I agree. This is what I have been doing for 3 years. I have used a laptop or a desktop running 2 proccess (server and client) with server on my screen and the client on the 2nd screen (which is projected). Players then sit around the screen, comfortably (since when not playing this is my home theater).
We still roll dice, still have character sheets. But all my encounters are ready to go. We can get a lot more done in a single night with more eyecandy than every.
If you justify the projector as part of your home theater (assuming that interests you) this saves space and if you have kids you don't have to worry about a 3 year old eating a metal minature that got dropped or left out.
All these different portable players are great, but how do we deal with our libraries? My library is fully managed by iTunes, but is primarily MP3 (I don't import using AAC).
If each of these comes out expecting people to use their software, how is that good? With 30GB of music its worth it to me to NOT mess with moving my library to another software package.
I think choice is great, and I think this looks like a snazzy product, but I think companies have to consider the inertia involved with moving a library, especially if the expectation is to convert it to a new format. What is that worth, and does Apple offer an SDK for iTunes?
I went in for a LASIK evaluation and they said my pupils were too big. Bummer. So I had a chance to try 30 day contacts.
Being a contact wearer in the past, I had gotten fed up with cleaning, and caring for my contacts. I preferred the ease of glasses. But with 30 day contacts I don't have any of that.
I get up in the morning, hit my eyes with saline, and I'm good. If I wake up in the night my eyes are a little dry but I can still see. It takes about 2-3 minutes for my eyes to remoisten without saline, which is good if you are traveling and forget eyedrops.
These provide me with everything I was hoping for with LASIK, except for swimming underwater, and without any of the risks. I've been wearing them for 18 months now and they are great.
This is a fine alternative to eyesurgury with nearly the same results.
I can't believe after all of these posts, no one has mentioned it.
I use this all the time. It works great for network play, but is also ideal for replacing your game table. We no longer use minis and just use this.
I have used all of the other products listed here (GRIP, WebRPG, OpenRPG, ScreenMonkey, Forums) and this is the best way to play.
It has great d20 support, as well as 2nd Edition AD&D. However, I use it for Savage Worlds, GURPS, and have been running Hero in it for over a year.
I cannot recommend this program enough. Version 2.0 is supposed to make it out by GenCon (I think) and will support fully GURPS, and many other systems.
I use OpenOffice to make my maps, but there are many map programs out there that work well. A new program coming is Dundjinni. The demo is great and I think this will be a wonderful tool.
Here's an okay shot of it in action at a local con.
I run both the client and server on my laptop with the client projected on the 15" LCD that faces the players. That way I can have my GM view and a player view. Works great!
They are already working on it, and focusing very much on the impact of disads, including social ones.
Here's the skinny: http://www.gurpsonline.com/ The first 2 settings are Old West and Transhuman Space. If you haven't seen the Transhuman Space stuff it is phenomenal, and the best of the GURPS line in terms of depth and quality.
Immersive, great sound. I'm running a modest system (Athlon 2500, 512 MB, Radeon 9600 Pro) and I ran it in 1024x768 with 2x Oversampling. Framerate is unknown, but it never stuttered and was smooth, so I assume it was greater than 30fps. I do find it humerous that it is an "nvidia" co-branded game, but runs fine on my ATI when everyone else is having issues.
I do agree with some posters that it would be nice to have a 1-shot, 1-kill if it hits in the right spot. Since most of the baddies had body armor, hitting the right spot would be tough. There are many ways to handle avoiding the insta-kill of key bad guys, but mook gaurds should be easy pray, if you are set up right. Just because you put your crosshairs right on the guard's face and click the mouse during a fight without aiming doesn't mean that's where you'll hit.
Many tabletop RPGs have solved this problem 10x over, I don't know why the video gaming industry doesn't get it.
However, the game was still intriguing. It was a STORY based game, not UT2K3 for jimmeny's xmas! Such a game is slower moving, and requires more thought. I actually felt bad when I used the guard's flamethrower to toast a glob in a cage and caught a nearby kitty.
If you turn the opacity of the interface down to 0, it isn't obtrusive at all.
I also like the fact you can't carry a frickin' arsenal. Sure you can carry 6 guns if you want, but then you won't have room for useful items. The spider bombs were really sweet, using EMP to take out a camera and then shocking the guards. Allowed me to engage in gunplay without setting off the alarm.
The biomods were wicked. I didn't use the leech on the kitties, but the rat in the alley was worth a few points of health.
I agree the console version would be tough, but the lack of a defined hit location system makes it a little easier to imagine. Actually having a bunch of different buttons would be useful for inventory management/item activation.
I think this game has a lot of potential, and could be really great. If you prefer quake instead of system shock, this game might not be for you. It is a good blend of an RPG, and many of the slower elements that go with that genre, than say SOF2. It is probably a lot closer to Splinter Cell than anything, with more interactivity and a wider variety of sci-fi powers/effects.
And for someone who wants more direct support, pay $10000 for TurboIntranet from Zope Corp. It's a beefier version of what Plone does, and they throw in a 1 week boot camp and no additional cost.
I've been there. It's sweet. Zope rocks. Clustering, transactions, and ultimately simple to extend. Not for everyone, but for a company looking to control the product without having to develop the base it is the way to go.
