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View Full Version : OpenRPG, RPGTools or Other?



mikeejimbo
2009-07-22, 05:47 PM
I'm looking for a good Virtual Tabletop program, and I wondered what the Playground's thoughts on the matter were.

Skorj
2009-07-22, 05:49 PM
I'd really like to write one for my next homebrew system. If anyone knows a good open-source program, that would be awesome.

mikeejimbo
2009-07-22, 05:52 PM
Oh, that would be sweet. Something that lets you write plugins would be a benefit in my mind, too.

penbed400
2009-07-22, 06:13 PM
I like to use Gametable-2.0.RC4

There are some problems with hosting the first couple times but once you get past that it works like a dream. The company offers a free download for it too. Seems like they just wanted to get a free system out there for people. You could try that out. Just google, right now I'm too lazy to grab a link

shadow_archmagi
2009-07-22, 06:16 PM
Only my hairdresser knows for sure! :smallbiggrin:

My latest DM uses Fantasygrounds; it's a neat little thing. Allows for maps, dierolls, text chat.. but not voice, sadly.

Vortling
2009-07-22, 06:17 PM
I've used maptools from rptools for a good while now and find it does pretty much everything I need a map program to do. The initial setup of the server takes a little doing but that's pretty much part for the course.

mikeejimbo
2009-07-22, 06:22 PM
Hmm, I hadn't heard of Gametable or Fantasygrounds. I'll look into those.

shadow_archmagi
2009-07-22, 07:21 PM
I can't really imagine the difference between them being significant.

Grid with doohickey capabilities
Communicator
Dice

That's all you really need... and those are really simple things to code.

AstralFire
2009-07-22, 07:25 PM
RP/MapTools is what I use.

OpenRPG is terrible. Don't bother.

Raum
2009-07-22, 08:22 PM
Fantasy Grounds (http://fantasygrounds.com/) is pretty good. Just need to grab a third party voice client such as Team Speak or Ventrilo.

Starscream
2009-07-22, 08:37 PM
I used to vouch for OpenRPG because there were some good plugins for it, but it has sadly become abandonware and no longer receives any support.

I hear good things about GameTable. I think Fantasy Grounds costs money. Seems a waste when all you really need is a chatroom, a random number generator, and something to show maps.

Break
2009-07-22, 09:01 PM
I use Fantasy Grounds II, but, yeah, that costs money. Its only real advantages are a good interface and it being easier to teach than most other game tables.

MapTools is probably the best free alternative, with flexible scripting and a decent interface.

mikeejimbo
2009-07-23, 06:14 AM
OpenRPG is terrible. Don't bother.

See, that's good to know. What's so terrible about it, though?

AstralFire
2009-07-23, 09:59 AM
It's glitchy. Several versions will throw people offline when you attempt to manipulate the game map.

It's cumbersome. All images have to be prehosted elsewhere, then you insert the URL into the engine - this is merely slow for me as I host my own website, but it puts definite size restrictions in for people who use photobucket and the like.

The interface is pretty terrible. For some reason copying and pasting never works very well from the chat window for me, and it likes to try and load web links within the chat window, which just about never ends well as it's nothing like compatible with today's web pages. (This is a glitch or something, as I know others with the same problem, and others who don't have it, and I run no addons.)

OpenRPG's better than maptool when run as a chat interface since it's more adaptable for decentralization, has more chat tools and shows when people are typing, but AIM/YIM/MSN beat it hands down for that.

mikeejimbo
2009-07-23, 04:06 PM
All right, I tried out both OpenRPG and MapTools, and I have to say that I agree, MapTools is better.

heruca
2009-08-06, 07:37 AM
You might also want to take a look at Battlegrounds: RPG Edition (http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/nutshell.html).

A comprehensive list of all the virtual tabletop software available for RPGs is available here (http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/links.html#anchor6), and a feature comparison chart covering most of the more popular VTTs can be found here (http://www.fouruglymonsters.com/community/fumcon/fc-vtt).