3D Virtual Tabletop at Gen Con 2014!

There’s something very special in Booth #3039 at Gen Con this year – us!  Come along and tell us all your hopes and dreams for 3D Virtual Tabletop, we’re keen to hear how you use it and what you need from the app to get the most out of it at your table.

You’ll also be able to see the app in action on a big screen.  2013 RPG Superstar Steve Helt is using it to run adventures from Rise of the Drow: Prologue, and it’ll be displayed on a 32-inch HDTV for all to see.  It’s been set up by AAW Games who are sharing the booth with us this year. 

Booth #3039 is in the top right corner of the exhibitor’s map, so should be easy to find.

Dwarven Forge’s Caverns

Now for something completely different.

When you can all get together around a real tabletop, the best terrain I’ve seen is the 3D tiles from Dwarven Forge. I’m not associated with them at all, just a fan, but I missed out on their first Kickstarter so I wanted to let you know you can participate in their second Kickstarter, caverns, for another day or two. I’ve coveted Dwarven Forge’s tiles from afar for years and happily backed their Kickstarter so that I can finally get my hands on some. The artist behind it all, Stefan Pokorny comes from a classical painting and sculpting background and it’s great to see someone of his talent bring their skill to bear on this hobby that we all love.

You can find their Kickstarter at: http://kck.st/1ftWrem

3D Virtual Tabletop in Web Browser now Live

Backers of the Kickstarter who pledged at a level which included Immediate Access can now use 3D Virtual Tabletop in a web browser on Windows and Mac.  This is an early verison, I’m currently working on it to bring it up to the same level of functionality as the iPad, iPhone and Android versions.  If you’re keen to see this for yourself but don’t qualify, you can use the late pledge page to gain Immediate Access with an existing pledge or even back it for the first time.

3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter Progress

You can find the progress report about delivering the Kickstarter rewards in the latest Kickstarer update: Weekly Progress Update 2

Delivering on the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter

Thanks for your support during the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter, pushing it to be funded to 1,100% of our initial goal. The real highlight for me was talking to people in the last 24 hours, getting to know the community. Not only did players and GMs rally around, but publishers and artists also got involved, so many thanks to Adventure-A-Week, Alyssa Faden, Battle! Studio, Darkraven Games, Dramascape, Frog God Games, The Game Mechanics, Kaitlynn Peavler, Kobold Press, Legendary Games, Lord Zsezse Works, Mayhem in Paper, Modiphius Entertainment, and Wayne Reynolds.

Now it’s time to let you know how you’ll be getting the goods from the Kickstarter. I’ll be using Backer Kit to manage the add-ons. They recommend waiting 2 weeks before getting info from backers to ensure that all payments have gone through. I’m still getting a few payments trickling through so in about a week I’ll be starting things up with Backer Kit. You’ll be able to choose the add-ons that you pledged for and also purchase any additional ones that you want. If you’re having any trouble with Amazon payments for this Kickstarter you can pay directly with PayPal to brendon@taponfire.com. Use the same email for PayPal as you do with Kickstarter and I’ll be able to match it up with what you pledged.

If you missed out on the Kickstarter completely you can make a late pledge for a limited time to get in on the action. Visit the Late Pledge Page and you can still get the great deals and exclusive offers via PayPal. I’ve been in the position before where I only found out about an awesome Kickstarter after it had ended, or went back to pledge only to find out that it had already finished, so I know what its like to want to give something and not be able to. People have already taken advantage of this opportunity so I’ll keep it going for a while longer.

The delivery date on each Kickstarter reward is for the initial $5,000 version. Immediate access will be available in October, early access in November, and the public release in December. New releases will be made rapidly after that as each stretch goal is finished. Immediate access backers will be able to experience them as they are implemented, and early access backers will get them 4 weeks before the general public. The subscription that you get with a reward begins with the public release in December.

The immediate access version will first be available on iPad & iPhone, then Android, then Web Browser. Since the Kickstarter campaign was run in the middle of a software development cycle, the immediate access version will be updated frequently after it is initially made available so that it begins to work properly.

My focus now and in the months to come is on turning 3D Virtual Tabletop into the amazing app that we all know it can be. The enthusiasm I’ve had from gamers is heartwarming, you’re obviously as keen to see this happen as I am. Thanks for your support on the journey.

Achtung! Cthulhu Spreads Shadow Over 3D Virtual Tabletop

The tentacle-filled wartime roleplaying setting of Achtung! Cthulhu is coming to 3D Virtual Tabletop.  Fresh off a massively successful 2,000% funded Kickstarter, the creators of Achtung! Cthulhu, Modiphius Entertainment, have graciously offered a selection of their terrifying creatures and dramatic maps to committed backers upon reaching the next stretch goal.  Even if you don’t want to lead a team of heroic investigators behind enemy lines, you can still use the creatures in a game of any genre where you need horrific monsters, and you’ll have 3 more mysterious locations to explore, a Nazi underground outpost, a Nazi base and an Elder Thing Outpost!

