# DDI VT Beta thread



## mudbunny (Nov 22, 2010)

Gentlemen, start your engines!!


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## mudbunny (Nov 22, 2010)

Some quick screenshots of opening page, then back to work for me:
Image problems. Give me a second.


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## mudbunny (Nov 22, 2010)




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## mudbunny (Nov 22, 2010)

Some impressions from [MENTION=59244]WolfStar76[/MENTION] (from ihis twitter feed)


VRT Beta first impressions: While the lack of a current import tool is felt, the features are VERY nice. Built-in voice chat!

#DDI #VRT Each player can have a color assigned to them. Wish they'd just put in a color wheel, however instead of a handful of choices.

#DDI VRT I see Import for maps, adventures, PCs and Monsters so far. Just FYI.

#DDI VRT has lots of listings for "Import" options - don't know if they work yet, but fears they won't ever exist are unfounded.


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## mudbunny (Nov 22, 2010)

Follow [MENTION=59244]WolfStar76[/MENTION] or the hashtags #DDI and #VRT to see his impressions as he plays with it.

The hashtag is actually #dndvt


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## Ktulu (Nov 22, 2010)

I'll say it again.


*JELOUS!!!!!*


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## IronWolf (Nov 22, 2010)

Ktulu said:


> I'll say it again.
> 
> 
> *JELOUS!!!!!*




It would appear you are even green with envy!


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## ArcaneSpringboard (Nov 22, 2010)

Hmmm...I wonder if the VT is actually more than just a table...it almost sounds like it can act as an Encounter Builder, dungeon mapper, etc.


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## Ktulu (Nov 22, 2010)

IronWolf said:


> It would appear you are even green with envy!




Happy to see the pun is not lost on the interwebs!


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## FreeXenon (Nov 22, 2010)

More Screen Shots pretty PLEASE!!!! 

Thanks for the shots so far! =)


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## Infiniti2000 (Nov 22, 2010)

ArcaneSpringboard said:


> Hmmm...I wonder if the VT is actually more than just a table...it almost sounds like it can act as an Encounter Builder, dungeon mapper, etc.




Well, it says "Campaign Manager."  I assume therefore it's in direct competition with Obsidian Portal.


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## Ktulu (Nov 22, 2010)

I'm down with competition betweeen OP, WotC, and EpicWords.  Heck, if WotC can deliver something that works as good as EW or OP, I'll switch over night.


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## Canor Morum (Nov 22, 2010)

yeah, More pics.

Does the "Campaign System" filter mean it supports systems other than 4E?


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## Jack99 (Nov 22, 2010)

Interesting


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## LightPhoenix (Nov 22, 2010)

My engine would be better started if I had access to the beta.


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## Aegeri (Nov 23, 2010)

I am dying for some actual information on what it does personally.


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## Mithreinmaethor (Nov 23, 2010)

Have you tried the forums over at WOTC?

Here is a thread


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## Aegeri (Nov 23, 2010)

Indeed thanks for that link. I am really wanting to know how powers on tokens are made. That's the main thing. If it's a quick and simple process, I might give this a go. If it requires the degree of programming code that I've had to learn as maptools (and is just as intensive) I won't bother with it.


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## Maxboy (Nov 23, 2010)

Canor Morum said:


> yeah, More pics.
> 
> Does the "Campaign System" filter mean it supports systems other than 4E?




By the looks of a screen shot i saw earlier. it had a scolldown menu, that mentioned all the previous incarnations of DnD


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## Dragonblade (Nov 23, 2010)

Maxboy said:


> By the looks of a screen shot i saw earlier. it had a scolldown menu, that mentioned all the previous incarnations of DnD




Even though I'm a 4e fan, support for earlier editions wins some major props from me. Even more props if DDI subs somehow allowed access to a library of older edition content, even if it was restricted to some kind of online viewer given WotC's aversion to PDFs. Talk about added value.

Seriously, I could see such a move could doubling the DDI subscriber base given how fractured the fanbase is and how many still play older editions, especially with access to the VT as an additional carrot for those old school fans to play together with.

They may not be 4e players, but they are still DnD players and it would win back a lot of lapsed and disgruntled fans.


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## Aegeri (Nov 23, 2010)

I would rather them make a functional import tool for monsters and PCs before they bother with older edition material. I want it for my 4E games, not for older stuff that isn't particularly relevant to what I'm trying to do with the system: Run two games of DnD online. If they made a tool that could import a monster and turn its traits/powers and such into macros, I would not hesitate in buying it. The most time I spend in my maptools games is macroing monsters by far. If they cut that time out and make it simple, with reasonable functionality I would get it.


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## IronWolf (Nov 23, 2010)

Mithreinmaethor said:


> Have you tried the forums over at WOTC?
> 
> Here is a thread




Thanks for the link, I had not seen that thread yet.  Helped provide a bit more info that I had been looking forward to.



Dragonblade said:


> Even though I'm a 4e fan, support for earlier editions wins some major props from me. Even more props if DDI subs somehow allowed access to a library of older edition content, even if it was restricted to some kind of online viewer given WotC's aversion to PDFs. Talk about added value.




Even though the extra systems are listed the FAQ seems to indicate the character and monster information storage in the tool will be 4e geared (to be expected of course).  But if that is the case there are other VTTs that would likely be more useful for players of older editions that can handle their system of choice.  

Of course if you just wanted the VTT without the need of the mechanics being handled then it would likely work just fine for that.


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## renau1g (Nov 23, 2010)

Dragonblade said:


> Seriously, I could see such a move could doubling the DDI subscriber base given how fractured the fanbase is and how many still play older editions, especially with access to the VT as an additional carrot for those old school fans to play together with.




I'm sure that it would help as I can see a lot of old school players having moved away from their teenage/younger adult groups and spread out throughout state/province or country and this helps them get back together.


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## mudbunny (Nov 23, 2010)

More Screenshots:

Monster creation!!







Click on new







Choose your token






Give the data you want. The Max HP, Initiative, AC, Fort, Ref and Will are entered manually for the time being. I imagine that once they get an online MB, they will be auto-populated when you import a monster






Click on New Power and fill in the relevant data. As you enter data, you tab to the next field, and the next line automatically is generated.






When you are done, click Save at the top of the monster sidebar, and you get the following:






Then, to use it in combat, just click on the dice icons beside each entry, and the roll is automagically done.






