TTopRPG 2.0

Welcome to my TTopRPG 2.0 page. Here, you'll find links for updating your machine to run TTopRPG 2.0 as well as the download EXE.

Click to find Downloads (OS Updates and install package)

You can often find me at the Paizo Chat Room. I log in there as Pygon.

NEW! Getting Started (You'll need to get TTop running first before using this page)

TTopRPG common hotkeys PDF

Recent Announcements

2/6/10 - TTop 099 released. I added a few lighting presets to the Light menu (torch, candle, etc.). Currently it only has 3.5 versions of lights. It will be easy enough to add 4e versions at a later time. If you have any special requests, post them to TTopForums. The Plot Path function now uses a Setting to count squares instead of accumulating 5 feet increments. You can now clear the text from the chat area by right clicking or typing /clear.

NOTE: If you have updated to 099 and find that Plot Path counts squares but Icon Drag does not, update to 099 again. I found a problem and fixed it.

1/30/10 - Could it be an actual TTop update? Yes! TTop 098 released. When a Visual Aid alert is added to a player's screen, text in the chat notifies them. Also, the path length for counting squares on difficult terrain has been recoded to enforce direct multiples of the 5 10 5 10 method. So x2 terrain now results in 10 20 10 20 instead of 15 15 15 15 for every diagonal. This interpretation was confirmed personally by James Jacobs himself of Paizo. Ergo, I guess the change seemed reasonable...

12/27/09 - I hope everyone had a good holiday. I just wanted to post and say that TTop is still alive and well. But work has been keeping my mind occupied, and I've been dabbling with Heroscape and Dragon Age, so when I sit down at my machine, tweaking TTop doesn't come to mind immediately. There aren't any pressing requests right now, so I just haven't had the occasion to upload a new version yet (although the next version will have Visual Aid text alerts). If you're eager to see a change in TTop, post it at TTopForums! And eventually, I'll upload a new one.

11/22/09 - TTop 097 released. I figured it would be more convenient to have the name helper text appear above the chat entry only when you are typing in character. That way, you'll have a more visual cue of whether or not you are typing in character. Also, to better support my conversion of The Breaking of Forstor Nagar (Rite Publishing's online VTT adventure, soon in development), I increased the descriptions for visual aids to 800 charactes and allow line breaks. Back up your stuff, since save files are affected. Report any problems to TTopForums immediately!

11/15/09 - TTop 096 released. More minor changes. You can use backspace to back up while plotting shadow walls and plot shapes now. Both also show the number of points remaining before you have to stop. Plotting can end with C, Esc, Enter and Space bar. There was an invalid packet problem with area effects that I had to correct (if you set the inner size to 6 squares with an 80' radius effect, the packet was invalid). You can remove macro variables from tabs now, and I adjusted the chat font size option - it now affects the chat area again.

11/8/09 - TTop 095 released. Not a lot new in this one, but I still recommend backing up your stuff, since this change also affects save files. Infoboxes now have a GM and player blank to help keep information separate. I fixed a couple bugs (chat losing focus when someone updates a macro and invalid packets on campaign names with 32 characters) and added some network debugging for my own purposes (in one session, players were inexplicably getting timing out messages, so I want to be ready the next time it happens).

11/1/09 - TTop 094 released. The gamemodel.com/ttoprpg.com server went entirely down today, which would prevent players from updating if they were trying to join a game hosted by a GM with a later version of TTop. So I set up ttoprpg2.com (TTopForums server) as an alternate place for TTopLaunch to poll for updates. I don't have control over how well these servers stay up, so all I can do is apologize for the inconvenience, try to accommodate the possibilities and reduce the chances that players' sessions aren't halted because of circumstances outside my control.

Be sure to grab the latest TTopLaunch 1.03 using TTopRPG's Resources menu so this won't be a problem anymore. TTopLaunch 1.03 is also now available in the TTopRPG install zip.

10/31/09 - TTop 093 released. At last, macro variables are functional. I recommend you back up your campaigns before using this, since it affects save files. I tested compatibility with old files and I think I covered the bases, but make sure your old campaigns and saved tabs load entirely before trusting it. Also, I fixed a bug revealing the Combat and Start Combat buttons as a player when toggling fullscreen with F11. Circular area effects are now attachable to icons and support an inner size to simulate auras or burst effects from PCs. Finally, I disabled the tooltip text on icons since their information appears underneath anyway. The tooltip text will still appear for the first Plot point from an icon and when you highlight portraits and the initiative list.

Please let me know of ANY problems loading old campaigns or saved character/monster tabs at TTopForums immediately.

