Is fog of war a thing in Fantasy Grounds?

[Griogre]

Welcome to the boards, Fynious. You points are good, and dynamic FoW *is* one of the most requested enhancements. Like others, I suspect a large part of their migration of FG over to Unity is to accommodate the requests for a better graphics subsystem.

The reason you might see some push back against FoW is that for a small development team like SmiteWorks, they can only work on a few things at once. If I don't care about FoW then the time they are working on it, *is* the time they are not working on things I might care about like ruleset improvements, better effects, improved automation, better drag and drop, etc. I personally don't care about FoW, I'm a minimalist when it comes to prep time, and the time to set up light blockers isn't worth it to me for my games. However, I agree that for FG to remain competitive they are going to have to implement FoW eventually.

[Fynious]

Griogre, thanks for the welcome. You have a valid point in that some players would not want time wasted on a feature that they are not interested in or think is a complete waste of time. But that's why I think the voting is a good thing, it helps Smiteworks see what is the most popular feature that is wanted by players using their software. With that in mind, we have to remember this is still a product that might mean the world to lots of people but in the end, Smiteworks wants to make money with this product. I think that is clearly shown in the start up costs (Which I personally have no problem with.). If they didn't care, the software would just be free. With that in mind I think he would be prudent for Smiteworks to work on the features that are the most popular along with of course patching and updating the current builds.

I guess in the end, I just want as a lot of people said a one stop shop for a VTT solution. Personally I think with the new WoTC license, along with others they already have they are moving in the right direction. If they are able to get the engine updated to Unity, a good portion of the "Most Wanted" feature sets, they will move a long with towards being the defacto VTT solution. I purchased all of the 5e Modules along with the Ultimate license so I have put my money where my mouth is. But with that, I just wanted to speak up for the things I'd like to see. I would never tell anyone that their wants/opinions are not valid just because they don't align with mine.

It's taken some time as a noob to the forums here, but I've found some information on what they are doing (Unity, Dynamic Lighting, etc..) and I think what the devs have said look really good for the future of this product which is good for everyone.

Fyn.

[damned]

I dont believe its even development time thats the primary issue here. My understanding is:

The current game engine is single threaded. It can do one thing at a time and queues the next thing up. When the 3d dice are bouncing around the screen the next actions are being queued. When you have dynamic lighting every time any token is moved it sets off a mass of calculations which would pause every other thing going on. until the game engine is upgraded it is extremely unlikely you will see a dynamic lighting or similar.

Fynious I dont think anyone is disregarding your opinion.

[Dracones]

There are a lot of people that would like to see Dynamic Lighting in Fantasy Grounds, and I think they know that. Remember if you don't want to use it.. just don't. That doesn't' affect you in any way.. but if I want to use it and it's not available that does affect me. Which might turn people away from this great product and I think it would be in everyone's best interest to grow the player base as much as possible.

Dynamic lighting is the top most requested feature at https://fg2app.idea.informer.com/

One thing with Smiteworks is that they're a very transparent company. For people that have been on the forums here a few years they'll have experienced the times when the company has had open discussions on the pricing model, features, has worked with the community and re-designing the rulesets to use CoreRPG and so on. Dynamic lighting isn't in because the engine doesn't support it easily. The current engine has a lot of limitations which is why they're moving to a new one, but the company is really small and doesn't move quickly.

So for the vets on the forums we see the new people come in and bring up subjects we're all well aware of(confusing pricing, easier ruleset design, better mapping, etc) and Smiteworks is also aware of the issues, it's just that it's going to take time to slowly knock them out.

[ddavison]

Dynamic lighting, dynamic map building, layered maps, better drawing tools, random map generation, auto-scaling of map images on import so they perfectly align and streaming of sound and music, and better campaign folder/heirarchy support are all features that we consider to be a very high priority for immediately after our move to Unity. I doubt these are features we would consider for implementation prior to the move to Unity because we'd likely have to re-write them again afterward. The 5E implementation took a large part of our focus and slowed down our port to Unity, but we are hoping to begin resuming this again in the near future. The immediate focus is to make sure that the Unity version supports everything that we can do today and that we can utilize all our current assets, such as modules, adventures, etc and deploy them natively to the various platforms that Unity supports.

[JeffKnight]

Dynamic lighting, dynamic map building, layered maps, better drawing tools, random map generation, auto-scaling of map images on import so they perfectly align and streaming of sound and music, and better campaign folder/heirarchy support are all features that we consider to be a very high priority for immediately after our move to Unity. I doubt these are features we would consider for implementation prior to the move to Unity because we'd likely have to re-write them again afterward. The 5E implementation took a large part of our focus and slowed down our port to Unity, but we are hoping to begin resuming this again in the near future. The immediate focus is to make sure that the Unity version supports everything that we can do today and that we can utilize all our current assets, such as modules, adventures, etc and deploy them natively to the various platforms that Unity supports.

This x1000. The path they have chosen is the wisest approach. When you are doing something as massive as a code rewrite and changing the development engine, it's not smart to release the new version with less capability than the old one already had. Logos Bible Software did this when they changed from Logos 3 to "Logos 4." Logos 4 (and it's derivatives 5 and 6) still doesn't have some of the functionality that Logos 3 has now had for almost a decade.

[Falantrius]

I've been playing with it for about a week and finally bought an Ultimate license to fully test it. People may disagree with me but as customer and one who paid the $150 (Skyrim was only $60) - here are some areas that have disappointed me. Keep in mind - the Combat Tracker is excellent and the reason I purchased it AND the only main reason I bought it.