And, should the monster impose a condition, you can simply add a damage line, but put text instead, like I did below:


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## mudbunny (Nov 23, 2010)

Let the cavalcade of screenshots continue:
Basic Window (starts out small, but can be stretched in the normal way)





The sidebar can be minimized





Here is a close-up of the buttons across the top:





From Left to right they are:
Normal mode (for interacting with non-map objects)
Map Drag Mode (for movingthe map around)
Line of sight mode (Looks like this is to determine whether one square has LoS to another)
Pointer Mode ( to point at something, probably more useful with players/DM)
Area of Effect mode (for drawing AoEs, zones, etc on the map)
Make map visible
Make map invisible
Drawing mode (if your players go off the map and you want to freehand it)
Zoom in
Zoom out
Toggle token names (doesn't seem to work so far)

[sblock=Menu options]
























[/sblock]


[sblock=sidebars]
Dice roller





Monsters sidebar





Initiative sidebar





Map sidebar





Character sidebar





Journal Sidebar




[/sblock]


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## ArcaneSpringboard (Nov 23, 2010)

Is it just me, or can anyone else see using this for face-to-face games?


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## CM (Nov 23, 2010)

So does it allow you to place discrete light sources and, for instance, assign them to tokens (for example a PC carrying a torch), selectively showing terrain visible to players and hiding terrain invisible to the players?


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## OnlineDM (Nov 23, 2010)

ArcaneSpringboard said:


> Is it just me, or can anyone else see using this for face-to-face games?




That's certainly my hope.  I use MapTool on a projector right now for my in-person games; if I can't do something similar with Virtual Table it would be far less interesting to me.


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## mudbunny (Nov 23, 2010)

CM said:


> So does it allow you to place discrete light sources and, for instance, assign them to tokens (for example a PC carrying a torch), selectively showing terrain visible to players and hiding terrain invisible to the players?




I think that it does, using the visible/invisible terrain feature. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet due to lack of time though. I hope to get around to it tuesday night.


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## Jack99 (Nov 23, 2010)

The always awesome davethegame from critical hits offers some info as well..

link


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## Hussar (Nov 23, 2010)

Ooooo, voice fonts.  Now THAT is cool.

But, in teh choose a token bit for monster building, does that mean I'm limited to WOTC's tokens?  That would suck very hard.


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## Bagpuss (Nov 23, 2010)

Infiniti2000 said:


> Well, it says "Campaign Manager."  I assume therefore it's in direct competition with Obsidian Portal.




No looking at it and getting responses from Mudbunny at WotC forum. I think it is more like a lobby for games. So it manages the campaigns you can see and play in rather than manages elements of a particular campaign.


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## Stoat (Nov 23, 2010)

Questions for those who know:

1.  Is the WotC VTT hosted on WotC's servers or is it running on the DM/players' machines?

2.  Is there any function to import custom maps or are you restricted to WotC's tiles?

3.  Is there any function to import custom tokens or are you restricted to WotC's tokens?


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## mudbunny (Nov 23, 2010)

Stoat said:


> 2.  Is there any function to import custom maps or are you restricted to WotC's tiles?
> 
> 3.  Is there any function to import custom tokens or are you restricted to WotC's tokens?




Currently, you are limited to the choices in the tool. There are a fair number of map tiles to build maps, but the monsters and players currently choose from the same fairly limited set of tokens. (I am willing to give this a pass as it is in beta right now)


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## evilref (Nov 23, 2010)

mudbunny said:


> Currently, you are limited to the choices in the tool. There are a fair number of map tiles to build maps, but the monsters and players currently choose from the same fairly limited set of tokens. (I am willing to give this a pass as it is in beta right now)




Not being able to import my own maps is a significant lacking feature for me. Overall I think the tool's great for what it is, albeit without the monster/character builder imports it's more than a touch lacking compared to maptool. For the average person using the existing tiles makes perfect sense, and of course they should be there as existing art assets. 

If, however, you have <large list of cartography/design software> and enjoy making maps, not being able to use them gives the edge to other VTT software.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Nov 23, 2010)

mudbunny said:


> Currently, you are limited to the choices in the tool. There are a fair number of map tiles to build maps, but the monsters and players currently choose from the same fairly limited set of tokens. (I am willing to give this a pass as it is in beta right now)



I'd definitely make sure to state that you want this option, not that WotC "forgets" it our believes it can sell us tokens or maps via micro-transactions or such nonsense.


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## Stoat (Nov 23, 2010)

I expect that WotC will want to sell me tokens, tiles and maps, and the idea doesn't bother in me in principle.  I would, of course, need to see the quality of their product and know their asking price before I would decide to buy.

That said, there is no way WotC can provide all of the images that I want for my game.  I can't use WotC's tiles to create every map I want to use.  I can't use WotC's images to make every token for every NPC in my game.  For this reason, it is important to me that WotC's VTT allow the use of custom maps/tokens.  Without that function, the program is significantly less useful for my game.

I may have missed it.  Is WotC hosting the VTT or does the DM host?  One of my beefs with the VTT's I've used in the past is the general hassle of forwarding ports and hosting the game.


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## Jan van Leyden (Nov 24, 2010)

Mudbunny, at first let me thank for your reporting!

Is there _any_ hint in plain sight or well hidden that this thing will at some time include some scripting or macro support?


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## Hussar (Nov 24, 2010)

mudbunny said:


> Currently, you are limited to the choices in the tool. There are a fair number of map tiles to build maps, but the monsters and players currently choose from the same fairly limited set of tokens. (I am willing to give this a pass as it is in beta right now)




Yeah, the ability to import my own images is an absolute must for me.  For one, I enjoy making my own maps, but, for another, I like reskinning monsters too much to limit myself to Monster Manual tokens.

This would be a deal breaker for me.


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## mudbunny (Nov 24, 2010)

Stoat said:


> I may have missed it.  Is WotC hosting the VTT or does the DM host?  One of my beefs with the VTT's I've used in the past is the general hassle of forwarding ports and hosting the game.




I have no idea. I will poke some of the more technically-minded testers to see what they say.



Jan van Leyden said:


> Mudbunny, at first let me thank for your reporting!
> 
> Is there _any_ hint in plain sight or well hidden that this thing will at some time include some scripting or macro support?




I haven't seen anything at all about that. However, I haven't looked all that hard. If you give some examples of some *very* basic scripts/commands that I can test, I can do so. Nothing that would require any sort of macro or anything like that. Some simple roll commands or stuff like that. Depending on what ti gives, it *may* give a hint as to whether it is planned (and just not implemented) or not at this point of the beta.



Hussar said:


> Yeah, the ability to import my own images is an absolute must for me.  For one, I enjoy making my own maps, but, for another, I like reskinning monsters too much to limit myself to Monster Manual tokens.
> 
> This would be a deal breaker for me.




This is getting mentioned  afair amount by the testers that I have seen.


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## Hadrian the Builder (Nov 24, 2010)

Does the virtual table let me set up multiple encounters? It would save game time to be able to prepare beforehand


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## Goonalan (Nov 24, 2010)

I don't know if someone has linked to this already but there are a couple of vids of the VTT at-

Video: in-depth overview of the D&D Virtual Table beta

Cheers goonalan


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## Dungeoneer (Nov 24, 2010)

Goonalan said:


> I don't know if someone has linked to this already but there are a couple of vids of the VTT at-
> 
> Video: in-depth overview of the D&D Virtual Table beta
> 
> Cheers goonalan



Thanks!

