For me, if they have similar features otherwise, it might come down to weather one of them allows me to save-state on the table to be recalled later. I was playing with the FG1 demo, and I couldn't find any way to save the sketches and masks that I had added to the maps or the locations of markers or anything, like every session has to start from scratch materials.
That doesn't make sense to me, and it seems like that must be something that had been disabled in the demo, because it couldn't possibly be the case that the DM cannot save the masks and such that have been drawn during a session. That would just be stupid.
For me, if they have similar features otherwise, it might come down to weather one of them allows me to save-state on the table to be recalled later. I was playing with the FG1 demo, and I couldn't find any way to save the sketches and masks that I had added to the maps or the locations of markers or anything, like every session has to start from scratch materials.
That doesn't make sense to me, and it seems like that must be something that had been disabled in the demo, because it couldn't possibly be the case that the DM cannot save the masks and such that have been drawn during a session. That would just be stupid.
I've done several reviews for various types of these programs. iTabletop is currently the best one. You can save your stat in FG, at least version 2 but the program isn't free. Plus it's still extremely clunky. If you want to check out another program that is pretty good check out. GlitterComm It's still being worked on it's free and it's very slick.
Pretty much what I'm getting at here is that for what Fantasy Grounds offers there are packages that offer the same features and more and they are free.
To me, it looks like iT and GC are both just document sharing/video conferencing programs, for which some of the features have had their names changed to sound more like it's for gamers, and a boss can be assigned. They feel sterile and office-app-esk. FG, however, feels more like it was built from the very start to be for games and gamers.
I've played with iT and FG both now (I didn't even DL GC after I looked at the features list and screenshots. It looks like an unfinished version of iT, and even admits that many of its best features haven't been implemented yet), and here's my summary:
The FG tools are more intuitive and work the way I want them to, like the mask that lets me work by assigning what the players can see, instead of what they cannot and the grid tool that lets me create a grid layer on any map to represent distances and scale on the fly without having to import and resize an image file of a grid.
The material and programming that is included with FG fits the rules-set we plan to use; it includes d20 player's guides, class guides, and monster manual and it lets me use that info dynamically (for example, there is a D&D combat record sheet that comes preprogrammed to allow me to drag a monster or character record onto the list, and it will fill in the stats for me).
Then there are little Extras like the ability to hide dice roles, drag numbers from place to place and have the table understand why I'm putting them there (for example, once I have that combat record up, I can drag your init roll from where you rolled it onto the sheet, and it knows what that means), the area effect tools that allow drawing of circles and cones, and are smart enough to shade the grid to show you exactly which squares would be effected by the area drawn, and a short-cut bar that makes it easy for me to assign repeated tasks to function keys.
Finally, though least importantly, the eye-candy is sweet. Rolling dice is done by picking up virtual dice, and rolling them on the virtual table, rather than having to type out the specs for the roll, and have it simply return a number from an RND function. The program has a nice polish to it, including a full-screen mode that eliminates all menus and bars, 'Blank' pages have a parchment background, and as the DM, I can set the 'lighting' of the table to represent the location.
All these cool things I just mentioned about FG: iT doesn't do any of them, and the only thing that GC seems to do right is allow hidden die rolls.
However, iT isn't completely devoid of advantages. It is free, which is nice, and it has voice/video chat (with the ability to single people out for messages easily (which, I admit, would be really nice to have)) but this is not enough to outweigh the features of FG.
I'll work with whichever proggy the group decides to go with, of course, but consider this my strong recommendation in favor of Fantasy Grounds.
It's interesting in my time spent with FG I hate it for most of the reason you like it. We found the interface to be extremely clunky and annoying to work with, FG 1 was especially terrible by not allowing it to be run in a window. The radial menu system was horribly intuitive and wasn't always responsive. Luckily they fixed both those features in FG 2. We did like the dice roller, but a cool gimmick does not a program make.
In iTable everyone is on the same table and can see what's going on the masking features were easy to use just using simple vectors to blanket an area is simple. The layered menu system to keep all your documents in place is a godsend when it comes to running a long standing campaign and it was far more generic and didn't feel so tied down to D20 fantasy.
