Lookng to buy

[Larac]

My group is looking to buy FG, so we can play Cyberpunk.

Some of my worries, are how hard is it to build new char sheets?

How much work is it to run a Non D20 based game?

Is there a day that FG Devs, or fans, hold a clinic for newcomers?

It looks great for D20, but I wonder how much efort will be needed to get others working well?

Is it possibile to link a char sheet to a token on the fly?

Can I send packs of information to players for the copy directly, or is it better to do it when they connect?

Why should I use FG over the others?
Not being mean or anything just want to know.



Lee

[Ganadai]

My group is looking to buy FG, so we can play Cyberpunk.

Some of my worries, are how hard is it to build new char sheets?

I just got FG two weeks ago and made a new custom character sheet within the first week. It took some time to do, but I figured it out. Knowing XML is a plus, but if you don't people on the forums are always glad to help with code questions.

How much work is it to run a Non D20 based game?

My game is d6. FG allows you to roll multiples of each die. Such as if you right click on the d6 you can choose to roll 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15 or 20. In other words, it's not difficult to run non d20 games.

Is there a day that FG Devs, or fans, hold a clinic for newcomers?

There is not one as far as I know, but if you would like to play and check out the interface, you are welcome to join my Hero Quest game today at 4pm PST. That would require you to purchase at least a player license though.

It looks great for D20, but I wonder how much efort will be needed to get others working well?

I have seen about six other rulesets and know there are many more out there. I don't think it is difficult, but it will take some time and effort.

Is it possibile to link a char sheet to a token on the fly?

I don't think it is possible to link character sheets to tokens, someone please correct me if I am wrong. However, you can always click on the players portrait to see their char sheet.

Can I send packs of information to players for the copy directly, or is it better to do it when they connect?

I'm not sure I understand this question. If you create a new ruleset and/or character sheet you can send it to the players before the game session. They will just have to place it in the rulesets directory.
If you wait until the session for them to connect then it will automatically download the new rulesset, but may take awhile since most peoples upload bandwidth is usually low. (i.e. 100 kbs / 6 people = 16 kbs/person) With rulesets being anywhere from 2 MB to 15 MB or bigger it can take awhile to download the first time, but will be quick for future sessions.
You can also send/show pictures durring the session. How long it takes to load depends on the size of the picture, but there is also an option to preload images so the players will not have to wait for the image to load when you decide to display it.

Why should I use FG over the others?
Not being mean or anything just want to know.

FG is the only one I've used so I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer this question, but... from what I've seen and read FG is the best.

[Griogre]

My group is looking to buy FG, so we can play Cyberpunk.

Some of my worries, are how hard is it to build new char sheets?

I run D&D so I haven't felt the need to make one, so I can't say.

How much work is it to run a Non D20 based game?

No more work than a Face to Face game if everyone has the books. Realistically, though you are probably going to want to add some things - but you don't have to and can do it at your own pace. This may seem confusing so I explain some more. FG is a similator of a gaming group around a table. When you have a group around a table, your ruleset is your gaming book/references. FG provides the dice, the ability to "talk" to each other, and the battlemap with tokens. While it does happen to have a d20 ruleset its a bonus - not a core functionally.

Is there a day that FG Devs, or fans, hold a clinic for newcomers?

No, though it isn't a bad idea. These message boards serve much of the same purpose.

It looks great for D20, but I wonder how much efort will be needed to get others working well?

I would think the character sheet would be the biggest aid. After that as much rules aid as you have tolerance for typing in.

Is it possibile to link a char sheet to a token on the fly?

I'm not sure what you mean here. Tokens can be used by anyone. You can drag a name on them so when someone mouses over them the name is displayed. There is no explict link between a token and a PC or particular creature. I'm not sure why you would want to do this. There are ways to open a character sheet by clicking on various things already. I'm shooting in the dark, here. Not really sure what you are asking.

Can I send packs of information to players for the copy directly, or is it better to do it when they connect?

Depends. For a large ruleset where some players are on dialup it might be best to send them it ahead of time. As an alternative you simply could have them log on at different times and get the ruleset one at a time. Rulesets only need to be sent once unless you change them. This is primarily a bandwidth issue. For scenario type information, unless you have massive images, you are probably better off sending the info during the game. FG does have an option to send stuff in the background before you need it.

Why should I use FG over the others?
Not being mean or anything just want to know.

Fair question. I've been playing FG for about a month now. I already had an online group and we switched over to FG enmass. I had been looking at the different software before I choose FG and I choose FG because of the three top of the line ones: 1) It was the easiest to "load and go" without any need to do rulesets at all (now I do run D&D so it is a little different for you - but not much if the players e-mailed you their characters). But Klooge, you have to have a ruleset before you can use most of the nifty features - and if you're gonna get it - why wouldn't you want to use the nifty features? So you've got to do a ruleset. I could have easily gotten a d20 ruleset but felt it was too much work to use Kooge (plus see next point). OpenRGP is similar to Kooge and crash prone. 2) It was important to me, both the players and Gamemaster be able to draw new maps on the fly. FG does this better than the others. 3) I found it more intuitive to use. Because it is a simulator of the table top face to face games I felt the interface was more intuative. 4) Better third party development support, both Kooge and OpenRPG have great communities but - FG is the only tabletop utility where you can actually *buy* extra modules and rulesets for. I know you don't play d20, but for a few bucks you can pick up some modules and rulesets to take them apart to see how things work.

If you look at all the major programs carefully, you will see they each have advantages over the other ones. None of them are perfect and the best in all things. You need to find the one that gives you the best features you care about. You will find each does something better than the rest. Pick the one that meshes best with your group and style of play. Mess with all the demos. FG's demo is a pretty decent reflection of the full version. I don't like that there demo is only for two players and honestly, I would have bought FG a few months sooner if I could have used the demo to connected all my players and been able to run an audio chat program to make sure it would work with my fairly large group with includes a dial up player.

[Stuart]

I'm looking to use a system called Battlegrounds to run a non d20 game BUT it does not offer the paperless sytem that FG can be. That said - many people make make their own rulesets and character sheets. A big plus for FG is the community around it and general intuitiveness (scoring over Klooge etc).

There is no reason why a non d20 game cannot be used with FG.

[Larac]

Thank you all for your answers and time.


Another question:

Can yon import a DJ adventure into FG?

Being able to pull the room info, and NPC stuff from the maps made with DJ, might prove useful.

Thanks again for all the help.

Lee

[Stuart]

Yes - there are a variety of threads discussing mapping options. Simply export your map as a jpeg.

[Cypher]

Thank you all for your answers and time.


Another question:

Can yon import a DJ adventure into FG?

Being able to pull the room info, and NPC stuff from the maps made with DJ, might prove useful.

Thanks again for all the help.

Lee

Unfortunately the answer is no. Yes the maps work wonderfully, but the only way to get your adventure into FG would be to cut and paste your text. Cut and Paste work very well in FG, but you must use the shortcut keys (ctrl+c, ctrl+v) as there is no option for C&P on the radial menu.

[Larac]

Unfortunately the answer is no. Yes the maps work wonderfully, but the only way to get your adventure into FG would be to cut and paste your text. Cut and Paste work very well in FG, but you must use the shortcut keys (ctrl+c, ctrl+v) as there is no option for C&P on the radial menu.

Thanks again!

[Larac]

Well we bought in, 8 copies bought.

Now get ready for many questions

Lee

[Griogre]

Now get ready for many questions

LOL you should have seen me. Ask away!