Watching this, my big concern is keystrokes.  As someone who DMs using third party encounter software on their laptop, I can tell you that you're going to resent every extra keystroke it takes to lower someone's HP or set a status on them.

Even if you don't have to do it for your players you have to do it for the monsters.  Over and over again.  Every. Single. Turn.

They need to give those repetitive actions hot keys or their own quick menu.


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## The Little Raven (Nov 24, 2010)

mudbunny said:


> Currently, you are limited to the choices in the tool. There are a fair number of map tiles to build maps, but the monsters and players currently choose from the same fairly limited set of tokens. (I am willing to give this a pass as it is in beta right now)




Would you say that the dungeon tiles reflect the recent Master Set? I'm curious as to whether my back library of Dungeon Tiles would make switching between VT and normal TT more difficult.

Also, it looks like the tokens in the screenshots are from the DM's Kit. Do you know if there are any from the Monster Vault yet (I assume new tokens will be added over time)?


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## mudbunny (Nov 25, 2010)

The Little Raven said:


> Would you say that the dungeon tiles reflect the recent Master Set? I'm curious as to whether my back library of Dungeon Tiles would make switching between VT and normal TT more difficult.
> 
> Also, it looks like the tokens in the screenshots are from the DM's Kit. Do you know if there are any from the Monster Vault yet (I assume new tokens will be added over time)?




Unfortunately, I do not have either of those two sets, so I couldn't tell you.


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## tuxgeo (Nov 25, 2010)

Jack99 said:


> The always awesome davethegame from critical hits offers some info as well..
> 
> link





			
				DaveTheGame at the link above said:
			
		

> One surprise is that the Virtual Table contains built-in voice chat by  everyone joined. Even more surprising? There’s a list of voice changers  you can activate to change your voice. Some of them work really well,  and some are just plain hilarious. It seemed to lower the volume when  one of the voice-changers was active, but I was surprised at how well  they worked.




Okay, being able to make my voice sound like that of an orc would be nice; but what about non-combat stuff? Do they have voice fonts for blowhards that would make my voice sound like that of W.C. Fields, Oliver Hardy, Andy Devine, Bob Hope, or Slim Pickens? (Because, you know, sometimes you want to play a memorable but undeservedly confident character.) 
(If the tool already contains those voice fonts, Yay. I can't see from here, because I'm not a betalyzer; but I would doubt they'ld include them in the beta.)

(Edit: Forgot Gabby Hayes. He'd be good, too.)


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## Aegeri (Nov 25, 2010)

The beta seemed to run really slow on those youtube links: Is it normally that slow or was it just the compression/recording?


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## Truename (Nov 25, 2010)

Aegeri said:


> The beta seemed to run really slow on those youtube links: Is it normally that slow or was it just the compression/recording?




I'd guess the recording. The mouse pointer was very choppy, and there was a second-or-so sync delay between the audio and video. Looks like it was produced with Camtasia Studio, which I've found to be mediocre at best.


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## Jhaelen (Nov 26, 2010)

Truename said:


> Looks like it was produced with Camtasia Studio, which I've found to be mediocre at best.



What would you recommend instead?


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## Truename (Nov 26, 2010)

Jhaelen said:


> What would you recommend instead?




ScreenFlow on the Mac is excellent. Don't know what's good on Windows--I've only used Camtasia.


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## DerekSTheRed (Nov 26, 2010)

I'm also a beta tester. It appears that one of the testers created an adventure that the other testers can download and import. It comes with a map and moster stats/locations. 

Keeping track of monsters seems pretty easy. You right click the monster and you can view the monster details in the info panel, adjust it's hit points, pick it up (to move it), remove its token (when it dies), make it invisible to the players. add it to the initiative tracker, and export it's info.

The exported data is stored in some binary format (presumably proprietary) and looks to be a different format than the previous character/monster builder formats. You can save a map or an adventure. The adventure is a map plus monster and PC stats. It also looks like you can open up multiple maps/adventures at the same time and switch between the two. I can see this being useful to take an existing map and copy parts to another map.

The dungeon tiles look like a very basic and limited only consisting of tiles used in a dungeon. No city or wilderness tiles yet. You can also draw directly on the map with simple draw tools. The shared adventure has lines drawn on the tiles to show a change in elevation. 

Both the players and DM can make notes in a journal. The DM can make notes private and public. Making a note public sends it to the chat screen. The DM can also write notes directly on the map. These too can be both public and private.

When you create monsters, you can clone them. When you do, it puts a number on each token image. It's hard to see which number in the select box, but I find it better to just pick the token and use it to select the monster's stats.

I'm pretty sure the problems I have with the tool are because it's in beta form. If I'm creating an adventure from scratch, I do not want to have to create monster stat blocks ahead of time. Especially for monsters in WotC's published material. Likewise, I don't want my players having to create info for their characters although that is not as big a deal. It would be much better to import them in from WotC's servers now that the character builder is storing characters in the cloud (and presumably the monsters will eventually be in the cloud as well). 

This would be the advantage of being a D&D insider subscriber. I'm not sure if the virtual game table will be available to non-subscribers but it should be. I'm hoping the ability to use the table will be free, but DMs will want to be subscribers to take advantage of the monster stats on the WotC servers. 

How they put a price on the game table will go along way to its success. I've played a lot of games online, and invariably the free software (like open rpg) have the most gamers available and therefore the most games played.

One last thought. Technology wise, they use Java Web Start. I was surprised since the two character builders use the .Net Framework and Silverlight. This means they were probably programmed in the C# language (or technically VB I guess). I was very surprised when I saw the java splash screen the first time I launched it since it means the Virtual Table was probably written in java. 

I played a lot of 3E D&D online and used various tools. I played a lot on OpenRPG and a fair bit on Maptools. These tools are similar to the Virtual Table and had some features the Virtual Table is missing. For instance, a lot of customizable tokens and pre-made monsters are available. They also have macros and quick keys. The tokens and pre-made monsters I'm sure will be available soon. The macros, I don't think are necessary. You can create different attack options for your character that are a couple of mouse clicks away.

I should point out that the Virtual Table has a few more features that the others don't. For instance, the initiative tracker is very nice. I like the ability to set parts of the map invisible/invisible and I don't remember that feature in another free tool (I think the pay tools had it though).

Any feature or question in specific you have, I'll try to answer for you.


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## Maudragon (Nov 27, 2010)

DerekSTheRed said:


> I'm also a beta tester. [...]
> 
> Any feature or question in specific you have, I'll try to answer for you.




