So I tested out a session using Maptools this past week. We had four laptops in a group of 6 and we played at the table via a wireless LAN using 60b. Vista's nagging bitchery was the only real issue we ran into, but that was minor. The only other thing I noticed was that if I made adjustments to the map while it wasn't visible to the players, it would occasionally cause some clients to throw a non-fatal error message. Beyond that, the app ran flawlessly.
We only had an opportunity to play through one battle, but everyone loved it. Though it wasn't used much for this particular battle (outdoor battle during the day in the middle of a town with which they were already familiar), they got a particular kick out of the VBL.
All of that paled in comparison to the chat though. It was of course used to pass private notes/questions to me, which was great. But from the player side, though they weren't sitting five feet from each other, they loved being able to chat back and forth.
Now, you'd normally think this would be bad in the middle of a game. But honestly, it worked. The normal OOC banter that would normally end up sucking in the entire group (myself included) into 20 minute discussions was now done exclusively through chat. Those that wanted to game, could; those that wanted to engage in typical geek arguments could w/o distracting the rest of us, could. I didn't even have to ask ... it just worked out that way.
For the most part*, Maptools was big hit for us.
Some notes from the GM side. I've got to learn not to go overboard with the maps. I spent way to much time creating the maps for the amount of time they saw/will see in play. Two, I've got to stop downloading art. Somehow, for what was supposed to be a test, I ended up with three gigs of textures, tokens, objects and critters. And three, I need to make use of the init tool. I have a bad habit of overlooking NPC allies in battle.
I did have one question RE: campaigns and maps. Are textures/objects loaded with the campaign for all maps, or only the current map. And if you switch maps, do the objects from the previous map get flushed from memory? My laptop is oldish so I've been creating a new campaign for each map thinking that would help limit memory usage. Just wondering if that's necessary or not.
Thanks guys!
*The one guy in our group who's a big warhammer fan and supplies our group with most of its minis said he prefers the feel of minis, but liked Maptools nonetheless. I mentioned if he wants to spring for a projector and a mount, we'll happily use Maptools while he moves his mini 'round the table I think he's considering it
Burning Sky moves from the mat to Maptools
Tell us how you are using our gaming tools and how your sessions are going.
Moderator: Azhrei
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