crashing. I reveal the map as the party explores, moving their tokens around and throwing monster tokens on the map during combat encounters.</p><p></p><p>The downside is that running a Map Tools server that my players can access to control their own tokens is too much of a hassle to bother with. Also, it would be too much work to create the macros and data enter monster stats to have any of the automations that make Roll20, d20pro, and Fantasy Grounds nice. </p><p></p><p>I'm still paying $9/month for Fantasy Ground Unity Ultimate (Early Access), because it is what I would most like to work. I've just found it to be unusable in practice. </p><p></p><p>It consistently and repeatedly freezes when I simply try to repeat what I do in Map Tools in FGU. I thought I was starting "simple". But everything is less convenient and less stable than Map Tools for what I'm trying to do. </p><p></p><p>I have all my maps and tokens for my characters in the campaign folder. I pull up a map by going to the images widget, which simply takes longer to navigate and search than Map Tools. Then I have to open the Maps widget. Create a new map and then add the battlemap image to the background layer. Seems like an unnecessary number of steps (why not just right click on an image and select "create new map"?), but is not that difficult and can be done quickly once you know what you need to do. </p><p></p><p>Sizing the grid in FGU is the simplest of any VTT I've used. </p><p></p><p>Adding tokens is pretty strait forward. </p><p></p><p>Panning around the map is one thing I don't like for FGU. In other VTTs, you can hold the right click on the mouse and drag the map around. In FGU you can to click on an special icon on the map and drag it to move around the map. Not a big deal, just not as fluid and simple as Map Tools. </p><p></p><p>Opening another instance and connecting via LAN for sharing on a second screen for in-person play or via Google Meet, etc., is about the same process as Map Tools but it takes a lot longer, uses more system resources, and software inevitably hangs and freezes, making it unusable for play. </p><p></p><p>I'm going to do more testing with FGU using two computers and connected using the cloud server. Maybe if I'm only running one instance it will run better. Ultimately, of course, I want to get to the point where my players can run FGU on their computer and control their own tokens. But I'm not going to bother them with that until I know I accomplish simple tasks as displaying and manually revealing maps. </p><p></p><p>Also, it is important to note that with VTTs that are installed on your local computer and connect to the company cloud servers, like FGU, d20pro, and Foundry on The Forge servers, they don't work in many countries. I started my testing when I was working abroad in the mideast and it is unlikely I'd be able to host games using most of these tools as I can't access their cloud servers. That was one big thing in favor of Roll20 and if I were not running such a map-heavy campaign, I would consider Roll20, even if it is not a great tool for in-person games. </p><p></p><p>In terms of its feature set, FGU is the holy grail for me, except that it has proven unstable to the point of being unusable and hosting doesn't work when I'm working overseas. I'll do more testing over this month as I just paid for another month, but it is looking like I'll just cancel my Ultimate subscription and use Table Tools for the time being and check it out again when it comes out of its "early release" stage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7968214, member: 6796661"] Currently I've settled on running Map Tools and sharing the player map via Google Meet. I have the 100+ maps from my Rappan Athuk campaign, and tokens for all MM maps easily available and searchable from Map Tools. I just go to my Rappan Athuk maps folder, search for the battlemap image I want, right click on it and select new map. It opens with Fog of War. Sizing the grid is a little finicky but not hard and is pretty quick. Then I just drop the party tokens on it. It offers rectangle, diamond, polygon, and freehand reveal. I can easily drop monster tokens on for encounters. It is easy and reliable. No freezing. No crashing. I reveal the map as the party explores, moving their tokens around and throwing monster tokens on the map during combat encounters. The downside is that running a Map Tools server that my players can access to control their own tokens is too much of a hassle to bother with. Also, it would be too much work to create the macros and data enter monster stats to have any of the automations that make Roll20, d20pro, and Fantasy Grounds nice. I'm still paying $9/month for Fantasy Ground Unity Ultimate (Early Access), because it is what I would most like to work. I've just found it to be unusable in practice. It consistently and repeatedly freezes when I simply try to repeat what I do in Map Tools in FGU. I thought I was starting "simple". But everything is less convenient and less stable than Map Tools for what I'm trying to do. I have all my maps and tokens for my characters in the campaign folder. I pull up a map by going to the images widget, which simply takes longer to navigate and search than Map Tools. Then I have to open the Maps widget. Create a new map and then add the battlemap image to the background layer. Seems like an unnecessary number of steps (why not just right click on an image and select "create new map"?), but is not that difficult and can be done quickly once you know what you need to do. Sizing the grid in FGU is the simplest of any VTT I've used. Adding tokens is pretty strait forward. Panning around the map is one thing I don't like for FGU. In other VTTs, you can hold the right click on the mouse and drag the map around. In FGU you can to click on an special icon on the map and drag it to move around the map. Not a big deal, just not as fluid and simple as Map Tools. Opening another instance and connecting via LAN for sharing on a second screen for in-person play or via Google Meet, etc., is about the same process as Map Tools but it takes a lot longer, uses more system resources, and software inevitably hangs and freezes, making it unusable for play. I'm going to do more testing with FGU using two computers and connected using the cloud server. Maybe if I'm only running one instance it will run better. Ultimately, of course, I want to get to the point where my players can run FGU on their computer and control their own tokens. But I'm not going to bother them with that until I know I accomplish simple tasks as displaying and manually revealing maps. Also, it is important to note that with VTTs that are installed on your local computer and connect to the company cloud servers, like FGU, d20pro, and Foundry on The Forge servers, they don't work in many countries. I started my testing when I was working abroad in the mideast and it is unlikely I'd be able to host games using most of these tools as I can't access their cloud servers. That was one big thing in favor of Roll20 and if I were not running such a map-heavy campaign, I would consider Roll20, even if it is not a great tool for in-person games. In terms of its feature set, FGU is the holy grail for me, except that it has proven unstable to the point of being unusable and hosting doesn't work when I'm working overseas. I'll do more testing over this month as I just paid for another month, but it is looking like I'll just cancel my Ultimate subscription and use Table Tools for the time being and check it out again when it comes out of its "early release" stage. [/QUOTE]
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