Derek, thanks for the report. I have a couple of questions that remained without a reply on the WotC forum.

1) What about screen resolution? How would it look like on a net PC with 1024 x 600 screen resolution?
2) What about double monitors or projector? Is this feature supported?

If those features work, I would really like to replace maps and minis with the VT for live games. 

Please, let me know.


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## I'm A Banana (Nov 27, 2010)

FYI, MapTool has both an Initiative Tracker and both Hidden Layers, Line of Sight, and Fog of War features.

Though, indeed, the smartest part of a WotC Virtual Tabletop would be interfacing with the Compendium, Monster Builder, and Character Builder for stuff. That could certainly keep it competitive.

When they add it.


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## UngainlyTitan (Nov 30, 2010)

Just got the invite today and managed to run the VTT after some excitement involving different version of java and browsers. I am on 64bit Windows 7 but generally use the 32bit browser as Adobe only provide 32bit readers and thus I can only read Dragon and Fungeon on 32 bit browsers. 

Now I have never actually ran a game in Maptools but I have played around with it and actually set up a session. From my 10 minutes or so of playing about with the tools. I think it might be easier to get into than maptool. I will know more later and hopefully write up something more meaningful in this thread.


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## renau1g (Nov 30, 2010)

How were you able to get it running? I kept failing to connect with the server?


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## GMforPowergamers (Nov 30, 2010)

last night I ran my first game, a kobold hunt with a twist. It went well, and I love the table. I do have a few problems, but until I am sure it isn't user error I will keep it to myself.


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## Raunalyn (Nov 30, 2010)

> Does the virtual table let me set up multiple encounters? It would save game time to be able to prepare beforehand




Yes, it does. You can create multiple maps (aka encounters) within the campaign and hide them from your players until you are ready to use them.



> How were you able to get it running? I kept failing to connect with the server?




What is the specific error? I know I had issues at first due to pop-ups. What browser are you using?


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## keterys (Nov 30, 2010)

I did a quick skim last night.
* Messed around with "paint"-ing features on the map and adding tiles
* Made a couple monsters and powers
* Loaded up the Kobold Hall adventure to test a predone thing

Didn't do anything from a PC perspective.

So far, I think they're on a good track with their voice support and paint features, but far shy of competing directly with Maptools (which I've run a game in for over a year) or Fantasy Grounds. 

Specifically:
The level of macro-ing appears to be minimal. Being able to embed a lot of dice rolls and text together is a huge help for online gaming - for example, having a button for "Slam" that automatically does - Monster Name: Slam - (Rolled #) vs AC for (Rolled #) damage and pushed 1 square. That's a simple minimum amount. That said, I suspect it's easy to add, but at the moment any roll is its own little thing without great identifying text and limited ability to customize the output.

That said, allowing full options would be better. For example, I've started putting more programmatic macros in my adventures - like a beholder should be able to have a random eye ray button that rolls a random eye ray, then executes the appropriate ray. 

In Maptool I can import any graphic I want for map or token, or even status symbol that I enable on tokens. 

The clincher, obviously, is that it needs integration with the compendium and character builder. With that, it gets immense mileage over a lot of other VTTs by virtue of ease of introduction.

Anyhow, not a bad early showing, but I hope they've got some experienced folks helping to direct them on setting up base templates for monsters and PCs to import into.


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## renau1g (Nov 30, 2010)

Raunalyn said:


> What is the specific error? I know I had issues at first due to pop-ups. What browser are you using?




"Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 174.143.239.246:8543."

FF 3.6.12

Could not connect to remote server

You tried to access the address http://vrt.wizards.com/secure/launch.php?challengeId=30862, which is currently unavailable

Opera 

Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage 

   Most likely causes:
You are not connected to the Internet. 
The website is encountering problems. 
There might be a typing error in the address. 

IE7


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## Raunalyn (Nov 30, 2010)

renau1g said:


> "Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 174.143.239.246:8543."
> 
> FF 3.6.12
> 
> ...




Did you get a login screen for the VTT credentials? If so, make sure that you do NOT click the checkbox to remember credentials. I don't know why, but that screwed me up too.

I'm currently at work, but when I get home, I will happily look and see if I can help you further.


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## renau1g (Nov 30, 2010)

No luck but thanks


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## UngainlyTitan (Nov 30, 2010)

[MENTION=54810]renau1g[/MENTION]
My issue was that I have windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and has installed jave 6 64bit but was running a 32 bit version of IE 8. So the java process would run and nothing else would happen. Also the web page would also clain that I had the incorrect version of java.
So going back to the java home page and verifying my installation I got a message saying that since i use 32 bit browsers I should also install the 32 bit version. So I did and then it worked fine after a reboot.
A couple of oddities, the server aske for creditentials twice, though I have no problem with saved creditentials. Also there is considerable delay after the java engine kicks off andthe VTT appears and sometimes I have to hit launch again.

Though it apprears that your issue is more fundamental. I wonder if there is a firewall on your router and it that is blocking your access.


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## renau1g (Nov 30, 2010)

That's entirely possible...I was at work on my lunch trying to access it. I'll try from home later tonight.


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## Ktulu (Nov 30, 2010)

I opened up the tabletop last night to dink around with it.  So far it looks pretty reasonable.  Had no troubles with the tile-mapping.  I especially liked the possibility that they'll add all of their Fantastic Locations maps (seeing how they have one already in there).  Makes it easy to design some encounters.

Other things I liked - Line of Sight marking and area burst/blast marking.  Makes it very easy to handle those things.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to test it out in a playtest fashion tonight -- will provide more info afterward.


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## knifie_sp00nie (Nov 30, 2010)

Does anyone that's used the beta think it's a fork of the Maptool code, or an all-original effort? All the screenshots look like a skinned version of Maptool and the fact that an all-Microsoft (internal) dev team would use Java seem odd.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing if it is a fork (if it's ok with the license), I'm just curious.


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## keterys (Nov 30, 2010)

It is definitely not a fork of Maptools, from what I saw. Totally different approach on just about everything.

That said - I do hope the developers are using some of the other VTTs Maptools to learn some stuff.


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## UngainlyTitan (Nov 30, 2010)

knifie_sp00nie said:


> Does anyone that's used the beta think it's a fork of the Maptool code, or an all-original effort? All the screenshots look like a skinned version of Maptool and the fact that an all-Microsoft (internal) dev team would use Java seem odd.
> 
> I'm not saying it's a bad thing if it is a fork (if it's ok with the license), I'm just curious.



 No I do not, the draw tools on maptool drove me scatty when i first used them, the functionality is different and the option to use them like in maptool is not there (i.e. all curves close in maptool by default).

If there is common code with maptool then the fork was way earlier than any iteration of maptool over the last 2 years or so.


