Chainmail on Tabletop Simulator

[Deleted]

  I was browsing the mods in TTS and noticed Chainmail and i was curious if A) This was created by someone here, and B) Is there a community/Discord of people that play Chainmail on TTS?  If so, i would really like to learn the secret handshake/credo to join such a group. 

[Starbeard]

No idea who that is. I haven't used TTS in a while, but now that I've gone back I'm impressed by the offerings. The community models and tools for wargaming have really increased over the past couple of years, I'm impressed. I'll have to try some of them out, including these Chainmail scenarios.

[chicagowiz]

What is TTS? Does it require a download or is it web based?

[Starbeard]

Tabletop Simulator is a downloaded, paid program ($20, I think?) that's designed to simulate playing boardgames at a table, complete with vaguely natural physics. It's a really neat idea, but I found that the added physics engine was mostly a detriment you have to fight against rather than a useful feature. But that was a few years ago, and looking at Youtube videos it seems like people have been figuring out how to overcome some of those issues.

I think it's sold directly through Steam, where they also host free community built content you can download and subscribe to. People will upload scripts to run specific games, 3D models you can load onto the table, etc.

Here's some sample gamemplay of TTS:
A group playing HeroQuest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=60PkcXkqvv0&frags=pl%2Cwn
A demonstration of X-Wing Miniatures: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSTDqeao5dk
A game of Magic: The Gathering: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozHhd9Gkagg&frags=pl%2Cwn
A game of Warhammer 40k: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGj22K06Uf4

[chicagowiz]

Neat! I may have to check this out and think about programming Ral Partha's Chaos Wars into it...

[robertsconley]

There are two major ways of running wargames/boardgames over the internet. Both of these focus on playing the games as-is with the software acting as a shared view allowing players to manipulate the pieces. Unlike an outright computer game both software are general purpose in that they require not only the software but a gamebox/mod to be loaded to play a game. Both focus on being used in real time with all players present.

Vassal

Vassal is a open source game engine that combines boardgame utilities, chat, and a specialized whiteboard. The whiteboard can setup to handle multiple board and trays of pieces if the game requires it. Vassal also has the ability to securely save the game and pass it to the next players to support play by post.

The upside that creating new games for Vassal is all about creating and manipulating images. A lot of games supported by Vassal are created from scans of the original. There also a large list of supported wargame/boardgames called modules.

The downside of Vassal is the interface is quirky and has a small learning curve.

Tabletop Simulator
Tabletop Simulator is a 3D Virtual environment. It core functionality is centered on a table with a play surface. Individual game pieces are 3D model that can be manipulated by the players. In general games are played pretty much exactly like in face to face. If six block needed to be placed on your turn, then you will have to place six blocks.

The upside it is more intuitive to grasp and play than Vassal. And you can flip the table which is oddly satisfying at times.

The downside is everybody needs a paid copy, and to add a new game with new playing pieces requires knowledge of 3D Modelling. However the software has caught on and has a growing list of mods and addons. This includes dwarven forge style miniatures and terrain for tabletop roleplaying.

Like Virtual Tabletop like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20, Vassal and Tabletop Simulator do not function as replacement for regular games. Instead they allow people to use the internet to play these games in the same way they are played with face to face.

[coffee]

I just checked and Tabletop Simulator is on sale for $9.99 (link).

[Malchor]

I played it on Roll20.

But it was setup to roll attacked “per man” rather than per figure. I mentioned this to the creator.

[Starbeard]

Dec 3, 2018 9:36:47 GMT -6 Malchor said:

I played it on Roll20.

But it was setup to roll attacked “per man” rather than per figure. I mentioned this to the creator.

Of course, as a pointless aside, one of the interesting things about playing by computer is that you actually can try out the mass combat per man, rather than per figure. The 1:10 rules are there because we have limited table space to field that many figures, and limited time to roll that many dice. With a game on Roll20, it's quite literally just as simple to roll and tally 100 D6s as it is 10 D6s. I imagine it wouldn't change the actual combat results very much, but it might have interesting consequences regarding post-melee morale results.