That's the first thing I thought, too.Darrkon Fearlock said:
It looks cool, but even that level of awesomeness can't override my distaste for 4th Ed.
Edit: Yay, 1000 posts. What a glorious moment in history.
Dungeons & Dragons Brought to Life Using a Microsoft Surface Table
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
- Start date
It looks cool, but even that level of awesomeness can't override my distaste for 4th Ed.
Edit: Yay, 1000 posts. What a glorious moment in history.
Actually, the only thing that would be replaced would be the dice. You'd likely still have to represent every miniature you use for the table to know what was left alive. Also, GW could potentially charge even more for characters with interactive bases containing their stat line, special abilities, magic items etc. They could also charge for the interactive versions of the rulebooks, scenary and background image packs, and a whole lot of other stuff.Lunar Shadow said:
However, to truly replace the good 'ole DnD battlemat, it needs to be beer, tea, coffee, cola, energy drink, chinese take-out and haribo proof or else it wouldn't last a single session with my lot.
Let's get down to brass taxes... how much would this thing cost?
Despite them seemingly trying to appeal to the DnD crowd, I doubt the average Taco Bell employee can afford it, and it looks like it wouldn't exactly fare well against pets and small children.
Also, is this really a Microsoft product? Where are the millions of fans that are required to keep this thing cool? Something this size should double as a fully-functioning hovercraft.
Despite them seemingly trying to appeal to the DnD crowd, I doubt the average Taco Bell employee can afford it, and it looks like it wouldn't exactly fare well against pets and small children.
Also, is this really a Microsoft product? Where are the millions of fans that are required to keep this thing cool? Something this size should double as a fully-functioning hovercraft.
IIRC a Surface unit was about $10,000 at launch. Prices were expected to drop fairly quickly though and it's been out about a year (?). This is one of those "soon, but not yet" pieces of tech. On the other hand that gives them a couple of years to work on their program and get it ready to go. That could be nice. Right now I don't think I'm going to replace the pool table with one for D&D though.Scrythe said:
No. No thank you. The virtual dice are a nitpick, though it would freak me out to not be able to change my 20 out once I've used up the good rolls in it. 
The whole concept is just wrong for me. But then, I still mourn the loss of THAC0. I'm so old.
The whole concept is just wrong for me. But then, I still mourn the loss of THAC0. I'm so old.
Man, ETC is so awesome. i should start making indie games and try to apply. I remember seeing the Surface used during election coverage last year, but this is a much, much cooler use of it imo.
i don't see why it would be any more difficult to create story on the fly with the Surface than any other mapmaking system. The primary advantage seems to be streamlining combat and exploration. It certainly seems easier than paper and pencil for artistically-limited people like me, although i'd have to know more about the map design software.samsonguy920 said:
that certainly seems to be the direction WotC is heading with D&D. I don't see this affecting their miniature sales much (it looks like they're using minis in demo, in fact) but it'd be interesting to see how they'd handle selling books/rule sets if a system like this caught on.samsonguy920 said:
based on what i've read, i think you just need a barcode sticker on the bottom. dont quote me on that though.Asehujiko said:
Which at this stage I doubt would be friendly to amateur coders. Until someone created an interface for wilderness, town, and dungeon creation, along with a database for every single monster and rollemup NPC, I don't see this having much appeal. And then there is the fact that it will all be based on v4 Rules. Which I will never touch with a ten foot pole.cobra_ky said:
WotC would license this property in a heartbeat, and probably just stop publishing paper media within two years. So start saving up your books, because the end is near! (And yes I may just make a postboard with that on it to wear in front of Wizards)cobra_ky said:
Now I don't hold too much against Wizards, if it wasn't for them, then D&D would be a memory of the past, with people using old books probably put into binders to contain the pages to continue their games, and the novels ended before the fun really began with our favorite worlds' stories. But I am afraid they are getting the same disease of EA, Activision, and the like. Thinking new technology is the only solution, and new customerbase is the ONLY way to stay profitable. Granted new blood is a necessary way to survive, but it is not the only way. Companies fail when dedicated and loyal customers leave, which in turn affects any new customers from coming. Are you listening Wizards? Show some love for us veterans for a change, and at least keep the 3.5 rules around. Choice is a good thing. If you do use this tech, keep it friendly, keep it fun, but don't make it the ONLY way of playing.
Good grief - as if GMing isn't difficult enough. Instead of just painting the
picture with words, you choose to spend days and weeks picking from a little
drawer of pre-fabbed graphics so you can paint some superficial representation
of the picture on a limited 2-d screen. Then you really hope that the
characters don't stray.
That table is something you *could* do, but why would you want to? The virtual
die is ridiculous and pointless. The radial menu is cool, but it can't possibly
cover all the interactions a person might come up with (and imagine waiting an
hour for someone to struggle through the stupid thing trying to decide what they
want to do). What do you do when somebody comes up with a brilliant plan not
available in the radial menu? How do you have a combat in 3-space with a
dragon?
The software, like Microsoft table, is completely pointless. That having been
said, my son's generation will no doubt be gaming similar piles of drek.
*sigh*
picture with words, you choose to spend days and weeks picking from a little
drawer of pre-fabbed graphics so you can paint some superficial representation
of the picture on a limited 2-d screen. Then you really hope that the
characters don't stray.
That table is something you *could* do, but why would you want to? The virtual
die is ridiculous and pointless. The radial menu is cool, but it can't possibly
cover all the interactions a person might come up with (and imagine waiting an
hour for someone to struggle through the stupid thing trying to decide what they
want to do). What do you do when somebody comes up with a brilliant plan not
available in the radial menu? How do you have a combat in 3-space with a
dragon?
The software, like Microsoft table, is completely pointless. That having been
said, my son's generation will no doubt be gaming similar piles of drek.
*sigh*