10/24/09 - TTop 092 released. Just a couple additions here: ctrl-A in chat selects everything in the chat entry for quick delete or copy, and the GM can ctrl-L on the map to lock the PC icon positions (also in Settings).

10/17/09 - TTop 091 released. Some enhancements to chat channels in this one: Players that disconnect and reconnect will be given back the channels they joined, the player list shows you who has joined the current channel (those that aren't are grayed out), and the channel tabs have a right click menu for Leaving and Inviting. Also, when combat is taking place, players have an I'm Done button to end their turn (the GM still needs to Advance manually, but at least there's a quickie way to tell the GM your turn is over). If there are any problems, you know where to report them. And if you don't know, it's at TTopForums (link on the left menu).

10/11/09 - TTop 090 released. For those who use MapBuilder but hate how the indicators get in your way when you are trying to make other adjustments, you can toggle them with the Z key. While typing in the chat area, Ctrl-O will toggle the OOC switch. Finally, when you create a channel (by using /join), you can now /invite other players into it. Partial player names are supported, just like with /tell.

9/30/09 - TTop 089 allows you to set the font size of the chat area by right clicking it (8,10,12 pt). Also, creatures that die at zero hp weren't showing the X at zero hp. Now they do. Finally, hit F11 on the map to get a pseudo full screen view, for those of you wanting to use a projector with a second app running.

EDIT: Whoops, found a bug with fullscreen. If you maximize the app, then resize the chat all the way to the left, then F11, then restore the app, the map window stretches off to the left. Hmm. I'll get that fixed. In the meantime, be careful with it. There, fixed. Just grab another 089 if it's still happening to you.

9/7/09 - TTop 088 released. This is a significant release adding minor sound support. Currently only .WAV files are supported until I can figure out how to add more file support, a play progress bar and volume control to TTop. WARNING: Currently, the .wav files play at FULL VOLUME, so be nice to your players and warn them ahead of time. Load up a sound that lets them set their volume, like the test THX movie intro sound found on this page. Also, you'll likely need to convert your favorite files to WAV. I'm using this program - it isn't too bad, and it's free.

I am NOT responsible for any blown speakers, angry spouses, crying babies, soiled shorts, lost hearing or frayed nerves that are a result of using this sound system. As usual, backup your stuff before trying this. I have no idea how well this will work on VMs like VMWare or Parallels.

Since .WAV files tend to be rather large, this current system is probably best used for momentary ambient sounds or singular sound effects rather than long pieces of music.

Even if you don't like the lack of other file support or the fact that you can't adjust the volume, I'd like to at least know what you think of how the interface works. Let me now at TTopForums.

9/5/09 - TTop 087 released. Settings to show GM rolls to the players and monster stats added. The sound interface is also coming together (right now only clients that connect with me can hear sounds - the interface needs some polishing), but I can't release it just yet. That said, you might want to back up your campaign files with this release, just in case. In my testing, my campaign file encountered an error when it was saving, so I had to restore from a backup. I've fixed that error, but I thought it fair to inform you. You've been warned.

8/29/09 - TTop 086 released. You can set the point at which creatures die now (0 hp for undead, or -10 or -Con for other creatures) to support PFRPG. Also, in PFRPG, shadowy light sources will increase illumination of other shadowy light sources to normal light (warning - this is VERY slow with a lot of light sources going - I left it optional). I also added suggestions for files to use for graphics since new users seem to prefer BMPs which are too dang big.

8/21/09 - At long last, the gamemodel.com domain forwarding is working the way it should, again. If you haven't updated to TTop 085 yet, and you haven't screwed up your TTopLaunch in the process, you should be able to do so now. Just be sure that after you get 085, you access the Resources section and download the latest TTopLaunch (1.02) as well, so that if this problem happens again, it won't affect you.

8/9/09 - ALERT!!! Due to a snafu at my hoster's domain that just started within the last 24 hours, requests for http://www.gamemodel.com/TTopRPG/index.htm now redirect you to http://www.ttoprpg.com instead of http://www.ttoprpg.com/TTopRPG/index.htm. This is a huge problem for those of you trying to update your program using TTopLaunch, since for www.gamemodel.com/TTopRPG/TTopRPG.bin, the hosting now returns a text file with the html for the www.ttoprpg.com home page inside, basically ruining your application.

I apologize for the inconvenience, and I am somewhat ticked. For now, here is a direct download of TTop 085 until I can get this issue resolved: TTopRPG085.zip. Extract the EXE inside into your TTop folder to get the latest version. Also use it to get the latest TTopLaunch (1.02) in the Resources menu. I'm trying to get this resolved, but today is Sunday and I have no idea when this will be fixed. In the meantime, these new apps also get around the problem.

