So is Fantasy Grounds the best advert for Roll20 ever produced?

[Andrewmo]

Fiddly , complicated , not cloud based, difficult to load your modules.
Certainly one of the worst user interfaces I have ever used.
If it was not that the Return of the Runelords modules did not exist on Roll20 would never have used this awful system, still thinking it may be simpler to import the maps into Roll20 myself and i Hated doing that

[SilentRuin]

Fiddly , complicated , not cloud based, difficult to load your modules.
Certainly one of the worst user interfaces I have ever used.
If it was not that the Return of the Runelords modules did not exist on Roll20 would never have used this awful system, still thinking it may be simpler to import the maps into Roll20 myself and i Hated doing that

Shrug, gives me the ability to do what I want which Roll20 does not. To each his own. I like it and would use nothing else out there to date :)

For sure its simple for my players after my extensions - but really, if you as a host just need basic simple stuff - then yes. This is not for you.

[Valyar]

How clueless.

[SilentRuin]

I think people don't like it because of the "bling" factor. Other apps have more flash and simplicity with basic simple things.

However, FGU is the only app I use to run my campaigns. I like it because I can be ultimately lazy in how I run the game. I can actually spend time crafting the experience rather than constantly managing every little roll with all that can effect those rolls. I like the fact the LOS/Lighting is completely flexible (albeit new and still under development) and I can design/add/change things on the fly as I need them on the map during actual game play. I like my players can play for free with no costs - as host I've bought the ultimate license and all the books. I ESPECIALLY like that anything annoys me in the app I can override by writing my own extensions (note: EXTENSIONS = RISK) to make it do what I want to do in my games. Nothing has this kind of flexibility or power.

In the end, what I've crafted for myself makes running the actual games simple where I can be lazy. But to get to that state - mastering the flexibility and power? That can be a chore. And have some complexity with it. Granted, once the issues are solved and implemented, I could be lazier than any other DM in any other app. But to get to that point required a learning curve and effort. Granted, I don't do DATA and pretty much bought the FGU modules for PHB, MM, and DMG and supplemental data from DMsG to make my life even lazier with extensions. Though I have also written a huge amount of data myself - to run my own SW5e variant campaigns - so I have that flexibility to do it if I want to go through that pain and effort. But that is a learning curve even if you don't do any of it yourself and get free/paid for modules/extensions to use in your campaigns.

So in a nutshell, people don't like FGU because of the learning curve and overhead in mastering it.

But I would use nothing else. I like being the master of my universes and not having to do much during game play. Even if it costs me an inordinate amount of time to get to where I wanted to be in crafting/running the campaign. Now I can craft a campaign in no time. But yeah....

Was not easy to get to that point. And if you don't want that level of power and control - stick to the simple apps. In the end, the game is what you and your players make of it. These "apps" are just tools and can only provide as good an experience as the people that are running them.

[Andrewmo]

Things which are badly set up
1)Not Cloud based. When you change computers your previous campaign is trashed.
2) Installing a module after purchasing should take 1 or 2 click, this is some form of abomination instead.

The fiddly interface , refusal to stop trying to run the game for me and other problems are down to me running a product which wants to do more than I want it to do and are my issues. However the amazing degree of trouble just getting my campaign set up again is taking after changing computers is demonstrating that paying for this when I can get other solutions for free is a mistake.
Building complicated data loading and filtering packages is easier than this and they pay me for that, it would take a considerable pay rise for me to work on using this software.

I suspect that the pain of trying to simply restart my campaign is enough that I will give in and accept the pain of loading and setting up maps on roll20 instead of the 'convenient' solution of the pre-built modules on this platform'
(And I managed to avoid any expletives in that text)

[Ulric]

Things which are badly set up
1)Not Cloud based. When you change computers your previous campaign is trashed.
2) Installing a module after purchasing should take 1 or 2 click, this is some form of abomination instead.

The fiddly interface , refusal to stop trying to run the game for me and other problems are down to me running a product which wants to do more than I want it to do and are my issues. However the amazing degree of trouble just getting my campaign set up again is taking after changing computers is demonstrating that paying for this when I can get other solutions for free is a mistake.
Building complicated data loading and filtering packages is easier than this and they pay me for that, it would take a considerable pay rise for me to work on using this software.

I suspect that the pain of trying to simply restart my campaign is enough that I will give in and accept the pain of loading and setting up maps on roll20 instead of the 'convenient' solution of the pre-built modules on this platform'
(And I managed to avoid any expletives in that text)
FALSE: Changing computers does not trash your campaign.
FALSE: Loading purchased content is hard.
TRUE: You have not learned to use FGU and then complain because you have trouble using it.
TRUE: The FG community would help you learn for free if you asked politely.

[YAKO SOMEDAKY]

As for the interface being "ugly" I agree with you ... As for the difficulty of migrating from one PC to another... well... I have 3 PCs one with each Os (MacOS, Linux and Windows) and mirate the campaigns in easily, as the automations they are crucial factors that accelerate the resolutions of everything, allowing it to be focused on the narrative, if "missing" something will always have some extension and better still do not need to visit the forums and see if there are changes because most creators and even publishers (OSE) and even Damned creating new rulesets in FORGE.

[Andrewmo]

I don't mind some degree of ugly interface, all of these products have small markets and so you can expect rough edges as their is not the money or time for perfection.

Moving to a new computer DOES trash the previous campaing as due to either poor design decisions or limited server resources the data is stored on a local hard drive. While I am sure it could be moved it cannot after for instance a hard drive crash.

I actually spent quite a few months using FG until just after the 20th of december a hard drive crash killed my deaktop , and with a break for Christmas I tried to rebuidl this afternoon and the module I previosuly had installed has not installed after an hours effort. Comparison I have the maps and images uploaded (but not matched to the grid which is hard point on Roll20 although several of the maps in the FG module were not matched to the grid requiring me to do it, not what I paid for and not easier than on Roll20 about as hard) in 20 minutes with no swearing and no temptation to throw my PC through a window or post to vent on a forum for the useless piece of software.
It always had issues while I was using it but those were at least 2/3 that FG wants to enforce game rules and I neither want or need my software to do that but that is not something to complain about,.The lack of actual cloud storage and the god awful interface are why I will be abandoning this software before returning to in person gaming. Seriously I actually pay for less basic service than Roll20 , good business model as money has been extracted from me. But no more

[LordEntrails]

MOD: thread closed. Contact support if you disagree. Such troll-like posts are not worth our time.