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Old 11-25-2017, 09:45 AM   #31
Gigermann
 
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by KataH View Post
I was just curious as to why Steve Jackson Games is not supporting VTTs like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds?
I can't/don't speak for SJG, officially, but I can speak to a few facts I know about, for the record:
  • SJG absolutely wants to partner with a VTT provider
  • SJG is currently looking into the matter
  • Community buzz about this or that VTT will influence their decisions in that regard
FWIW, I prefer Fantasy Grounds for a lot of reasons. But I am not exactly un-biased, as I am part of the team working on the FG ruleset, and have invested a lot of time into working with the software.
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Old 11-25-2017, 10:37 AM   #32
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

Like Blindmapmaker, I use Maptools as well. It has a great price point. My use of VTT though is not for internet play, but for table top play. I have setup an old 42" monitor in our gaming area and I project the map there for the players. Though if SJG was to publish a VTT, I would gladly give them my money.
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Old 11-25-2017, 10:45 AM   #33
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
An easier way to offer support is simply to provide VTT-ready maps from adventures as JPGs or PNGs, and tokens/minis for monsters. That's platform agnostic, future proof, and much more within SJGs existing skillset.
That would indeed be useful.
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:17 AM   #34
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by trooper6 View Post
And again, I hear Roll20 is better for streaming because it has a lower CPU load.
This part feels really strange to me. CPU load while running a game on FG, for me, runs about 1.9%. Roll20 just doing setup is closer to 9%.

Roll20 is about twice the RAM usage, but doesn't have the 32bit RAM limitation that FG has at current.

Edit: I will add that FG is, long term, considerably cheaper than Roll20 if you want any of the bells and whistles available from Roll20. A feature comparison chart.

Edit II: the features will vary by ruleset and how complete they are for coding. The GURPS community ruleset is still in development. However most features you'd have to subscribe for with Roll20 are inherent in the FG program.
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:30 AM   #35
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by keyespj View Post
…My use of VTT though is not for internet play, but for table top play. I have setup an old 42" monitor in our gaming area and I project the map there for the players.
For the record, FG just recently added a feature to resize a map+grid to match 1" based on the screen resolution, specifically for this purpose. Our face-to-face group has been using FG to track combat sequence, modifiers, and sometimes combat mapping (though not on the table).
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Originally Posted by keyespj View Post
Though if SJG was to publish a VTT, I would gladly give them my money.
Though I suspect it's not exactly what you meant, also for the record: SJG is highly unlikely to publish their own VTT—there is far too much work & infrastructure required for a venture like that to make it cost-effective, especially compared to throwing their support behind an existing product.
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:43 AM   #36
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by keyespj View Post
Like Blindmapmaker, I use Maptools as well. It has a great price point. My use of VTT though is not for internet play, but for table top play. I have setup an old 42" monitor in our gaming area and I project the map there for the players. Though if SJG was to publish a VTT, I would gladly give them my money.
I use MapTools for both.

Fantasy Grounds is a no go because of the subscription model. I don't rent things, particularly not software. I'm not about to start over a luxury product.

For me, Roll20 falls down compared to MT on the most basic parts of VTT functionality: Putting in a map, looking at the map (zoom, pan), moving things around on a map. R20's map space is stunningly limited in size, its navigation tools are crude, and because it's hosted in a web browser it can't make full use of mouse gestures, nor can it really be tablet friendly. The constraint on zoom levels is bizarre.
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:51 AM   #37
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
Fantasy Grounds is a no go because of the subscription model. I don't rent things, particularly not software. I'm not about to start over a luxury product.
To be fair, the FG subscription is an option, not a requirement.
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Old 11-25-2017, 01:36 PM   #38
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

One of my big hurdles at the moment for FG is that there is no easy way Mac can be used. I run 2 online games and a face to face game every week for 15 people. 3 of them use non-windows machines. I can't move to a program that won't easily include them. And that stinks. This is why I've been contemplating MapTool more and more.
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Old 11-25-2017, 02:58 PM   #39
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

I think something that really needs to be discussed is, “what do we want and need in a GURPS VTT?”

What I want is the ability to play my game, unhindered by the interface.

What I need is a basic interface where I can interact, show pictures/items/etc. without the interface getting in my way.

What I don’t want is automation telling me how to run my GURPS game and second-guessing me.

I’ll be honest. I’m totally disinterested in Roll20, FG, Maptools or any of the others. I, in agreement with Bruno, will not rent a new piece of software and require my players to do the same. We’ve invested in TTS ($10-$20 a piece—it’s on sale right now, through the end of November) and it works better than any of the other VTTs I’ve tried (I have a full license for Battlegrounds, TTS is leaps and bounds superior). I, also, would not switch to an “inferior” product just because it has official GURPS support.

Tabletop Simulator has me covered. The very basic levels of automation (rolling dice and automatically adding them together, simply by selecting them) are all I really need. The boatloads (including, ironically, a laden container ship) of free content are just icing on the cake. I can play just about any game I want with TTS. I’ve bought a couple of the DLC (Cosmic Encounter!! and a few others) and can switch between games easily.

It wasn’t hard for me to figure out some of the included features, like the ability to import my own OBJs. For our Teen Supers game, I’ve got a couple of “transforming” figures. One state is the character in their civilian form and the second state is their super-hero persona. I can create a character in DAZ Studio, slap them on a hex-base (in DAZ, it’s just a 6-sided cylinder), decimate them down to about 48k triangles, then export them as an OBJ. Load them into TTS and I have a fully custom, 3d miniature for the player. I’m still working on UVs (to have them be painted), but there are plenty of “painted” figures available in the workshop for that.

I can load a map onto a board into the game quickly, scale it on the fly to match the hex-size I’m using, then lock it down so the players (and myself) can’t accidentally pick it up and disrupt everything. Make a mistake? Click the back button and it reverts to the last autosave position.

My CPU load sits at about 8%~8.5%, while it’s running. I wouldn’t have any trouble recording off of that, should I want to. I’m also the system that’s hosting the room, so the load is higher on my computer. If I was going to stream/record, I’d probably get a second copy, install it on another computer, and put it in the observer mode, so it could see what was going on, and stream that version.
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Old 11-25-2017, 03:02 PM   #40
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Default Re: Virtual Table Top (VTT) support

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Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
I use MapTools for both.

Fantasy Grounds is a no go because of the subscription model. I don't rent things, particularly not software. I'm not about to start over a luxury product.
I'm not certain why people keep saying "rental cost". FG2 can be purchased as a one time purchase instead of a monthly rental fee. Right now, because of Black Friday, the prices for the licenses are rather cheap.

You can purchase an "Ultimate License" - normally $149, now for $111.75. The normal license is $39, but today, it's $29.25

So, you don't HAVE to rent the software if you would rather buy it. The rental is for those who'd prefer not to pay up front, the full cost involved.
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