I've also included the new TTopLaunch 1.02 inside the original installation TTopRPG.zip.

8/8/09 - TTop 085 released. During a session I was playing in, the GM reported getting a big red X in his map screen, making it impossible for us to play. After sending me his campaign, I figured out that somehow he added a zero byte image file, and it caused an exception during the Paint event on the map control. I added exception handling to the image load routines. Hopefully that rare problem won't halt anyone's sessions anymore.

8/1/09 - TTop 084 released. My apologies. Apparently my reworking of the macro display system kept the Load PC and New PC buttons displayed even after you add a PC tab, hiding the tabs behind them. I'm still monitoring the situation. Hopefully things are good now. Plus you get an unexpected early release on additional macro subfolder functions (move all macros to another folder, right click a macro and quickly move it to another folder, and move a folder left or right). Please report any additional problems to the forums.

8/1/09 - I've uploaded an early 083 release. It isn't guaranteed stable, so be careful with it. I did this because I needed to instruct someone about DMing and for some reason the latest upload was 081 instead of 082. Another goof up on my part.

7/31/09 - As is usual, in my haste to get a release out the door, I failed to test every aspect of a previous release and broke MapBuilder - those of you who have been wanting to draw out freehand shapes might be wondering why you only get a straight line and no result after you select Box in the Reveal/Hide interface. It has been fixed. Wee.

7/30/09 - TTop 081 released. Macro subfolders are finally availalbe for those of you to like to hyperorganize their macros. I've tested them as completely as I could, and they seem to work well. Don't be surprised if I missed something, however. I'll leave it up to you to let me know on the forums if something broke! I also added the ability to color the fog (just click the color box next to the Occlusions check), and when pasting or Placing a new Icon, PC is now unchecked by default to prevent accidentally adding a monster to the party.

7/25/09 - TTop 080 released. I finished up most of the right-click menues so that you can access copy/paste on lights and MapBuilder shapes (boxes, ellipses and images only for now). I also added a small interface to Reveal/Hide so that you can reveal using boxes in addition to freehand. Finally, to assist with setting up lighting in rooms with lots of pillars, you can copy/paste shadow walls and move a whole shadow wall with the SHIFT key.

7/18/09 - TTop 079 released. I added a few menu options to make some things clearer (V key works on icons, lights and area effects, you can set an icon as the current combatant in the combat menu if need be, and copy/paste icons and lights). Path plotting now also supports x4 movement for you crazy difficult terrain tumblers (Alt or Shift for x2, both for x4 - I don't know how well this works on a Mac).

7/9/09 - TTop 078 released. I was informed that on "classic" Windows interfaces, the colors on macros would affect macro buttons in the same location in other tabs. I was finally able to replicate the problem and find a fix for it. I also added the ability to back up the combat counter by one (since that seems to be needed more often than manually setting the counter).

6/25/09 - TTop 077 released. I decided to make any non-whispered GM die roll of any kind private, including die phrases (players won't see any of a phrase that has a die roll). Whispers however will not be modified, so you can still whisper phrase rolls to players.

6/24/09 - TTop 076 released. I realized some macro commands without die rolls may need need to show a title, so I added that option to the complex macros. I also stumbled across a bug allowing you to clear the Operation part of a macro in Advanced mode and apply it successfully (which created a problem trying to modify the macro later).

6/21/09 - TTop 075 is live and supports complex macros. Macros can now have multiple lines and be labeled with color, bold and italics. Folders can also be chosen but they will not display yet.

All chat commands now also support parameters (Sample phrase: "Power Attack = [?powerattack=5]; I hit AC [1d20+5-[?powerattack]] for [1d12+6+[?powerattack]] damage". This phrase asks for powerattack, defaulting it to 5, and applies the value to the entire phrase.

Whispers now appear in all channels, and dice rolls will appear in the active channel (GM's could make a secret roll channel if they like).

NOTE: Due to the changes to macros, saved macro and campaign files have changed. I have tested with my old data files, and they work. But as usual I will caution that due to this significant change, back up your old campaigns before trying to load and save them with this latest version! If you have problems, visit the TTopForums Technical Support area.

UPDATE: I found a couple problems immediately after uploading the latest version (initial macros didn't disappear when a campaign with no macros was loaded, and whispers were causing channel alerts and appearing in the wrong places). These have been fixed, so if you are noticing these problems, download 075 again using TTopLaunch.

6/18/09 - TTop 074 is live. I added more icon highlighting options, fixed a small bug with nested bold and italic tags, and added support for simple OpenRPG die phrases ("I hit AC [1d20+5] for [2d6+7] damage"), which now allows whispering die rolls as well. Macros still only support 32 characters for now. This will expand in the future. Die phrases are NOT private for the GM.

