Roll20

What do you guys think of roll20? Do you like it?

Seems like a good idea, but I find it so cumbersome to use.

I like it. I use it to run a game of gurps.
We don't use the in engine character sheets, But I like the drag and drop mapping and token management. Also the built in chats are stable. 4/5 stars

I thought Veeky Forums was over exaggerating with all the horror stories after being in several groups IRL.

Then I tried Roll20.

It's got a ton of good features, the in-built character sheets tend to be well done and provide some automation when rolling skill checks.

It really increases prep time for the GM though, especially if you intend to make use of it's mapping features and fog of war/dynamic lighting.

A good 75% of Roll20 games I've played had some half-engaged dipshit playing a video game in a different window when it wasn't his turn. Roll20 works wonderfully if everyone is engaged, but the fact its browser based means people have TONS of distractions when it isn't their turn. I have never experienced even a fraction of the immersion I have when playing on an actual tabletop.

Rolling macros are nice, a lot of the features like vision are nice, not being able to enforce a no laptops/phone policy is hell.

If playing online is the only option, roll20 is pretty good. It can roll any die type and it has a grid for games that need it.

And like any online place to pick up groups, you're going to have to wade through the shit to find the gems.

I hate it. Takes away from the social aspect of meeting up and hanging out with friends

Dynamic lighting and lines of sight suck balls as a player; my DM follows them religiously, so my human without darkvision ends up staring at a black screen half the time, while the DM whispers details to other players. Even throws enemies who "hate light" at us who keep trying to snuff out my light sources when we fight at night.

As a DM, I was hyped for the Dynamic Lighting. Then they released it. Setting it up properly used up so much of my prep time and my players were stuck looking at just BLACKNESS half the time. While technically functional, it just didn't look good in practice.

I can't for the life of me work certain functions.

And some of the maps are just impossible to use. I can't make my own on the computer. So there's basically no use for it.

I find it's best if used sparingly or to enforce line of sight. If you've already for a map set up it makes checking if things have seen the party yet easier.

People I know online say they don't want to play for that reason.

Which sucks because I don't have that problem but I also don't know anyone irl who is interested in role playing.

On the flipside, the format leaves a lot more space for character interaction and just mucking about due to ease of access.

UI is shit. Just horrible horrible shit. But it's still the best on the market.

People rag on roll20 all the time, but I've never had a single problem (outside of getting built-in voice vhat to work) with it, and I hardly ever get shitty RPers. This is all across hundreds of hours and a half dozen campaigns. Drawing is slightly clunky, but I love the marketplace features.

I totally agree that meeting up with your friends and siting at a table but when people move it comes in handy. I use it for a group with a buddy who moved to the other side of the US and others who live 80+ miles away.

>Seems like a good idea, but I find it so cumbersome to use.

I have never heard this comment made by someone who was not inbred or retarded.

>Takes away from the social aspect of meeting up and hanging out with friends

Because, you know, we all have groups of friends we can just get together and play games with.

>hurr you just dumb
Let's turn this around, shall we? If you can't see the technical problems with roll20, you have no fucking clue about anything IT.

What the fuck does IT have to do with it being cumbersome to use? You're trying to say it's too hard for you to figure out because...it's servers are shit?

Just take a look at the way tokens are handled and try not to be retarded.

IT is not just about infrastructure. You know that, right?

>Just take a look at the way tokens are handled

Oh boy, there you go with that biting and very specific commentary! Surely people will take you seriously now.

>nothing but ad hominem
Now that's just disappointing, user.

Why not use the new MapTool 1.4?

Ad hominem would require me attacking you personally instead of your arguments. But you haven't made any arguments. You just said "It's hard to use", and then you said "look at the tokens and you'll see".

That's not an argument.

Neither is yours, my dude.

As a DM I feel that it does generally increase prep time but that's only if you're doing it RAW in making sure everything is measured distances and looks nice and every single friggin corner matters.

Now I pretty much just keep it on the same general images and talk/rp through things with people. Only switching to a combat map for major fights.
If I'm running a silly dungeon crawl I'll just put a half second's thought into making maps and make clusterfucks of insanity that somehow turn out better than if I actually tried to make something clever.

R20 is the only way to really make it all work for me desu though. Just being able to make a room and have people jump into it is all I could ever ask for. Macros are a life-saver both as DM and player.

In line with the distractions complaint, I really wish there was a way to prevent players from drawing. How that hasn't been changed yet is beyond me.

I really wish that it didn't default to automatically turning your webcam and mic on.

Nothing beats joining a campaign only to see and hear a guy rubbing one out because he didn't know his webcam and mic was on.

Map Tool is the Linux of VTTs. It's the most powerful and it's free, but it's only really useful for power users.

Roll20, unlike what was claimed for Fallout 4, really does just work. Convenience is probably its biggest selling point.

I've heard three of my close friends urinating in freakishly clear detail. Clearer than from their computer. Everyone should just play from their bathrooms. Acoustics is god tier.

And, y'know, ban wireless headsets.

What, specifically, upsets you about the tokens?