Dynamic Dungeons Editor
For those who don’t know, this is a complete re-do of the old Dynamic Dungeon Editor which had a some what dated feel to it.
The new DDE is built with Unity and has a much better feel to it.
If you play table top role playing games on a TV, monitor, or projector setup with people physically in the room with you (not playing remotely) this is the best software currently out.
It has a small learning curve in my opinion, but honestly anyone can use the basic features: load a map (animated or static) and start playing Dungeons & Dragons or whatever RPG your heart desires.
– Real player with 142.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Early Access Games.
I originally purchased Dynamic Dungeons through Patreon and it has been a game changer for our DnD games. The ability to use a quick change map, pre-build the campaign, download or create custom props and then reveal it all slowly with fog of war is just amazing. Add to that the options for particle effects, motion background and immersive environmental sounds and you have a classy set up for your DnD gaming sessions.
I do all my creation on my robust PC and then copy the campaign over to the laptop for the session itself. We set up a 40" LCD TV on a pool table with Plexiglass on top to set out miniatures on. The players move their minis and I control NPCs, fog of war and other features from my laptop for them to view on the screen.
– Real player with 72.0 hrs in game
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 Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons 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
Dungeon Alchemist
Ever felt uninspired, technically challenged or just bored when creating your game maps? Dungeon Alchemist is AI-powered Fantasy Game Mapmaking Software that enables you to make high-quality content fast! Simply pick a theme, start drawing, and Dungeon Alchemist creates high-quality maps you can print, share, or use in your favourite Virtual Tabletop Application. It uses an AI algorithm to place walls, floors, objects and lighting, so you can focus on being creative.
PICK A THEME
Dungeon Alchemist comes jam-packed full of exciting and inspiring objects and settings. Start your mapmaking adventure by picking one of our themes.
MAKE THE MAP OF YOUR DREAMS
With just a few clicks, Dungeon Alchemist will conjure a fully furnished dungeon that will inspire you and your players. You choose the theme of each room, and Dungeon Alchemist will do the rest. Don’t like what you get? Just press the randomize button and Dungeon Alchemist’s AI algorithm will generate ever new rooms for you.
TWEAK UNTIL IT’S JUST RIGHT
Once the AI algorithm has done its job, you can tweak the map to your heart’s content. Add, scale, remove and rotate objects, move doors, change floor tiles and so much more!
Dungeon Alchemist is coming to Windows, Mac and Linux at the end of 2021.
Read More: Best Fantasy Artificial Intelligence Games.
Stream Battlecards
So far I am disappointed in this game. From the store page this game looked promising but after purchase you discover there isn’t much interesting and very few options that can be found to play the game. I feel like the $9.99 i spent on this game is way to much for the limitation this game has.
– Real player with 1.1 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
*** 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
VirtualRehabART4Health
Experienced on the Oculus Quest 2
You can view my review & gameplay here: https://youtu.be/19gKuOl92lc
This is not what I would call a great exercise app for VR. It’s definitely missing a lot of the bells and whistles you might expect from a top tier workout program for VR. The visuals aren’t the best. The interactions are very basic. The UI looks pretty bad.
However, it’s very cheap and it gets the job done, especially if you need rehab exercises / light workouts. This also works as just a meditative experience for VR. There are 2 maps: the forest and the garden. In my opinion, the garden looks a whole lot better than the forest.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
I really enjoyed the universe this game brought me to. It consists of a beautiful world filled with dazzling colours and quirky creatures which creates a feeling of otherworldliness. The music option should always be ON as the classical pieces really goes well with this mystical world. The yoga and physiotherapy classes are easy to follow along with, although a bit low intensity - which is understandable as it is meant for rehab. Overall a very relaxing and pretty game!
– Real player with 0.7 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
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