Fantasy Grounds Unity
The Skinny:
Easily one of the best programs on my computer and just keeps improving itself. More detailed below.
The Thick of thing:
I began looking for an online resource to start playing Pathfinder remotely, as I only knew a handful of people who played and they lived all over the place. I started with Roll20 and stayed there for a year. During my tenor there I had to keep restarting things on every new game I made. I could not use the same assets without bringing them in again to the new map, and eventually started paying subscription to gain abilities to automate and utilize the feature that made life easier. Content creators were great (independent artists and such) but I began to realize the subscription model was going to make me pay more than any other game I owned. So I started looking at ‘competitors’ which I learned there were many.
– Real player with 794.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dungeons & Dragons Strategy Games.
Fantasy Grounds Unity (FGU) is a special case. It has a lot of downsides; however, FGU is the only product that provides flexibility, official support, automation, and most importantly regional currency support.
On the bright side; FGU runs on the local machine. The GM can use whatever maps and props he likes. It is also possible to make modules and share them. I can make an entire adventure including images and tokens and just send the file to a fellow GM or move characters between campaigns. I can run 50000 different campaigns and the best of it, once I purchased FGU, it is mine to keep. The official support is also great. You just buy the system once and it is yours. Most of the settings are updated with new features. If you are following a rather popular system, there are tons of adventures and if you are a DIY person you can make your adventures. The FGU also comes with 11 RPG systems and starter info for the most popular syste. Unofficial support is also plenty, there are a lot of unofficial RPG system files out there. You can also port or make your own system. With FGU, the sky is the limit.
– Real player with 549.5 hrs in game
Fantasy Grounds Classic
OK, so please read the full review instead of just taking note of my thumb down vote for this game. That was a tough choice to make. This program is a very mixed bag, some wonderful things in here that are blended together with some horrible design decisions.
Context: I use this program as a face-to-face tool for my gaming group, no outside connections. So this review will ignore any feature dealing with that. Also, will not be comparing this to any competitors. My setup is a dual screen PC, with two instances of the program open. One (GM) on my monitor and the second (Player) on a TV laying flat. Players are using miniatures and real dice, while I am using tokens and the program’s dice.
– Real player with 1343.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dungeons & Dragons Strategy Games.
*** Update as of 3-July-2020****
I’m not going to remove the previous review because it’s all accurate still. That being said, FGU has more features and is better than classic, mostly.
However, even perhaps more importantly…. There is a piece of software called “Foundry” that is LOADS and HEAPS better than every other options out there. You pay 50 bucks for software as the host and it works just.. seamlessly. Check it out, it’s outstanding and incomprehensibly good. People connect via their browsers, but with NO exaggeration, it has 1/50th the load time of FGU or FG, and is so utterly beautiful. Check it out, you will be impressed.
– Real player with 530.5 hrs in game
Wildshape - Map Editor (free demo)
Definitely would recommend giving this map editor/VTT a try if you’re running campaigns with your friends either online or locally. It is best used with a second monitor to have as indicator for what your players see.
The tool sports the most visually impressive map editor I have come across, and whilst the VTT features definitely still need some work to be considered top of the line, they are certainly usable and enjoyable. I am a first time DM, and am very much looking forward to utilizing this tool for a long time to come if it is kept up in the same pace as it has so far.
– Real player with 97.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dungeons & Dragons Indie Games.
Absolutely love it. The level of realism and natural beauty you can create with Wildshape is simply unmatched. To me, Wildshape is a simulation for those insanely detailed real world battle map models you see at your local geek shop, but it’s here, on your screen with loads of assets, and textures to bring it to life without ever touching a bottle of glue.
I own several map makers, such as dungeondraft and arkenforge. This is entirely a different product, and with that there is a learning curve. Expect to spend time getting used to creating in a 3D space as it’s not going to be simply drag and drop like other 2D applications (for obvious reasons). So yes, takes time to learn, but the pay off is huge.
– Real player with 28.8 hrs in game
FlowScape
My favorite purchase all year.
If you’re wondering what I’ve been able to do with FlowScape that led to my review, you can take a look at all of my projects here .
I knew the moment I laid eyes on this, I would most likely love it. It exceeded my expectations as a casual design & illustration tool that just about anyone can use. I have spent many hours putting together village & macro background scenes. The Sculpting tool allow you to create mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, as I see fit. The Painting tool allows you to create walkways. I can construct anything from realistic waterfalls to lost ruins with the Transformation tool to manipulate just about any object.
– Real player with 2803.3 hrs in game
Wow, it’s difficult to say in words how impressive and relatively deep this instant gratification “game” is! Marketed as a game, but used by many as a 3D design tool. Oh, it’s not Maya, or Lightwave, or even Bryce or Blender, which is cool because we already have those. This is something different, and special, and FAST, and easy! And for all its limitations, what IS here is a lot deeper and impressive than you might imagine!
I’ve made a nice living from building scenes in 3D software for many decades, and I’ve spent countless hours working with wire-frames and pallets of textures and bump maps and lighting devices, and scratching my head over each new entries' exploration into the 3D modeling' procedures. It doesn’t replace those high-end spreads for many projects, but this WILL be replacing the high-rollers on a few projects and making my life so much easier!
– Real player with 2204.8 hrs in game