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Post by stonetoflesh on Apr 6, 2020 13:01:47 GMT -6
I'm quite interested in trying to run a game online but am unsure of the best way to go, and don't understand the variety of options or decisions (for example, why do some use one platform for everything except voice, which for which they use discord?). My requirements are minimal: - I'd like to have about 6 players, and see them simultaneously - so google hangouts, which I am most familiar with, seems out because as far as I can tell it is limited to about three (four?) faces at a time, with the result that others are popping in and out as they speak. - I'd like a easy learning curve, bc I don't need much mainly voice and video, and some of the people I will be playing with aren't tech savvy at all - Discord seems out, I tried with a friend and we got no where. - The whiteboard sharing feature would also be very nice. And I haven't been able to figure that out on G Hangouts, either. - Zoom seems popular, but it has been getting bad press recently for security and other concerns. EDIT: Zoom group meetings also seem to be limited to 40 mins? Any thoughts / help i appreciated. Hey Muddy, My largest group -- me plus five to seven players in any given session -- started off using Roll20 for everything, but we started running into the A/V really struggled with more than four players. We switched over to Hangouts for A/V and haven't had any problems, even with eight participants. Roll20 provides relatively-painless whiteboard, dice rolling, and image/handout sharing, we just make sure to have each player kill their Roll20 A/V feed. For really basic stuff like what I describe, Roll20's learning curve is very easy. You can even set up dice macros so the players don't have to remember any of the commands. I've also heard good things about AWW online whiteboard but have yet to try it. EDIT to add: oops! I missed the part about seeing all their faces in Hangouts. Pretty sure I can see all of my players' faces, but can't say for sure... |
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muddy
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 159 
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Post by muddy on Apr 6, 2020 13:32:43 GMT -6
Thanks, I appreciate the help. I'll keep working with Google hangounts/meet (is there a difference?) and see what happens.
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Post by Finarvyn on Apr 6, 2020 13:55:21 GMT -6
I haven't tried the fancy software, but I ran another 5E Blackmoor game with my home group using Google Meet. (I picked that one because that's what we use for department meetings at work, so I could figure it out without a lot of effort.) It doesn't do dice rolling or fancy maps, but I run most of my games "theater of the mind" style anyway so my players didn't notice that much of a difference. And I could talk to all four of my players at the same time. What was sort of funny is that I like to use dice to help me remember where monsters and characters are placed. One time when I mentioned I needed to set up my dice one of the players suggested I switch from the front camera of the laptop to the back, so that they would see the dice rather than my face. I chose not to do that, but it probably would have been more useful.  |
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Post by asaki on Apr 6, 2020 18:04:10 GMT -6
(for example, why do some use one platform for everything except voice, which for which they use discord?). My requirements are minimal: Because programs that are dedicated towards voice chat are better at it. The same reason people used TeamSpeak for a long time, even after games started having integrated voice chat. - The whiteboard sharing feature would also be very nice. And I haven't been able to figure that out on G Hangouts, either. Or you could wing it like Stefan Pokorny did for his GaryCon game...he had one webcam on his face, and his assistant manned a handheld cam on a little tripod so the players could see the miniatures =) |
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azera
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 36
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Post by azera on Apr 9, 2020 15:42:56 GMT -6
I'm quite interested in trying to run a game online but am unsure of the best way to go, and don't understand the variety of options or decisions (for example, why do some use one platform for everything except voice, which for which they use discord?). My requirements are minimal: - I'd like to have about 6 players, and see them simultaneously - so google hangouts, which I am most familiar with, seems out because as far as I can tell it is limited to about three (four?) faces at a time, with the result that others are popping in and out as they speak. - I'd like a easy learning curve, bc I don't need much mainly voice and video, and some of the people I will be playing with aren't tech savvy at all - Discord seems out, I tried with a friend and we got no where. - The whiteboard sharing feature would also be very nice. And I haven't been able to figure that out on G Hangouts, either. - Zoom seems popular, but it has been getting bad press recently for security and other concerns. EDIT: Zoom group meetings also seem to be limited to 40 mins? Any thoughts / help i appreciated. Like @gnombient and asaki said, a dedicated A/V software tends to be better than an add-on for something else (I can say from experience that Roll20's A/V is awful). I've been using Skype for A/V, which has been good about keeping everyone visible, but I'm not sure what the maximum group size is (I've only used it with up to 4 players). Still planning to try out Zoom and Discord.
