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Ultimate RPG Gaming Table
Nyrath the nearly wise writes "RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons are traditionally played on a tabletop using miniatures. The problem is that the players are only supposed to see those parts of the map that they have explored. Gamemasters are reduced to drawing explored sections of the map on the playing surface with dry-erase markers or using cardboard tiles representing stretches of corridor. Some fellows have an expensive but elegant solution. They map out the playing area in a laptop using software such as Tabletop Mapper, which allows to game master to dynamically hide and reveal sections of the map. The laptop is attached to a 1600 lumen DLP projector mounted on the ceiling and projecting an image of the visible map onto the tabletop. The miniatures can then be moved on a dynamic map. The eye candy factor is vastly increased, gamemaster labor is reduced, and the players have more fun. The elegance is that this is an intuitive enhancement of the traditional gaming experience, instead of an unfamiliar new user interface to be mastered."
a DLP rear-projection system. Doesnt't that make a little more sense, in a way? Then you won't have shadows over everything from people's hands. It'd look a bit better overall anyway.
Take off every sig. For great justice.
Wouldn't a better way of doing this (though probably much more expensive) be to mount a projector in the bottom center of the table with a screen, so that reaching across it doesn't blank out the map?
Problems are like gifts, it's better to give than to receive
but that projector is the backbreaker How about putting a large old-style monitor under the table, you could play on top of some frosted glass...
Visit Tim's Journal, yes?
Wow, I remember D&D being an almost pure mind-game. This was back in 1985-90. There were some really good DMs, some who went on to be writers and at least one who went into film production. The most we did was darken the room and clear a spot to throw dice. No lead figurines, no physical maps, just dice and a character sheet. Maybe I'm just being an old fogey, but I think I'd prefer the old way than all these props.
This is only necessary for dungeon crawls. This is a very minor subgroup of RPG gaming. In fact, it's very hard to justify the "R" in the acronym in dungeon crawls.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
By contrast the best D&D that I played in, I admit to being a fairly mediocre DM, was in a group that played very fast loose with the rules, w/o miniatures, w/o maps. Just you, the DM and your imagination.
If you want to do minatures go and do Warhammer. Better yet, go off with those crazy wargamers who recreate things like the Battle of Waterloo in minature where the minatures really matter.
Looks like the game is going to get submerged in all the paraphenalia and you're going to spend your time worrying about the colour of your characters skin and whether it looks quite right 'in this light' (1600 lumens or so it would seem).
Wussy nancy-boys if you ask me. What is this world coming to!
The one thing I would change is that the DM has to tell the players to avert their eyes while he adjusts the mask to reveal selected areas of the map. It would be cool if the DM had a little better control over what went to the projector -- shut off the feed to the projector while changing the mask, or maybe have the software send only the unmasked layer to the projector.
Other than that minor gripe, I totally envy this system. Pretty cool gaming room as well. Even with the overhead ductwork. Nice jorb!
Imagination is better, all you need from maps is a rudimentary way to keep spatial configurations in mind. Once you start getting technical, the toys get in the way of the fun. You start worrying about details that are irrelevant to the story.
D&D 3E has exemplified this point. At first the rigid system of running combat almost like a wargame seemed appealing, but several years down the line, it's obvious that this level of detail can derail a game.
It doesn't always, it depends on the GM, but it certainly can. And it doesn't add much in the way of plot really, so you have little to gain and much to lose.
Then again, these props can help newer GM's get along in the first few years, when their skills aren't quite up to par. I'm not much of a GM myself, so I'd certainly love something like this to provide some wow factor. But under the better GMs I've played with, this would just get in the way.
The problem with this and D&D3.5 in general is that it assumes that all the characters are going to be able to know exactly how big something is and how far everything is from anything. With graph paper they can draw an exact republica of you map. I say horse shoes on that!
I'd rather play a "Role Playing" game than a glorified strategy game. Characters should be able to know if an opponent is exactly within medium range, nor know that they have walked exactly 65 feet north down a hall. Who keeps designing everything down to perfect five foot squares anyways? Let the characters use their intellegence to have an idea about three dimensional space, but what fun is it to just give it away to them?
NWN is a great game, and a great toolset. BUT, (you saw it coming) it simply way too restrictive compared to PnP roleplaying.
Some of the most memorable moments from roleplaying were because of the creativity of the players and GM. Especially on-the-fly. In NWN you are restricted by the module and the system. In PnP you're restricted by imagination and GM discretion.
If players are fighting over rules, something has gone wrong with the players/GM.
I don't see a computer program giving as much flexibility as PnP anytime in the near future. It simply bogs things down.
Newer GMS? :roll:
Dude. WE've been gaming since the late 70's. We use this setup for one reason and one reason only:
IT's FREAKIN COOL.
Our roleplaying and GMing skills are just fine thank-you-very-much. Our setup *rocks*. We love it - and there isn't a single gamer who has seen it whose eyes don't bug out of their heads and ask if we need a player.
The "we just need our imagination" line is for people who don't have a projector. Pure and simple.
You have one of these? You don't go back.
.Robert
I'm sure it's freakin cool. Doesn't mean it adds to the game in the long run.