D&D Virtual Tabletop First Look: Is the Dungeons and Dragons Virtual Tabletop the Future of Tabletop Gaming?
The Dungeons and Dragons virtual tabletop has been making waves in the tabletop gaming community, with many fans excited about the prospect of playing their favorite game in a new digital format. However, while the project sounds promising, it is important to approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism.
The game is still in the early pre-alpha stages of development, with only a select few individuals having access to it at this time. The development team has stated that there are still many bugs and missing pieces that need to be ironed out before the game can be released to a wider audience. It remains to be seen how well the virtual tabletop will function, or whether it will live up to the expectations of players.
While the team is focused on creating engaging content, there are concerns that the virtual experience may not be able to fully replicate the fun and excitement of playing D&D in person. Some fans may be disappointed that the game will not be customizable right out of the gate, with creation tools and customization features not being added until later down the line.
Furthermore, while the team claims that the virtual tabletop will be authentic to the rules and how people play the game, it is unclear how well the game will be able to replicate the unique experience of playing D&D with friends around a physical table. There are also concerns that the digital experience may lack the same level of connection and community that is present in traditional tabletop gaming.
In conclusion, while the Dungeons and Dragons virtual tabletop is an interesting development, it is important to approach it with skepticism until more information and playtesting become available. The project is still in the early stages of development, and it remains to be seen whether it will be able to deliver on its promises and provide a truly engaging and authentic D&D experience.
As a truck driver, this sounds like a great idea. Get some sort of conference call, and you could have a game at home (or on top of a mountain) with people from all over the country. With a healthy online community, the potential is limitless. What if we could combine the best of pen and paper with video graphic combat sequences?
The way they show it in the demo video with everyone looking at their own computers seems like a distraction.
We have a screen that we put in the table and this would work similar to our current approach, so maybe.
Great for online games, for sure.
A lot will depend on how difficult the map making process is.
Transactional costs could become an issue. We’ll see how WotC rolls it out.
I also worry a little about the substitution of imagination for computer graphics, but I’m probably just being too old school.
It’s really not going to matter. Nothing can live up to the hype in people’s minds. They are going to either be enthusiastic until they are disappointed with it on opening day or they will down it without even giving it a chance. I get putting it out there for people to know about & get excited over, but we live in the age of the masses believing every new thing will live up to “their” standards of coolness only to be later disappointed with microtransactions for extra goodies that should have been in the product from the start.
This is just another way to make money for big companies from the hobby. How many DMs have the time to learn how to create maps for their game? It’s a lot quicker and easier with pencil and paper.
You can also guarantee that having monsters in your virtual tabletop library will cost you per monster… want a zombie? That will be 99c, and a lich $1.99.. Maybe the whole monster manual? That will by $59.
If you all want to know how this is going to turn out just think back to the character generator for 2nd edition and e-tools for 3rd edition. Look what happened to them.
Meh. Is there anything that this does that doesn’t already exist through other VTT systems? I’ve used several, and during the COVID lockdowns they were the only way I could play with my friends… but ultimately online play feels sterile and impersonal. My group still uses the systems to make maps for our in-person play (using a table with a TV set into it), but the idea of sitting around a table staring at computers (like in the video) doesn’t appeal to me.
Hope it brings something new to the table ( bad pun ). A case of adult beverages, pizza on speed dial, laughing and interacting with friends face to face, and just a different level of camaraderie. These are the reasons I prefer on person games. We still use tablets for player sheets etc, and we’ve tried using other a few of the most popular virtual ways to play during COVID that had mob tokens and maps, but not everything was free. It was fun this way,but lacked the personal connection, the escape from reality, the general fantasy feeling. Plus with virtual, you have to deal with loud munchers, wife interruptions I’m the background, kids, dogs, as well as all the other reasons why people should use the PUSH TO TALK feature 😅
I have used fantasy grounds unity exclusively for 2 years. With complete strangers. It replicates the community aspect perfectly and was vital (as much as these things can be) during lockdown. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.
Doubt it. Seems way overtuned for graphics and junk that isn’t necessary and ultimately limits the accessbility and imagination aspects of the game.
All I want from a VTT is to have a nice “table” that’s easy to draw on. Add that to a system that’s easy to set up die rolls for homebrew content & other systems and you have a winner.
Seriously! If this thing can’t run on someone’s 8 year old $100 laptop and expects you to pay for little 3D tokens and junk, it’s functionally useless to a huge swathe of anyone who would even consider caring.
The folks who can/do spend a ton on minis are not the majority, and an even then most of them are gonna stick to physical play. Building a 3D map to populate with virtual figures is a load of work your average DM is going to toss out instantly. Who is this for? Trying to turn liveplay streamers into some sort of video game anologue? Wasteful.