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Hey!
I'm looking into leveling up my programming skills. So, I'm thinking of creating a few programs to help my group (and other groups) enhance thier playing. One thing I note is that it's a great burden to DM, I wanna try to make some software to help with that, to prepare encounters etc... Second, I have a few friends that play over skype, and I want to help them have alot of fun even though playing through a computer is difficult. Here are my questions (lots of responses would be extremely helpful)
1. To you DM's, whats the hardest thing about DMing? What part is most enjoyable? Least enjoyable?
2. To people who play over skype, Whats the hardest part of playing long distance? What would make it easier?
Thanks in advance guys!
1. Its not really any different than face to face really. Sure they cant see your face or body movements but you can still gm just fine online. The main problem is if your skype connection is weak, theres nothing worse than doing a description and you voice goes all robotic or worse, doesnt register at all. I recommend another program like ventrillo or mumble, much better voice quality.
2. I actually think its easier to keep the online schedule since there isnt travel involved. Ymmv ofc. If you want to make it a little easier and more like a tabletop try out one of the many virtual tabletops such as maptools.or roll20 both work very well and have a ton of nifty functions. Roll20 even has a video conference.mode ao if you have a webcam you can see everyone.
All in all i think i prefer online to face to face, but thats just me.
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Hi
GM'ing: I'm absolutely useless at the technical stuff - so I get my friend to set up the maps, tokens etc for me. He stays online to do the tech support, leaving me to GM.
Downside is that my ISP provider has 'upgraded' my modem to a router, so I can't host MapTools any more.
There is also the issue of some Java versions not being compatible with Maptools.
Recently one of our GM's has had issues with maptools saving files under alternate jpg/png (?) suffixes, and he's not checked each one. That has led to system 'hangs' as players can't load maps.
Also if players move ort interact with their tokens whilst others are still loading maps the system will hang.
Gaming via Skype:
Main issue is the loss of the 'personal touch'. Without body signals players often talk over eachother, so can't be heard.
Then there's the issue of differing time zones. (Our regular groups include USA, Canada, UK, Ireland etc).LOL
Thanks
Paul H
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Playing online being "difficult" is a bit of an excuse to avoid trying to fix the problems associated with it. It's like saying playing in person is difficult because the people you play with never use deodorant.
Here are the most common problems, and what needs to be done to alleviate it:
- Unclear voices. A mumbling GM will be a problem online or in person. If you're a GM reading out a wall of text from a scenario, copy/paste that wall of text into chat as well so players can read it as well. Denying them this means subjecting them to confusion. Even an accent can make things difficult, doubly so if your natural accent is different from their natural accent. And anytime you do read from a wall of text, read it slowly, and use pauses.
- Bad connections. If you can't have a normal conversation over your voice chat program, and the game involves voice chat, Pathfinder isn't your problem. Get a better microphone, or get your connection checked up with either your geekier friends or your ISP. Doing nothing about it and trying to play a game is a recipe for disaster.
- VTT bugs. Honestly, every VTT has its issues and there's no real solution here except to bear it as best you can, or to stick with another one until those issues get sorted out. The one I use, CA, has a "Web Server" mode which is a last-resort for GMs needing to use something-anything when they have a firewall in the way, but will cause disconnections. Maptool has the Java issue PaulH mentioned above and Roll20 has its own problems as well. If it's something on your end and you want to keep using that VTT, then install the version of Java it requires, or disable that firewall, or whatever you need to do. This issue might be the hardest to prevent against, but there might be something you can do - investigate and ask around. Stay open minded, because there's plenty of people who favour one VTT and will discredit the rest. It's almost always personal preference.
- Time management. This is dependent on a lot of things, but everyone at the table can do a lot to keep games moving. Less distracting chatter, GM controlling lengthy delays, players controlling lengthy delays, creative solutions that avoid long encounters, have your move ready before your turn, have your rolls ready before your turn. If you're not metagaming, it can even be kosher to do some discussion of tactics in private message for the sake of saving time.
- Environment background noise. Because you're wearing headsets, background noise goes right into everyone's ears. Solution is straightforward - game from a quieter area. Common courtesy.
And the benefits?
- No travel time, except to your desk (but still, be at least 15 minutes early, or even an hour early to check in). Because it's easier to be there early, the earlier the players get there to muster, the more prep time you have before the scenario, the more likely you are to survive. The game can even start early and finish early, or give you more time during the game should you need it.
- Chat. This is really underrated. Some people simply don't like using their voice to roleplay, or at all. Reading a wall of text. Some people roleplay better in chat. Tracking what happened and when. Walking away from a minute to grab a drink and coming back to catch everything you missed without being a distraction.
- Searchable rulebooks. Including online sources like the PRD or messageboards for any obscure rulings.
- Spontaneous games. If you haven't signed up for a game, you might get lucky and find a game being run within an hour or so if there are slots open or a GM just feels like running one. This is happening more often recently in the chat room I'm in all the time for anyone who's lurking or chatting, and the Pathfinder Society Online Collective on google groups occasionally has a post popping up about a game that hadn't been scheduled.
That's off the top of my head.
Avavtar said it better than i. Also thanks for the link to the site, i'll have to check that out later.
Hey!
I'm looking into leveling up my programming skills. So, I'm thinking of creating a few programs to help my group (and other groups) enhance thier playing. One thing I note is that it's a great burden to DM, I wanna try to make some software to help with that, to prepare encounters etc... Second, I have a few friends that play over skype, and I want to help them have alot of fun even though playing through a computer is difficult. Here are my questions (lots of responses would be extremely helpful)
1. To you DM's, whats the hardest thing about DMing? What part is most enjoyable? Least enjoyable?
2. To people who play over skype, Whats the hardest part of playing long distance? What would make it easier?
Thanks in advance guys!
