Aside from your favorite system, and including any possible setting, is there any type of RPG that plays better online than others?

E.g. If I don't mind switch system or setting, I could have better results with 'x'...

I've struggled keeping games going in the past, and I'm always interested in analyzing the 'why', so it helps to know your own experiences...

What kind of online play do you mean?  Video, VTT, PbP?  I presume the first two.

I prefer simpler games that don't require a combat grid for online play, although it seems some folks are fine running stuff like 3.5 or PF or even 4e using a VTT.

Quote from: VectorSigma;574344What kind of online play do you mean?  Video, VTT, PbP?  I presume the first two.

I prefer simpler games that don't require a combat grid for online play, although it seems some folks are fine running stuff like 3.5 or PF or even 4e using a VTT.

Sorry, VTT...

My experience with online gaming is limited. I've tried it from time to time, no doubt I will try it again, but I've never found it viable but not entirely satisfactory.

The important thing to mention is that compared to face to face games, online games are twice as slow, twice as confusing and attendance is at least four times as flaky, even with real life friends. Yeah, I bolded that bit of text, that how strongly I feel about it.

A good comparison is that running for 2-3 players online feels like running a game with 7-8 players offline. As such the same sort of consideration should go into planning the game.

Namely a suggest a general dumbing down. I would avoid anything too subtle.  Try to keep the adventures fairly self-contained because you really don't know who will turn up next time.

Action is fine as long as the system allows for quick resolution. Even if you don't normally use miniatures, sketching a few things on a virtual white board or some sort of movable token will help - but keep it loose. If you get to caught up in making the visuals pretty it slow things down.

Finally keep the session short. I found that after two hours stuck in front of the screen with headphones I start getting really tired. Maybe that is just me.

Anyway, I am not an expert, these are just some observations. YMMV.

Quote from: Soylent Green;574470My experience with online gaming is limited. I've tried it from time to time, no doubt I will try it again, but I've never found it viable but not entirely satisfactory.

The important thing to mention is that compared to face to face games, online games are twice as slow, twice as confusing and attendance is at least four times as flaky, even with real life friends. Yeah, I bolded that bit of text, that how strongly I feel about it.

A good comparison is that running for 2-3 players online feels like running a game with 7-8 players offline. As such the same sort of consideration should go into planning the game.

Namely a suggest a general dumbing down. I would avoid anything too subtle.  Try to keep the adventures fairly self-contained because you really don't know who will turn up next time.

Action is fine as long as the system allows for quick resolution. Even if you don't normally use miniatures, sketching a few things on a virtual white board or some sort of movable token will help - but keep it loose. If you get to caught up in making the visuals pretty it slow things down.

Finally keep the session short. I found that after two hours stuck in front of the screen with headphones I start getting really tired. Maybe that is just me.

Anyway, I am not an expert, these are just some observations. YMMV.

In contrast to all of this are my observations!

I play once a week for 3-4 hours or so using Fantasy Grounds, and we cycle between WFRP 2e, Pendragon and Earthdawn.  Last saturday we played a 16 hour game of Earthdawn with 4 players and it was fantastic.

If you have a good ruleset with good automation, i actually find it much quicker than face-to-face play.  Yoiu just click on a skill etc, and it is rolled and resolved.

People wandering off to answer the phone etc can be more of an issue, but probably no more so than face to face.

Quote from: VectorSigma;574344What kind of online play do you mean?  Video, VTT, PbP?  I presume the first two.

I prefer simpler games that don't require a combat grid for online play, although it seems some folks are fine running stuff like 3.5 or PF or even 4e using a VTT.

I think a lot of this is dependant on your choice of VTT. We use MapTool, and we've found it drives us to more complex, miniatures driven systems. With the map always there you feel you should put things on it. Similarly all the line of sight and measurement tools in MapTool support using minis based resolution and exploration.

I've head people say that Fantasy Grounds tends to be less minis driven.

Quote from: Grymbok;574526I've head people say that Fantasy Grounds tends to be less minis driven.

