Fantasy Grounds Next: What do wr know?

[Wolfheart]

I'm very curious about what the next iteration of Fantasy Grounds will be like, but I can't find any place with information consolidated.
I am aware of the wishlist thingie but that's just a wishlist. Do we know anything at all beyond the fact it will implement the Unity engine?

[Mask_of_winter]

3d maps from the tabletop connect acquisition. Native mac and linux support and time travel.

[damned]

The initial version of FGNext aims to replicate the current feature set and ruleset compatibility of the current release.
It will be built on the Unity Game Engine and it is planned to have a Native PC, Mac (and Linux?) client.
There will be some upgrade cost - probably not big.

Thats it for now.
Everything else will come later.

[Ken L]

Native PC, Mac (and Linux?) client.

This is a deciding factor. I can tolerate WINE for a bit given that there's some support for it (or should I say, was more intended for MAC users using wine), but the lack of a native port to SteamOS will change my plans considerably.

[Dracones]

Back in Oct they mentioned that Linux testing would be happening when the client got into the final build testing phase. So a Linux client is planned, but given it's their first run at Unity and a native Linux app I'd give them some slack in working out any issues that crop up with the Linux version.

[damned]

This is a deciding factor. I can tolerate WINE for a bit given that there's some support for it (or should I say, was more intended for MAC users using wine), but the lack of a native port to SteamOS will change my plans considerably.

Im pretty sure the plan is to support Linux off the bat but I couldnt find the exact post so I left it in brackets.
DDavison has also mentioned he hopes to also support consoles like XBox in the future and of course a Tablet friendly version too....

[jshauber]

I also remember some discussion about an extension that you can use to order pizza directly thru FG. :p

[Mask_of_winter]

I also remember some discussion about an extension that you can use to order pizza directly thru FG. :p
No, I'm pretty sure that will be core.

[Ken L]

Im pretty sure the plan is to support Linux off the bat but I couldnt find the exact post so I left it in brackets.
DDavison has also mentioned he hopes to also support consoles like XBox in the future and of course a Tablet friendly version too....

I'm aware, but think of this from the perspective of a Linux user.

Many games on kick starter for instance promise Linux ports, few deliver. Remember Divinity: Original Sin? They promised a day 1 Linux port. After that went up in smoke they promised the port in 2014, that went up in smoke as well. Finally they promised that the new enhanced edition would support Linux when it came out in 2015. You can surmise that went up in smoke as well in a long series of broken promises, I've given up on them, their kick starter promise broken on so many levels. It's telling that their sequel does not support Linux, they were happy to take my money for the first kick starter when they were fund starved, now that that have visibility, they were quick to discard my userbase.

Linux users tend to spend big on games since there are few of them, Gearbox had quite a number of purchases for their borderlands franchise as their ports by Aspyr media were flawless; and Borderlands: The Presequel was a day 1 Linux launch, unheard of for a triple A title.

The Linux user-base is small but very technical in terms of contribution, obsidian lamented on this as a large chunk of their developer resources were spent firefighting Linux bugs and in hindsight, it wasn't as profitable for them. They kept their promise for Pillars of Eternity however, and continue to support the platform as they literally built up the resources and knowledge to use both platforms.

[Dracones]

Smiteworks has actively and officially supported Linux for years now. It's just that with the current client(which is a really old code base), the best way to do that was for them to make sure it was wine compatible. They added a wine compatibility mode specifically for that(again, years ago).

On the Unity front it's going to be a lot easier for them to support Linux natively, which is one reason why they're moving to that platform(and for tablet support too). That said, it doesn't mean there won't be growing pains with them switching to Unity and us Linux users will probably need to work with them to make sure everything works well. They're a really small dev shop.

[Wolfheart]

So, from what I've gathered here and on the Steam Discussions group, the aim is to release the next version in 2017 (at the earliest).
I would very much like to know which features Smiteworks plan to add from the official wishlist. Is it possible to get some teasers?
The main reason is because I want to know if it will be worth my time to keep updating my campaign files using Fantasy Grounds, in the hope that the next full release will accomodate my needs and make me switch fully to FG
(in my case, stuff like exploding dice, dice of different colors (how cool would it be to have a digital dice bag full of different types, like opaque dice, metal dice, dice with dwarf runes etc.), tile-by-tile building maps etc.

