CMU develops interactive D&D

[Person_Man]

Link to demo.

I am hugely looking forward to the synergy between giant cheap touch screens and miniature games. I'm guessing something like this will be on the market within 3 years, and we'll get a holographic Star Wars chess version within 10.

Discuss.

[Rixx]

It's really just a video game at this point. As nice as it is to automate the battle system, it takes away from a lot of what makes tabletops great in the first place, like homebrew content and arbitrary DM BS.

That being said, being able to make an attractive map on the fly with neat custom 'miniatures' would be an awesome application for this - as long as the gameplay is still left to the players. That'd make it system-neutral, too.

[Mando Knight]

That looks like a rather impressive system. I could see WotC getting behind this and selling it as part of the DDI system...

[Mongoose87]

Too bad it's for 4e. Not only does it look super shiny, but it would shave about an hour off of my group's encounters - we're all level 30, and with two rogues, that means lots of flanking, and sneak attacks.

I wish you could roll an IRL d20 for it, though.

[Cyanic]

interesting...

[Mando Knight]

I wish you could roll an IRL d20 for it, though.

You conceivably could, you just wouldn't be able to use the built-in rolling system to calculate hit and damage rolls.

Ideally, if this has/were to get WotC's blessing, the system would be able to take in Character/Monster Builder data for increased modularity.

[valadil]

I like it for displaying maps, but the dice roller seems a little overzealous to me. Unless of course if dice were damaging the screen. Then I guess it makes sense. I'd still rather do my own math - that's part of the appeal of tabletop gaming to me.

[PinkysBrain]

It's really just a video game at this point. As nice as it is to automate the battle system, it takes away from a lot of what makes tabletops great in the first place, like homebrew content and arbitrary DM BS.

That is non sequitur ... automation does not take away from the ability to homebrew or arbitrary DM BS (it might still take away from what makes tabletops great in the first place, your stated reasons just aren't true).

If you want bookkeeping for a homebrew monster done automatically you have to program him in as preparation, but a good DM prepares anyway. Even if it's not programmed in with a decent UI you can just automate just what you want and no more. Throwing a random encounter map together need be no more difficult than on a dry erase board either.

Personally I think status effect bookkeeping and vision rules for D&D (3e or 4e) are perfectly suited to computer automation ... because I know that without automation it's a giant headache, doesn't add to the fun much doing that yourself.

Allowing stuff to be automated is not the same thing as not allowing the DM to overrule things ... of course it needs to use a separate DM view on a different display to do that efficiently.

PS. Starwars holograms are physically impossible, a hologram can only be visible when the holographic plate/display is visible behind it.

PPS. it seems they liked the ToEE interface.

[Person_Man]

I wish you could roll an IRL d20 for it, though.

I assume that someone could take apart a Wii remote, cram it inside a d20, and have it transmit the result of each roll to a computer. Or you could just roll a die and then punch the result into the key pad of your computer, or build into the side of a board.

Honestly, I have no idea why WotC hasn't invented some sort of Temple of Elemental Evil style turn based game simulator that automatically updates when you buy a new splat book. Even if you were running it off of a laptop, it'd go a huge way towards reducing the bookkeeping hassle inherent in D&D (any edition). Assuming you just wanted to run it off of a laptop and not a touch screen, the technology is has been around for at least a decade.

[PinkysBrain]

Well, they originally planned to bring out official virtual table top software ... then they cancelled it.

[Person_Man]

Well, they originally planned to bring out official virtual table top software ... then they cancelled it.

I remember reading that as well. Does anyone know why?

[AstralFire]

I remember reading that as well. Does anyone know why?

It was probably pretty hard to make one that was both flexible and user friendly. MapTool is very powerful, but if you want to get anything beyond its basic features you have to be willing to spend some time.

[TheThan]

I like this idea, except for the digital dice, simply because rolling digital dice is not as fun as physically holding the dice and rolling them.

As long as it comes with all the software a Dm would typically need (spread sheet program, rules book software, map creator/editor etc) it should work out very well.

[AstralFire]

I'm all for digital dice. I always manage to mess up my real dice rolls when I play long enough.

