Every couple of months I end up seeing an article floating around about someone constructing a self-proclaimed...

Every couple of months I end up seeing an article floating around about someone constructing a self-proclaimed "ultimate gaming table," which is invariably a table with a backlit monitor in it so the DM can digitally overlay his maps and grids on a big screen on the table.

Would you, as a player, actually have any any interest in using something like that instead of just playing with a regular pen and paper? Does this setup offer anything that a normal person's doesn't, besides maybe more high-quality maps on demand? This seems both distracting and ostentatious to me, but people always seem to eat it up.

I don't play with anyone I trust enough to not accidentally spill a drink all over that, myself included.

We're good chaps, but manual dexterity and agility are not high priorities.

fake nerd stuff.

It's nice but honestly when I DM I prefer to just have a big whiteboard on the table over pregenerated maps. I find it quite time-consuming to put that stuff together whereas with a whiteboard I can just draw out each room in a basic way for the players as they go through. Even when I play online I prefer mapless to using map software if I'm honest.

tl;dr - if I made computer maps anyway I would find this useful, but I don't do that

I'd hate having the glare of the screen like that, though an e-ink table could be cool.

I can see it being useful for GMs who use combat maps a lot and are willing to put the effort. It doesn't work for me since games I usually run happen at ranges that wouldn't fit well on a combat map that small. I usually have a TV behind me to show backgrounds or large, overhead maps of the general area, but I can do without them, because combat itself doesn't rely on the maps.

It looks cool, hence makes great Reddit post but the reality of these seems to slow down a game more than enhance it and take away immersion by treating it like a video game than in adding ant immersion.

>Does this setup offer anything that a normal person's doesn't, besides maybe more high-quality maps on demand?
Tons. Dynamic scenery, immediate visualization for pretty much anything, quicknotes, adventure log, riddles and puzzles. You'd be blurring the line between P&P and vidya while taking the best of each. The problem is to fully utilize it you'd need to spend additional time on prep to configure it all up. And preferably a ring of tablets slaved to the main screen (one per player).
If I were to make magnus opus ultimate gaming experience this would be part of it yes. But on most people and the regular use this amount of effort is wasted.

no but i would nut over a cocktail arcade cabinet

It's a luxury nerd meme. I agree with The ability to change maps and have a little bit of visual rep is nice, but I think me and my players would appreciate wargaming terrain on a grid more than a digital image on a screen. If you have the space it's not hard to keep a few common terrain items hand for battle maps.

Honestly just having everyone on a laptop is superior. Still better than paper or dry-erase battle maps though.

Seems like it would draw players into interacting with the media rather than one another, and having full color art and visualizations would sap some of the magic of imagining things for yourself.

>Not using a 3d projector for your electronic table.
Get on my level, plebs.

Not him, but in practice no more than paper and miniatures does. If you're worried about full color art sapping the magic or whatever, there's also nothing stopping you from creating more "generic" assets.

For instance, I don't like looking for character or monster art. I'm currently running a sci-fi campaign, and I've created what amounts to a basic tileset for maps with colored "pips" for players and NPCs--the goal was kind of to evoke a mini-map or the motion tracker from Aliens. And there's no full color portraits or anything.

Boom. It's the same kind of abstract, purist, no-frills visuals with the added bonus of me being able to save, swap between, and create maps digitally and (for me at least) much more easily. Plus, creating and editing miniatures ("tokens", in virtual tabletop parlance) is a breeze. I use MapTool, which means I can store stats or notes directly on NPCs instead of in separate notes, and if I really want to get into it there's a wealth of other GM tools available (creating Macros to automate attacks or other abilities, for instance) that make my life way easier.

Then again I'm also the kind of guy who creates cloud-based sharable character sheets and keeps all of my GM notes in cloud-based notes services, so maybe I'm more digital than some.

Getting back to the OP, the real problem I see with the table is that it doesn't go far enough for my taste. I'd much rather have each player on their own laptop (with their own suite of macros, their own private notes and characters sheets, etc) than have them sharing a communal screen in the middle of a table.

