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So apparently WotC has cut a deal to allow licensed content to be sold and used on Roll20. Players can purchase modules and play them all on Roll20. I think this is similar to what GameSpace wanted, isn't it?
I can't help but wonder if this wouldn't be a better model for Paizo - GameSpace seems to be well behind schedule and now your top competitors are first to workable online official gaming content.
Is GameSpace as currently envisioned still a viable route forward?
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My guess is not. The latest official announcement is that it is "not dead" but also not being actively developed, nor is it scheduled to be actively developed any time in the near future. As another poster put it in that board. Not sure what definition of "dead" they're using, but something that isn't being actively developed, nor even has the slightest esoteric idea of a schedule to be developed, is more than likely dead, and just waiting for the coroner's official report.
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I've been advocating this for years now, and I still do. Adventure Paths and VTTs are a natural pairing, and there is no better VTT right now than Roll20.
Just last week I cancelled a session of Legacy of Fire due to a lack of prep time. I have certain standards when it comes to executing an adventure path in VTT, and it takes time to set up. That is something I would gladly pay to have done for me in advance.
How much has roll 20 improved in the last 2 years (last time i tried it)? Does it handle complex macros and all the fancy stuff I can do with Maptool yet?
Depends on what you mean by "complex" and "fancy". If you give me an example, I could tell you if that is possible (to my knowledge) with roll20. Otherwise I'm afraid you will have to do the work yourself and check the Roll20 Wiki.
On another note, roll20 has also released a free 5E module that even credits a certain Liz Courts for layout.
So paizo already has someone who knows the ropes of roll20, they have the assets (in terms of artwork, maps, and so on), and apparently the general willingness to produce digital content (see Game Space).
I really, really, REALLY wished they would finally jump aboard. Maybe because I do most of my gaming on roll20 these days I have a bit of a biased perception, but I am genuinely worried that paizo is missing out on a significant chunk of the market there and WotC is more than happy to snatch that from them.
How much has roll 20 improved in the last 2 years (last time i tried it)? Does it handle complex macros and all the fancy stuff I can do with Maptool yet?
They're definitely catching up. I'm not sure what your MapTool setup could do, but the Roll20 approach -- using an actual API and javascript instead of the unholy mutant that was MapTool scripting -- is vastly superior.
As a result, it's possible to do incredible things with Roll20 and the developments are coming out faster than they used to in MapTool. Plus, you can use a proper IDE to work with the API, where MapTool forced you to either count brackets or create a special text editor plugin. Let's be real here, MapTool macros were never intended to do what they ended up doing, and it's really kind of silly and brutal to work with.
That said, some of the more esoteric but wonderful features of MapTool haven't been replicated... yet. Specifically, I'm thinking of the interactions between lighting reveals and Fog of War. There are requests in the upvoting system to replicate that.
But if you see the forest for the trees, you'll see that Roll20 already has a ton of features that MapTool does not. For a social application, the web interface is VASTLY superior in terms of speed and ease of use. The formalized structure for individual code contributions in scripting and character sheets make it so that you can leverage community creations without knowing any code at all.
Compared to two years ago, Roll20 is has come an incredibly long way. But considering their methodology, I'm betting on them for the long haul. It's not perfect, but it's better than anything else I've used, MapTool included.
I have to say I still prefer MapTool with all its warts to Roll20.
Roll20 is definitely easier to get connected, but as far as I can tell macros cannot be used to manipulate any part of the character sheet and have no ability to make use of variables in any form.
For me, that's critically important. I also find the interface much clunkier than MapTool.
Roll20 is definitely easier to get connected, but as far as I can tell macros cannot be used to manipulate any part of the character sheet and have no ability to make use of variables in any form.
I believe that you can manipulate the character sheet using scripts with a Pro subscription. Might be wrong here, though, because I don't have one.
You can definitely use variables in macros though, even with a free account:
/roll 1d20 + ?{Modifier|0}
for example rolls a d20 and asks the user to enter a variable modifier in a popup window with the default value of 0.
Yes, it does.
It also "remembers" the value later in the macro if it is written the same way.
So for example you could turn on and off point-blank shot in your attack macro like this:
Attack [[1d20 + ?{PBS?|0}]] Damage [[1d8 + ?{PBS?|0}]]
The macro would only ask you once for the PBS modifier and will apply the same mod to the second roll.
You can also have a drop-down prompt to choose on of several options or call another macro.
Here are a few examples: Roll20 wiki
I should have been more specific. You are correct that I can have a script that prompts me for a value, and will continue to re-use that value. It doesn't store it anywhere, however (for later use).
I don't have a pro subscription. I'd need a *lot* more functionality before I'd spring for an ongoing cost.
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I do wonder if the contracts that Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds have with WotC bar them from making the same kinds of deals with Paizo. I wouldn't put that kind of deal past Hasbro/WotC.
Still it would be nice if Paizo worked with the current big two VTT as well, I remember being excited for Game Space when I first heard about it, but years later I am still using Fantasy Grounds because nothing came of it.
That's my cynical grumblings for the morning. :P
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It's not dead.... It's just in persistent, vegative state. It no longer responds to outside stimuli and it has no signs of brain activity. The only thing keeping it alive is this thread.
It sucks. I had high hopes for this and I hate to see it waste away.
At the very least it should be begin a honorable, merciful death so that it doesn't suffer any longer.
At least then we could morn it's passing and move on with a sense of closure.
SM
I do wonder if the contracts that Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds have with WotC bar them from making the same kinds of deals with Paizo. I wouldn't put that kind of deal past Hasbro/WotC.
Still it would be nice if Paizo worked with the current big two VTT as well, I remember being excited for Game Space when I first heard about it, but years later I am still using Fantasy Grounds because nothing came of it.
That's my cynical grumblings for the morning. :P
System agnosticism has long been a core goal of Roll20, so my guess is that they wouldn't sign on for that. But I might certainly be wrong. It would be a bummer if that were the case.
System agnosticism has long been a core goal of Roll20, so my guess is that they wouldn't sign on for that. But I might certainly be wrong. It would be a bummer if that were the case.
I hope so. I am not a Roll20 user really (only as a player for one campaign) so I don't tend to follow their news. I know for Fantasy Grounds at least they've made a very strong push to show they have the D&D content and tend to only really talk about D&D on their social media now.
They're still supporting PFRPG and others, it just doesn't seem to be their outward focus for marketing.
I hope so. I am not a Roll20 user really (only as a player for one campaign) so I don't tend to follow their news. I know for Fantasy Grounds at least they've made a very strong push to show they have the D&D content and tend to only really talk about D&D on their social media now.
They're still supporting PFRPG and others, it just doesn't seem to be their outward focus for marketing.
Roll20 does a bunch of analytics to see who's playing what on their site. They even publish the results quarterly.
Of course, D&D makes a huge percentage of the gameplay, as does Pathfinder. But the sum of all those other games is a non-trivial amount of users.
It's a fabulous marketing vehicle for both parties. To bring it back around, I'd really love to see Paizo get in on that marketplace, especially because it would keep the medium diverse.