Will player's Web access require cloud sync?

[pyremius]

[edit] And you've already posted a couple apps while I was typing. I'll see what I can test over the next couple days (tonight is 40K night so I won't have time).

Once the Cloud element is available it should not be that difficult. Any snippet you mark as "Shared" will be accessible to the players. The basic steps would be:

1. Mark snippet "Shared"
2. Force a sync to the Cloud.
3. Tell your players to force a sync (if they are using their own copy of Realm Works. If they are using the web view, they should only need to refresh).
4. Tell your players which piece of data to look at.

The advantage of the Player View is that it shows the specific shared data you want them to see, when you want them to see it during the session. It's a good way to avoid using physical handouts (since the information is shared, they'll have access to it in the future just as if they placed a handout in their character folder).

I don't use VTTs myself, so I can only guess on how the programs will interact. My first guess is that if the VTT can transmit an entire desktop (common for webinar apps) then you should be able to use a multi-monitor setup where a single monitor is used for both the VTT capture and the Player View display.

If there are some specific free apps that you've used, let me know what they are and I'll see if I can test them.

[lifer4700]

Most VTTs do not share desktops - they only share their "tabletop" visually.

Originally Posted by pyremius

The advantage of the Player View is that it shows the specific shared data you want them to see, when you want them to see it during the session.

Only if your session is face-to-face. These days, that's not a 100% guarantee.

Our sessions are almost never face-to-face.

[rob]

Originally Posted by lifer4700

Will I (the GM) be able to set up the Player View, and display locally if I want, but also any remote players get the update as well simultaneously on their Player View screen? (whether that is via web client or separate player-install client)

Basically, yes. With one misunderstanding. And it seems that @pyremius may share this misunderstanding as well.

You can use BOTH methods concurrently - Player View and cloud-based player access - or just one of them.

In your case, you would use Player View during the game to show the players exactly what you wanted them to see. For example, the map of the dungeon they are exploring. You could then sync after making changes and then remote players could see what you've revealed.

The important caveat here is that there is no way for YOU to remotely CONTROL what remote players are seeing - at least not in the initial launch. The Player View mechanism is local only. Any remote players accessing the material you've revealed will need to be told what they should look at, since they will be independently browsing through everything you've revealed and can choose to look at anything they want. The same would be true for any players accessing Realm Works from their own device during the game.

The big advantage of having players operate independently is that they can easily lookup details to pursue theories about the story as it unfolds.

Hope this makes sense!

[lifer4700]

Originally Posted by rob

In your case, you would use Player View during the game to show the players exactly what you wanted them to see.

The Player View mechanism is local only.

That is what I'm finding out. To me, and my group, these two statements conflict.

"During the game" does not happen locally, it is a 100% remote thing for us.

[rob]

Originally Posted by lifer4700

But for me to be able to use the Player View portion of the software, I would have to do something like this, I think:

1. Transfer snippets to the Player View.
2. Switch to Player View and organize.
3. View as Player, take screen shot.
4. Save as PDF.
5. Send email or post on my forum.
6. Tell my players to check their email or forum, and pull up the PDF.

I was not expecting that - especially with all the emphasis on this being on "The Cloud" with client software.

I completely missed the statement that this software is designed only for people that play face-to-face.

That's an incorrect conclusion based on the incomplete answer you received from @pyremius.

You reveal the content within Realm Works. You sync to the server. That content is now available to your players via the server. That's the whole idea of the cloud.

The only caveat here is that you would need to tell them what they should look at, since THEY are in complete control of what they are viewing at any point in time. But they can still view everything without all the hoops you've outlined above. Just tell them to look at MapX, NPCY, and PlotZ - the things you've put onto the Player View display for the players at the table.

Allowing the GM to remotely control what the players are viewing is something significantly more restrictive for players than the current design and not part of the initial launch feature set.

Originally Posted by lifer4700

Actually, with this in mind, another - in my mind - missing feature makes complete sense now.

