I have a bunch of friends who want to play but most of them live in different places. Does anyone know of good sites/resources for remote gaming? I know a friend who skypes in a remote player and they set up a webcam to look at the minis but that's only one player. All of mine except one would be remote and we're looking at 6 players. From previous experience with podcasts it seems that Skype has issues with quality once you get beyond four people on a call and that's with an audio-only conference.
I've heard that there are more gaming specific type tools to use and I'd like to try and experiment with several of them to see what works. Any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
roll20 is the site that me and my friends use. I'd go elsewhere for communication but it works very well for the game itself.
Roll20 is something I would recommend for maps, dice rolling, and chatting.
Skype should work if you want audio even with larger conferences but if you want something else look into teamspeak, ventrillo, or mumble.
D20Pro offers more than Roll20 and I use it in conjunction with Skype. However, D20Pro costs money (not much for what you get) while I think Roll20 is free.
D20Pro Unlimited looks very exciting if you want to check it out. It is the new version of D20Pro which I think will set it apart from every other VTT:
Maptools is pretty solid
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I prefer the populist approach to online GMing & play: Google Hangouts for voice & video, with Roll20 for the RPG virtual tabletop. It's not the best online play experience, nor the most sophisticated tools. It is the approach that just works on the first try. This approach provides a simple, fun, and practical online game experience. Here's my suggestion for the most reliable, least technically challenged approach to online RPGs:
1. Each participant gets a Google account. It can be specifically and only for online RPG play, if that's what you want. Learn the basics of audio & video conferences through Hangouts. Do that well before attempting an actual game. A good headset microphone and a quiet environment are vital.
Note: If you really want to use some other voice chat system, feel free. I've had good game experiences using Mumble, TeamSpeak, Skype, and others. It should be the GM's choice. The GM should also set standards, such as 'must be able to speak and listen' or 'must be able to listen and type'.
2. Each participant gets a Roll20 account. Learn the basics of using the Roll20 virtual tabletop. Watch a couple 10 minutes training videos.
3. Choose a method of scheduling. It could be as simple as email, or as complex as custom web-based software. Considering time zone issues, consider scheduling all events in UTC time.
4. The GM sends out invite emails a few hours or days before game start time.
This approach is simple and very reliable. Once you have experienced some successful online sessions you might consider checking out the array of sophisticated tools under development. Here are some suggestions about getting started at online game from the PFS online collective.
Have fun!
I agree with all of the Roll20 people. You can also pay a small monthly fee to add access to dynamic lighting, which acts as a way to limit a characters visibility and a type of fog of war (while also adding some RP qualities that are hard to replicate in person) a slightly higher monthly fee to get dev server access which allows for animations and character sheets inside of the roll20 server.
For audio my group uses skype. And for scheduling we have a facebook group setup for our campaigns. So we can have open chats of any questions or possible homebrew, while also allowing for events to be set up to establish times.
It looks like a lot of you have experience with roll20, but I'm interested in the perspective on D20 pro as well. I try to be as organic as possible with my games and when playing in person I have used a mat that allows me to draw the locations with dry erase markers. This allows me to modify things on the fly or draw locations that I didn't even realize that I'd need to use because of player decisions. (Oh you're going to pick a fight at the inn? Sheesh) It looks to me from the tutorials that it would take forever to ad hoc a location on roll20 as it seems like you need to spend a lot of time setting up the map in advance. How easy is it to modify things on the fly?
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We create roll20 maps and environments 'on the fly' all the time. I'll usually call a 5 minute break to generate a new combat environment, where I wasn't prepared. It's a matter of familiarity.
Use whatever VTT you want, but I think you and your players will find that Roll20 is easier to start with than d20 pro. Same with Google Hangouts. I suggest you play 3-4 sessions that way, then investigate other options.
What you don't want to do is choose such a technically challenging game environment that some of your players give up in frustration. I've seen a lot of new online GMs make this mistake. It also depends on how technically adept is your group. If all your players know how to build the linux kernel from source then, well, go crazy with technical expectations.
Perhaps plan out several different options, have your group try out each, and see what works. But only do that if your players enjoy technology: if they want it to 'just work' then go for the simple options.
I usually try to have a couple "generic" maps (indoors, outdoors, underground) set up at all times with rough lighting and backdrop already set, and a couple pre-built NPC's sitting off to the side (generic commoners or a couple of mooks). That way all I have to do is draw the layout which happens pretty quickly.
If you are smart about it you can easily crank out an unplanned location during a pee break.
Map Tools. As someone whose experienced a majority of his P&P RPG online for over 5 years now, using a multitude of systems, I can't recommend Map Tools enough. It does have the issue of set up, which can be a little burdensome on the front end, but the back end pay off is well worth it, especially for a long running game with friends.
First, you can store everything you make. Over my years of GMing I have a bestiary of over 600 Monsters (plus an additional 100 for my darksun game and about 50 for my current steam punk game) so often, I have everything there to drop any encounter that may pop up and have all the resources at my fingertips. I have 100's of spells programmed in that can run with a single click and 100's of NPC's all set up. Roll20 can't handle that. You make something once, and its gone after that.