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## Thanlis (Nov 30, 2010)

knifie_sp00nie said:


> Does anyone that's used the beta think it's a fork of the Maptool code, or an all-original effort? All the screenshots look like a skinned version of Maptool and the fact that an all-Microsoft (internal) dev team would use Java seem odd.




I'm 99% sure it's GameTable Online's Metagame platform. They've worked with WotC before, the applet is signed by GameTable Online, Inc., and the servers are hosted in the same place GTO hosts their servers. That second point is probably the most convincing.


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## DerekSTheRed (Dec 1, 2010)

Maudragon said:


> Derek, thanks for the report. I have a couple of questions that remained without a reply on the WotC forum.
> 
> 1) What about screen resolution? How would it look like on a net PC with 1024 x 600 screen resolution?
> 2) What about double monitors or projector? Is this feature supported?
> ...




1) I tried it all the way down to 800 by 600. At that resolution, the window didn't fit entirely on the screen. I moved it up to 1024 by 768 and it fit better. You could probably use it at 800 by 600 in full screen mode, but the real estate is limited.

2) There does not seem to be any special projector or double monitor feature. It's still a window, so you could put it on a different monitor or project it straight from your PC. 

If you want two different windows, one PC and one GM, then it looks like you'll need two different D&D insider accounts. I'll get one of the players in my home game to help me test this on Friday. It may require running two different browsers as well.


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## renau1g (Dec 1, 2010)

renau1g said:


> That's entirely possible...I was at work on my lunch trying to access it. I'll try from home later tonight.




Turns out I can't access from work for whatever reason as it booted up no problem here. Maybe a firewall? I can access the new CB though from there :shrug:


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## UngainlyTitan (Dec 1, 2010)

renau1g said:


> Turns out I can't access from work for whatever reason as it booted up no problem here. Maybe a firewall? I can access the new CB though from there :shrug:



 I would think that it is a firewall, I got a dialog from my firewall to allow data through for the VTT but I do not remember a similar dialog from the CB. The  VTT runs on a specific port but the CB may run on standard ports.


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## Naszir (Dec 1, 2010)

I had a few moments to play around with this last night. Let me preface that I have used Fantasy Grounds for the past three to four years. So I'm a little biased/spoiled by what I am already able to do through that virtual table.

Here are few initial thoughts:

** The drag and drop of the tiles and the snapping to the grid is nice. 
** The Notes section looks simple and effective. Hopefully it is easy to organize.
** I tried to import a map and didn't have any success.
** The assigning of tokens was easy.
** I loved the ability to attach conditions to characters/creatures and then have them show up when you hover over the token. 
** Line of sight was a nice tool.
** I didn't get to use the voice tool but I can see that as a nice touch if it is used properly.

What I would love to have implemented:

** A combat tracker. Fantasy Grounds has this. A combat tracker shows all the relevant combat info (initiative, defenses, hit points, all conditions on the character, etc.)
** A targeting system. Again Fantasy Grounds has this. If I am a character I should be able to target a creature, then click on a power, click on the attack roll and have that attack roll automatically recognize the creature being attacked and the defense being targeted. This is a great time saver.

I wish I knew if WotC ever tried to talk to the guys at Fantasy Grounds about somehow working with them. I believe there are only a few guys who actually do the programing and what they have done has been impressive. So much of what WotC is trying to do with the GameTable has already been done with 4e support by Fantasy Grounds. Unless WotC can match what Fantasy Grounds already does and offer some additional things on top of that this could be tough sell.


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## Stoat (Dec 1, 2010)

ardoughter said:


> I would think that it is a firewall, I got a dialog from my firewall to allow data through for the VTT but I do not remember a similar dialog from the CB. The  VTT runs on a specific port but the CB may run on standard ports.




I've had to cancel several games in the last year when I was traveling and couldn't host my regular game because of  hotel firewalls (d20 Pro requires me to forward a port to allow my players access to the game, and no hotel will let me do that).

Would I have the same problem with WotC's VTT?


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## renau1g (Dec 1, 2010)

Seems like it so far, my corporate firewall appears to be blocking it...


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## MarauderX (Dec 1, 2010)

I'm part of Team Beta, and I've run a game and sat in on two.  Thus far, it seems like getting the players familiar with things is a hurdle (just like any other virtual tabletop), but once past that things run pretty well.

Currently the VT holds its own against its competitors.  It has a lot of options for configurations, and nearly everything has a right-click menu to help with creating & running a game.  

There are missing components to the VT, the most notable of which is the lack of links to the character builder and compendium to pull in characters and monsters respectively.  I've added 34 comments in the feedback thread, but mostly they are about adding & improving features.  Thus far there haven't been any bugs, stutters, failures, or speed issues.  

See the attached for a screen shot of the interior of the VT.  Keep in mind that it has an azure overlay due to the majority of the map being invisible to the players.


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## MarauderX (Dec 1, 2010)

I'm not sure if anyone answered this yet...


tuxgeo said:


> Do they have voice fonts for blowhards that would make my voice sound like that of W.C. Fields, Oliver Hardy, Andy Devine, Bob Hope, or Slim Pickens? (Because, you know, sometimes you want to play a memorable but undeservedly confident character.)
> (If the tool already contains those voice fonts, Yay. I can't see from here, because I'm not a betalyzer; but I would doubt they'ld include them in the beta.)
> 
> (Edit: Forgot Gabby Hayes. He'd be good, too.)




Current voices: Deep, elf, orc, male to female old, female to male, VH talking through helmet, VH demon man, male to female old2, and male to female.

Plus you can configure the sound levels of others at the table too.  The configuration has a push to talk feature so you can munch on soy chips without being annoying.


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## renau1g (Dec 1, 2010)

MarauderX said:


> ...munch on soy chips without being annoying.




This will be so useful... to much chip eating during sessions is annoying.


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## Dausuul (Dec 1, 2010)

MarauderX said:


> Current voices: Deep, elf, orc, male to female old, female to male, VH talking through helmet, VH demon man, male to female old2, and male to female.
> 
> Plus you can configure the sound levels of others at the table too.  The configuration has a push to talk feature so you can munch on soy chips without being annoying.




Very nice. The voice changer would be a _huge_ plus for me--as a DM, I would love to be able to do dialogue for female NPCs in a convincing female voice, dragons in a deep rumbling thundery voice, and so on. My natural voice only has so much range, and no reverb dial.

Is there a way to listen to playback of your own voice so you know what you sound like? Also, is there anything to indicate who's currently talking? If everybody's using the voice changer, it could get confusing...


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## MarauderX (Dec 2, 2010)

Dausuul said:


> Very nice. The voice changer would be a _huge_ plus for me--as a DM, I would love to be able to do dialogue for female NPCs in a convincing female voice, dragons in a deep rumbling thundery voice, and so on. My natural voice only has so much range, and no reverb dial.
> 
> Is there a way to listen to playback of your own voice so you know what you sound like? Also, is there anything to indicate who's currently talking? If everybody's using the voice changer, it could get confusing...




