Initial observations as a new user

[OfMiceAndDM]

I want to state first and foremost, this is just my initial opinions as a newcomer to the program and I don't mean to cause offence.

I've been using Roll20 for a while now to DM my games locally as we still used mostly paper and physical dice and just used the virtual tabletop to enhance it, but as one of my group is now moving away, I decided to take the leap and purchase FG for its automation, libraries and resources etc.
Fantasy Grounds is an epic piece of software and I really want to congratulate and thank the developers for this amazing piece of kit but there are 2 items that I have noticed that I personally feel are just lacking for such an intuitive system.

Firstly, webcam integration. Roll20 allowed web chat as standard on its free service for online hosts within the game itself. Half the fun of a D&D session is the jokes and chats you have with friends and having to resort to a secondary piece of software like Teamspeak or Hangouts just feels a little like there is something inherently missing for an online hosting software like this. Even a voice chat with no webcam would be better.

Secondly, and I know someone has made a snazzy 'homebrew' extension for Syrinscape, but not having sounds at all in a system like this as standard (even on a basic level) is just criminal. Roll20, though not as powerful or good looking as FG at least allows me to link to my SoundCloud within the program itself (as well as Tabletop Audio) without having to resort to running 3 different programs (quite often on a second machine by the looks of most of the tutorial videos) just to add sound effects.
Not not mention paying for a Syrinscape subscription as well when I have just forked out over £200 for FG and the 5e modules just feels like a bit of a kick in the balls.

The day that these 2 items can be addressed as a part of the program itself is the day that FG goes from being a fancy alternative to Roll20 to actually being out and out better in every respect.

As I said in the beginning, I am still very new to FG so if there is something I have missed that resolves either of these, please accept my apologies straight out. And don't misunderstand, I'm really enjoying the program as a whole and looking forward to building my first homebrew 5e campaign for my group. These are just the observations that irked me following my purchase.

Thanks for a great program and I can't wait to see where you take it in the future.

[dulux-oz]

Hi Mice, and Welcome! to the Community,

The issue we have with FG at the moment (and believe me, your concerns are not new to those of use who have been around for a while - we've heard them before) is that the software is well over 10 years old and so all the "modern" features that we'd all like to have just can't be accommodated within the current (32-bit) engine.

Now, there is a new version of FG in development which uses the Unity engine, which we've been told should/will support all of the things we want (and which you've mentioned). This new version should be coming out Soon(TM), but in the meantime the handful of Community Devs do what we can to bring the extra features in (like my DOE Sound Extension). SmiteWorks is only a small software house (I think 5 staff total) and yet they do an absolutely amazing job of not only supporting their existing product(s) but bringing us new and better features all the time.

So, all I can say (as a Community Dev, a User, and a bit of a Fanboy) is hang around - this product only keeps getting better and better.

And for the record, I think FG is already the best VTT on the market, even with its "faults" :)

Cheers

[Nickademus]

... to bring the extra features in (like my DOE Sound Extension)

What's this!? Only shamefully plugging one extension? You're slipping; humility does not become you. Dulux-oz creates a handful of extensions to help fill in the gaps until the Unity build comes, and to provide quality-of-life support and organization for your games. He, as well as others in the community, have also been known to provide new extensions upon request.

So basically, what you see right now is never all that is theoretically offered. If you need something else, ask and the community may very well provide. Fantasy Grounds is a living program.

[damned]

I want to state first and foremost, this is just my initial opinions as a newcomer to the program and I don't mean to cause offence.

I've been using Roll20 for a while now to DM my games locally as we still used mostly paper and physical dice and just used the virtual tabletop to enhance it, but as one of my group is now moving away, I decided to take the leap and purchase FG for its automation, libraries and resources etc.
Fantasy Grounds is an epic piece of software and I really want to congratulate and thank the developers for this amazing piece of kit but there are 2 items that I have noticed that I personally feel are just lacking for such an intuitive system.