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I agree. This is what I have been doing for 3 years. I have used a laptop or a desktop running 2 proccess (server and client) with server on my screen and the client on the 2nd screen (which is projected). Players then sit around the screen, comfortably (since when not playing this is my home theater).
We still roll dice, still have character sheets. But all my encounters are ready to go. We can get a lot more done in a single night with more eyecandy than every.
If you justify the projector as part of your home theater (assuming that interests you) this saves space and if you have kids you don't have to worry about a 3 year old eating a metal minature that got dropped or left out.
All these different portable players are great, but how do we deal with our libraries? My library is fully managed by iTunes, but is primarily MP3 (I don't import using AAC).
If each of these comes out expecting people to use their software, how is that good? With 30GB of music its worth it to me to NOT mess with moving my library to another software package.
I think choice is great, and I think this looks like a snazzy product, but I think companies have to consider the inertia involved with moving a library, especially if the expectation is to convert it to a new format. What is that worth, and does Apple offer an SDK for iTunes?
I went in for a LASIK evaluation and they said my pupils were too big. Bummer. So I had a chance to try 30 day contacts.
Being a contact wearer in the past, I had gotten fed up with cleaning, and caring for my contacts. I preferred the ease of glasses. But with 30 day contacts I don't have any of that.
I get up in the morning, hit my eyes with saline, and I'm good. If I wake up in the night my eyes are a little dry but I can still see. It takes about 2-3 minutes for my eyes to remoisten without saline, which is good if you are traveling and forget eyedrops.
These provide me with everything I was hoping for with LASIK, except for swimming underwater, and without any of the risks. I've been wearing them for 18 months now and they are great.
This is a fine alternative to eyesurgury with nearly the same results.
I can't believe after all of these posts, no one has mentioned it.
I use this all the time. It works great for network play, but is also ideal for replacing your game table. We no longer use minis and just use this.
I have used all of the other products listed here (GRIP, WebRPG, OpenRPG, ScreenMonkey, Forums) and this is the best way to play.
It has great d20 support, as well as 2nd Edition AD&D. However, I use it for Savage Worlds, GURPS, and have been running Hero in it for over a year.
I cannot recommend this program enough. Version 2.0 is supposed to make it out by GenCon (I think) and will support fully GURPS, and many other systems.
I use OpenOffice to make my maps, but there are many map programs out there that work well. A new program coming is Dundjinni. The demo is great and I think this will be a wonderful tool.
Here's an okay shot of it in action at a local con.
I run both the client and server on my laptop with the client projected on the 15" LCD that faces the players. That way I can have my GM view and a player view. Works great!
They are already working on it, and focusing very much on the impact of disads, including social ones.
Here's the skinny: http://www.gurpsonline.com/
The first 2 settings are Old West and Transhuman Space. If you haven't seen the Transhuman Space stuff it is phenomenal, and the best of the GURPS line in terms of depth and quality.
Immersive, great sound. I'm running a modest system (Athlon 2500, 512 MB, Radeon 9600 Pro) and I ran it in 1024x768 with 2x Oversampling. Framerate is unknown, but it never stuttered and was smooth, so I assume it was greater than 30fps. I do find it humerous that it is an "nvidia" co-branded game, but runs fine on my ATI when everyone else is having issues.
I do agree with some posters that it would be nice to have a 1-shot, 1-kill if it hits in the right spot. Since most of the baddies had body armor, hitting the right spot would be tough. There are many ways to handle avoiding the insta-kill of key bad guys, but mook gaurds should be easy pray, if you are set up right. Just because you put your crosshairs right on the guard's face and click the mouse during a fight without aiming doesn't mean that's where you'll hit.
Many tabletop RPGs have solved this problem 10x over, I don't know why the video gaming industry doesn't get it.
However, the game was still intriguing. It was a STORY based game, not UT2K3 for jimmeny's xmas! Such a game is slower moving, and requires more thought. I actually felt bad when I used the guard's flamethrower to toast a glob in a cage and caught a nearby kitty.
If you turn the opacity of the interface down to 0, it isn't obtrusive at all.
I also like the fact you can't carry a frickin' arsenal. Sure you can carry 6 guns if you want, but then you won't have room for useful items. The spider bombs were really sweet, using EMP to take out a camera and then shocking the guards. Allowed me to engage in gunplay without setting off the alarm.
The biomods were wicked. I didn't use the leech on the kitties, but the rat in the alley was worth a few points of health.
I agree the console version would be tough, but the lack of a defined hit location system makes it a little easier to imagine. Actually having a bunch of different buttons would be useful for inventory management/item activation.
I think this game has a lot of potential, and could be really great. If you prefer quake instead of system shock, this game might not be for you. It is a good blend of an RPG, and many of the slower elements that go with that genre, than say SOF2. It is probably a lot closer to Splinter Cell than anything, with more interactivity and a wider variety of sci-fi powers/effects.
And for someone who wants more direct support, pay $10000 for TurboIntranet from Zope Corp. It's a beefier version of what Plone does, and they throw in a 1 week boot camp and no additional cost.
I've been there. It's sweet. Zope rocks. Clustering, transactions, and ultimately simple to extend. Not for everyone, but for a company looking to control the product without having to develop the base it is the way to go.