It looks pretty slick, and the ability to add rulesets is nice. $40 isn't really too expensive, but I don't know where the 'market penetration' sits. If it was fairly ubiquitous, the cost would be easily justified, but if there is only 10% (for example) of the people out there using it, I would have a harder time buying it.
Screen Monkey looks OK, but it seems like a rudimentary whiteboard bolted onto an IRC-like chat program. RPTools seems OK, too, with options to use the modules individually, and a drop in image routine for external maps.
So, what say you?
I haven't used Fantasy Grounds yet, but it sure looked sexy at Gen Con. I'd be interested in giving it a whirl.
Here's a good rundown (http://madbrewlabs.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/virtual-table-tops-for-rpgs/) of the different products available.
Quote from: Zachary The First;239026I haven't used Fantasy Grounds yet, but it sure looked sexy at Gen Con. I'd be interested in giving it a whirl.
Here's a good rundown (http://madbrewlabs.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/virtual-table-tops-for-rpgs/) of the different products available.
I hit that site before, but I only skimmed it, and with the RPTools graphic near the top, I guess I figured it was the blog for RPTools.
Thanks, I will see what they have to say.
FG 2.0 is stable and works well coupled with a voicechat system like Skype or Teamspeak. The real benifit is having a ruleset for your RPG. Can automate some of the routine tasks depending on the design of the ruleset.
It lack support for hexes and everyone has have at least a player's license are the two disadvantages. But you can buy licenses in bulk for cheaper. Fantasy Grounds is the most feature complete of all the virtual tabletop software. Its closest competitor is Battlegrounds: RPG. It is not quite as user friendly but has a floating license scheme that more flexible and hex support.
Go with one of those two.
Quote from: estar;239734FG 2.0 is stable and works well coupled with a voicechat system like Skype or Teamspeak. The real benifit is having a ruleset for your RPG. Can automate some of the routine tasks depending on the design of the ruleset.
It lack support for hexes and everyone has have at least a player's license are the two disadvantages. But you can buy licenses in bulk for cheaper. Fantasy Grounds is the most feature complete of all the virtual tabletop software. Its closest competitor is Battlegrounds: RPG. It is not quite as user friendly but has a floating license scheme that more flexible and hex support.
Go with one of those two.
Excellent, I will check out Battlegrounds and... get...
WTF??
No Linux support?? None!?! AAAAAAGH!
;)
Another one to look at would be Kloogewerks. It also has a great feature set. (including Hexes and Floating Licenses - which make finding players easier) The biggest advantage to FGII is that they have 3rd party support putting together rulesets for different games while the others rely on fans.
The virtual table top article Zachary refers to has moved to a new domain:
http://www.madbrewlabs.com/index.php/2008/08/06/virtual-table-tops-for-rpgs/