[PinkysBrain]

They shouldn't take that long to roll though ... well unless you are the DM, you should be able to select slomo rolls for the critical empowered disintegrate.

[Akal Saris]

Once again my alma mater manages to impress me with its awesome nerdiness. Pity we couldn't really get a stable D&D club running there while I attended. But the local game store and RPGA meeting spot was only 5 mins away anyhow :D

[Gamerlord]

I can't wait, I hope they come out with a 3.5 edition eventually,

now I can simulate hundreds of D&D battles!

[Tiki Snakes]

Actually, I heard that the virtual Tabletop has basically been bumped to the bottom of the to-do-list, after the componants of the adventure-tools (ie, monster builder and whatever else will be part of that) have been done. Originally, they were going to develop them all simultainiously, so it's effectively been reeeally delayed, rather than genuinely cancelled.

Of course, depending on events in time, those two things may end up essentially being functionally the same, but for now, it's still an intended thing.

[kjones]

This is the sort of thing that makes me proud to be a CMU student.

This fancy-pants thing is pretty awesome, but I'd be just as happy, and perhaps even happier, with a simple interactive grid that I could move around easily. Constantly drawing and erasing whiteboards gets old fast. Though I suppose that's not really fulfilling the full potential of the device...

I can see this going interesting places in twenty years. Of course, no game system will retain widespread popularity for that long...

[Starbuck_II]

Demo looks pretty good.

[Akal Saris]

This is the sort of thing that makes me proud to be a CMU student.

This fancy-pants thing is pretty awesome, but I'd be just as happy, and perhaps even happier, with a simple interactive grid that I could move around easily. Constantly drawing and erasing whiteboards gets old fast. Though I suppose that's not really fulfilling the full potential of the device...

I can see this going interesting places in twenty years. Of course, no game system will retain widespread popularity for that long...

Hey kjones, what school are you in? I was a H&SS grad :)

And hey, this could be the way that we play D&D 6.5!

[Thrawn183]

It would be awesome if they talked to the designers of Spore for making custom images of your monsters.

Not only could you make your own, but even share them online!

Honestly, I wonder how easy it would be to just peruse the sporepedia (I totally don't remember if that is what it is called) and make up stats for the creatures on there. I bet you could throw your players for some serious loops.

[Asbestos]

Does anyone live in Pittsburgh?! Does anyone know these dudes?! Surely they know of OOTS and visit this forum.


If so... can I play D&D with you guys?

[Mastikator]

I hope it will give the DM the option to fiddle with the core rules, in case you want to have house rules. And call DM fiat. Half of the DM's job is to screw the rules and play by whim =D

[Asbestos]

Seriously, I would 'get rid of' a hundred New York City hobos to get a hold of a Surface + this software. Every time I see something like this I am filled with Envy and Avarice and a tiny bit of Lust.

Also, I want to know why this tech is so long in the making? 21st century, quit letting me down!

[Mongoose87]

Does anyone live in Pittsburgh?! Does anyone know these dudes?! Surely they know of OOTS and visit this forum.


If so... can I play D&D with you guys?

Want me to stalk them for you when I go there to visit my Grandma?

[Asbestos]

Want me to stalk them for you when I go there to visit my Grandma?

Yes. LoJack them for me.

[Prime32]

...hey, these guys stole my idea!

[AslanCross]

This is the best technological tool for D&D that I've seen since that LCD-projected screen on d20srd.

[kjones]

Does anyone live in Pittsburgh?! Does anyone know these dudes?! Surely they know of OOTS and visit this forum.


If so... can I play D&D with you guys?

I live in Pittsburgh - I'm a CMU student, as mentioned before. (MCS/SCS, for the dude who asked... although I'm sure that those in H&LessStress would have had plenty of time to game. )

The guys who did this were from the ETC, which is not really part of the undergraduate university... think of it as a very specialized grad student program. They do a lot of innovative stuff with Human-Computer Interaction, of which this is obviously an example.

(If you're really looking for a game, check out Phantom of the Attic in Oakland. They usually have a bulletin board with a few postings.)