I was very surprised when I found out you can't reveal snippets to individual players yet. It wasn't part of the initial design.

With this knowledge, I suppose that does make sense. It is assumed that all players are sitting around a physical table, looking at the same Player View screen.

Another incorrect conclusion. There is NO assumption that all players are sitting around a physical table, although that is what we've initially optimized for (since that's by far the most common play arrangement today).

The reason we didn't include individual player reveal in the initial design was simply because nobody on the Dev team plays that way. On top of that, among the Beta team (which numbers well over 100 GMs), only a handful expressed interest in the feature. So we never considered it a critical one for the initial launch and planned it for a good bit down the line. It wasn't until the Kickstarter, when lots of people said they needed individual control over who knows what, that we realized a meaningful number of GMs cared about the feature.

[lifer4700]

Thank you for the clarification, Rob.

[rob]

Originally Posted by lifer4700

That is what I'm finding out. To me, and my group, these two statements conflict.

"During the game" does not happen locally, it is a 100% remote thing for us.

Completely remote, distributed play is still very uncommon these days (albeit slowly growing). As such, our initial focus is primarily on the majority of RPG groups that play together in one physical location. Access by remote players during the game currently leverages the same cloud-based mechanisms that at-the-table players will leverage both inside and outside of the game. More specific capabilities for remote players have been thought about and are on the todo list, but it's not part of the initial launch plan.

As with all of our previous products, once we launch V1.0, the features we add are largely prioritized based on consumer demand. So if lots of users want Player View to support "remote control" during game sessions, we can look at getting that added relatively soon after release.

[rob]

Originally Posted by lifer4700

Thank you for the clarification, Rob.

It turns out I edited my answer to respond to a second question while you posted this, so you may have missed that second answer. Please re-check my post for that second answer.

[pyremius]

My apologies for causing confusion.

I haven't found a VTT that allows you to share one of your screens with your remote players. I have, however, confirmed that Team Viewer can be used in a multiple-monitor setup. I am currently using Realm Works on an external monitor attached to my laptop, with the laptop's display being used by Realm Works for the Player View and also being shared by Team Viewer. I've got the Team Viewer client installed on my Android tablet and logged into the same session

Any information I share via Player View is displayed in real time on my tablet, just as if the viewer were sitting at my table watching the Player View monitor directly. You can also use Team Viewer for this purpose in a single-monitor environment, but you'll have to remember to turn off sharing before you close the Player View so the player's don't see all of the GM information.

[davidp]

Originally Posted by lifer4700

Wow.

I really, really misunderstood the whole intention of this system then!

Yes, I get that it is an organizational system beyond anything else out there, and for that alone I might still purchase.

But for me to be able to use the Player View portion of the software, I would have to do something like this, I think:

1. Transfer snippets to the Player View.
2. Switch to Player View and organize.
3. View as Player, take screen shot.
4. Save as PDF.
5. Send email or post on my forum.
6. Tell my players to check their email or forum, and pull up the PDF.

I was not expecting that - especially with all the emphasis on this being on "The Cloud" with client software.

I completely missed the statement that this software is designed only for people that play face-to-face.

The current functionality of Player View is designed with face-to-face play in mind. You can share the screen the Player View window is on over the network with various pieces of software. I have used software for the iPad and PC which caused the iPad to be a second monitor on the PC to get Player View showing on the iPad (alas, the software I used is no longer available for some reason). You can also use software such as http://join.me/ to share the screen or window remotely. join.me can be used for free.

We will be adding the web player view later which will utilize our servers or players could have a copy of Realm Works and sync to our servers to get at the content shared with them. They then gain the ability to search and navigate through the information in your campaign that has been revealed to them in whatever fashion the player wishes. This is an aspect that will support use outside of face-to-face games.

Because other companies provide solutions for sharing the player view window over the Internet, we can focus on other functionality for a while before looking at tackling this type of feature.