Table Top App

Alans notes so far:


5e 
  (We can add other versions and systems after we have a working test to use)


Turns tracking:
  Initiative 
  Hp
  Consumables 
  Modifiers 
  Effect durations


Game settings 
  Resolution timing
  Auto saves (group or individual)
  Auto Reactions (AoO, special abilities, spells) (group or individual)
  Passive skill settings 
  Table rules and/or home brew application 
  Group provides DM or Professional DM



App settings 
  Desktop, tablet, or phone 
  Push notifications and emails 


Map
  Terrain 
  Grid or freestyle 
  Area effects
  Space/reach
  3-D
  Moving resolutions
  Narrative video resolutions
  
Chat
  Primary story thread
    Chapters 
    “Argue with DM” chat
    Loot Division log with optional role playing thread
      Settings for round robin and free-for all
      Loot division by combat 

  OoG discussion

Story thread - it needs to be a persistent and permanent thread. In FG, every time I log in\out the chat history disappears, so the "story" is lost as are any previous actions.

FG is more of a 2nd program to use for combat in addition to the forum.

Ideally, it should be incorporated into 1 app.

Chris wrote:Story thread - it needs to be a persistent and permanent thread.  In FG, every time I log in\out the chat history disappears, so the "story" is lost as are any previous actions.  

FG is more of a 2nd program to use for combat in addition to the forum.

Ideally, it should be incorporated into 1 app.

Yeah forum is good for historical record aspect. I know a lot of people use Discord in tangent with a gaming platform. I wonder if Discord has the same searchable log? Maybe there's a plug in/app forum specifically for those sites.

Noticed that chat log does not persist between instances in FG, so that is indeed a problem. All the VTTs I've seen offer what we want except no forum capability. 

I think we will find the capabilities we want present in different platforms, but not consolidated into a play by post specfic platform. All the VTTs Ive seen are focused on more traditional "round the table all at once" paritpation. 

This is good news, because what we are talking about does not seem to exist in any full form.

There is a way to copy and download chat logs from discord.

Might be ideal if this was a toolset embedded into a forum...

So we would have a market share by creating a combo platform specifically for play by post with a coordinated game-status database.

navyik wrote:So we would have a market share by creating a combo platform specifically for play by post with a coordinated game-status database.

Thats it right there. There is lots of play by post gaming going on, and almost no support platforms for it beyond dedicated forums with limited capabilities.

Ok, so we are back to where we started, lol

VTTs are not really compatible with PbP gaming, regardless of whether we use Discord, this forum, Line or any other chat app\forum. We have looked at this scenario several times over the years. Its always good to keep tabs, but it seems nothing has changed for us practically.

I fully support Alan and whoever else wants to do the coding and app design to make a new product. I am interested in helping with that process. I do know a professional coder that also plays D&D


All of that being said, that doesn't help us or really change anything about continuing to game on the forum while this is in development, which I would expect to take at least a year.


@Alan - where does that leave you for the next Pirates chapter? Does your bandwidth allow you to be GM and work on this passion project at the same time?

I already have a code development guy with whom I work very well. He has not played D&D, which we will remedy in due course. He has some gaming past, of course. He has listened to the vision so far and believes it is entirely manageable and is very interested in getting involved. He was also mystified that there isn’t something like what we want out there already. Guy is a freaking genius with databases and portals at work. He also has an excellent cooperative spirit. I call him Tim The Enchanter, or just Tim.

It would start in a web based format until initial testing is completed. We could probably do some play testing sooner than a year by prioritizing certain functionality before expanding versatility.

Tim is vaccinated and I can probably get him together with local gamers to make a character and get started.

Chris wrote:
@Alan - where does that leave you for the next Pirates chapter?   Does your bandwidth allow you to be GM and work on this passion project at the same time?

I just meant Anthony would probably enjoy being involved too

Chris wrote:Ok, so we are back to where we started, lol

VTTs are not really compatible with PbP gaming, regardless of whether we use Discord, this forum, Line or any other chat app\forum.  We have looked at this scenario several times over the years.  Its always good to keep tabs, but it seems nothing has changed for us practically.

I fully support Alan and whoever else wants to do the coding and app design to make a new product.  I am interested in helping with that process.  I do know a professional coder that also plays D&D  


All of that being said, that doesn't help us or really change anything about continuing to game on the forum while this is in development, which I would expect to take at least a year.  


@Alan - where does that leave you for the next Pirates chapter?   Does your bandwidth allow you to be GM and work on this passion project at the same time?