Still, if you want a game where the GM gets to play with all of his high-tech toys but the players still bring miniatures and paper character sheets, I can see why that table might be useful. It'd let me do all of my map-making the way I want to, and the players can just slap their tokens down on top of it when a fight starts. Still probably better than pen and paper (for me).

>Honestly just having everyone on a laptop is superior.
I would hate this so much. Do you really play with this?

No. But then again I never use models or maps better than scribbles anyway. I'm sure combat focused groups would appreciate it, but its not for me.

the "ULTIMATE" table is this, big enough for everyone to sit as, sturdy, no card table wobbling, has enough room for everyones papers, and has gosh dark drink holders like the one in OP so people arent forever spilling their drinks on my paper and dice

Bit of plexiglass over the top and seal it with some bathroom silicone, sorted. Might look a wee bit tatty if you don't know how to apply the silicone smoothly but aside from that seems pretty foolproof

So it was you!

Yeah man. Pizza and beer goes in the middle of the table, laptops go around the outside. The footprint of a laptop compared to a sheaf of papers or a folder isn't that different, really. Plus you don't need space to put the battle map or roll dice because that's done digitally. It's super convenient.

Probably better to go with a rear projector beneath the table than a lcd in its surface, for the sake of viewing angles.

I'd prefer the gaming surface to not be set this low, you don't need such high obstacles to prevent a die from rolling off the table. And those pen holders are obnoxious.

I have a friend who built this exact table.

The biggest issue is that the center is hard to reach and see. It's the inevitable outcome of a square designed to sit eight people with two to a side, and I feel a 3-1-3-1 rectangle might actually be better, or simply a 2-1-2-1 designed for six people.

The dice trays are shallow and awkward, and it needs some sort of fold-out trays since there's not really a ton of room.

As far as OP's question, we used the television twice, but it's really just more of a hassle than it is an asset.

The group I was playing with this past year (DM just graduated and left town) had laptops, AND paper character sheets, AND rolled dice. I myself had a digital character sheet, so it was one less thing, but I still rolled dice for the clicketyclack.

I guess it was because everybody other than me, DM and one other guy (it was a 6 person party) hadn't played before. They were all referencing the PHB every five minutes, I think. I only needed to for checking OTHER people's spells, and item lists.

If you look closer there's a lip around the inside;
There's a removable top which covers the screen and the felt rolling surface so you can use it as a normal table

Agreed on the penholders though

I just feel like everyone looking at their laptops rather than each other is horrendous. IDK, different strokes I guess.

The best way to experience a virtual tabletop is virtually
The best way to virtually interact is individually
Gaming in group in person works best communally
It's counterintuitive to use a digital space in this way.

In person, use physical tabletops
Online, use virtual

Until you can bridge the gap seamlessly, it's not likely worth the investments in time, money or aesthetics

I was talking about when in use.

It has to be set low for viewing angles because it's a cheap ass monitor

Kind of on topic but i'm interested to see what could be done with AR headsets and tt games.

The Microsoft one, hololense or something, looks kind of neet. There was a video of a group of people playing minecraft with it using hand signals and voice commands to control everything.

I'd imagine someone could rig up something like the NWN toolset for it. Could be pretty nifty but almost certainly prohibitively expensive.

If I wanted to play a video game, I'd play a video game.

Technology is only a distraction from tabletop roleplaying: just ask any Storyteller who has had a shitter on their phone for half the game.

Tabletop gaming is about the soft shuffling of character sheets, the thump of rulebook tomes on the table, the cackling of the dice, the whispers and laughter of the players. It isn't about some glowing strobing blaring technological abomination in the middle of the table.

>Would you, as a player, actually have any any interest in using something like that instead of just playing with a regular pen and paper?

I'd much rather a DM spend all that time and effort building excellent miniatures.

I prefer the amateur, DIY appeal of hand-scribbled maps and painted miniatures. Cardboard props and resin can be fun too.

A big screen with an image on it makes me feel like I'm playing a video game, except I have to act out the programming of the game like a robot.