Using Deep as a DM fits nicely with cackling evily.  There isn't a playback of your voice (feedback issues to be sure), but it's easy enough to just ask others to goof around with it a bit.  Whenever someone is talking a speaker light turns green next to their name so you can see who is screaming for mercy with a squeaky elf voice.  It's easier to follow than MMO action games, but with anything where you can't see the other person for visual clues sometimes there is some cross-talk.


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## Hussar (Dec 2, 2010)

Y'know, a feature I hope they include is the ability to save the voice chat as an audio file.  I know the ones we do now for our online game are actually kinda fun to listen to.


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## FreeXenon (Dec 2, 2010)

That, sir, is a great idea!


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## MarauderX (Dec 3, 2010)

Hussar said:


> Y'know, a feature I hope they include is the ability to save the voice chat as an audio file.  I know the ones we do now for our online game are actually kinda fun to listen to.




Not currently, but recorded audio & chat logs are part of my feedback wishlist.  However it is so easy to set up an audio recorder behind the digital scenes, I can imagine it being easy with or without it in the VT.


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## beldar1215 (Dec 3, 2010)

I got to play in a game last night. I had a great time. We did have an issue with the voice chat. We could only hear one person. For some reason my mic did not work. 

Some of my thoughts:
As tons of others have said, they have to make importing from the CB and MB an option. Putting in everything by hand was kind of a pain.

They need to do damage and other calculations automatically. Have to do it manually was also kind of a pain (IE  hit point loss)

Invisible creatures should not show up in the initiative list.

That's the biggies for me. We are playing again next week and we all plan on having new or different mics to try.


Beldar


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## Mithreinmaethor (Dec 3, 2010)

I have enjoyed tinkering with the VT.  I have not had voice system problems yet in any game or table I have been at.

And the obvious addition of the ability to import stuff is the top thing on everyones list, that and more tiles as well.

It has been a lot of fun and has brought me back to my days of LG playing online with people from around the world.


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## UngainlyTitan (Dec 3, 2010)

I also had fun playing today, first time online on a VTT. The voice stuff did not work. I could hear everyone initially and then the DM's voice faded and idsappeared. Occasionally I would hear something.


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## Scribble (Dec 3, 2010)

Does it let you play sound clips?

It would be cool if it did... You could do stuff like setup a scene where two npcs are interacting ahead of time, and play it at the right time.


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## FreeXenon (Dec 3, 2010)

Very cool idea Scribble!


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## IronWolf (Dec 4, 2010)

Scribble said:


> Does it let you play sound clips?
> 
> It would be cool if it did... You could do stuff like setup a scene where two npcs are interacting ahead of time, and play it at the right time.




That could be pretty cool.  You can pull this off with Ventrilo with a little setup.


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## mac1504 (Dec 4, 2010)

Scribble said:


> Does it let you play sound clips?
> 
> It would be cool if it did... You could do stuff like setup a scene where two npcs are interacting ahead of time, and play it at the right time.




As I've been evaluating a few VTT solutions lately (d20pro, Maptoools, FG2, etc.) it doesn't seem that any of them do this natively. I've found one suggestion of linking an mp3 or any sound file to a shared online site for everyone to play, but that seems a bit clunky. It would be nice if someone had a solution to playing music and sound effects (outside of the system sounds that the VTT's sometimes play) inside of the application, or even an add-on solution.

I really like the idea of a scripted scene of dialog playing between NPCs.


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## Hussar (Dec 4, 2010)

AFAIK, the only VTT that allows you to play sound clips from within the VTT itself is OpenRPG. 

But, yah, this would be fantastic to have for a VTT.

BTW, you can sync youtube between multiple users with YouTube Social brought to you by Socialvision - www.socialvisioninc.com .  I dunno how well it works, I haven't tried it yet, but, it looks promising.


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## IronWolf (Dec 4, 2010)

mac1504 said:


> As I've been evaluating a few VTT solutions lately (d20pro, Maptoools, FG2, etc.) it doesn't seem that any of them do this natively. I've found one suggestion of linking an mp3 or any sound file to a shared online site for everyone to play, but that seems a bit clunky. It would be nice if someone had a solution to playing music and sound effects (outside of the system sounds that the VTT's sometimes play) inside of the application, or even an add-on solution.




If you are using Ventrilo for your voice chat with any of the VTT solutions mentioned above you can use this article to join a second ventrilo client to the channel connected directly to a Winamp instance.  Then you can use that instance of Winamp to play background music and sound effects during the course of an online VTT session.  It worked really well when I did this and allows you to play back music, sound effects and even pre-recorded NPC conversations if one wished.


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## UngainlyTitan (Dec 4, 2010)

IronWolf said:


> If you are using Ventrilo for your voice chat with any of the VTT solutions mentioned above you can use this article to join a second ventrilo client to the channel connected directly to a Winamp instance. Then you can use that instance of Winamp to play background music and sound effects during the course of an online VTT session. It worked really well when I did this and allows you to play back music, sound effects and even pre-recorded NPC conversations if one wished.



 The link does not apprear to be working when I click it I get 
http://this Article/


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## IronWolf (Dec 4, 2010)

ardoughter said:


> The link does not apprear to be working when I click it I get
> http://this Article/




Ooops!  My fault.  Corrected the original post and here is the link:

[GUIDE] Play Music Over Ventrilo


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## vic20 (Dec 7, 2010)

This thread got awfully quiet. Theories:

a) WotC sent out a batch of retroactive NDAs

b) A Tron virus sucked all the testers into "alpha space"

c) It's just. that. good.

d) ?


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## Ktulu (Dec 7, 2010)

C, from my point of view.  It's worked very well in the various tests I've gone through.  While it definitely needs some necessary features at go-live, it's a great tool for beta use, right now.

I haven't encountered much in the way of bugs or UDF's, and it seems to handle fairly well (much, much better than my failed attempts to ever use OpenRPG, and that was after hours of setup and installation).

I'm going to try and get some more play later this week, as two in my group have beta access, as well.


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## Aegeri (Dec 7, 2010)

vic20 said:


> This thread got awfully quiet.




I would think the most logical explanation is DnD is a game played on a weekly basis, so people with it are probably only really using it once a week or so. It will take some time for a good amount of gaming to be had by an individual group using the VTT.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Dec 7, 2010)

I don't have enough time between this and testing the Startrek Online Foundry (user Generated Content). But I did run a brief test session with [MENTION=90399]TheClone[/MENTION].

