When you want to keep it Classic
We have always simply called our software Fantasy Grounds. With the release of Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU), we are now renaming the previous version to Fantasy Grounds Classic.
Fantasy Ground Classic (FGC) has been around and evolving since 2004. It is a peer to peer application that is stable and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. It is a 32-bit application that runs natively on Windows and on Mac and Linux systems that support 32-bit applications through Wine wrappers.
FGC cannot connect with FGU, and vice-versa.
Data modules for FGC are compatible with Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU).
Campaigns for FGC are compatible with Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU) in most cases but may require some additional updates for FGU or even minor XML editing to fix them and make them compatible. Our goal is for these to be fully compatible to move over in the near future.
Networking Considerations:
- To host a game on FGC, the Gamemaster hosting the game must enable port forwarding on their router for TCP port 1802. We have instructions for doing that here.
- To join a game on FGC, you simply need the alias or external IP address of the Gamemaster's game.
- FGC relies upon IPv4. Some countries have moved to IPv6 only, while the United States and most other countries still support both.
FGC is very stable for most users and it is optimized for speed for most operations.
FGU is in Early Access mode. It has went through an Alpha and Closed Beta process already and while it still has some bugs and missing features, we believe that it is ready for people to play and start using. We believe that the experience will be better on FGU over time than it will be on FGC.
If you have an existing group playing on FGC, then you should look at getting a license or subscription for FGC instead of FGU. The two software versions won't connect to each other. You will need to re-purchase a license for FGU if you decide to upgrade at a later date; however, we will have discounts available for users who upgrade from FGC to FGU.
We plan to keep FGC updated and running for as long as the demand remains high. It won't receive any major functionality enhancements outside of ruleset updates, which are shared among FGU and FGC. Any major functionality updates will only happen on FGU.
A subscription allows the software to be used as long as your monthly subscription is active with PayPal. It helps reduce the upfront cost to you and provides regular revenue for SmiteWorks that makes it easy for us to budget expenses.
A license is a 1-time purchase that costs more up front but will be the cheapest for you if you plan on using the software for many years. Buyers of FGC licenses have been able to get upgrades to FGC for years and years without having to pay for an upgrade, until now. Moving to FGU from FGC will require an upgrade cost. You will repurchase the software, but you will get a discount on the purchase. FGC has been around since 2004. FGU is the first upgrade that SmiteWorks has ever charged for and there won't be another upgrade charge for many, many years in the future.
Monthly subscriptions do not accrue towards a 1-time license and they don't qualify you for upgrade discounts. As a final note, FGC subscriptions are not compatible with FGU subscriptions.
SmiteWorks offers a 30-day money back guarantee on all purchases and subscriptions -- for any reason. Just contact us at [email protected] and we would be happy to help. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response, especially on weekends and holidays.
You can get Fantasy Grounds Unity here.
Our FG Classic wiki has information on installation, basic usage, ruleset specific help and developer guides. There is also a group of fans who run Fantasy Grounds College on Discord and they offer free interactive training courses to get new GMs and players up to speed quickly.