I love watching people put these tables together but the gimmick is short-lived.

getting a 3d printer and printing out tiles would be cooler and more useful in the long run

Same

I used to copy art that fit with the campaign onto plastic projector sheets. Now it's even easier to steal art off the internet with a computer projector and some empty wall space.

If you make something like that, at least use rear projection. A TV in your tableto os just asking for a broken TV. At least with a DIY rear projection, damage to the display surface means only replacing a bit of plaxi and backing instead of a 200+ dollar television.

ok grandad cool we'll talk about the great meme war tomorrow ok go to bed now

I don't see why I can't do the same thing with a wall and a projector set up as a second monitor.
The gaming table is for the character sheets, everyone's laptops, drinks, food, etc. Ideally a wipe-clean dining table with room for everyone and enough sockets nearby, and airflow to actually cool things.
Everyone sits at the table on one side, the GM screen is the regular monitor, and the projector is the game map with notes around it.

The original concept was to have the entire table one big touchscreen, but I fucking hate touchscreens because they're just too fucking vague. On top of that, everything has them, and you get greasy fingermarks all over the screen. I spent a decade learning to use mouse and keyboard, and I can use them better than I can reaching out and poking things or trying to figure out undocumented swipe patterns.

My dream is to have a mobile RPG; we can set up anywhere with just some paperwork and devices, set up, and play. Maybe substitute the projector for a tablet for smaller tables and venues.

So, a decent dining table on a level floor, and some can/glass/cupholders that don't let drinks get spilled?

Really, you need to live in a non-shitty house and have a non-shitty and non-cheap table.

We have an ample supply of warhams minis, maps, and terrain, and a GM who does prep, so this wouldn't add much aside form technological hassle and a distraction. I can see it being useful for pick up short notice games since you can pull media and even full modules from the series of tubes, and it can automate large parts of mechanics if scripted beforehand, but in my current situation it'd detract from the experience.

>This retarded faggot thinks the DM make this to be cool or add depths to his adventure

the ONLY reason for putting a screen in the table is basically to force all those faggot that are constantly looking at their phone while not rolling dice to listen and actually see whats happening.

Faggots in 2017 need a screen. the table replace the phone. ita as simple as that amd works 10000% even with people you dont know.

Have you tried not playing with faggots?

not playing with faggot would mean the whole thread has no purpose.

Also
>not an argument

What's the problem with playing anywhere? Just use a system you remember well enough

I think it's stupid. Part of the charm of the game is using the pen and paper, and keeping the digital out of it. I only want to play all online (rolls, maps, and movements done on a computer) or none online (using physical dice, maps, and figures). Also, your a bad DM if you fall for the "I need 1million maps and other shut to keep it fresh".

I want to build one, or perhaps have one built, but the quality versus price ratios just don't work out yet.

Already use a second monitor to display character and location art. Integrating it seamlessly into the table will reduce clutter and let me use it for maps too. Touch support could be cool too, so that players could zoom in on and interact with stuff, but that seems like a potential pain in the ass if it picks up dice bouncing around or reacts to miniatures or multiple simultaneous clicks makes it shit the bed.

I don't know if I could get on board with the TV screen, but I would love an overhead projector that just dropped a 1in square grid on the table. Does such a thing exist?

Well, with a drawing tablet and some software (even gimp is probably enough) that you could just spontaneously draw something up there as well.
But I think I like the more traditional ways more too.

>but that seems like a potential pain in the ass if it picks up dice bouncing around or reacts to miniatures or multiple simultaneous clicks makes it shit the bed.
Well, that shouldn't happen with capacitive touchscreens

Honestly if my DM is all about pen and paper, dont even think I will play 10 minutes without posting here or looking at youtube videos on my phone

>What's the problem with playing anywhere?
Infrastructure. If I had the map set up electronically, I could run it off a second, portable screen instead of using a whiteboard.

If you can't put the phone down, it will be confiscated, and the wi-fi password will be changed for next session and not told to you.
> BUT MUH CHARACTER SHEET ON THUR
Tough shit. I'll print you off a copy; you lost device privileges when you lost track of what was happening. Go take your ritalin.