All backers need to do to get the Achtung! Cthulhu content on their virtual tabletop is to pledge at the Battalion Plus level or higher and help spread the word to make this project hit the $22,000 mark.  The Battalion Plus reward will additionally grant backers all assets from other content stretch goals that are unlocked before the project ends.  Modiphius Entertainment will also be providing a wider range of Achtung! Cthulhu maps and minis in the in-app marketplace. 

Creatures from Deck of Legends come to 3D Virtual Tabletop

As we get closer to 300% funding of the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter, it has gained momentum and some new artwork for backers.  This new art comes from the Deck of Legends Kickstarter which is also on now.  The Deck has all the cards in a normal 52 card deck, plus 2 jokers, but they are richly illustrated with a range of characters, locations, monsters and items, depending on their face value.  This turns the Deck into a wonderful tool that can expand your game, with its use limited only by your imagination.

The good news is that the characters and monsters from the Deck, a total of 24 creatures in all, are going to be available as stand-up miniatures inside 3D Virtual Tabletop, if you back it at least at the $9 Swordmaster level.  You also benefit from backing the Deck of Legends because as their stretch goals are hit, any additional artwork produced will also be available in 3D Virtual Tabletop.

Have Your Say in the Stretch Goal Survey

If you were on the fence about supporting the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter, now is the time to back it so you can make your dreams come true.  Once you’re a backer you’ll be able to vote on which stretch goals you’d like to see happen soonest.  Whether it’s a Windows version or dice rolling that you’d like to use in your game, you have the power to influence the priority.

You can help the stretch goals that you want get funded by spreading the word:

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Kickstarter Now Live!

You can back the project right now, to get network multiplayer into 3D Virtual Tabletop.

Share a link to the campaign to spread the word to unlock the awesome stretch goals:

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Final Countdown for the Start of the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter

With now less than 24 hours to go before the start of the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter, it’s time for another sneak peak.  The screenshot below highlights 2 of the rewards that are going to be available during the campaign.  The miniatures are from a Human Adventurers set and a Half-Orc set by Battle! Studio.  They are waging war on a map provided by Adventure-A-Week.  I’m grateful to have these two on board and their enthusiasm for the project bodes very well for the future.

6 Days Until the 3D Virtual Tabletop Kickstarter Begins

The network multiplayer that you want in 3D Virtual Tabletop is just around the corner.  The Kickstarter campaign to make it happen starts in just under 6 days from now.  You can check out the homepage for a live countdown.  I’d appreciate it if you could back it on the first day.

Here’s a screenshot of what we have in store for you.  The dwarven minis are from Battle! Studio and there is a reward level that will make them available for you to use within 3D Virtual Tabletop.  The great little map is from Lord Zsezse Works, who are also supporting the campaign.

There is so much potential in a true 3D virtual tabletop.  What you have seen from me so far only touches the surface of what could be.  I’ve had so many positive comments about the app so far, it’s great to see it resonate with people that have used it.  I don’t think I’m the only one to find out about an awesome Kickstarter after it has finished.  We just need people to know about the project so that they have the opportunity to support it.  Now that I’ve shown you the first step, you can help complete the vision by telling your gaming group about the campaign.

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.

New 3D Virtual Tabletop Walkthrough Video on Android

To view the latest and greatest improvements in 3D Virtual Tabletop, you can check out the video below.  It’s a walkthrough video of the latest version and I’ve included a part where I create a miniature from a picture on the Pathfinder blog, to show you how easy it is to bring your own pictures and creativity into the tabletop.  Even though the video is of an Android tablet, you can do the same things on an iPhone or iPad.

15 Superbly Detailed Maps Now Included in 3D Virtual Tabletop

Lots of people ask me where they can find maps to use with 3D Virtual Tabletop, so I’m pleased to announce today the inclusion of 15 maps from DramaScape.  They come bundled in the app at no extra charge, but feel free of course to look at their other maps to see if something suits your fancy.  The maps included cover a wide range of genres, from traditional fantasy, to modern, and futuristic sci-fi.  Hopefully there is something there to get you started.

Maps have also been one of the major issues for me in my own use of 3D Virtual Tabletop for my Pathfinder campaign.  I’ve made it easier to import your own maps, but providing maps that are this high quality really lets you see what the virtual tabletop is capable of.  My own maps that I create aren’t nearly as good as these, but of course, even just a simple map works really well.

The update that contains the maps will be available for Android on Google Play several hours after this was posted, in a few days on the Amazon Appstore, and within a week for iPhone and iPad on the Apple App Store.

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.