System Requirements

Are there system requirements posted for roll20, or "realistic" system requirements?

<a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Optimizing_Roll20_Performance#Graphics_Rendering_Performance" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Optimizing_Roll20_Performance#Graphics_Rendering_Performance</a> This is about as close an answer as I have evet gotten to that very question.

There is nothing specific but it is a general consensus that if your computer is rather modern, say 5 yrs or newer, it can handle anything roll20 can throw at it. The hardest thing that will get thrown at most computers will be the dynamic lighting and the 3d dice. Now if you plan on using 3rd party software (skype or streaming software) then you need to make sure your computer can handle that also. The reason for my statement about dynamic lighting and the 3d dice is that those are the main things that are constantly changing. All the maps get stored in a cache when they are first loaded (that will cause a slight lag at first if they are large) but after that there is not much resource requirement. I played with a laptop that had a 1.6 gig cpu and onboard video (due to it being a laptop) with 2 gig of ram. It lagged a bit at first on the maps, video, and mic with the dynamic lighting and 3d dice rolling but when I shut down the video feed and the 3d dice, it removed that lag. Still had a little bit of lag with the dynamic lighting but remember this was about a year or so ago also. The roll20 has grown much better since then.

I don't have any issues on my main computer, but I do notice significant unresponsiveness on older(5+ yr) computers. Dynamic lighting is such a cool feature it's hard to not use it when necessary. 3d dice are cool, but not seeing them roll on-screen is not a deal breaker for our group. I'm wondering how much API scripts can figure in this equation as well? Anyone played roll20 using a tablet and what kind of performance they?

You will notice a significant impact with the older systems. Nothing can be really done with that (hardware issue). It all depends on the API script's function and how many you are using. The scripts themselves should have minimal impact but their results could impact strongly. I have a tablet but never had to use it much on the site so I do not know. If you want to pm a link to me, I can fire up the tablet so we can see. I have a galaxy tab 2 so it is a few years old but it still works.

I'm just curious. Like most computer nerds, I have a plethora of old computers and parts and I'm always trying to extend the life of them as much as possible through whatever means that work. That said, while these old computers are still fine for web surfing, roll20 is pushing the envelope on what you can do within a browser's environment. I just might be in the market for some new computers and/or tablets. Both my kids play on roll20 as well. Starting to turn into an expensive endevor...

I hear that. I think you would be fine with anything that has a 1.2 gig or better cpu and a decent video card if you are not using all the bells and whistles. If you want to use one or two features then you should be ok but the more you add on, the harder that computer has to work.

Vince , if you have a particular map or campaign which you have seen a slowdown on please send me a join link. I might be able to give you pointers on how to streamline it.

I personally don't have a computer, but my grandmother has a chrome book, which is basically a massive android system. Would this render me useless to functions within roll20?

If your GM has tablet support you could play, you would probably not hear the sounds, and the resolution would be kind of shaky, but it should work. See "Tablet Support" in the Wiki, and it might give you some better answers than I can.

Jonathan D. said: I personally don't have a computer, but my grandmother has a chrome book, which is basically a massive android system. Would this render me useless to functions within roll20? If you wish to test the chromebook then just create a campaign and go into it. That will let you know if it can access the basic campaign boards. If it doesn't then let me know by a pm and we can schedule a simple test board to see if it will work for you.