I can also program complex macros and tokens. Roll20 can't handle this. You loose everything and it can't hold onto data outside of that one campaign.
If you ever play something thats not a D20 system, map tools is pretty much a requirement. The complex macros for like D100 or D6 cannot currently be done on roll20.
The mapping is better in map tools. Roll20 does a pretty good job with dynamic vision and lighting if your a paid user though. You don't need to pay to use it in map tools though.
All together, it does take some work up front, but the pay off is huge. I can prep entire PFS scenarios in 20 minutes if I get a lucky role on which monsters are in it. I also have fully programmed tokens, so running it is MUCH faster than in roll20.
Anyway, just my two cents on VTT.
For Voice I use Dolby Axon. Its free and pretty solid. It also takes a little front end work but I love it. You can break rooms apart so you can got to private chats and has a myriad of other options. Just google Dolby Axon, its the first thing to pop up.
Map Tools. As someone whose experienced a majority of his P&P RPG online for over 5 years now, using a multitude of systems, I can't recommend Map Tools enough. It does have the issue of set up, which can be a little burdensome on the front end, but the back end pay off is well worth it, especially for a long running game with friends.
I might have to look into this. How user friendly in comparison to roll20 is this?
Roll 20 run in a google hangout has worked perfect for me.
I might have to look into this. How user friendly in comparison to roll20 is this?Map Tools. As someone whose experienced a majority of his P&P RPG online for over 5 years now, using a multitude of systems, I can't recommend Map Tools enough. It does have the issue of set up, which can be a little burdensome on the front end, but the back end pay off is well worth it, especially for a long running game with friends.
For the players, outside of initial set up its the same as for roll 20. You write macros almost exactly the same, except you only use one bracket instead of two. If someone has programming experience (or feels like reading) they can make much more complicated macros, but its far from necessary.
If your interested you can contact me on skype, my handle is underableedingsun. I'd be more than happy to share my player installation file and my pathfinder framework and bestiary.
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I've played games in both Map Tools and Roll20, also. When I said
not the best online play experience, nor the most sophisticated tools
I was specifically referring to maptools, as the best online play experience I've encountered and also the most sophisticated tool set I've encountered. I agree with the above poster that Map Tools is excellent. For a long-running game with technically capable players it's great.
Thing is, Map Tools has a steeper learning curve than Roll20. It's not the VTT with which to start unless someone is prepared to invest the time to teach you how it works. Start with the simple option that just works. Try out a few sessions. Once you have some experience with the genre, then check out the various sophisticated tools. You will then be better able to appreciate them.
I've played games in both Map Tools and Roll20, also. When I said
not the best online play experience, nor the most sophisticated toolsI was specifically referring to maptools, as the best online play experience I've encountered and also the most sophisticated tool set I've encountered. I agree with the above poster that Map Tools is excellent. For a long-running game with technically capable players it's great.
Thing is, Map Tools has a steeper learning curve than Roll20. It's not the VTT with which to start unless someone is prepared to invest the time to teach you how it works. Start with the simple option that just works. Try out a few sessions. Once you have some experience with the genre, then check out the various sophisticated tools. You will then be better able to appreciate them.
Really good advise in this and your other posting above. I love complex things, so I frequently forget that lots of people don't.
Really good advise in this and your other posting above. I love complex things, so I frequently forget that lots of people don't.I've played games in both Map Tools and Roll20, also. When I said
not the best online play experience, nor the most sophisticated toolsI was specifically referring to maptools, as the best online play experience I've encountered and also the most sophisticated tool set I've encountered. I agree with the above poster that Map Tools is excellent. For a long-running game with technically capable players it's great.
Thing is, Map Tools has a steeper learning curve than Roll20. It's not the VTT with which to start unless someone is prepared to invest the time to teach you how it works. Start with the simple option that just works. Try out a few sessions. Once you have some experience with the genre, then check out the various sophisticated tools. You will then be better able to appreciate them.
Checkout D20Pro. I've been investigating it and just bought a GM license today. Looks very promising.
Really good advise in this and your other posting above. I love complex things, so I frequently forget that lots of people don't.I've played games in both Map Tools and Roll20, also. When I said
not the best online play experience, nor the most sophisticated toolsI was specifically referring to maptools, as the best online play experience I've encountered and also the most sophisticated tool set I've encountered. I agree with the above poster that Map Tools is excellent. For a long-running game with technically capable players it's great.
Thing is, Map Tools has a steeper learning curve than Roll20. It's not the VTT with which to start unless someone is prepared to invest the time to teach you how it works. Start with the simple option that just works. Try out a few sessions. Once you have some experience with the genre, then check out the various sophisticated tools. You will then be better able to appreciate them.
I tried both. I decided on D20Pro.
Roll20 did seem easier in some ways but possibly not in others. Because your doing everything through a browser and ultimately on a server at various points, Roll20 seemed to me at times to be annoyingly slow -- just by a small number of seconds over and over again.