Network Play Coming to 3D Virtual Tabletop via Kickstarter

3D Virtual Tabletop is now set to become a real virtual tabletop, letting you share the map with others in real-time, whether they’re over the other side of the table, or over the other side of the world.  That’s what I’ve been spending spent most of my time on since the last update, but there are a few things I need to spend money on to make it happen, so I’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign next week to help finish off the final stage.  You’ll be pleased to know that the networking is cross-platform, so it doesn’t matter if you’re on an iPad, iPhone or Android, you can play with the rest of the group regardless of what device they have.  My Pathfinder group has mostly iPads or iPhones, but we have one guy with an Android phone, so I can’t get away without including him too.

More details to come over the next week.

Preview of the Next Update for iPhone, iPad & Android

The next update for 3D Virtual Tabletop for iPhone, iPad & Android is coming soon, so I thought I’d give you a little taste of what’s to come.  It feels like everyone has been asking me when they are going to be able to put miniatures of different sizes on the map, and the answer is in this next version!  Check out the screenshot.  You can have bigger minis too, the dragons that are included with the app are now available in gargantuan size, which is 4x4 squares, they look great on the map, much more frightening.  I can’t wait to put one of those big guys down in front of my group. This is good timing because the Pathfinder party that I am running has just got to 5th level so they’re going to be facing some tougher opponents, some of which are at least going to be large.

Another very popular suggestion that I’ve had is for putting down flat tokens.  A lot of you like the top-down view, I know my group is a big fan of it for figuring out distance and area of effect.  You can also use the flat tokens for things like throwing out a coin with a light spell on it, which isn’t appropriate for a stand-up pawn.  Something I hadn’t expected, but which is really cool, is a message from a guy wanting to do starship battles, simulating a tactical display.  It’s also necessary in this scenario to have the minis stay pointing in a particular direction, and not to face the camera.  That’s what they now do, you can place them facing the way you want, and they will keep that heading.  This goes for stand-up minis as well, you can see in the top screenshot that the elf that is facing away from the camera, towards to the ogre, is shown in greyscale, this lets you know that you’re looking at the back of the figure, but still gives you the detail to know who it is.

Hopefully this update will be out in a week or so, I’ll let you know when it hits.

The map in these screenshots is from DramaScape.

3D Virtual Tabletop for iPad & iPhone Walkthrough Video

Now that 3D Virtual Tabletop on iPad and iPhone has been out for a few weeks, I have put together a short video that shows you what you can do with it.  There are 5 main improvements, which make it a more practical tool that is an asset at the table.  More miniatures have been added to the collection that comes with the app and you can now add your own from pictures stored locally.  Lighting has been improved in 2 ways; you can set the ambient light level, and when bright lights come together, the intense light no longer washes out the map.  Finally, the greatest change is that the app is now much more responsive and familiar to use because it was created especially for the iPad & iPhone, which also paves the way for a more spectacular tabletop in future updates.

The total number of miniatures available is now over 150, in line with 3D Virtual Tabletop on other platforms.  This covers the most common monsters in the 3.5 d20 System Reference Document.  Of course you are no longer limited to selecting from just those miniatures, you can now add new minis to the collection from the Photo Library on the iPad or iPhone, or with a new photo taken with the camera.  This also means you can now easily use it for role-playing games other than Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons.

One of the first requests that I received was for having control over the light level, because some maps are better lit than others.  You now have complete control over how much ambient light there is, with a simple slider that lets you set it to any value between light and dark, which I’ve found handy for twilight encounters.  In those situations, the characters can still see, but have wanted to light a torch or cast a light spell on the right person so that they can get a better idea of what is going on around them.  Seeing that on the virtual table really helps set the mood.  Having multiple light sources in use, especially when it’s not completely dark presented some issues in the past because their combined light was so bright in places that the details on the map would just be all white.  This has been fixed, so that now even when miniatures are in bright sunlight and have a light on them, you can still see full detail on both the map and the miniatures.

Getting the lighting right was only possible because I tailored this app specifically for the iPad and iPhone.  Doing that also improved the frame rate to make the tabletop more responsive, to glide underneath your fingers.  Another benefit is that even with lots of lights on the map, it still reacts well to your touch.  My players had a situation where they were expecting an attack at night and they set up 8 torches in a perimeter around the campsite, to supplement their own torches and light spells, as well as the campfire in the middle.  With all that going on, I’m please to report that 3D Virtual Tabletop handled it well.  Targeting the iPad and iPhone specifically means that the all of the screens are fast and fluid too, and let me directly access the Photo Library and Camera to make it easy and convenient to add new miniatures.

I’m currently working on bringing these improvements to the other platforms.  If you’re keen to see them on your device sooner, let me know what you’re using and I’ll take that as another vote to make it happen earlier on that platform.

3D Virtual Tabletop Update Submitted for iPad & iPhone

If you’ve played with 3D Virtual Tabletop on your iPad or iPhone and have been waiting for an update, you’ll be pleased to know that it should be touching down in about a week.  Yesterday I submitted a new version to the App Store.  Last time it took 8 days for it to be approved, so I’m hoping that it’ll be in your hands early next week.  I’ve been using it in the weekly Pathfinder game that I run, with a large monitor connected to an Apple TV that mirrors the screen on the iPad.  We just pass the iPad around for people  to move their miniatures, and we can all see what’s happening on the monitor.

The most requested feature that I’ve had so far is for you to be able to use your own pictures for the miniatures on the table top.  Your wish has come true! You can now choose any picture from your photo library on the device, or even take a photo with the camera, and use it as a virtual miniature on the map.  One great thing about this is that it opens up the possibilities beyond role playing games like D&D and Pathfinder, to any rpg out there, even sci-fi, modern or western, whatever game you like to play.

There are four other great improvements incorporated in the new app, which really make a difference.  They are ideas you have suggested to me, and things I’ve come across as I was using it myself.  Stay tuned, I’ll tell you about them when 3D Virtual Tabletop is approved and available in the App Store for iPad and iPhone.