why did you chose FG over other VTT apps?

Title says it all. I'm curious what sealed the deal for you all. What made you decide that investing in this application was worth it over the free software that's out there at the moment.


I'm 95% sure I'm going with FG but after an email discussion with a friend this morning, I'm still undecided.

Thanks.

Our group fell for the design, the dice and the rpg feel of the software.
I've played around with both OpenRpg and Maptools, but they were both "just another window based application" to me.

I've only barely looked at Kloogewerks and Battlegrounds, but neither caught my eye when I was originally looking for VTTs a few years ago.

Now, there are several functions that I'd hope FG had that you can find in other VTTs like dynamic lighting and better support for macros etc, but the character sheet, dice and module support that FG has makes it the better choice IMO. Of course depending on your needs, your mileage may vary.

is FG the only app with 3d dice?

While some see it as FG's great weakness that there is no central servers for it, I see that as it's great strength. I do not have to rely on anyone else to be able to game.

Since it is flexible enough that I can modify it myself I can and have made it my own with both rulesets and extensions.

Most of all though when compared to the free versions, it is fast. It doesn't lag up the computer and looks good.

- Obe

interesting.

So with Battlegrounds, I have to connect to a server?

Also, can I play "offline" like you can in BGs? The ability to test out some combat situations before I commit people to a campaign is appealing to me.

I have no idea about battlegrounds actually.

But I do know, yes, you can load up the server even with no players around and check the challenges against their characters.

To answer the other question, yes, FG's 3D dice are unique.

- Obe

interesting. thanks.

For me its the versatility that the engine provides. Unlike most of the other systems out there that give you a set environment that you have to tailor your games to, FG offers you an environment where all of the tools, and I do mean -all- of the tools, are built within the engine using the same scripting language that you are using to customize it for whatever game you are building the ruleset for. This gives you huge potential for what you implement because you can literally build in almost any functionality you want.

Add in the fact that you can build out the interface to appear however you want, that is a great boon for the platform and a draw for the publishers as well. They know that if they sign a deal to get a ruleset for their game into the environment they can be almost certain its going to have a very unique environment for people to play in when compared to other games playing on the very same platform.

FG is definitely in the lead

For me it was the interface, the simplicity and power of the character sheet, the combat tracker, the list goes on and on. I'm currently building some modules that I hope to DM soon and the ability to package it all together is outstanding. I looked at them all before I bought and in my opinion there is no better VTT out there. Where FG lags I am confident that enhancements will be made.