1) I expected a full character created - PCGEN and Hero XXX - have great character builders and PCGEN is free. I expected something similar for PathFinder in FG. Instead I get use this, export it, convert it, then load it in FG - every level for every character. I want players to be able to create, level up and be able to print their characters. Wasn't there.

2) Multi-monitor and resolution support. I have three monitors in our gaming room - two horizontal and one vertical. The one horizontal is higher resolution than the other. Windows like Combat Tracker and Party Sheet will only resize to about 5 characters high which makes screen usage difficult. The inability to undock windows like Combat Tracker - makes it impossible to drag it to another monitor and use it. The solution to expand it over two monitors doesn't work for monitors that change resolution or are vertical I'd like to see some support here.

3) Pathfinder support is sketchy. I've went to list of modules and loaded what I can get going. After loading an Oracle, no spells loaded and appear to incomplete. I'd like to see native Pathfinder SRD support in FG - esp. when free apps like PCGEN have nearly 95% of the content.

Now so you don't think I'm a hater - I have a lot of respect for FG and the work that has been put into it - or I wouldnt have purchased it but with its exposure on Steam - I'd like to see some updates over the next year to meet the broader need from customers. There are more than one way to use FG and while the primary should be the focus - others should also be considered.

[ianmward]

Welcome to the family!

I have to say, I think you will not regret your purchase and the $150 will give you many years of service (much more than Skyrim) and you will quickly forget these minor gripes.

On your particular issues...

1. Fantasy Grounds is not a Character Generator and has never (afaik) claimed to be one. It allows you to import characters created in the best of breed character generator, Hero Lab.
2. What you want on the wall. I.e. The combat tracker for all to see, is not the GM's combat tracker, but the player's view.
Simply run up a second instance of FG, connect to localhost and display this second, player view, full screen on the second monitor.
3. The pathfinder support is better than you will find for any other similar product, I am certain. There are modules available for most SRD material and what is not available, you can enter yourself, easily through the interface provided and then share it with the community.

Good luck and I hope to see you in-game at next FG-Con!

[Falantrius]

Welcome to the family!

I have to say, I think you will not regret your purchase and the $150 will give you many years of service (much more than Skyrim) and you will quickly forget these minor gripes.

On your particular issues...

1. Fantasy Grounds is not a Character Generator and has never (afaik) claimed to be one. It allows you to import characters created in the best of breed character generator, Hero Lab.
2. What you want on the wall. I.e. The combat tracker for all to see, is not the GM's combat tracker, but the player's view.
Simply run up a second instance of FG, connect to localhost and display this second, player view, full screen on the second monitor.
3. The pathfinder support is better than you will find for any other similar product, I am certain. There are modules available for most SRD material and what is not available, you can enter yourself, easily through the interface provided and then share it with the community.

Good luck and I hope to see you in-game at next FG-Con!

This is generally what I keep seeing here - people just filter out what I'm saying like my concerns are "minor gripes"
1) My players don't have PCs or clients - they have paper printed characters - all they need do is show up - pick up their dice and character sheet and have fun. When its time to level up, they go shopping with their money - and level up. I cant seem to do that with what I paid $150 for - people say "Its not a character generator and never claimed to be one. I know you paid $150 but go use another product if you want that." - this email is about what I would LIKE to see in FG - and I'd like to see a merger of something like PCGEN directly into FG. Would save the whole create it with this, export it and then go through it with a fine tooth comb to add effects, dmg to spells, etc. EVERY TIME they level up.
2) That's the work around I am using today. Running THREE Instances on the same computer and its dragging my performance down.
3) PCGEN which is free has far better support. I loaded a XML Bard in and it worked great - then I loaded an Oracle and lost the entire spell list and couldn't add it back in even. Yes I can enter it in via the interface - but my players are using PCGEN to level up their characters and send me the XML to load into FG. Each time all eight players LEVEL, I have to manually walk through their character and re-enter everything I fixed the LAST round of leveling. Then I have to go through all players spell lists and add effects, dmg, etc. before I can start a game. Totally lame - if the support was there - when the character was loaded, I wouldn't have to go to the library, find stuff, drag it on, add effects, etc. I just want to load the players character sheets and play for the day. If FG supported for PathFinder was more complete - I wouldn't lose things like all the Oracles spells and things. As for the SRD modules - I've downloaded them all and there is duplicate info in several, old data in others and missing data. It needs cleaned up and updated.

I'm still figuring this all out - so bear with me.

[Von Stalhein]

I've been using FG2 for several years now, and I'd just like to say that I've been very impressed with the strategy and direction Smiteworks have taken. As a small company with a demanding and diverse range of customers they've done an amazing job at trying to cater to the needs of their consumers across the full range: be that Savage Worlds GMs, D&D, Pathfinder, free-formers, etc. In view of that, I'm confident that Smiteworks will do everything they can to please as many old and new customers as they can. So, if there is something missing from FG for you, all I can say is vote for your feature on the idea tracker, and have a little patience - chances are it will get there eventually.

@Falantrius: it sounds like you're trying to use FG2 as an aide for play round a physical table? I just wanted to note. For others reading too, that the Ultimate license simply permits anyone (including those who have not bought any license) to connect to your game over the net - to my knowledge, there's no functionality difference between Full and Ultimate, only the need with Full for your online players to have a license too.