Player Edition Questions

[adzling]

Hey a few questions re: player edition that I can't find anywhere.

1). Does player edition offer a "player view" window so the user can see what the GM presents in the "player view" within Realmworks?

For example if the GM is showing local players some Realmworks content via player view on a second monitor can a remote player using player edition see the same content?

2). Am I correct in assuming that if we are using the cloud service that a player can access the Realmworks content from anywhere in real time as it's shared?

Anything else we should be aware of with this setup?

thanks!

 

[meek75]

Hey a few questions re: player edition that I can't find anywhere.

1). Does player edition offer a "player view" window so the user can see what the GM presents in the "player view" within Realmworks?

For example if the GM is showing local players some Realmworks content via player view on a second monitor can a remote player using player edition see the same content?

A player can view anything that has been revealed by the GM. They will need to open the topic in order to view the content. A GM can't "Force" content to a player at this point.

2). Am I correct in assuming that if we are using the cloud service that a player can access the Realmworks content from anywhere in real time as it's shared?

There is no "real time" sharing. To see changes made in a realm works the GM must sync and then the player must sync. This is a big limitation (IMHO) that you should be aware of before you buy RW.

However, they are working on a web based option that should be coming soon This might provide some additional features. Live sharing has been requested by many and is on the list of features to be added at some point. Currently, RW can easily take the place of a wikki or forum used by many groups. Lots people from OP have moved to RW and found it to be a great tool.

 

[Parody]

1. No, it does not.

2. No, the GM must sync, then the players must sync.

The Player edition is best thought of as a reference to what the players knew before the session and what they know between sessions than any sort of real-time tool. Player View is intended as the real-time tool.

 

[adzling]

thanks for this.

So Parody I understand that Player View is meant to be the real time player facing tool.

But this is not at all accessible/ viewable by the Player Edition?

That seems like a wasted opportunity.

Ah well.

 

[adzling]

Side question: what's the easiest way to sync a realm when you have it open and using it?

The only method I know is to close realmworks and go back to the "open realm" dialog.

Is there any easier way that does not require you to leave / close the current realm?

thanks

 

[meek75]

Side question: what's the easiest way to sync a realm when you have it open and using it?

The only method I know is to close realmworks and go back to the "open realm" dialog.

Is there any easier way that does not require you to leave / close the current realm?

thanks

Unfortunately, that is the only way to sync at the moment (as far as I know). This is another feature that has been requested and is probably on the to-do list, but it is a very long list and may take some time. As it stands today, RW just isn't built for players to use at the table (IMHO). It's great for between games use by players. I expect we will get there eventually, but for now it is primarily a GM tool when at the gaming table.

 

[adzling]

Ugh, definitely a lost opportunity there.

Hopefully when they finally rollout the web-view they will include a simple "sync now" option from within the main realmworks interface so players at the table (and not) can view updated content in real-time via a tablet using web-view.

Oh, and of course the option so show content in a player-specific way rather than showing all players.

One can dream right?

 

[meek75]

Yes, all those features will be nice. We just have to remember that RW started out primarily as a GM management tool.

 

[MNBlockHead]

"As it stands today, RW just isn't built for players to use at the table (IMHO)."

The player view would work fine as a reference for players at the table. If your group does not meet frequently or if your campaign has complicated story lines, it can be useful for the players to be able to quickly look things up.

That said, I personally would rather players not look things up at the table, especially when doing so would require a bunch of lap tops at the table. I'm happy to just answer their questions if they forgot something.

The player view is for sharing content on a second screen. I use it almost exclusively for showing maps. It works very well for this. It also keeps everyone looking at it together as a group.

Personally, I don't know that live reveal would be useful for my group's at-table play style. But live sync would be welcome if, for not other reason, to make on-line sync more convenient.

 

[adzling]

So we currently use Realmworks for in-person play with the Player View showing up on an LCD tv we set flat on the table (you may have seen my previous posts with pictures).

However being able to add remote players via the web view and sync easily would be a god-send for us.

Adding the ability to selectively display content to each player would make this much more useable.

As a point of reference I often share dense text / walls of words as background or clue items to my players.
Player view is not ideal for this as it's just not suited to reading long diatribes.