You can do maps, and you can do grids, and it works very well.  We tend to use the maps just to give us all a general idea where people are without worring about exact distances.

Quote from: bottg;574610You can do maps, and you can do grids, and it works very well.  We tend to use the maps just to give us all a general idea where people are without worring about exact distances.

Yeah, didn't mean to say you couldn't use it for maps - it's just that MapTool's interface is about 80% map by default, so it tends to sit there saying "put tokens on me... move them around...", and you find yourself drawn to scenarios that support that.

Quote from: bottg;574610You can do maps, and you can do grids, and it works very well.  We tend to use the maps just to give us all a general idea where people are without worring about exact distances.

Are they "napkin" maps?  Or full color jobs?  Or perhaps a mix of both?

I found displaying an arbitrary image easier to do with Fantasy Grounds than with Maptools. As noted Maptools is largely focused on displaying maps. While Fantasy Grounds take is more of a generalized whiteboard.

As for the OP, anything you can do at the tabletop you can do with a VTT. There is no inferior or superior setup with all being equal.

Where it not equal is the fact that VTTs can automate ruleseta.  Having a good ruleset support make running that rule system a snap. I been using GURPS4enchanced for Fantasy Grounds and it is a very nice setup for GURPS. http://enhanced.vlexofree.com/.  It will do table lookup and compute criticals on the fly.

What I consider the main issues the VTT face are

the tech; a bunch of things that need to come together in order for it all to work together. It almost seamless but issues can arise. Somebody get feedback on their microphone, one player has a subpar computer  continually dropping the connection, and so on.

Internet communication, even with video it is clearly not the same as sitting down in person. Some folks just don't like to deal with this. But man its convenient.

The Prep, Unless you are use a verbal only style for referee, you going to need to learn to use a scanner or use the computer to develop your visual stuff.

With a scanner, it doesn't matter how much you are a computerphobe, you can just draw things and shove the scans into the right folder and you are good to go. So if you can handle a scanner, a VTT can be made to work for your style of refereeing.

The main virtues of VTTs are

Fog of War. You can overlay a mask that blanks out unexplored areas from the players while allowing the referee to still see what underneath. True fog of war is a very nice tool to have at your fingertip.

Miniatures. If using miniatures if part of your refereeing style, then you got a unlimited supply of the ones you have in your toolkit. You can buy tokens on RPGNow or download some quality ones for free from Devin Night's site. http://www.immortalnights.com/tokensite/tokenpacks.html

Also consider supporting his Kickstarter to draw up 150 Monster tokens.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1009057201/monster-tokens-by-devin-night

Secret Notes, by using secondary chats or hidden whisper you have a secure method of communicating with individual players. Plus if you have someone with knowledge spells, or a sci-fi science officer you can use this to avoid the parrot effect. (The referee say blah and the player repeats blah).

Overall I still prefer in person tabletop gaming, but have no problem using VTTs. My preferred software is Fantasy Grounds.

Quote from: mcbobbo;574658Are they "napkin" maps?  Or full color jobs?  Or perhaps a mix of both?

I pop this up everytime they are in Abberset Keep. They drop their character's token on it and move it to show me where they are going.



Full Image

I can generate a blank drawing in Fantasy Ground and with the Bamboo Tablet I own can draw on it like I can with my dry erase board.

Drawing with a Bamboo Tablet (note Fantasy Grounds only support black and white line drawing)

http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2010/02/mapping-pen-tablets-and-drawing-by-hand.html

A post showing some screenshot from me playing a session of AD&D

http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2011/09/into-dark-lands-with-boog-part-ii.html

Another question for those who regularly use a VTT - do you do all chat, or a mix of chat and voice?

Have you tried both, and which do you prefer (and why)?

Quote from: mcbobbo;574687Another question for those who regularly use a VTT - do you do all chat, or a mix of chat and voice?

Have you tried both, and which do you prefer (and why)?

We do chat and voice, never tried it without the voice.