Micro-update: Auto-save

February 2, 2010

I got auto-save of campaigns and campaign resources working. I know, it sounds like a little thing, but it’s a big deal actually. The same code that handles auto-saving the campaign is used in notifying participants around the table of changes–everything from changing the name of a character to moving a game piece on the tabletop.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development

Alpha Within Reach

January 30, 2010

Just a quick update: I have just a handful of things to do before EpicTable is usable for my Thursday night game. My plan is to take it for a spin on one of those Thursdays—hopefully, this coming Thursday—and then start inviting people to participate in the alpha.

Once this process starts, I’ll post a list of features in/out of the alpha, so you have some basis for deciding whether to participate in alpha 1 or wait for a later release. I plan to have automatic updates built in for alpha 1, so we should all be able to take advantage of new features as they become available.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development

Post-Holiday Alpha Update

January 17, 2010

The EpicTable alpha is nearing completion. I have a goal of using it in a game I’m in later this week. I ran into some snags this weekend that slowed me down, so I don’t know if I’m going to make this week, but it’s close.

The tabletop is working and auto-save is hooked up. Access to the catalog of saved items is still not there, so if you were to close the tabletop, you’d have no way to retrieve it. Suboptimal. The catalog is pretty necessary for alpha-1, but maybe not for this week’s game.

The features left out of this first alpha are no longer visible or accessible, which I’ve found has a marvelous focusing effect on me. It was too easy to worry about things not actually targeted for the alpha when they were staring me in the face.

Messaging (i.e., the new “forget port forwarding” messaging) is working, in the sense that message are getting back and forth, and this evening I’ll be reintroducing the message handlers and the participant join protocol.

I’ll keep you guys posted.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development

What does “alpha release” mean?

December 26, 2009

I’ve been putting off posting an update on the EpicTable alpha, hoping that I could post a date–and afraid that I’ll blurt one out —but I wanted to give you an update before the new year. I don’t have a release date for you, but I do have a few notes on the nature of the alpha and how to evaluate whether it’s for you.

First off, I know a lot of different companies have different ideas about alpha, beta, and general-availability releases, so let me give you my take on what an “alpha release” means for EpicTable.

What is the EpicTable Alpha?

What are the distinguishing characteristics of an alpha release?

It’s not “feature complete”—that is, some features are missing. This doesn’t mean that those features won’t be there for the final release—they’re just not there yet. The typical reason for a feature being “cordoned off” like this is that there’s something about it that I know will change, or there’s some bug in it, and I know I’m not going to get valuable feedback on it because of that.
It’s a “wet paint” release, meaning it went from my development machine, through my build server, and almost directly on to you. I’ve done some sanity-checking of it, but it’s basically what I’m running in my development environment.
There’s no documentation. If something’s not clear from the UI—and hey, it might not be, since you’re seeing it for the first time, and I’ve probably been looking at it for months—you’ll need to ask me about it via the forum or the email or skype. This is really useful, because it can guide my documentation effort and maybe result in some changes to make something more intuitive.

Why will there be an EpicTable Alpha?

What do alpha test participants get out of the alpha?

An opportunity to shape EpicTable 1.0 while it’s still “kinda mushy”.
An early look at EpicTable and a gauge of how far along it is.

What do I (i.e., John Lammers, the EpicTable developer) get out of the alpha?

Valuable feedback from you folks.
Pure, terror-driven adrenaline at the thought that one or more of you will mistake the alpha for the final product and get the wrong impression.

How do you know if the alpha is for you?

Are you your group’s “technology scout”?: If you are your gaming group’s “technology scout”, the EpicTable alpha is a good opportunity to see how EpicTable fits or doesn’t fit for your group. Keep in mind that some things may be missing or just plain broken, so please, please, contact me with questions and suggestions. Now’s a good time to talk about what you need and to influence the final phase of EpicTable 1.0’s development.
Are you a virtual tabletop enthusiast?: I think EpicTable has a lot to love. If you can bear with me through some missing or lightly-tested features, the EpicTable alpha’s an interesting preview. If you’d rather see it in something closer to final form, you might be better off waiting for the beta.
Are you a game designer?: If you’re a game designer and you want to talk about the capabilities of EpicTable, see some first-hand, and talk to me about features needed to run your game in a VT, the alpha’s a good place for you. Keep in mind that some things you need might be planned and just not in the alpha, but now’s a good time to start talking to me.
Do you just want to run your weekly game?: You shouldn’t rely on the alpha as the virtual tabletop for your gaming group unless your group is interested in virtual tabletops and willing to let the technology be a distraction from the game. As much as I’d love for the alpha to be really solid, and as much as it’s going to pain me to get reports of problems and confusion, that’s just the nature of an alpha. If you’re just trying to get some gaming in, wait for the beta. As soon as it seems like the alpha is stable enough and feature-complete enough, I’ll make it a beta. That’s my signal to you that while EpicTable is still unfinished, it’s stable enough for you to use for gaming with minimal disruption.