This is why being able to expose content to players selectively, easily sync same to cloud and have players read/ review on their tablets would be so helpful to us.

 

[ruhar]

When I did the Kickstarter I thought the player version would be real time. After my players bought their version we found out it useless during a game. Personally, if I had known that I wouldn't have strongly recommend they buy a player copy. But, it wasn't that much so maybe as RW evolves i will become more helpful for my group.

 

[adzling]

Yeah personally I don't see what the use of the player edition will be once the web interface is live.

Previously I had thought the player edition would have a live interface to Realmworks, which would offer some advantage.

But now that it's clear it doesn't I don't understand what the use case is for the Player Edition.

I guess it was just a bridge until the web version is complete?

Just seems weird it's so gimped.

 

[Farling]

Player Edition provides with data whilst not connected to the internet. The web version won't help in those situations.

I seem to remember that LWD are reluctant to implement on-they-fly syncing because that starts to get into the territory of being a VTT; which would open up a completely new set of worms/requirements/wishes.

 

[Chemlak]

Worth mentioning, though, that once upon a time, there was a non-functional "Sync Realm" button on the ribbon bar in RW. It got stripped out pretty shortly after early access went live (a few updates down the line), but it was there. IIRC Rob said it was something that was on the roadmap at some point.

 

[davidp]

And for sharing remotely with players, you can share the player view screen using a tool like Skype, join.me or a myriad of other free software offerings allowing remote players to see the player view screen and any updates to it in real time.

 

[adzling]

Hey Davidp thanks for that suggestion, don't know what it did not occur to me before.
cheers

 

[MNBlockHead]

I wasn't involved in the kickstarter, but my understanding as someone who has been using RW for about a year and has one player out of a group of 6 who bought the player version is that the player version is meant to be a record of the realm the player has knowledge of and a place to keep game notes. It is like a diary kept between sessions.

My understanding is that the Web version will be limited in terms of how much content you can reveal for free and will not have journals (when released). Also, as others have stated, you would need Internet access take advantage of it.

At the table, players could use the player version to look up information, just as they might in a game notebook.

In my campaign, none of my at-table players have RW. I'm happy to remind them of anything that was revealed to them if they ask. I use the player view on a screen to review items I want to share with them—mostly maps.

My one player who uses RW is my one remote player. He is also the newest player, so for him it has been helpful in getting him up to speed.

I use Google Hangouts to share the player view with my remote player as well as to communicate with him during the game.

Personally, live sync is a very low priority to me. Even if all my players had the player view, it would still be low priority. Anything I want to share, I put the screen. I don't want to reveal something, say on a map, and have them all looking at their own individual devices. Having them looking together at the screen makes it a group activity. I have a player who brings a laser pointer and they can together look at and discuss maps much like their character would be.

Live sync might be more useful for remote games, but even then, I find it easier to share with Google Hangouts or some other web-meeting interface. That way I'm controlling the pace and they needn't shift their attention to another application.

Now, all this said, so many applications now offer live updates. We are so used to software like Google Apps, Office 365, web apps that save as you type, or at least when you tab to the next field, that I really would hope that someday RW way of updating and synchronizing content is modernized.

I'm hoping that the Web version will allow me to do most of the content creation and editing I need to do using modern Web technologies to allow saving as you type, etc. RW software would then, for me, be primarily a means to keep a look backup so I can use it when I don't have an Internet connection.

 

[adzling]

Yeah the player edition is further hampered by only running on a windows pc.
This means folks need to bring a laptop to the tablet to access the realm data, which doesn't happen at our table.

I do use the second display to share plenty of content.

However it's just not practical for long, dense text reading like shared clues, documents and similar.

Web-view on a tablet would be ideal.

However from your notes web-view is going to be purposely gimped?!?!
Do you have a reference to any postings by Lonewolf on the extent of such gimpitude?

 

[Parody]

I use Realm Works on my Windows tablet. It's slower because this tablet's hardware is much less powerful than my desktop, but it works fine for viewing.

 

[Vargr]

However it's just not practical for long, dense text reading like shared clues, documents and similar.

When using text heavy clues and similar, make a handout. Find a good font for it befitting the style of the campaign (or handwrite it), add some stains and tears to make it look old (there are a number of nice tips for just this on the net). Works way better than having it on screen in my opinion.