Feedback presented as feedback is also welcomed I think :)


Firstly, webcam integration. Roll20 allowed web chat as standard on its free service for online hosts within the game itself. Half the fun of a D&D session is the jokes and chats you have with friends and having to resort to a secondary piece of software like Teamspeak or Hangouts just feels a little like there is something inherently missing for an online hosting software like this. Even a voice chat with no webcam would be better.

Fantasy Grounds started about 13years ago. It used a great game engine - for its day. Video just wasnt a thing back then - limited bandwidth etc etc. The FG engine is also single threaded - it doesnt know about the other 3 cores (or many more in some systems) that you have. Its networking engine doesnt know about IPv6 (it was pretty much only a theoretical thing in 2003). The FG app itself has undergone massive improvements and changes in that time but the underlying engine stopped being updated a long time ago.
Roll20 uses the hangouts application for things like video and voice and even the basic sharing and a lot of the heavy lifting is done by hangouts. This is a smart decision and one that gives Roll20 some great native features.
Fantasy Grounds is being re-written from the Ground Up on the Unity Game Engine. This is a massive undertaking made even more so because of the decision to maintain compatibility with the existing rulesets and DLC. That is of course a two edged sword. The Unity Engine will support soooo many cool things. Most of these cool things wont be in the product when it first launches but will be added incrementally. There are things like 3d maps and monsters, in game 3d terrain editing etc that become possible (and working prototypes for FG exist already). I would not be surprised if Video, Voice and Sounds are all high on the list of coming features but there is no public feature list or road map as the developers dont like to trumpet features or dates until they actually have it available.


Secondly, and I know someone has made a snazzy 'homebrew' extension for Syrinscape, but not having sounds at all in a system like this as standard (even on a basic level) is just criminal. Roll20, though not as powerful or good looking as FG at least allows me to link to my SoundCloud within the program itself (as well as Tabletop Audio) without having to resort to running 3 different programs (quite often on a second machine by the looks of most of the tutorial videos) just to add sound effects.

Not not mention paying for a Syrinscape subscription as well when I have just forked out over £200 for FG and the 5e modules just feels like a bit of a kick in the balls.

See above for tech. As far as cost goes - all/most licensed materials have royalties paid to their owners so if FG incorporates Syrinscape the costs would have to be added on to the product. One way or another. Syrinscape has a free level I believe and then you can pay for more content.


The day that these 2 items can be addressed as a part of the program itself is the day that FG goes from being a fancy alternative to Roll20 to actually being out and out better in every respect.

FG is the original :) Roll20 is the alternative! Ok thats semantics. Everyone has a different view on what features rock and for some they are the dynamic lighting of roll20 and for others its the licensed content and framework of FG. I like that there are good alternatives to FG out there as it keeps pushing everyone to do a better job. Of course - this platform is my preference :)


As I said in the beginning, I am still very new to FG so if there is something I have missed that resolves either of these, please accept my apologies straight out. And don't misunderstand, I'm really enjoying the program as a whole and looking forward to building my first homebrew 5e campaign for my group. These are just the observations that irked me following my purchase.

Thanks for a great program and I can't wait to see where you take it in the future.

FG has never stood still. When Smiteworks bought FG back in 2009 (or whenever it was) they have constantly (and I really mean constantly) made improvement after improvement to it. So dont hold your breath (its bad for your health) but I reckon most of the things you would like to see - and much more - will come to Fantasy Grounds over the next 18months.


Edit: I started typing this before lunch and by the time I posted others have also - so forgive any duplication in my responses.

[LordEntrails]

Hey Mice, welcome :)

I don't think anybody here will take offense at your well put together post. Everyone here tries pretty hard to take things on a positive note. And I think most of us appreciate honest and considerate comments. If you ever have questions etc, there always seems to be someone around to help out.

Again, welcome aboard and glad you are here!