Agree, Im not seeing a product that fits into forum gaming the way we want, and so no big changes coming to personal forum play anytime soon with support platforms. 

For JOE, Im going to use ARMA to make maps which I can now grid to scale properly on Fantasy grounds, and for character and scene art. Wont be doing turn by turn video until i get the new workflow/play schedule nailed. I can use Fantasy Grounds as a "game control center" for my DMing - use its map instead of my usual PowerPoint, organize info, use the battle tracker, etc - and screenshot the products we need. Really excited to see how scheduled play goes!

@Alan, what kind of coding does Tim do now? 

@ Chris, Anthony could be doing code related research and development. Kinda like assigned tasks - "Find us info on X and how this is done in other systems" kind of stuff? if his capabilities meet the needs of the specs once we know what we are looking at, itd be awesome to bring him in on that level too! 

Agree that hammering out a succinct feature list and UI/UX,  producing a solid spec document, will likely take about a year. 

From there we get some coding bids.

With that Info we do a crowdfunding campaign to pay the coders, or whatever clever we use to fund it.

I’d like to see where we can get without making it bigger than us too quickly. Too many cooks...  Chris, I’d like to invite Tim to join the forum. Sounds like he would mostly spectate in the games and then discuss development here. Matt has advised that I should make sure you know about it first so you don’t boot him.  So with your permission I will send the invite.

As for coding, Tim is the lead programmer on a team I am managing to develop applications software to service all of Gleason internationally. Most of what he’s done at work is web based. I know he likes to work on a Mac. I don’t know much about it. I say words, his fingers fly, and stuff appears as expected on the screen. I will of course inquire.

Our work is creating and coordinating multiple databases that can make independent calculations and then overlap in a single comprehensive user friendly interface through different portals with a variety of text and graphics outputs. Then he goes home and does this stuff for fun after his daughter goes to bed.

Let’s put it this way, when most of the group was hemming and hawing about doing this, Tim was already all in with complete confidence. His only reservation was whether it had already been done.

Also I would never deny Anthony involvement. We just need to agree on the details and we probably need some agreement on royalty shares if this thing takes off.

First steps might be:
Manual database entry character sheet. Generic so it doesn’t have to store copyrighted materials from games. That database updates your posts with stat blocks and let’s you choose from a list of simple actions like “attack” or “skill” or “use spell”. The database knows you have a +1 sword, that your passive perception is 13 and that your fireball does 9d6 damage in a 30’ radius and what your save dc is. It knows how many 3rd level spells you can use and which ones are prepared and what they do. The busy work is all done when the characters are created and updated each level. (Eventually system specific character generation apps can be attached as an in-app purchase based on permissions).

So you click “attack” and choose “sword.” It rolls your d20+7 and your 1d8+5 alongside the text box that you use to describe the actions. Then you click your character icon on the map and move it. (Future state might track terrain modifiers and give you a highlighted range of motion like Master of Monsters does).

We start with adaptable databases and address the low hanging fruit first, like where the wall of fire is and “which square did you say your character landed?” Line of sight graphics. “What is that thing in k-7, it looks like a rock?” All of the crap we constantly argue about and/or takes the DM an hour to write his post.

Then we put our DM’s to work developing original content. Modules, maps, custom characters and monsters and a whole interactive home-brew forum for app owners to access for a small fee.

Sounds good, see my email reply as well.

I do have a tendency to boot unknowns users, since we have had spambots in the past. Honestly, we should use a secure forum like Discord to actually talk about business stuff. this forum is not secure in any way, shape or form. Discord is also very phone-friendly, has video calls, etc in addition to the limited capabilities here.

I wasn't suggesting Anthony be in charge of anything, just to be clear. I would just like him to be involved in whatever capacity he can be since he loves both coding and D&D.

Chris wrote:Sounds good, see my email reply as well.

I do have a tendency to boot unknowns users, since we have had spambots in the past.  Honestly, we should use a secure forum like Discord to actually talk about business stuff.  this forum is not secure in any way, shape or form.  Discord is also very phone-friendly, has video calls, etc in addition to the limited capabilities here.  

I wasn't suggesting Anthony be in charge of anything, just to be clear.  I would just like him to be involved in whatever capacity he can be since he loves both coding and D&D.  

Got your emails, sent a few in return. 

BIG fan of moving serious discussion to Discord.

I will get the discord app tonight. Then we’ll close this.

i just created our discord server

server invite will be emailed shortly


discord saves messages and has cross-platform capability, not mention video calls, voice calls, image\gif hosting and it saves message history