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View Full Version : Skirmish! VT - A modern VTT



Wheels
2016-11-06, 05:31 AM
Hey guys!

While looking around the Kickstarter I discovered something really interesting that's called Skirmish! VT! This virtual table top brings a really modern look and feel while still being really simple to use. I currently own other VTT's but this really caught my eye. I took a post from another user that compares the most used VTT's out there and it pretty much says why this may well be the future of VTT.

In case you guys are interested, here is the link for the Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569088261/skirmish-vt-virtual-tabletop-for-role-playing-game

Just in case you have doubts, check out some of their videos:

Custom Tokens/prop import - https://youtu.be/6YSCh0IE8Nk
Basic Vision / Fog of War - https://youtu.be/CiomIcHM3dU
Importing Custom Maps - https://youtu.be/95HBuP8PMfM
Dynamic Lighting System - https://youtu.be/Oi2LpAlkgQk
Fog of War Overview - https://youtu.be/iOt0e5oSHMg



Here is a little breakdown of other VTT's

-epic table which also came out doesn't even have dynamic lighting and requires manual FoW

-Fantasy Grounds relies on an old network model, and has primitive buggy drawing tools. There's a ton of vapor ware regarding Unity as a solve all but having seen the demo... well it's even behind d20pro on it's unity build. It also tends to freeze up a lot. They have great automation when it all falls together. Their extension framework however is very antiquated basing off a combo of XML and lua script.

-d20pro's dynamic lighting is buggy, their controls convoluted; and it's user base has mostly abandoned it. It also relies on an old network model. It does have a good load on demand data transfer though. Their plug in framework is java based and buggy.

-Roll20 is super easy to connect to, but requires a subscription to get dynamic lighting and for even more money you rent the privilege to help yourself or scalp off plug-ins others have developed to access the script features. It's server based so if the server is congested or down, so is your game, and all the content in it. Their plug in interface is Javascript based and works great until the server is congested, usually on the days games normally run (sat fri).

- Map tools is free and has been around the longest. It's open source and anyone can mod it or script for it. It also is stagnant in its development as far as new features are concerned. The network model is also dated and I highly doubt they'll be able to move to brokered server model given the costs. But for what it offers on the Java swing backbone It does it well.

-Skirmish VT is a broker based network model among peers where it determines the best host among your connected peers. Remember matchmaking on Xbox/console games where it would find a host among the players? It then distributes the data to only be revealed when the game master reveals it so you could host from a hotel by piggy backing a strong connection of one of your players. No server required. Plug-in extensions are available for free users so you don't need to pay in to get a chance to mod in the features you want. They have a plug in limit for free users though, but the fact you don't have to pay out the gate to see if it's worth it is applaudable. The main drawback here is that it is windows only; but so was Fantasy Grounds initially, and Skirmish is looking forward to the multiplatform space... oh and their FoW implementation which even can illustrate dark vision (see the vids, seeing is believing.. and I've actually used it in their beta) is the only modern implementation on VTTS to date.


Hope you guys join us^^

Jama7301
2016-11-06, 01:57 PM
Looks promising. Have they announced a release date yet, or are they waiting for funding goals?

Wheels
2016-11-06, 05:49 PM
They already did a Beta testing to weed out a lot of bugs. The kickstarter is for them to dedicate themselves fully to this and develop more features.

heruca
2016-12-15, 10:15 AM
Here is a little breakdown of other VTT's

Out of curiosity, why no mention of Battlegrounds (http://battlegroundsgames.com/battlegrounds-rpg-edition/)? It's been around for 10 years and has had nearly 100 free updates in that time (as recently as Sept 2016), so it's not like no one's heard of it.

As for the initial topic, it's too bad this second Skirmish Kickstarter campaign also failed. Perhaps the third time (in 2017?) will be the charm?

Although I wish they had a Mac version, I backed them both times primarily for the strong visuals and the slick-looking Fog of War feature.