I understand if Smiteworks do not wish to reveal all their plans, but maybe there are some things that are so certain you can give us a hint.
If not, at least I tried :bandit:

Congratulations on much improved forum layout and shop layout, btw

[viresanimi]

Unless I missed something, the goal was a kickstarter to help fund all the work put into it, this summer and a release in autumn.

Vires Animi

[Varsuuk]

When the time comes, I can offer my help if they need outsiders. I have a lan with several Win 10 boxes and one win 8 until can fix some things on wife's PC before upgrade. I have i7 3.x MHz older (last upgradable Pro) MacBook with 16gb and ssd plus nvidia. I have my main PC able I also have a dedicated Linux server running 24/7 plus my MacBook and main PC both have virtual box (removed parallels) with Linux as well. I don't recall if my older Windows (7) laptop has a Linux partition still since I seconded to wife until we get her a MacBook for portable use.

We have 2 iPad airs, and for what it's worth (lol - doubt has juice) son has a Kindle HD10 & HD6
The 6s Plus is too teeny...

I'd love to get an iMac but that's not in the cards since my den was taken by son and I got his nursery :(

I have older core2 duos still in basement too. I used to in the day run various Gentoo/red hat and Solaris along with XP/NT boxes when I had time to do pleasure developing and was trying to build some nice X-platform libs.

[ddavison]

We are not fully ready to post any lockdown lists of features at this time. We have a bunch that we really want and it is possible that the Kickstarter will help us solidify those more. The initial launch will have some improvements and should be compatible with existing data and content (at least with a 1-way upgrade/conversion). At this time, we plan to tackle the native rollout to Mac and Linux before building upon it further. As soon as that seems to be working, we will look to add in new cool features like better 2D map making, dynamic lighting, streaming audio, video and the start to full 2.5D and 3D map making and resources. Where we decide to launch on Kickstarter within this development process is pretty important, but the more we can have ready before we launch on KS, the better. Prediction of timing in software development is notoriously bad and not often good at identifying potential pitfalls. I would like to have most of the big unknowns under our belt or at least close before we launch a KS and start considering a beta.

[Ken L]

Sounds great, I'm looking forward to it; especially since Linux is getting guaranteed support. I'm just keeping my options open after being burned by investing too much into R20. I had actually developed an entire graphical inventory library that could do cool stuff that was thousands of lines long. Since then I'm wary about putting all my eggs in one basket, so I may come off as bitter at times.

[edmaster530]

I tell you what, I am definitely willing to throw some money via KS for some dynamic lighting. I honestly feel that it is one of the MAJOR points that other VTT have :(
Crossing my fingers that Dynamic Lighting gets into the final version :)

[Wolfheart]

I tell you what, I am definitely willing to throw some money via KS for some dynamic lighting. I honestly feel that it is one of the MAJOR points that other VTT have :(
Crossing my fingers that Dynamic Lighting gets into the final version :)

And I guess that's where the problem lies - how to satisfy the largest number of potential customers :) For me, dynamic lighting is not something I consider important at all, while alternate methods of dice-rolling is priority number one :)
And hypertext (instead of or in addition to the box links).

Thank you for dropping by this thread, ddavison much appreciated :)

[damned]

When you see the other 3d effects that will come with the new version it is (in my estimation) very likely that dynamic lighting will be there - but probably not at release but sometime soon after.
Alternate Dice Rolling is very likely to be there at launch time.
What exactly do you mean by the hypertext reference?
There are a few ways of sharing FG data - you can share whole modules (where appropriate), you can drag links to chat, you can drag links to portraits and you have speech bubbles.

NOTE: All of my comments are based on what I have seen and read only - no secret knowledge! Weve seen a demo of the advanced dice rolling strings (roll/keep/explode etc) and the 3d mappings and assets in these forums at earlier dates.

[Wolfheart]

I love to hear that news about dice :) Now I know I can stay invested :) (I didn't know about this plan at any rate)
As for hypertext, I meant simply that words in a sentence could be links, just like on the web, so by clicking on a word within a body of text a new story/note opens up. Not a biggie at all. It would just make for "cleaner" GM notes.

[Mortar]

damned always has secret knowledge...don't let him fool you

[Nylanfs]

One of the biggest improvements is that we will finally be able to make the dice translucent to prove that there aren't any air bubbles in them to make them unbalanced... ;P

[Mortar]

+1000000