Some more or less random findings so far:


 On the right side, there are several expandable areas like initiative tracker and monster stats and the like. Unfortunately, they are mutally exclusive. At least the initiative tracker should be in some (maybe shortened) form always visible. Something like "Active Creature: " "Next Creature: " -> Next
 A lot of the map interactions are distributed among multiple "modes", like drag/paint and so on. I can see why it is done, but it's sometimes awkward to first have to switch modes.
To adjust hit points, you first need to open a modal dialog type popup. I would like if there was also a way to edit this "in place".
Currently I probably will stay with the GameTable I already use. But depending on whether we will get the ability to import icons and character and monster data from the respective builders, this could be really good.

I don't really like the design of the application. I suppose that's partially a problem with Java itself. If they had sticked to WPF or Silverlight, I am sure we would have something more attractive. (Platform independency be damned.)


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## Hussar (Dec 7, 2010)

Oh oh oh, Mustrum Ridcully just hit a personal pet peeve of mine with Maptools - customizable initiative tracker messages.

In Maptool, about all you get is a "X player's turn" message, and then, only if that token is a PC token.  It's a PITA to have to turn all the monsters into PC tokens.  Plus, if you mistakenly delete the token that was used to roll init, then that init slot is removed from the tracker.

Don't do that.

I want the initiative tracker to tell me who is up, AND who is on deck, plus, it should have a tone that you can turn on/off to let people know when turns change.  AND it should be set up in such a way that a player can advance his own turn.

The best would be if some sort of James Earl Jones esque voice came on every turn change and said, "Player X, it is your TURN, Player Y, you are on deck!".


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## Umbran (Dec 7, 2010)

vic20 said:


> This thread got awfully quiet. Theories:




I cannot speak for others - I got my own invite into the beta last week, and had some technical issues accessing the appropriate forum on WotC's site.  Since that time, I've had time to glance at the thing, but haven't gotten into a game to *use* the thing yet.

I would imagine it is similar for many - you play a game when you can fit it into your schedule, and you can find others ready to play.  That isn't every minute, you know.


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## Robtheman (Dec 8, 2010)

*Effect on RP and player interaction*

Situation:
- Large flat screen running the VT.
- Players passing a wireless mouse and pad around the couch.
- Two Beta accounts, one for the DM and one for the players.

Observations from a single three hour session.
1. The players rarely looked at each other.
2. The characters became less real to me, as they were now a small circle as opposed to our carefully selected and painted minis.
3. The players used less dialogue in combat. The final exchange of conversation with the newly introduced BBEG fell flat.

We basically used it as a battle mat, initiative tracker and dice rolling app.


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## wedgeski (Dec 8, 2010)

Robtheman said:


> We basically used it as a battle mat, initiative tracker and dice rolling app.



Interesting report, thanks. That would be about what I'd expect if you were to use a VT that way. I wonder if your experience would be different if the flat screen were, actually, flat, with the players arranged around it, i.e. an electronic battle-mat. There are a few threads around here that describe similar set-ups with by all accounts, excellent results.


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## RodneyThompson (Dec 8, 2010)

Robtheman said:


> We basically used it as a battle mat, initiative tracker and dice rolling app.




I actually ran the entire Age of Worms campaign for my 3E group in this fashion, with a virtual battlemat on my big screen TV. Some advice for overcoming the issues that you had:

Put something else on the screen when non-combat scenarios are taking place. I put the art from the Age of Worms campaign (the great head-shots and character illos done by Eva Wildermann) on the screen, and it really helped the players visualize who they were talking to.

During a combat, make it a point to look at players and speak directly to them, rather than at the screen. 

Hope these help future endeavors!


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## Hussar (Dec 9, 2010)

I was giving this some thought and here's a feature I REALLY hope to see, and one that would put the VTT well ahead of others.

1. The ability to designate tokens as allies.
2.  The abilty to have aura (and aura type abilities like a warlord's initiative bonus) take automatic effect on allied tokens.

That would be great.  I know that when I've used Maptools, I've forgotten leader auras from time to time and, when playing a warlord, I constantly have to remind the others to add their initiative bonus.  Having that sort of thing built right in would be fantastic.


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## TheClone (Dec 9, 2010)

Mustrum_Ridcully said:


> I don't really like the design of the application. I suppose that's partially a problem with Java itself. If they had sticked to WPF or Silverlight, I am sure we would have something more attractive. (Platform independency be damned.)




Now your mention is falling back on you, because I need to comment on that. I don't see any reason why the design has something to do with Java limitations. Are you referring to look of the app only? Because it looks nothing at all like Java, so there should be no problem in radically changing it. But if you will point out some specifics, I'll do so, too.

.NET is not all good, even if you like it  Even if your points will be limited by using Java I'll still prefer it, because I can run it anywhere without problems. Might not be applicable for Win-only users, but for everybody else.

Bit I can second the other points you made. I'll even have some more, but I have to refine my list to get something worth posting.


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## FabioMilitoPagliara (Dec 9, 2010)

Aegeri said:


> I would think the most logical explanation is DnD is a game played on a weekly basis, so people with it are probably only really using it once a week or so. It will take some time for a good amount of gaming to be had by an individual group using the VTT.




I can give you confirmation, after the first play last friday I intented to play again tomorrow but that will be postponed to monday 

ps: I am in the BETA


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## Riastlin (Dec 9, 2010)

vic20 said:


> This thread got awfully quiet. Theories:
> 
> a) WotC sent out a batch of retroactive NDAs
> 
> ...




I just received my invite about 10 minutes ago, so hopefully I can tell you in a few days.  Unfortunately, not positive when I'll be able to get on and try it out due to a death in the family.


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## AnthonyRoberson (Dec 9, 2010)

Just got my invite. Plan on running a 1E game soon!


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## Stumblewyk (Dec 9, 2010)

Just wanted to jump in and say that I just got my invite this afternoon as well.  I'm hoping that I can try this thing out without having to offer to run a game.  I really don't have time for that right now. =/


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## OnlineDM (Dec 9, 2010)

I, too, just received my beta invitation.  I hope to set up the 4e Home Encounters adventures as a trial run for the program.  Anyone else who has the beta and who is interested in playing in such a game, let me know!


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## TirionAnthion (Dec 9, 2010)

It sounds like a new round of Beta invites has gone out. I found an invite awaiting me in my inbox this morning. I have to study for finals this weekend so my time will be limited. After that, I am on christmas break and will have loads of free time to play with the program.

I am looking forward to giving this a whirl and seeing how it works. I do not really use Virtual Tabletop software but I am hoping that this program might change that. I live in the country so being able to skip a 2hr round trip drive to play D&D should improve the frequency of my gaming.


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## Rydac (Dec 10, 2010)

Also got invite today...thanks to a friend!
Really looking forward to trying this out both
as player and DM. I'll post back here for any 
interested ENworlders when I'm ready to run
a table.


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## stonegod (Dec 10, 2010)

Rydac said:


> Also got invite today...thanks to a friend!
> Really looking forward to trying this out both
> as player and DM. I'll post back here for any
> interested ENworlders when I'm ready to run
> a table.