I'm fine with whatever program we decide to use. Since CB would be the one using it most between the sessions and such, I'd be more inclined to go with his recommendations, but I'll go with the group. The little bit of cost that FG would be per person if we got the bundle (less than $20) would be fine for a game that we'd play weekly for quite some time...
If I am understanding this correctly there is a D&D session taking place on irc........ to the infernal burning beams of Cygar Bloodaxes battleaxe of power, plus 4 damage, if only I could play .:sad2::sad2::sad2:....damn isp....
Although the original and AD&D plus AD&D second edition are my realms of expertise, I would be willing to learn this new edition.:bigggrin:
.....anywoot I hope you are enjoying playing:smiles:
We're only 2 sessions into it so far, but in that time, we've traveled to a small island and on the way had to fend off multiple attacks from pirate orcs and bird/mosquito things. Our ship was damaged in a large storm but we were able to still sail into port and we're now taking care of business on the island while our sail is mended. On this island, there have been some strange things happening, and a few of our party members went to investigate. We're now preparing to pay a visit to someone who can help clear things up, and maybe we can make some cash in the process.
Comments
That doesn't make sense to me, and it seems like that must be something that had been disabled in the demo, because it couldn't possibly be the case that the DM cannot save the masks and such that have been drawn during a session. That would just be stupid.
LOL...LOL OMG LOL
I've done several reviews for various types of these programs. iTabletop is currently the best one. You can save your stat in FG, at least version 2 but the program isn't free. Plus it's still extremely clunky. If you want to check out another program that is pretty good check out. GlitterComm It's still being worked on it's free and it's very slick.
Pretty much what I'm getting at here is that for what Fantasy Grounds offers there are packages that offer the same features and more and they are free.
I've played with iT and FG both now (I didn't even DL GC after I looked at the features list and screenshots. It looks like an unfinished version of iT, and even admits that many of its best features haven't been implemented yet), and here's my summary:
The FG tools are more intuitive and work the way I want them to, like the mask that lets me work by assigning what the players can see, instead of what they cannot and the grid tool that lets me create a grid layer on any map to represent distances and scale on the fly without having to import and resize an image file of a grid.
The material and programming that is included with FG fits the rules-set we plan to use; it includes d20 player's guides, class guides, and monster manual and it lets me use that info dynamically (for example, there is a D&D combat record sheet that comes preprogrammed to allow me to drag a monster or character record onto the list, and it will fill in the stats for me).
Then there are little Extras like the ability to hide dice roles, drag numbers from place to place and have the table understand why I'm putting them there (for example, once I have that combat record up, I can drag your init roll from where you rolled it onto the sheet, and it knows what that means), the area effect tools that allow drawing of circles and cones, and are smart enough to shade the grid to show you exactly which squares would be effected by the area drawn, and a short-cut bar that makes it easy for me to assign repeated tasks to function keys.
Finally, though least importantly, the eye-candy is sweet. Rolling dice is done by picking up virtual dice, and rolling them on the virtual table, rather than having to type out the specs for the roll, and have it simply return a number from an RND function. The program has a nice polish to it, including a full-screen mode that eliminates all menus and bars, 'Blank' pages have a parchment background, and as the DM, I can set the 'lighting' of the table to represent the location.
All these cool things I just mentioned about FG: iT doesn't do any of them, and the only thing that GC seems to do right is allow hidden die rolls.
However, iT isn't completely devoid of advantages. It is free, which is nice, and it has voice/video chat (with the ability to single people out for messages easily (which, I admit, would be really nice to have)) but this is not enough to outweigh the features of FG.
I'll work with whichever proggy the group decides to go with, of course, but consider this my strong recommendation in favor of Fantasy Grounds.
In iTable everyone is on the same table and can see what's going on the masking features were easy to use just using simple vectors to blanket an area is simple. The layered menu system to keep all your documents in place is a godsend when it comes to running a long standing campaign and it was far more generic and didn't feel so tied down to D20 fantasy.
Although the original and AD&D plus AD&D second edition are my realms of expertise, I would be willing to learn this new edition.:bigggrin:
.....anywoot I hope you are enjoying playing:smiles: