Potential new FG user - advice would be welcomed

[CarlDiceSaloon]

Hi all,

I am based in the UK and have been running a Storm Kings session in Brighton. I am keen to continue this with my players throughout the isolation period, so was considering using Roll20. However, I have been slightly put off of them due to customer service feedback and members of their community.

It appears that Fantasy Grounds would be ideal - but I just wanted to ask a few questions

- is it really as simple as it looks to set up? the tutorial videos are useful
- How long will I realistically need to get a game going with one of the modules?
- is it simple as a player to access?
- Can players access FG via their tablet or mobile devices?
- Has there been any lag issues due to an increased demand?
- How many players can I get on one game? I am assuming this would be down to my Broadband Speed

If there are any tips you can offer, I would be incredibly grateful.

Thanks in advance

[Zacchaeus]

Hi Carl, welcome to the community.

It's kind of hard to answer your questions since there are now two versions of Fantasy Grounds, Classic and Unity the latter still being in Beta.

There is going to be a learning curve in being able to use either version since you do need to get your head around the interface and how to do things. Once you get familiar with that then yes it is pretty easy to use. If you are going to be using Storm King's Thunder then the module comes with everything set up for you; maps are all gridded with player and DM versions, they have pins on them so you can click to open the story ebtry associated with that room, if there is an encounter there will be a link in the story which opens the encounter and with a single click the NPCs are placed on the Combat tracker and on the map, treasures will be in parcels ready to distribute to the party members.

Now, that's out of the box. But you can add your own content to the adventure or edit bits of it. How long you require to do that will depend on how much you want to change.

As regards player access this depends on which version you go for. Classic can be problematic since you need to be able to Port Forward and in some countries and with some ISP this is getting more and more problematic and many users are having to use a VPN. Of course many users just start it up and it all works - so it's hard to say which category you might fall into. Unity makes connection very easy on the other hand using a Lobby system where the DM can be seen in a list and the players just select them and join.

Currently neither version of FG works on a tablet or mobile. Classic probably never will but Unity may one day have some presence on such devices.

Current demand is crazy right now but other than the whole internet being slower than normal I haven't noticed anything particular about FG.

You can connect as many players as you like. The determining factor is the same as round the table top. With 10 players you are sitting around waiting for nine players to take their turn, with less you are waiting around less.

I would recommend that you get a Unity subscription for a month. Have a go with it, see what it can do, watch some videos, ask some questions on Discord (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?36377-Official-Discord-Server), take a couple of classes in the College (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?40020-Join-Fantasy-Grounds-College-Learn-Fantasy-Grounds-learn-D-amp-D-and-then-play!), and if before your month is up you decide it's not for you cancel and get your money back. Smiteworks offer a full 30 day no-quibble money back guarantee.

[CarlDiceSaloon]

Thank you for the advice there - I feel I prefer the overall look of FG in comparison to Roll20 - the key is ease of use, mainly for my players. It appears that Unity is the best way forward then.

[LordEntrails]

Happy gaming Carl, let us know how we can help.

[GavinRuneblade]

- is it really as simple as it looks to set up? the tutorial videos are useful
- How long will I realistically need to get a game going with one of the modules?
- is it simple as a player to access?
- Can players access FG via their tablet or mobile devices?
- Has there been any lag issues due to an increased demand?
- How many players can I get on one game? I am assuming this would be down to my Broadband Speed

Setup is super easy, the problems some people have is connecting. FGU has been making connecting much easier.

Starting a module the first time will take you a little longer in FG than with a paper book, but the same time as Roll20. This is simply you needing to learn where things are and how they are organized. Once you get familiar with where things are and how to use the dynamic links inside modules FG is much faster than paper books and Roll20.

Some players and GMs use Android and iOS to connect to fantasy grounds via tablets. One even runs games that way. However, there is no native mobile app. Instead you have your computer running and connect to your computer with your tablet or phone. the details are in this thread: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?44105-Fantasy-Grounds-works-pretty-good-on-an-Android-Tablet

Roll20 is a web service, they are experiencing lag because of people hammering their servers. Fantasy Grounds is not a web service, it runs on your computer and your players connect to your computer. This is why my first answer mentioned some people having connection problems. But the upside is that as long as your home internet connection is solid, it doesn't matter how many other people are using fantasy grounds because we're not all hammering the same server.

You can get a lot of players. More than you want to actually DM for I suspect.

[TheoGeek]

Thank you for the advice there - I feel I prefer the overall look of FG in comparison to Roll20 - the key is ease of use, mainly for my players. It appears that Unity is the best way forward then.

I'm pretty much the DM for our groups and I LOVE FG, even when we (used to) play locally. I used it to keep track of everything and to automate what can be automated. That said, the UI takes a little getting used to, but man is FG powerful. The ability to write extensions and use user created ones is something that I now can't live without. :)

And the community is pretty amazing and patient with new folks.

Welcome to the addiction!

[bushidocougar]

Sorry to invade this thread, but i didnt want to make a new one and spam the forums. I am in the same spot with Carl here, trying to find a suitable platform to host an Odyssey Of The Dragonlords adventure with some friends and although i am very intrigued to get a licence for Fantasy Grounds Unity, it doesn't help the fact that my friends also need to get a paid subscription to play. Is there any ETA when free users can use the Fantasy Grounds Unity?

[LordEntrails]

Sorry to invade this thread, but i didnt want to make a new one and spam the forums. I am in the same spot with Carl here, trying to find a suitable platform to host an Odyssey Of The Dragonlords adventure with some friends and although i am very intrigued to get a licence for FGU, it doesn't help the fact that my friends also need to get a paid subscription to play. Is there any ETA when free users can use the FGU?
If the GM/host has an Ultimate license, then Free players can join their game. They do need a forum username/account, but those too are free.

[bushidocougar]

If the GM/host has an Ultimate license, then Free players can join their game. They do need a forum username/account, but those too are free.

Even in the Unity?

[Neovirtus]

Even in the Unity?

Yes, the licenses work exactly the same in Unity as they do in Classic. Everyone has to have the same version though (just to be clear) Ultimate FGU license can host Free/Standard FGU users, Ultimate FGC license can host Free/Standard FGC users.

[LordEntrails]

Even in the Unity?
For about 3 months now. At the very beginning networking for free users was not enabled, but i is now.

[CarlDiceSaloon]

An additional question - via Unity, can players video chat with each other? Or would Zoom/Discord be needed for voice chat? There seems to be information regarding FG circulating on key news sites now, but it appears that some of the information is out of date.

[Honken]

An additional question - via Unity, can players video chat with each other? Or would Zoom/Discord be needed for voice chat? There seems to be information regarding FG circulating on key news sites now, but it appears that some of the information is out of date.

Fantasy Grounds does not have any internal function for voice or cam chat. So you would have to use some external program. I myself use Skype.

/H

[LordEntrails]

An additional question - via Unity, can players video chat with each other? Or would Zoom/Discord be needed for voice chat? There seems to be information regarding FG circulating on key news sites now, but it appears that some of the information is out of date.
FG does not have any audio or video capabilities. Most folks use Discord or Teamspeak etc.