RPTools.net

#2 is really odd. I'll investigate

We had our usual Thursday night game and things went smoothly. We are using 1.3b20 currently with no glitches.

We did however find one thing that would be VERY useful. It would be great if players (and GMs) could whisper to multiple connected people at the same time. As a player for example I would like to whisper to another player and the GM at the same time.

Good call, I think there's a tracker for that somewhere (lost in the annals of priority), if I can't find it I'll add a new one

Wow! I didn't realize that there was a thread here for Gemini Ascendant. Tres cool 'wolf. Just an update.

We are now using version 1.3b56. I really love this program and each new release makes it that much easier to use. I have sort of taken up macro scripting for the game and there is one little thing that bothers me. I'll post a new thread in the proper forum for that though. In the meantime, we have resumed our game after a long hiatus. It took us some time to get used to the new method of doing things (e.g. creating macros on the Selected window instead of the token itself) but things are really looking upwards.

We did not use a map for anything this time, other that a default map with the player and npc tokens loaded, so I have no comments about that. As I recall from earlier versions, the mapping was never an issue. I have also used this version in a fantasy game using another ruleset and got a kick out of FoW and lighting. I am fairly certain that maps and tokens will not be an issue.

More after the Tuesday session.

Cool, looking forward to it

Okay, it has been a little longer until my report back but now I definitely have something new to report. We tested Vision, Light and Fog of War today. For the most part, it works marvelously. I did have a couple of issues come up though.

Facing
Is there a way to make facing at 45 degree angles instead of 90 degree angles? By default, HERO uses a 120 arc for vision (unless special powers are bought to expand this). By switching facing by 90 degrees, we were missing some features in between the visible areas. I think a 45 degree angle would fix that.

VBL
I made the mistake of trying to get the VBL to contour with the map shape, which was an irregular cavern shape. As a result, there were some distracting gaps in the VBL that caused a sort of "shattered glass" effect. I know how to fix them in future maps, but it seems like one should be able to trace the map contours into a VBL. Not sure how it could be done without trying to turn MapTool into a full-fledged graphics program that can save Paths and the like, but it is an observation about just what you can and cannot do with MapTool VBL.

Overall I am still impressed with the MapTool functionality. I was able to figure out how to do custom Vision and Light settings. Everything but those two issues make MapTool one hell of a resource for a GM to use.

Nevermind at 45 degree angle thing. Check the Vertices box. All good now.

And regarding the VBL thing, I just read a thread about that that linked me to the Wiki entry regarding that. Knowing the limitations of the tools that comprise MapTool (which should really be MapTools) helps me make better calls on how best to implement the features I want to use to better effect.

One thing I want to mention about VBL. I have a macro that allows a player to select his target from the visible tokens. I always thought it meant from the ones flagged as Visible to Players. What I did not anticipate (and was pleasantly surprised to find out) is that tokens that the player's token cannot "see" are also not available to target. That makes the VBL even more invaluable than just just creating ambiance. Way too cool for school.

More feedback as I come across other interesting tidbits.

One problem I found with the get visible macro I created, is that if an NPC is standing in a square and the PC can see even a part of the square - the smallest sliver, but cannot see the NPC token, the NPC still shows up on the list.

I had guys hiding behind pillars when we were testing and the Dwarf somehow managed to see them even though the tokens were not on the screen.

Skester

I will take that as a tip for npc token placement. Thanks.

In my estimation, it's always a trade off when you use an automation tool. There is the ease of making the maps ahead of time, placing the enemy/npc tokens and getting them all written up. The trade off is that MapTool is perhaps too literal in how it interprets the data it has available. I personally see the use of having it and am willing to make that trade. One other option is to turn off Visible to Players until the whole hex/square/place the token inhabits is exposed. But that just adds more work and things I have to remember to keep up with.

I have somewhat less of a problem because I am running with a more narrow focus than the out of the box vision modes. In HERO, you have to pay for 240 or 360 degree vision. The default is 120 degrees in front of the character. The only exception I have to that is a personal space vision mode which allows the character to "see" 1m around them if they are not focused on something else. They have to set vision modes and the special effect is that they are focusing on their immediate area instead of the distance. It doesn't grant them any bonus other than the ability to tell if somebody is sneaking up behind them. Unless the character has purchased Defense Maneuver or Combat Sense, they are still at whatever penalties they would have if attacked from behind, they would just get an idea that something was there. The inverse is true as well. If they are focused on the longer range, they may not sense that skulker until it is too late.

Dang I love MapTool. It can add so much to the game. I do not regret my conversion from OpenRPG one bit.