For a whiteboard, I've been using this: whiteboardfox.com/ Pretty simple, web-based (i.e. nothing to install), no need to set up any accounts (just click the link and you're in), and allows for importing pictures if you don't want any extra steps for managing handouts (just mind the file size limit).
From what I've heard, Zoom's bad press for security is mostly bad users blaming the software for their problems (posting meeting links publicly, not setting passwords, and then being surprised that other people get in).
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Post by asaki on Apr 12, 2020 14:50:11 GMT -6
From what I've heard, Zoom's bad press for security is mostly bad users blaming the software for their problems (posting meeting links publicly, not setting passwords, and then being surprised that other people get in). Well, that, and they don't have the proper encryption that a program like that should have in the year 2020  But most people these days are used to companies mining and selling their data, so....not a big deal. |
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Post by greentongue on Apr 12, 2020 16:26:55 GMT -6
Zoom now has passwords by default. Should help some.
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Post by Piper on Apr 12, 2020 17:25:52 GMT -6
Zoom now has passwords by default. Should help some. We've used it here in Austin several times now with no security issues. I'd encourage everyone to give Zoom a look for their remote gaming needs. |
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Post by greentongue on Apr 12, 2020 19:22:57 GMT -6
The more I look at Tabletop Simulator, the more I like it.
You can do as much or as little with it as you want. It's just like what you do at your kitchen table.
Some people have paper and dice, others have the whole Dwarven Forge product line.
The difference is Tabletop Simulator is a virtual table.
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Post by tkdco2 on Apr 12, 2020 22:45:48 GMT -6
Tabletop Simulator is great for solo gaming and gaming with a group.
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Post by coffee on Apr 12, 2020 23:27:10 GMT -6
Does each user of Tabletop Simulator need to have their own copy of the software? Because I can see that being a deal breaker for a lot of groups.
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Post by tkdco2 on Apr 13, 2020 1:06:12 GMT -6
Does each user of Tabletop Simulator need to have their own copy of the software? Because I can see that being a deal breaker for a lot of groups. If people are in the same household/building, they can create a "hot seat" where all the players share the same computer and take turns. If people are in different areas, then each player needs a copy. However, there are two things working in your favor: 1. Tabletop Simulator is often on sale; be on the lookout for those. You may be able to get it half-off. 2. You can spend a little extra cash and gift your friends. I think you can gift up to four people. Then they won't have to buy the program, although they will have to register at Steam (free). This is how I got into Tabletop Simulator; a friend gifted me the program. |
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Post by greentongue on Apr 13, 2020 4:44:51 GMT -6
Does each user of Tabletop Simulator need to have their own copy of the software? Because I can see that being a deal breaker for a lot of groups. I've read where people have streamed their screen and made the moves for others. While that could get annoying if the other players wanted to make a lot of their own moves, it would show it getting their own copy would be worth the investment. Also, if the DM is the owner and does most everything anyway, it should work somewhat. At least for a trial. |
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Post by tkdco2 on Apr 13, 2020 13:36:30 GMT -6
Another advantage TTS offers is that it makes it easier to set up a solo game. If you can't find a group you like, you can always play on your own. You don't need any special software to do that, but TTS allows you to set up terrain and miniatures without too much trouble. It also includes dice so you can do almost everything with the program.
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Post by greentongue on Apr 13, 2020 15:40:53 GMT -6
The "Battle Atlas" and "BattleMaps" are great for throwing down a rectangular map in high res to game on.
"Battle Atlas" lets you pick two from a bunch and fuse them together then scale them up to fill the table.
This allows a large number of combinations "on the fly".
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Apr 13, 2020 21:58:58 GMT -6
I just sent out an email to the D&D group that we aren't getting together until July at the earliest. I've got covid-19 in the house, and i expect it to cycle through all of us over the next six to eight weeks.
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Post by tkdco2 on Apr 13, 2020 23:13:54 GMT -6
Best of luck, Coyotepunc!
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Post by greentongue on Apr 14, 2020 4:30:51 GMT -6
Hope everyone makes it through, Coyotepunc!
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Merias
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 104
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Post by Merias on Apr 14, 2020 10:15:30 GMT -6
My main group has been gaming via roll20 for about 5 years now, we generally play every weekend. As others have pointed out, roll20's A/V can be flaky at times, when that happens we switch to google hangouts which hasn't failed to work at all. We alternate between using the in-game dice roller and just rolling our own dice, players can make their own choice.
