What does your game table look like?

[Erdrix]

Being the left brained, detail oriented Engineer.. I noticed some Judge Dredd and what looks like Some dragon magazine covers on the wall....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8h8dpn6q67kffpq/Dragon Mags.png

I always Liked Daniel Horne's work. He actually dressed female fighters in something besides a chainmail bikini.... Unfortunate that he does most of his work in the Goth Monster genre (ie Dracula, Frankenstein, etc) I think his eye for the fantasy aspect is good as well.
The Judge Dredds I get, but was curious as to why dragon #126?

Those were cardboard page dividers from an old AD&D monster manual that came in a three ring binder. I picked some of the ones I liked the art and framed them for the wall.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

Those were cardboard page dividers from an old AD&D monster manual that came in a three ring binder. I picked some of the ones I liked the art and framed them for the wall.

Ah I know the one! That would be the 2nd Addition Monstrous Compendium... have a copy! totally forgot those were the page dividers... thanks for the reminder... the gorgnard mind sometimes slips....

 

[mirtos]

Ahh ... Monstrous Compendium... i had most of them. takes me back.

 

[Erdrix]

That was it. I'm not at home and couldn't remember the name of it.

 

[Jamz]

Here's my custom table I built last year. It's 10' x 52" to fit the 7-8 players we have on a weekly basis! (It now has a glass insert that protects the TV).

Sorry, the picture was taken before Realm Works was released, but I'll update it once the Player View is done! ;-)

 

[mirtos]

What TV do you use? I thought most TVs had issues at being mounted like that?

 

[Jamz]

What TV do you use? I thought most TVs had issues at being mounted like that?

It's a VIZIO E500i-A1 50" 1080p 120Hz LED Smart TV w/ Wi-Fi.

I got it refurb from Woot < $500. I did luck out as I didn't even think about the Viewing Angle before I got it. But this thing worked out perfect! You can view it from the bottom and side just fine, looks the same from all angles.

It also hasn't suffered from weight or heat issues either after a year of use (1 x week for 8+ hours ontime). Even with the glass mounted over it (which some tv's hate because heat rises) it never gets over mid to high 90 degrees. Usually around 90ish. LCD's are so low powered these days, it's not as much an issue. (I was going to mount fans but haven't needed to).

Now, the table is SOLID (made from white ash and weighs about the same as a pool table lol) which means it heavily resists bumps, pushes, etc. So that means the tv doesn't jar/move at all which I suppose could otherwise contribute to the lcd separating from the screen under weight.

All in all, it was a cheaper solution than fixing my Projector that died, with much brighter, higher resolution, nicer picture.

 

[Ladyofdragons]

Here's my custom table I built last year. It's 10' x 52" to fit the 7-8 players we have on a weekly basis! (It now has a glass insert that protects the TV).

ok, now I have table envy. have to figure out how to do this.

Do your players use laptops, and if so is there enough room around the TV for them?

 

[kthomasms]

You guys gave me a couple of ideas on how to better incorporate RW into my game table. Question though, can you run RW on 2 machines at the same time? I thought is logged you out?

 

[Jamz]

ok, now I have table envy. have to figure out how to do this.

Do your players use laptops, and if so is there enough room around the TV for them?

we have a mix. The GM has one at the end, and 2 to 4 players use laptops, rest use tablets.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

It's a VIZIO E500i-A1 50" 1080p 120Hz LED Smart TV w/ Wi-Fi.

I got it refurb from Woot < $500. I did luck out as I didn't even think about the Viewing Angle before I got it. But this thing worked out perfect! You can view it from the bottom and side just fine, looks the same from all angles.

It also hasn't suffered from weight or heat issues either after a year of use (1 x week for 8+ hours ontime). Even with the glass mounted over it (which some tv's hate because heat rises) it never gets over mid to high 90 degrees. Usually around 90ish. LCD's are so low powered these days, it's not as much an issue. (I was going to mount fans but haven't needed to).

Now, the table is SOLID (made from white ash and weighs about the same as a pool table lol) which means it heavily resists bumps, pushes, etc. So that means the tv doesn't jar/move at all which I suppose could otherwise contribute to the lcd separating from the screen under weight.

All in all, it was a cheaper solution than fixing my Projector that died, with much brighter, higher resolution, nicer picture.

I concur with Jamz' review of the embed TV application on multiple counts.
1> View angle should considered.
2> As Jamz points out, heat build up could be a concern. look at where the TV is designed to vent off heat...

• I selected two JVC 47" Class, 1080p, Smart, 3D, 120Hz Black Sapphire. Like Jamz found a good deal(<$500), only at Sams Wholesale...
• We selected JVC because they have a zero bezel width that would allow me to run the TVs end to end with only a 1/2 black bar separating the view(the 1/2 is the culmination of the LCD projection limits.) .
• This gives us an electronic map 25"x 84" on a table size of 48" x 120"(basically allowing an 11" width around the view area for tablets, dice trays, books, etc.

3> Agree with his appraisal on the brighter, higher resolution as well... even in high light environments.

In reference to Laptop question, Some of my players have their own, with Hero Lab Installed. I also purchased several used Fujitsu T2220 Tablets on ebay for about $100 each for those that don't have one. Linked to a router under the table allows the group to share a common drive to back up their POR files, journals, etc... Have hopes that Realmworks will modernize this to the next level.

 

[Decapus]

This is our game table with Realm Works. I'm still in the process of finishing the scenery around the table.

 

[karpomatic]

Nice! I like that one!

