FG2 Demo - seeking game

[ianim]

I am curious about FG2 and would like to give it a go before I blow money on it (broke college student, all that). Is there anyone willing to DM and lead a few people, myself included, through to give it a test and have some fun?

That advert. aside, I have to admit that the last time I played true P&P was probably 7 or more years ago. I've been keeping the skills dusted by playing DDO and other D&D rule set games over the time. That said, I will have questions but will pick up quickly.


I hope to hear from someone soon! :)

[kyxmma]

Hi,

Sadly you can only play with other demo users. Also you have a limit too with you and only two other players in the demo. But I didn't even demo FG2 I just jumped ship and bought and loved it ever since. I highly recommend FG2 but i remember being a college student and understand how hard it is to come by extra money. But if you got it I definetly recommend FG2.

[ianim]

I can find the extra money if I need to ("mooooooom, pleeaaassseee," is still in the deck) but - and spare my crucification if this is a sour topic on here - I am also curious how well Insider will pan out. I know FG2 allows for different rule sets and such.

Herm... so are there any demo boards or other forums I can check?

[kyxmma]

There are no other boards that I know of. FG2 is more versatile then insider because of the different rulesets. From what I know about the insider it is set for 4th edition dungeons and dragons and that only. FG2 You can do anygame and have maps for any type of games. Insider you can only create maps for dungeons and dragons and you can only use there program. FG2 you can you use any program that creates maps. FG2 to me is alot more versatile. I highly recommend FG2. Also the insider map creator looks too much like a video game for me. I like having maps but I also like using my imagination and the 3-d computer graphics kinds of kill it for me(I play DDO and to me the insider map creator just resembles it too much).

[Xorn]

I'm waiting and watching the D&D GameTable. Regardless of it's features and whether or not they can implement them--the cost compared to your alternatives is prohibitive. My group plays weekly, and there's 6 players plus me. I also run other one-shot games for other folks. That means every one of my players has to pay for GameTable, as I would need a minimum of 24 guest passes to cover my group a month, and they are talking about 8.

The ending cost for my play group would be $840 per YEAR, if they commit to one year at a time.

We paid $90 for FG2, and when the next version of FG comes out, we'll pay it without hesitation. FG2 is full-featured, easy to customize, and has a community to back it up. And it feels like tabletop.

GT looks clunky, it looks like more work than FG2, and most importantly, it doesn't look like $840 per year to me. Bear in mind those fancy 3D minis? Those are EXTRA after the $840 per year. That just gets you tokens. You have to pay for the 3D minis. GT is a piece of smoking dung, and always will be as long as there are VTT alternatives.

[kyxmma]

Well said. GT is just way too much for what little they give you. For FG2 I have roughly 2500 tokens and I spent maybe 30 bucks. FG2 way more worth it.

[ianim]

Good convincing there, folks. I'll more than likely be dropping some money on FG2 then ;) Hope to see you guys "in-game" soon. Cheers.

[scytale2]

I don't agree with Xorn here and I know he hopes I'm right:)

There's no way they will charge $70/month for the software. There's no precedent in the market for that.

I also think that it will have much more functionality than FG2, although FG2 will be more flexible. The idea of downloading modules straight into the system will work really well and you will definitely get the "minis" with your purchase of the module imho.

I would definitely keep an eye on it. They will want an early big take up of it, so prices may well start at a very accessible level, only to go up later...

Having said all that, you cannot go wrong with FG2. It does everything very well and it is not a direct replacement for the Wizards on-line product, anyway.

[Griogre]

He is talking 7 customers at $10 a month which is the rate if you sign up for a year. For any one indiviual it would be $120 a year. As a DM I could pay $10 a month if the content justified the lack of data input. I just don't see how players could justify it though - but we are still talking the cost of one movie a month.

[guiguiBob]

I would be hoping they go the common route of offering deals for long term subscription, 60 dollars a year I'd be happy to pay even if I just play, 120$ I might have to think about it more.

[Griogre]

The 10 bucks a month is for a year subscription. Month to month it is $15.

[guiguiBob]

they are higher than the market, Xbox Live is 10$ a month or 60 for a year as well as gametap and marvel digital so I had assumed they were in the same price range... well I won'T be subscribing until they get back in the pricing of the market for online yearly subscription.

[Xorn]

Scytale2 and I have different expectations, but he's right, when we talked about this together I hope he's right! I hope that before D&D GT becomes available, Wizards looks at the VTTs out there, and recognizes that most people are not going to pay for what they are offering, when the alternatives are so much cheaper.

As it stands, from what Wizard has stated--the intended price will be $120 a year if you commit to 1 year, or $15/month if you pay month-to-month. Per person. An account will have 8 guest passes per month, meaning a DM can subscribe and run a game for 4 people, twice a month. I'll be clear--I think $10-15 a month is a good deal for the DM. But my players are only interested in GameTable, and the Character Mini creator. They don't care about Dungeon, Dragon, the Rules Database, or the DM Tools.

So if you have 4 players, then the DM's subscription will cover 4 players twice a month. That means access to the GT, and you get 2D pog tokens for the products you own. You must pay extra to have 3D virtual minis. I'll state that one more time with emphasis--you must pay extra to have 3D virtual minis.

Now I have 6 players. We run the game weekly. I also run a lot of extra games for other people, so many times I end up running twice a week. Griogre had two standing games, last time I sat in on one of his games. So one subscription (and mind you, 7 people can purchase FG2 as a group for $90, and own it) is not going to cover my VTT gaming. Because the 3D minis (the only thing I don't have with FG2) cost extra, they aren't even in my equation anymore! It's flat cost now--how much will I pay for GT instead of supporting FG2, a honed, tested, and standalone software that we will eagerly upgrade to FG3, without a discount price, based solely on how happy we are with FG2.

Now I sincerely hope Scytale2 is right. I hope between now and the day GT is released, they look at other and say, "No one in their right mind is going to pay this much with the alternatives out there!" I'm not as optimistic though, because I think we're talking a YEAR from now they'll realize they don't offer enough improvement over existing options, for the price they want. The market will not support the VTT they are developing.

But, Wizards greatly raised awareness of the EXISTENCE of VTTs, and that should drive their book sales up, hopefully.

Rather than just badmouthing GT the entire post, I'll state what would be an acceptable price:

$120 a year for the DM is warranted, for me--Dungeon, Dragon, and the DM Tools are worth that much to me, so the GT is a bonus. 24 guest passes a month--averag party size is 4-6, people commonly play at least once per week. Every subscription means 4 games/month for 6 players and a DM. If you need additional passes, $1 per pass.

I'd take a look at that pricing model. But that's not enough money to get Wizards interested, I'm sure. Option B (and I think the superior option) is you bundle the software as STANDALONE DM and Player clients. Make the cost equal to a PHB or DMG. If you own a player client, you can connect whenever. DM Client you can host whenever. You want to use the gamefinder services? THAT's part of the DDI subscription. But if you have a play group and you just need a VTT to close the gap? Just sell them the standalone clients and move on.

Anxiously looking forward to FG continuing to thrive, with support from my playgroup.

[Griogre]

they are higher than the market, Xbox Live is 10$ a month or 60 for a year as well as gametap and marvel digital so I had assumed they were in the same price range... well I won'T be subscribing until they get back in the pricing of the market for online yearly subscription.
They are using MMORPs as their price guideline. WoW is priced similar.