We use Skype when there is just the one long distance player and we also have used Google Hangout when there was two long distance players. It worked fine. I actually felt that Hangout worked better for reasons I cannot articulate. We have not tried the d20 VTT or its ilk. The hardest part I have found DMing with persons over Skype is I find I often have to repeat myself or hearing what the players are saying. Speak into the mic, please. Could be the connection or other things also.
Also, I'm not quite sure I am tracking your question #1. Do you mean DMing in general or DMing over Skype?
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So there's already some VTT's out there, didn't know that.
I think a couple of the idea's that I was going for were more DM resources. Such as rules searching, monster handling (helps keep track of buffs/health/debuffs and what their dice rolls ought to be), quick monster/npc creation, loot tables, etc. With the little experience I've had DMing, I've found that there's alot of mundane tasks that gotta get done that I don't particularly enjoy, such as pre-planning TONS of stuff.
So, I decided that because I need the practice and some resume material I want to try and create some tools specifically for DM's and distance based DM groups.
So the things I like about DMing:
The role playing
The chance to think of crazy and interesting encounters
Having fun messing with player's head (In the nice way of course)
Creating a story, and a world
The things I find a little... tedious:
Dealing with loot tables
Designing encounters (at least with the minuet details)
Constantly looking up rules for various minuet details
But thats so far. I'm still new to DMing, but I figure if I could create some tools to help with all of this, it would encourage more DM's, which I think is always in demand.
What are some tools that, as a DM, would help speed up the preparation or help you DM?
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Frodo you don't really have to do any of those tedious parts if you get into Pathfinder Society or get an Adventure Path.
It sounds like you're trying to create your own from scratch - that's much tougher, and I'd never recommend it for a new GM.
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I'm poor folk :(
Pathfinder society is a 4 hour car ride from here, and with a job and and school I don't have time to start my own chapter.
An Adventure path has crossed my mind... but that forgoes one of the things I really enjoy about being DM: creating my world and having others live in it.
That might sound control freakish, I try not to be, but you get the point.
I don't think I'm the only one with that ideal in their head.
There are already some loot and encounter generators on the internet (Google fu, activate!). Also for rule minutia there is d20pfsrd.com and the official paizo one as well.
What I think is needed is a better online random loot generator than is out there.
I Skyped for 3 years with my old local gaming group (just recently moved back so that makes me happy) where I played in two games a week (3.5 and Pathfinder) and GMed once a week (L5R). Some of the big issues:
* Camera positioning: You need to play around for a bit till you find a spot where whoever is on skype can see all the players and the other way around.
* Good mic: If this is going to be a more permanent situation or at least long term all parties should invest in good microphones ($50-$100). We did it with bad mics for a while and when we finally switched it made a HUGE difference.
* Good connection: Make sure roommates or family are not taking up bandwidth with video streaming, gaming or downloading.
* Decent camera: You can get a pretty solid webcam for under $50. It is not absolutely necessary but if you have someone who uses a lot of facial expressions or other body language a lot it does help.
Pros:
* Easy access to electronic tools: You can grab your pdf, dice rollers and all sorts of other things quite easily.
* Secret messages: Running my L5R game there is a lot of conspiracy and secrets going on. My Scorpion player (the sneaky ninja people for those not familiar with L5R) could send me secret messages via skype easily which made the job of doing the "dirty work" a lot easiser. Even now she uses her nook for game (we use the Obsidian Portal website) and sends me secret messages while I sit behind my DM screen and laptop.
* Timing: If EVERYONE is using Skype then it makes arranging games a lot easier since it allows more flexibility in schedule.
I hate making encounter maps for virtual tabletops. It takes more time than I would like it to.
There's a group of graduate students at the Rochester Institute of Technology who has been developing a similar tool built on the Google+ platform.
I did baseline playtesting for them in the early stages by running a Pathfinder game online for them to observe, and they're entering the final stages of playtesting now. In any case, their professor is a friend of mine, and I'll share their results in this forum when the product goes public.
PM sent, Blueluck!
Our group uses Google Hangout if someone is not able to be physically present. We found that Skype develops a lag over time (especially if one side has a lower bandwidth connection) that Hangout does not.
I think that Hangout trades lower quality video for better audio transmission, but I have nothing to back that up.
I have also found it helpful to mute my mic when I'm not talking if I'm the distant player. That way, my background noise does not activate my mic and cut out the distant end mic.
For sending secret messages, I usually just email the GM. His phone tells him when he gets an email.
-Aaron
One of the first things I create in any VTT are big, easy-to-use buttons for "AFK" and "Back".
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I'm poor folk :(
Pathfinder society is a 4 hour car ride from here, and with a job and and school I don't have time to start my own chapter.
You want to play online.
Check:
- the Online Play forum, or
- register on pfrpg.com.au to get invites to games, or
- take a look at the Pathfinder Society Online Collective google group.
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Notes on a couple of these things:
* Camera positioning: You need to play around for a bit till you find a spot where whoever is on skype can see all the players and the other way around.
I've been playing online for about 12 years and never, ever used my webcam in a game. Very optional. As a GM, I'd kind of prefer my players didn't switch theirs on - I think it's a distraction at best, or hampers needed bandwidth at worst. It's not worth it for people making faces.
* Good mic: If this is going to be a more permanent situation or at least long term all parties should invest in good microphones ($50-$100).
A good mic doesn't need to cost minimum $50. Mine was $30, and I've paid about $10-$12 for a good one before. The requirement is just "not a garbage one", really.