Updates and the Road Ahead

How often will the EpicTable alpha release be updated?: Pretty often. Weekly-ish, or quicker, depending on what’s going in. I’ll make sure the update mechanism is in place before the alpha is out, so I can get automatic updates to you easily. As I finish chunks of functionality, address issues, or make changes in response to feedback, I’ll release an update.
Will you have to update?: Yes and no. The fact that you’re participating in the alpha will, I hope, make you want to take the updates as soon as they’re available. The auto-update mechanism won’t force you to take an update. However, the alpha license is time-boxed. By the time the beta is out, you won’t be able to use the alpha. This is just so I don’t still have alpha users to support during the beta or after EpicTable is released.
Will updates be backwards-compatible?: For the alpha, “usually”. I won’t make backwards-incompatible changes on a whim, but I won’t let concern for backwards-compatibility slow me down. My main goal for the alpha is preview-and-feedback, not ongoing game support. Of course, the beta period will be less likely to introduce backwards-incompatible changes, and by the 1.0 release, the time for backwards-incompatible changes will have passed.
Beta? What’s the beta?: Like the alpha, it’s pre-release software. Unlike the alpha, it’s feature complete. Features may still change due to feedback, but there won’t be large chunks of the product simply missing. It will also be more stable—that is, I’ll put updates through more rigorous testing before I release them.
And then the real release?: Yeah, once the beta has been out long enough to have generated enough feedback to convince me that EpicTable is a stable, viable virtual tabletop. I’ll release it “for real”. …And then, I’ll start talking to you about some things already queued up for EpicTable 2.0.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development

Managing Game Elements: Revisited

October 17, 2009

Last time, I showed you a mockup of a UI for managing in-game resources. Since then, I’ve been working on an implementation of that mockup, and I’d like to get your feedback on a couple screenshots. Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development, Screenshots

Managing Game Elements

October 4, 2009

EpicTable makes it very easy to introduce images, characters, etc., in an ad-hoc way. But sometimes, you do have something prepared, or you come back to a saved session. Now, your need shifts from easily introducing new game elements to being able to manage the ones you have.

The image at the left shows a couple mockups of what I’m currently working on. These are example trees of EpicTable resources, and as you can see, my core assumption is that different games—different GMs, even—require different organization of resources. Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development

EpicTable Hits the Jackpot

September 22, 2009

Woohoo! EpicTable is unexpectedly awash in pieces of eight!

Along the way to finishing the “Arrange” (i.e., z-order) context menu for the tabletop, I introduced a short-lived but extravagant bug. One of the things you can do with objects on the tabletop is duplicate them. Last night, you could duplicate them…a lot. Imagine my surprise to see pieces of eight spilling out across the tabletop. By the time I stopped it, I had more than 9,000 coins on the tabletop! They were multiplying like tribbles.

Now, if I could just figure out how to do this on my physical tabletop….

Here’s a shot of the current context menu for Arrange with a sufficiently tamed Duplicate function. To the folks from the forum who have weighed in on this, let me know what you think. I’ve not forever ruled out something more elaborate, but my thinking is that this is sufficient for version 1.

Credits and Sources: Background texture and Pieces of eight from iStockphoto.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development, Screenshots

Stackable Surface Objects

September 16, 2009

Added proper stacking (i.e., “z-order” tracking and rendering) to EpicTable surfaces. This means that if you put one object down on top of another, it’ll look that way and not “slide under” the other object. Not a huge deal, just something that needed to be knocked off the list.
Read more

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development, Screenshots

Automatic Color for Virtual Tabletop Selections

September 12, 2009

That’s a really long title to say, “Hey, look at this! You can see the selection highlighting on light surfaces and dark surfaces without having to mess with the selection highlight color yourself.” This falls into the bucket of little things I’ve polished up while integrating the virtual tabletop surface into the rest of EpicTable.

Nothing earth-shattering, but some of the tabletop textures made it tough to tell what was selected. It’s even smart enough to look at the color directly under it, rather than the color of the whole surface, in case you happen to have light and dark areas on the surface. That’s not as likely with a tabletop, but with a map it’s more common. Since maps are now just specializations of tabletop surfaces, they get this same goodness for free.

Credits and Sources: Fanmail images by Brennen Reece. Leather and canvas textures from iStockphoto.

Posted by John Lammers | Filed Under EpicTable Development