I'll keep an I out.


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## UngainlyTitan (Dec 10, 2010)

Like a good little beta tester I finally managed to break it 

Serious memory leaks in the drawing tools 

So some mates of mine have invites so I plan to see what else we can break. 

Other than that I have been pretty impressed.


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## WalterKovacs (Dec 11, 2010)

Just got my invite recently too. Haven't mucked about too much because of finals, and I'll be heading home and stuck with pretty much just an iPad over Xmas. Hopefully I can try a bit more stuff out in the new year, until then it will be mostly messing about with encounter planning for my Dark Sun Campaign.


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## Bold or Stupid (Dec 11, 2010)

My invite appeared yesterday. haven't had chance to play with it yet but will be trying later tonight, may talk mad plans with a friend and run a game on his flat screen TV.


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## abyssaldeath (Dec 11, 2010)

I got my invite this week and played a little last night. The character information needs work, especially need to add inventory. The way it is right now you need to have a character sheet in front of you to go along with your character in the VT.


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## stonegod (Dec 13, 2010)

abyssaldeath said:


> I got my invite this week and played a little last night. The character information needs work, especially need to add inventory. The way it is right now you need to have a character sheet in front of you to go along with your character in the VT.



I've played some as well. Aside from CB character import, it was fun enough.

For inventory, we just put i on the "Notes" section of our sheet (as with class features and feats). Works, but may not be ideal depending upon how much you want from your character information.


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## Stumblewyk (Dec 13, 2010)

Played in an 8-person (7 PC) one-shot on Friday night on the VTT.  It worked well enough.  The largest issue we ran into was that with that many people, we invariably ended up talking over each other.  But that was the product of there being 8 people in there.

Even so, with 8 people, it worked VERY smoothly.  There was some annoying lag, but not enough to ruin things.

Key complaints are exactly what everyone else has been reporting.  My understanding is that a number of issues brought up before have already been addressed by the dev team.  So I have hopes that these things will be taken care of.


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## Than (Apr 30, 2011)

I may have missed it, but I did read the thread and there is one question I have:

Does this map application require the DM's PC to be on running it for a player to access it?

I ask this as I wonder if it would be good for play by post games, where of course the DM may not have his PC on when the player makes a turn.  So if his map application is hosted 24/7 by the server and can be accessed by all at anytime regardless of if DM's PC is on or not then this may be good for PBP...


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## Dannager (Apr 30, 2011)

Than said:


> I may have missed it, but I did read the thread and there is one question I have:
> 
> Does this map application require the DM's PC to be on running it for a player to access it?
> 
> I ask this as I wonder if it would be good for play by post games, where of course the DM may not have his PC on when the player makes a turn.  So if his map application is hosted 24/7 by the server and can be accessed by all at anytime regardless of if DM's PC is on or not then this may be good for PBP...




The VTT currently works on a ticket-based system. The DM starts a game up, and can invite players. Players have to enter a ticket code to join a game, and once they enter that code they can hop in and out of that game as much as they want for 24 hours (I believe). That's how it's set up at the moment.

Whether this stays the same or will change upon release remains to be seen, but it is currently not set up in a way that would allow you to easily run a PbP, as you would need to enter a new ticket code every day in order to make your move. The system is designed to facilitate live, online games.


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## Than (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks Dannager.

We are running a hosted mapper designed for PBP and wondered if the DDI VT would be better for PBP.  From what you say it seems at the moment we are better to stick with the PBP mapper we have.

You can read our discussion here if you fancy:
Play by Post, Dice Roller, Demo Map, Web Map Maker • View topic - DDI Virtual Table Beta


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## Blastin (Apr 30, 2011)

Just got an invite for the beta and am hoping to give it a try this weekend...


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## Blastin (May 1, 2011)

just finished playing my first game on the table. Tobytad was kind enough to run a group of us through the pregen module Kalarel's return (or something like that).

We ran through with the pregen characters from the character builder, I played Croog, the death warpriest.

I was pretty impressed with the table. From a player's side, it seemed to work pretty well. The combats ran at about as long as some of the first games I played in. There were about 4/5 players that were on the table for the first time, so I don't think it was too bad.

Everything was pretty intuitive, especially considering that I have never played on any kind of virtual table. The toggles and controls all seems pretty well placed and easy to use/figure out. It can be used to keep track of encounter/daily power use, healing surges, action points, HP, temp HP, ect, but these were all manual toggles.

The dice roller is nice in that there is a dice button next to each power and skill that you just hit and it factors in many mods to the roll. It doesn't add flanking/combat advantage, or bonuses granted by another character, so you still have to remember those. The table also lets you lay down AoE templates for attacks, zones and auras.

So, for my first use of any kind of virtual table...I'm impressed, and could absolutely see using it again.


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## Baron Von Mandrick (May 2, 2011)

I really like the table.  I think the ability to integrate from the CB helps immensely.  Not having to use a separate program for sound is also huge in my opinion.  There are still some issues with the table, and I'm anxious to see what improvements continue to be made.


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## Raunalyn (May 6, 2011)

Building the encounters and maps is a bit more troublesome. I'm currently building the 4e version of The Village of Hommlet, and I'm having a few problems setting it up, but nothing major.

One thing I did notice that is slightly annoying is that importing characters and monsters just gives a generic token. The only way to differentiate them is to change the auras of the token, or hover over the token to see the name. Does anyone know a way to change the token picture, even if its to one of the generic built-in pictures in the VTT?

When it's done (shouldn't be too much longer...probably Saturday), I'm quite willing to run the game for any who are interested.


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## Baron Von Mandrick (May 6, 2011)

Raunalyn said:


> Building the encounters and maps is a bit more troublesome. I'm currently building the 4e version of The Village of Hommlet, and I'm having a few problems setting it up, but nothing major.
> 
> One thing I did notice that is slightly annoying is that importing characters and monsters just gives a generic token. The only way to differentiate them is to change the auras of the token, or hover over the token to see the name. Does anyone know a way to change the token picture, even if its to one of the generic built-in pictures in the VTT?
> 
> When it's done (shouldn't be too much longer...probably Saturday), I'm quite willing to run the game for any who are interested.



There is a way to add a little more variety to the token.  It is in fact one of the generic built in pictures in the VTT.

I don't know if it works for monsters or not, but as far as characters go to the PC character sheet, select "edit".  Then right click the picture on the character sheet, I think it will say something like "change token" or something close to that.  Then select one of those pictures that are on the VTT and then select "save" near the "edit" button.

That will change the character's token from the generic dragon image. 

 I don't really DM so I don't know about the monster tokens, but as I think about it in the adventures I've played they all were generic with numbers on them to differentiate for when there are more than one at a time.


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