 

[Parody]

So here's the table on which I ran our Kingmaker campaign (using Pathfinder) for the last two years. I took the picture from the GM position. The "tablecloth" is a Chessex Mondomat, and is just barely bigger than the tabletop (4.5'x8' or so). On the board there's an initiative tracker (I blurred the names), AC grid, and situational modifiers chart. We used to have the maps up there as well (11"x17" prints) with magnetic pushpins and such but we were in the process of cleaning everything up when I took this picture.

So I'm sure you're asking "Where's the fancy projectors or TV in the table? Where's Realm Works?" Well, we don't have any of that. People do have laptops, tablets, and smartphones and we all used them at the table at one time or another (mostly for looking up rules), but our game played out with miniatures and marker maps drawn on the table. RW came out too late for me to even try to use it with the campaign. (We were into the last book by the time I started using it.)

Maybe in the future with the other clients available RW can be part of our campaigns, but for now markers and notes will have to do. :)

 

[Lexfire]

Very simple - Melamine Board - Home Depot $13 a sheet. With 36 x 70 1" squares using dry erase markers.

Currently playing Pathfinder weekly and AD&D 2nd edition monthly.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t117/hragarand/gamingtable2.jpg

 

[mhossom]

Lexfire - How did you apply the 1" grid to the malamine?

 

[Lexfire]

I used a t-shaped ruler - http://grabcad.com/library/t-shaped-ruler

Modeling Scribe - http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/squ/squ10202.htm

Took about 4 hours to scribe the very thin line in the melamine.

Use the thin melamine board - 1/8" x 4' x 8' thick - not the heavy thicker board. The melamine sheet sits on top of a piece of plywood for rigidity and then on the table.

Cleaning options - http://www.howtocleanthings.com/surfaces/how-to-clean-a-dry-erase-board.htm

Wax it once in a while with a paste car wax.

 

[Farnaby]

Here's my custom table I built last year. It's 10' x 52" to fit the 7-8 players we have on a weekly basis! (It now has a glass insert that protects the TV).

Sorry, the picture was taken before Realm Works was released, but I'll update it once the Player View is done! ;-)

A question for everyone with a built-in monitor or projector in your table:

Do you flip the screen 180 degrees for the players on the other side, or do they use the mouse upside down, or ...?

 

[AEIOU]

The d20pro Kickstarter going on right now is aiming to make the screen elements rotatable by the players....

Multi Touch & Multi Player – use many fingers to control your minis and manipulate the virtual world. Menus and Windows may be rotated for multiple players arranged around a horizontal screen.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

A question for everyone with a built-in monitor or projector in your table:

Do you flip the screen 180 degrees for the players on the other side, or do they use the mouse upside down, or ...?

I use a wireless Logitech T650 touch pad...so the players can pass it around and only have to orient the pad to match screen orientation. (in our case the players use the Logitech logo as an orientation reminder for where the "top" of the pad is = Top of TVs in our case)

Once they became accustom to that, "orientation of the screen" doesn't really come into play..... though this will not work for those utilizing a VTT atmosphere that displays text on the "table".... The text will still orient based on TV.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Rechargeable-Touchpad-Multi-Touch-Navigation/dp/B0093H4WT6

Of Course LWD & RW potential corroboration could also help on the text orientation since there is currently discussion on the D20pro VTT software being able to be sync'd with external devices such as players laptops thus eliminating that "text orientation" problem.

See here for details and D20 Kickstarter currently underway.

Steven Wells 4 days ago

For RW integration, the key pieces to me would be shared maps, shared player handouts and shared HL portfolios. What tidbits can you share about the Unlimited vision that would entice RW users to take the plunge and invest in the KS?

Creator Mesa Mundi Inc. 4 days ago

@Steven, that's a great question. I've already had some productive early talks with Rob Bowes about first steps to integrate d20Pro Unlimited and RealmWorks.

Unlimited should be able to import creatures directly from HL portfolios; however, we need to do more research before talking definitively on how to accomplish the round trip - where Unlimited would write back changes to the creature to the HL portfolio. Another item is persisting Unlimited data in Realm Works, so it can be conjured back up later as needed.

Mesa Mundi and Lone Wolf Development will be hashing out our integration strategy over the coming months. We talk about the RPG "ecosystem" where technology can enhance any aspect of gameplay. The entire ecosystem is quite large and we feel smaller companies will band together to provide a comprehensive solution. MM and LWD have common interests and mutual respect - so while I can say exactly how it will unfold we'll be collaborating with Rob and his crew to the best of our abilities.

Best regards and good gaming,
Mat ~ GM Thraxxis

&

Mesa Mundi Inc. 4 days ago

Robert Stone 4 days ago

Correct me if I'm wrong here but it was my understanding that eventually you want to make it where you can basically drag and drop character/monsters from Hero Lab to Unlimited and they would transfer automatically. Right?

@Robert the immediate plan is to import directly from Hero Lab's Portfolio files (.por). So you'd just need to save your changes in Hero Lab and then point Unlimited to the desired portfolio and presto!

I have chatted with Colen and Rob at LWD about inter-process communication that would allow even more seamless transfer, though we're not ready to announce anything along those lines. We've also been talking about RealmWorks integration and will be announcing our initial steps later this year on that topic.

Best regards and good gaming,
Mat ~ GM Thraxxis

For more info see
D20 Pro Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magehand/d20pro-unlimited-virtual-tabletop

Note I am not affiliated with Either LWD nor MM But I am a supporter of both... so this is not a "sales pitch" for KS support... make that judgment yourself.
And Lastly I "assume" (dangerous these days) that Rob & LWD take no issues with the link to the D20Pro Kickstarter... If so feel free to remove that part of the posting....
Just my 2cp