New to FG, sort of... some pretty basic questions, please be kind?

[Dahgda]

SO I purchased FG many moons ago, with multiple licenses to try to keep my gaming group going, despite several moving all around the world. Long story short, things just didn't get to even a trial run stage, so FG got pushed to the side. I did try one other time to get started with it, but kept running into issues with the whole port setup and such, which was a major headache for someone who is not all that tech savvy with the fiddly bits that are normally behind-the-scenes. So again I gave up, and found other online options. But I was recently told that things have gotten a bit easier, so I wanted to ask a few questions to see if this is an option again:

Something I thought should be easy to find out but... I see a lot of info about the new Unity Engine - is that already what FG is running now, or is that still "coming soon"? I looked at the Features, and nothing I saw there indicates either way. I just don't want to upgrade to something only to have to buy a new version in a few months, when a bit of patience would have been a better option.

Assuming it is the new system: does it still require going underneath the hood for network configuration? If so, is there a super-easy walk-through that takes into account complete noob level of knowledge about that aspect of computers? Is this only required for the GM, or will every person need to do the same sort of config?

For game play: how robust is the fog of war/line of sight? I have used both Roll20 and d20Pro, and found I liked Pro's system a bit better, but Roll20's line of sight is MUCH more fine-tuneable (though takes more time to put on a map).

I see there are a lot of plug-ins for FG with other software - is there an easy to use import for HeroLab, both for characters and for monsters, so abilities and such are already scripted into the tokens when you link them? I have a TON of custom content in HL, and being able to port it all over would definitely make this an easier to justify purchase for me.

I know some of this is probably either so basic it seems obvious to you, or you know exactly where to look up the answers to these on the forums or in the guides and wiki, and I apologize in advance if I just am not seeing the answers somewhere on here. I appreciate any guidance and help with this, so I can make an informed decision about purchasing FG again or not.

[Zacchaeus]

Hi Dahgda, welcome back(ish)

No, Unity is still on the horizon, closer now, but still a ways off. Once it comes along then networking will be easier as well as a number of other things which people have difficulty with. So everything is the same as whenever you last used it; there is no line of sight (at least not as you are talking about - I think; I've never used either of those other products); you roleplay it or use your judgement depending on the map. There is Fog of War although not dynamic which is what I suspect you are looking for. Both those features will certainly be in the future though.

I think HeroLab only really works well for 3.5 or Pathfinder so it depends on the game system you are looking at.

[dulux-oz]

Also, I don't think you'll need to re-purchase a license (if you've already got one) - your copy should update automatically if you put your old license in.

And we don't know what'll happen with FGU's licensing as we haven't been told. :)

Cheers

[ll00ll00ll00ll]

Welcome aboard! As a somewhat recent FG user / adopter, I can say that the time spent learning the answers to all of your questions will be well rewarded. This forum is one of the most incredible / non-toxic communities I've ever seen... it's like the old school / pre-troll internet in here. Anyways, you can definitely get answers to all of your questions. My best advice is to post them all separately though. There are many people in here, each with their own specialties. If you break your requests into separate discreet posts, you will probably find the answers pretty quickly.

I know one of the biggest things you can do about networking issues is to familiarize yourself with your router, and if you can setup UPnP you will find it works quite well. See this Compatibility and Networking link (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/faq.php?faq=networking) for more info, and then post specific questions, including your router model, operating system, etc. Someone on here will be able to guide you.

I think you will also find that those other VTT systems are pretty good, however neither are Fantasy Grounds. I looked heavily into both, but ultimately found that Fantasy Grounds had waaaaaaaay more to offer, including a very robust community which is always coming up with modifications and extensions which greatly enhance the experience. Please check out Dulux Oz's DOE add-ons (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20320-FG-3-0-CoreRPG-Extensions&p=242586&viewfull=1#post242586) for a great example of what I'm talking about.

Also, to reiterate what Dulux Oz says above... I doubt you'll have to re-buy your license, if you own it, then you own it.

By the way, what RPG system are you trying to get running?

[Dahgda]

Okay, so I logged into my router and setup the Port Forwarding - 19787

But then I still get an error when I try to connect with FG. I am not sure what else you need to see to help me troubleshoot this - Cox is useless, as "Port forwarding isn't a service we offer" is their only answer.

I think I need to setup a static IP, but when I followed the directions from PortForward.com for my router, I lost all internet, so I obviously am not putting in the right information. 19788

What am I doing wrong? What other info do I need to find?

I really appreciate the help, everyone!!! And I agree, this is definitely a nicer community than I am used to online!

Oh, and I did find that the license is the same, so thank you all for that, too!

[Trenloe]

Okay, so I logged into my router and setup the Port Forwarding - 19787
The private IP address needs to be the IP address of your GM computer. I very much doubt 192.168.0.1 is your GM computer.

[LordEntrails]

Here's what mine looks like (same ISP and gateway as you).
19793

Note that I have reserved 92.168.0.100 for the mac address of my computer (so it always gets assigned the same IP on my network).

[Dahgda]

Thank you, gentlefolks! I think it is working - FG tested Success, at least. Now I need to find a game... but I really do appreciate the gentle nudges to notice my silly mistake. I am very much NOT a networking person.

[Trenloe]

I think it is working - FG tested Success, at least. Now I need to find a game...
That's good news.

FYI - you only need this connection test success if you're going to run a game as a GM, you don't need it to be a player.

[vodokar]

Welcome! The best selling point of Fantasy Grounds, i believe, is the community surrounding it, which is astounding. There are so many great people here. Explore and enjoy!

And if there are any further questions, you can count on everyone here to bend over backwards to help. At this point, I would normally give you a link to the Fantasy Ground User guide to help get you started. I can no longer seem to find it. SmteWorks, what's up with that? After 20 min of searching by an experienced user, i can't find what used to take seconds. This is important! New users really need this information. Please fix.

[ddavison]

It looks like you already found you port forwarding setup. You had the IP set to 192.168.0.1 which was the router's IP address. You needed to have it point to whatever address was listed within FG as the Internal IP. Based on your router setup, it would have been a number between 192.168.0.20 and 192.168.0.100.

As a somewhat relevant story, I originally came to Fantasy Grounds in and around 2008 with plans to play with one of my in-person group after I moved to a new state. That never ever took off. I just couldn't convince all my old group to start playing online. Instead, I joined multiple groups of players online here from the forums that I had never ever met in person. After discovering that my play experience was pretty much as good or better than my in-person group had been, I was sold on the idea of using Fantasy Grounds for my online gaming. I ended up buying the company in 2009 and the rest is history.

[Moon Wizard]

There is a link to the wiki at the top of the site, with links to community rulesets and user guides.

Also, there is a User Manual in the Help section of the web site. However, the help section only shows up on the front page for some reason. I'll mention to Doug.

Regards,
JPG

[vodokar]

I tried to follow the User Guides link in the help menu, which doesn't lead to the User Manual, clearly. Didn't see the User Manual link, which was the one I was looking for. I was being a space cadet the other night, lol.

Anyhoo, here is the link to the User Manual (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/filelibrary/FantasyGroundsUserManual.pdf)

You are right Moon that it has never been available from the forums. Always have had to go back out to the front page to grab the link.