VOTW: Dungeons & Dragons on Microsoft Surface

[JMcEntegart]

So you play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons, eh? Well how would you feel about trading in your board and dice for a version that's a little more up to date in terms of technology?

VOTW: Dungeons & Dragons on Microsoft Surface : Read more

 

[Silicon Jesus]

Don't care.

 

[WheelsOfConfusion]

Sweet. If only it were affordable, and easy to set up in my parents' basement!

 

[grieve]

that thing would be really cool for all "old school" board games...

-How about a poker table with the cards part of the table?
-Risk?
-even monopoly!

fun for the whole F'n family!

 

[jerther]

Pen & paper? Kind of cancels out the whole point imho...

 

[grieve]

[citation][nom]WheelsOfConfusion[/nom]Sweet. If only it were affordable, and easy to set up in my parents' basement![/citation]
lol, parents basement!

I guess the D&D people are kinda tagged that way.. but they likely could afford this too.

 

[nebun]

boring

 

[griffed88]

It'd be awesome if you could play Risk! and Hero Clix! but this'll prolly be insanely expensive

 

[jhansonxi]

It's a tough decision - pen and paper or a ridiculously expensive computer that's only good for a coffee table outside of gaming. Hmmmm.

 

[eyemaster]

Looks more complicated than using pen, paper and dice.

 

[dantheman1001]

Well it may be expensive now, but who knows what'll happen in the next two or three years, with all this tablet technology upcoming. Just think... star wars holochess is getting dangerously close to becoming a reality

 

[Lunarion]

This is a great invention... They need to make like a "master board" where you can download any board game into it. It will definitely work well for ppl who have 3+ board games taking up room in their house.

 

[figgus]

Just think... star wars holochess is getting dangerously close to becoming a reality

I get so sick of people thinking that true 3d holotech is coming... Not even close. We still need something to bounce light off of. The advances leading to this will happen someday, but probably not while we're yound enough to enjoy it. Most of the tech we have now is still based on things we knew 30+ years ago, there has been very little in the way of NEW developments. It's all making existing knowledge better right now.

 

[notsleep]

that's awesome!

 

[zelannii]

It's nice, but the hardware is way too much money, and its not a freeware game engine. We use MapTool by rptools.net, with some custom macro mods. A big screen TV, and a bunch of laptops, we're cranking through battles in no time and getting back to role play.

It's not hard to make good maps, it supports fog of war, and good 4e macro engines like Veggisama's even go as far as handling range, targeting, and complete character/mob stat tracking. It's all free, assuming you have at least 1 laptop and a TV to connect it to (players having their own laptops is even more efficient, but not required).

 

[Teirdome]

The first thing I would do with one of these things is create a Warhammer 40k rule-set board. Followed immediately by getting sued by Games Workshop. Followed by having to sell the surface to pay for my lawyers fees. But it would be worth it!

 

[cablechewer]

Their interface needs a little work - I don't see how it is easier to use than pen and paper at the moment. I would like to see an option for the "fudge factor" as well. The game isn't always about the numbers you roll. Sometimes more excitement is generated by deciding the Orc will miss.

In my last campaign I used Neverwinter and a projector to aid in exploration. I didn't use it for combat, but it did prevent misunderstandings about room layout and corridor choices. In some rooms I even placed 'friendly' monsters so that I could operate my toon in 'tourist mode' for the map I had created.

I may never play again, but I still hope that one day there will be a nice synthesis of PnP with a computer so that a DM can have the visual aid, number crunch combats and modify results on the fly to account for special circumstances (sometimes that is the fudge factor, but usually it is object placement, concealment, direction of wind and a host of other situational factors that require a judgement call).

 

[cybernike]

Oops...the surface turns blue because of a blue screen of death..

 

[wisci]

[citation][nom]Jerther[/nom]Pen & paper? Kind of cancels out the whole point imho...[/citation]

No it does not. The point of pen and paper is actual interaction with real people in a face to face environment. The point is not actually using a pen and paper.......
http://yayforapathy.blogspot.com/

 

[jgiron]

this would be great if it was affordable.

 

[p00dl3_h3r0]

Next step:
Send our kids to a space station where they can use the new device to play a game involving a giant, some wolves, a well, and a weird tower with their evil siblings face in a mirror, where they can learn to get the nerve to commit genocide: The destruction of insanely terrible devices like the IPad.

 

[jerther]

[citation][nom]wisci[/nom]No it does not. The point of pen and paper is actual interaction with real people in a face to face environment. The point is not actually using a pen and paper.......[spam][/citation]
I agree but only partially. I used to play D&D and half of my fun was to play a complex game without having to rely on [buggy] technology. I even thought once to build a D&D app and bring my laptop to my friend's [parents] basement but canceled the idea because I like to disconnect sometimes.

Oh and we once played D&D in a cabin in the woods, with candles. So much fun 😀

Computers are great but there's still fun left in reading books

 

[Kelavarus]

Wait so... It's a slower Neverwinter Nights with a touchscreen? Huh.

 

[kalogagatya]

i thought the whole point of it was to get away from computers :s

still its pretty cool

 

[ta152h]

This thing looks like a solution searching for a problem.

I'd be more interested in a 'table' that had all the old Avalon Hill wargames on them, and could act as a platform for people to play the game.

Although, I'm still not sure it would be more fun than working those maps with small cardboard pieces. I still have fond memories of playing the monstrously large D-Day game from Avalon Hill.

Just like reading a book on an electronic devices isn't the same, I think you lose something when go to electronics where they aren't really needed. It's like the difference between cooking over charcoal or just gas. It tastes a little different.