This winter I had also joined a face-to-face 5e game as a player, but of course in March that moved online. As a bit of serendipity, neither the other players nor the GM had ever played online, so I offered to run a white box game for them on roll20. It was supposed to be a one or two-session thing, until the GM got comfortable enough with roll20 to run his 5e game for us again. But we are 5 sessions in and they don't seem to want to switch :).
One tip on roll20 - if you are not using the built-in A/V, the game referee can disable A/V entirely in the settings. That was not always the case - you used to have to remind players to each disable their A/V. Now it can be done in one place by the ref.
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Post by greentongue on Apr 14, 2020 10:52:28 GMT -6
Had to see if I could make this work, going to take some tweaking but I think its very possible to setup miniature battles with ZunTzu. Testing using AD&D Battlesystem rules, box set came with sheets of counters that are easy to use. Looks interesting... boardgamegeek.com/thread/973459/how-does-zuntzu-compare-vassal |
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Post by aldarron on Apr 14, 2020 12:36:09 GMT -6
Those whiteboards seem interesting. Does anyone know if it is possible to upload graph paper on one of those?
Here is what I'm thinking. If everybody could see the board, and it was in graph paper, then the mapper could map the dungeon as the party explores just as they would at the table.
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muddy
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 159
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Post by muddy on Apr 14, 2020 13:11:41 GMT -6
Those whiteboards seem interesting. Does anyone know if it is possible to upload graph paper on one of those? Here is what I'm thinking. If everybody could see the board, and it was in graph paper, then the mapper could map the dungeon as the party explores just as they would at the table. Great idea! someone above did suggest a white board app that has graph paper built in. |
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Post by ffilz on Apr 14, 2020 13:19:39 GMT -6
Those whiteboards seem interesting. Does anyone know if it is possible to upload graph paper on one of those? Here is what I'm thinking. If everybody could see the board, and it was in graph paper, then the mapper could map the dungeon as the party explores just as they would at the table. Roll20 has a nice virtual white board. Starbeard used it to map a dungeon in my RuneQuest campaign. The one issue is players can't switch between map pages, so the player map has to be on the same page as any GM map being shared, and the grid would be the grid used for combat with tokens (but you could make a pretty large grid and use most of it for the player dungeon map, and just zoom into a corner to run combat on a grid if that's your thing. |
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Post by aldarron on Apr 15, 2020 6:35:59 GMT -6
Those whiteboards seem interesting. Does anyone know if it is possible to upload graph paper on one of those? Here is what I'm thinking. If everybody could see the board, and it was in graph paper, then the mapper could map the dungeon as the party explores just as they would at the table. Roll20 has a nice virtual white board. Starbeard used it to map a dungeon in my RuneQuest campaign. The one issue is players can't switch between map pages, so the player map has to be on the same page as any GM map being shared, and the grid would be the grid used for combat with tokens (but you could make a pretty large grid and use most of it for the player dungeon map, and just zoom into a corner to run combat on a grid if that's your thing. Thanks FFilz I'll ask about this in the Roll20 thread, but I would be running a ToM game so there would be no need for me to share a map or use tokens. It sounds like though the issue would be running out of space for the mapper or having multiple levels to map. |
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Post by Piper on Apr 17, 2020 22:02:30 GMT -6
Another remote gaming session tonight. Quasar the Elf and his mates are staging an incursion into Fortress Badabaskar. My pointy-eared alter-ego contributed some "old school" wisdom to the group and we walked away with the damsel in distress, some phat loot, and a few choice magic items. I hope everyone's Friday night (or weekend) is as fun-filled as mine!
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Post by thegreyelf on May 18, 2020 6:25:44 GMT -6
WE GAMED THIS WEEKEND!!!!!
Western PA has entered what they call the "yellow" phase of re-opening. Gatherings of up to 25 people are allowed, and retail outlet stores are permitted to re-open. So my gaming group took advantage and we got together yesterday for the first time in about 3 months. I have no words for how nice it was to see everyone. We all fell right back into the old rhythms, though the 'rona was of course an ongoing topic of discussion. I feel like I can breathe again.
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Post by tkdco2 on May 18, 2020 13:49:38 GMT -6
I ran a MERP game via Tabletop Simulator on Saturday.
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