Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

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J.P.
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Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by J.P. »

I am planning on using MapTool 1.4.5 for a local gaming group. I will have MapTool on my laptop and connect it to an HDTV via HDMI.

Can I use vision and light to hide whatever might be lurking about or is that not really an option with shared viewing? I'm guessing no but thought I would ask anyway since it has been a few years since I used MapTool and don't really know what changes have been made in that time.

I suppose what I am really looking for is some advice on how to best handle the setup we have and what problems it might create.
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aliasmask
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by aliasmask »

I do this all the time. Your server will be on laptop and another instance for the players will be on the other monitor (tv). The server will force the player view but only show the player view. If you have to move around you can toggle off the forced view.

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J.P.
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by J.P. »

aliasmask wrote:I do this all the time. Your server will be on laptop and another instance for the players will be on the other monitor (tv). The server will force the player view but only show the player view. If you have to move around you can toggle off the forced view.
So just to be clear... I need to start a server on my laptop and by connecting it to the TV via HDMI, it will automatically force player view?

If I connect a separate mouse and keyboard to the laptop, can the players select their tokens and control their movement on the TV?

I won't, or at least don't believe, that I will need to switch the TV from player view to GM view.
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by Xaelvaen »

You can run two instances of Maptools on the same computer / laptop. So you'd start your client as normal (as GM), and then start a server from the file menu. You'll open a second instance of maptools and go to file and connect to the server you just made on the 'lan' tab. Have the second client log in as player. This will give the second view (the TV) the desired limitations players would have, as far as what they can or cannot see, while your laptop will still have GM view.

As far as connecting a secondary mouse and keyboard, it should work, as long as there's no conflict input from your laptop. You will have to pan the mouse 'through' the side of the screen to the other monitor for the players to be able to see it. When I use this setup, I typically just have the players touch the screen where they wish to go (or in the case of us using a projector, touch the table) and I will move the tokens for them for expedience sake.
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by taustinoc »

J.P. wrote:If I connect a separate mouse and keyboard to the laptop, can the players select their tokens and control their movement on the TV?
To clarify, Windows will handle as many keyboards and mice as you want to connect, but there's still only one mouse cursor (and keyboard cursor, for that matter). So both will control it at the same time.

I do this all the time (with three wireless mice, because my players are too lazy to reach across the table). It requires proper manners, but it works well.

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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by J.P. »

Sweet.

Thanks for the help guys. MapTools seems like the right choice for our group after I went back and forth trying to decide what appliactions to use and/or the falling back to the old dry erase grid. Now I've got a solid plan and about a week to finish my maps, stat my encounters and add in some VBLs. ...And work in a story. :D
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by Xaelvaen »

Goodluck with your game - hope your players dig it. I've been using maptools with a projector (and occasionally an HD TV display) for a few years now, hope it serves you as well as it has my groups. Cheers!
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J.P.
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by J.P. »

Xaelvaen wrote:Goodluck with your game - hope your players dig it. I've been using maptools with a projector (and occasionally an HD TV display) for a few years now, hope it serves you as well as it has my groups. Cheers!
I looked at buying a projector and they started around $40.00 on Amazon but after they got into serious Lumens, the price increased considerably. And then it increased again when I started looking at short throw HD options.

If this Savage Worlds campaign proves to be a long one, like the 6+ years I spent DM'ing the same group (+ two first time RPG players) through a single 3.5 D&D campaign, I am considering building/buying a table and mounting an HDTV at its center with a mini-pc connected on the underside. That is a ways off though
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Re: Local Gaming - 1 Laptop, 1 TV - Looking for Advice

Post by Xaelvaen »

I found a great how-to video to use a projector and plexiglass with some special light censors and basically create your own touch-screen table, so players could touch their tokens and move them around. Not horrible on the expense end, but lacks some functionality to be hugely successful just yet. Still an interesting concept I'd like to play around with in the future.
"An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person." - Leo Tolstoy

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