Should I use Roll20 for my Online Game

This might be a bit of a provocative question (especially in a Roll20 forum), and apologies up front if I offend anyone with it,  but hopefully I'll get some constructive comments / advice. I'm looking to start a new online campaign (either Pathfinder or Shadowrun) and am currently looking at virtual tabletop applications. I've narrowed my search down to maptools and Roll20 and was looking for some helpful advice to finalise my decision. I've used maptools before in a face to face game and once id worked out the quirks of using java 6 and how to setup tokens etc was pretty impressed. I especially liked the dynamic lighting and sight features (which while not perfect were very impressive) as well as the flexibility of the tokens / properties and macros. My concern is that it would appear (and I may be wrong here) that the development of the tool isn't progressing. I appreciate that development is done by a few talented people and its not funded, but the latest version is now over a year old and I haven't seen anything to suggest a new build is in the offing, in fact the last post about a build 1.4 is now over a year old (other than the feature requests). In addition it would appear to be quite complex to setup a session for playing over the web (port forwarding etc) - although I appreciate this is something you probably only have to do once. On the other hand I have also been looking at Roll20. Unlike maptools this appears to be in a state of development and has some level of funding. However it doesn't appear to be as flexible as maptools and whilst not a major issue requires payment in order to make use of their version of dynamic lighting. It also appears to be pretty simple to setup for use on the web although there is the disadvantage that you 'have' to use it online. Hopefully you can see my quandary, as I don't want to invest the time and effort in maptools if it is a dying beast, but likewise don't want to go with Roll20 if it is always going to be less than maptools. so if anyone has some constructive comments / advice I'd appreciate it. (I've also posted this in the maptool forums as well so hopefully between the two will get some good pointers) Thanks

I've used both Grant.  I'm not a computer savvy guy by any means....and this is actually my first post in the community forums but I will say with maptools it took me close to 3 months of aggravating (for me and my players) WORK just to get 1 adventure complete.  It wasn't a long adventure either...and it was just 4th edition D&D....if anything it should have been easy aside from my prep time.  Now, there might be some robust features on maptools because it's been out there a long time....but what these guys have pulled off with this software is crazy!   I planned a game set a two week window.  Looked at the tutorials...did my prep (which was all drag and drop images, with the ONLY headache being re-sizing some of my maps) and on game night I had a full group (the looking for group is vibrant with tons of people looking for a game.  I don't know my group in real life...but they were all good people and we had a blast).  As part of your question...about investing your time with a dying beast...I understand...I've made tokens and the like before for maptools...and you can still use them on here (via the drag and drop) so most of the stuff you've made on map tools (maps, tokens, etc.) can still probably be used if it's in a jpg or similar format.   As far as the learning curve...at least 1 of my players were brand new to roll20 and I never ran a game before...and it just seemed like a casual night out with the group back home.  It's literally a virtual tabletop!....just drag and drop an image...I had cut and pasted my stat blocks for creatures and put them into the token's info area...so i always had stats on hand with little flipping (which is better than my home game face to face).  The ONLY hiccup we had was the voice/video software (which isn't exactly roll20's fault..) seems to need some adjusting but after that the game ran smoothly.   And just adding this but I'm going to mention the DEV's and Mods for this app are top notch (I'm not saying that because I'm a fan boy, but I am).  I pay attention, I listen to their pod casts and what they have in the works and what they are continually working on, and they are truly invested in the future of this app...(which like you said...maptools seems adrift).  I'm truly glad I have someone that LOVES the game and puts their hearts into making something that *I* can use to reconnect with old friends, or find great people to game with. They know what gamers like (because they are gamers themselves, and they listen to the community).  They've added dynamic lighting to roll20.  It's currently a subscription based feature but for 4.99 a month you can't beat it...AND if my 4.99 a month gives a dev incentive to concentrate on making this app an easy to use, but powerful tool....I'm all for that investment.  Also before I close this off...they've said time and time again that if you would like to see a feature implemented...to let them know about it...and if your response gets the backing of a lot of other players then they will take a closer look at it and possibly implement it....which is a rare concept.   Either way....test them both out if you'd like and see which one works for you.  Plan something small (maybe 3 small encounters just to test out the features).  I wish you the best of luck and happy gaming!

Eric, I am sorry your map sizing was a headache. Have you looked at:&nbsp; <a href="http://app.roll20.net/forum/post/3688/map-alignment-and-you-or-101-ways-to-get-your-grids-in-a-row#post-65001" rel="nofollow">http://app.roll20.net/forum/post/3688/map-alignment-and-you-or-101-ways-to-get-your-grids-in-a-row#post-65001</a> &nbsp;? If you need any help with map sizing let me know. I would be happy to help.&nbsp; - Gauss

I'm still fairly new at this, but this is my experience.... Map tool pros +export adventures, macros, etc.. +dynamic lighting free +tables (as in roll tables) +more layers - makes complex maps easier to set up/use Map tool cons -Java is insecure - homeland security sent out msgs saying to disable, apple disabled, etc... -Java updates break version you're using, have to export/import I didn't have any problems with port forwarding. === One option would be to develop your maps and such outside either, then import them into whatever you're using. Once you've written your own campaign and put together locations and npcs, it's not too hard to set them up in whatever platform you decide on.

I had created a lot of maps in MapTools last spring, we tried gaming with it but things never really took off. When I found Roll20 recently I was excited by it but regretted all that time I'd spent creating maps in MapTools only to switch to a different system. However, using MapTools screen capture command and some further processing with image editing software, I was able to bring all my MapTools maps over to Roll20 and I'm using them in my campaign now.

@ Richard Z and Gauss - See that's what I'm talking about! &nbsp;Dev's and Mods that care :) Thanks for that link Gauss It'll be very helpful (since I'll need all the help I can get since my game is tomorrow and I'm far from ready :P) edit : ((sorry Gauss :) )) thanks again

Just a note: my name is spelled Gauss not Guass. *chuckles* If you want additional help send me a link to your game and I might be able to show you a few tricks. :) - Gauss (see? a before u)

Just thought I'd reply to this post to say thanks for the replies, between here and the posts i made on Maptool I have decided to start with Roll20, have paid my subscription and am now in the process of learning / setting everything up. For those of you who are interested my decision was based on the following reasons:- 1. As I said originally although maptools has more functionality, there is an issue with Java and whilst I am pretty computer savvy, i dont fancy spending hours setting everything up for the game. 2. It would appear that the version of Java that maptools is run on will no longer be available after the end of February, and there is no sign of an update. This is probably my main reason as i don't want to be running a game on a platform that isn't readily available to both me and my players, whilst there has been development on fixes there is still an issue with releasing them to the wider public. roll20 seems to actively develop and release updates / new features. 3. The presence of the Dev's on the forums impressed me, they obviously care about the tool and were quite open about its limitations. Even suggesting i try out both first.&nbsp; Thanks for the replies - if you're interested in the replies on the equivalent maptool forum they can be found here:- Maptools Discussion Grant

Grant, if you have any issues with Roll20 let me know and I will see if I can help. :) - Gauss