6/6/09 - TTop 073 is live. It has links to this page and TTopForums in the Resources menu, and supports grabbing the latest TTopLaunch. The latest TTopLaunch has a couple bug fixes and will try both gamemodel.com and ttoprpg.com for download success, to combat the latest crisis of gamemodel.com not working.

6/5/09 - What's next for TTopRPG? Well, I need to find some work first. Once I get established there, I may dive back into TTopRPG and address some things people are asking for. Most notably, more extensive macro functionality (multiple rolls, color coding, sub tabs in the list, etc.). I'd also like to allow multiple maps open at a time (this will probably be an optional form that the GM can open so that the main form's map is the one that the players see, but it will allow him to copy/paste icons from one map to another during combat). It might be a while before you see any of these changes. But as long as it's within my power, TTopRPG will not simply die.

6/2/09 - Today gamemodel.com suffered some loss of service. My apologies. I contacted my hoster and brought it to their attention. Update: It seems to be working now, but it is intermittent. Occasionally, it fails to work. If you attempt to Check for Updates using TTopLaunch and it fails, I mis-coded the updater to cause it to download the latest version immediately the next time it works - so you may receive a download without having a chance to choose if you want it. There is no new update at this time - you will still receive verson 071.

6/1/09 - I've set up a few discussions at TTopForums that might help with some of the more complex aspects of TTop. Also, I have extended the hosting for the TTop EXE to the end of the year. Currently, the Forums will be up until November.

5/22/09 - I'm experimenting with some forums. I suppose they are functional enough to serve as official support forums. Take a look, let me know what you think! : TTopForums. Sometimes the server hiccups - after a few tries, it might wake up. The forums are a little ugly right now, but I'm working on it.

5/17/09 - To Mirliton and King Joey - sorry my connection dropped when I was giving you a tour. Rains were passing through here and my internet dropped out for a few hours. I was not happy.

5/1/09 - I appreciate everyone's interest in TTop, but it appears I'll have to put developing on it aside for now. This site is paid for until August. It won't cost much to extend that to the end of the year, but I just don't have the money to spare right now. In the meantime, this site will remain up, allowing everyone to grab the latest version as it is. If you have any pressing concerns, you can email me at cyack@gamemodel.com and I'll respond as I'm able. Game on, everyone!

4/24/09 - I've uploaded 071 to correct yet another possible way for users to add carriage returns to visual aid descriptions, screwing up their campaignIndex.txt files. See the 4/2/09 note below.

4/19/09 - At the request of a number of players, I've begun to add player created chat channels to TTop. Right now it only handles channels you create using the /join command. Type /leave to close a channel. Public channels are logged in the same folders as the other campaign logs. I'll be testing for crashes with some other players and may have a new build soon if any errors are found. Stay tuned. Update: After some initial tests, release 069 doesn't properly show the "More" panel as the sub-channels are resized, and it's possible for a player (not the GM) to create a duplicate channel if the "/join" command is entered at the exact same time as another. Clients will also receive an "Invalid Packet" whenever anyone associates a tab with an icon (even though the tab will still successfully be associated). These troubles don't break the program, so I'll leave them until the next release, which will include more features for channels.

4/5/09 - It appears that interest in TTopRPG is ever slowly starting to increase (I saw 80 hits on my site yesterday). To this end, I think I should remind all of you that TTopRPG started as a hobby project, but I'm willing to make additions as people request them (as long as I'm fairly certain that playtime requires them). I'm the only developer on the project, and as such, even though I try to test out my changes until I'm confident about the build, errors do creep in (see the 4/2 note). Anyone who is building campaigns with TTop should always back up their data in the event that something goes wrong in a later build (campaigns, Characters, portraits, etc.). Thank you all for the interest!

4/5/09 - GameModel.com has successfully moved to access ttoprpg.com. When you access this site using a gamemodel.com URL, your address bar will change to "ttoprpg.com". Be aware that this will be temporary. Eventually, I'd like gamemodel.com to continue to appear in the address bar, but my current hoster doesn't provide that option yet. In the event that TTopRPG sees enough activity to warrant its own website, I'll set up two separate sites.

4/2/09 - When I released Visual aids, I mistakenly allowed line breaks in the descriptions. This caused format errors when loading a campaign. I've since disabled the line breaks so that won't happen again, but I can't repair the format problem on file load. If you are having this problem, you will have to go into the campaignIndex.txt (back it up first!) and remove the line breaks from any descriptions that have them. If you are still having trouble, send the campaignIndex.txt to me in an email (see main page http://www.gamemodel.com) and I'll assist. Sorry for the inconvenience.

3/30/09 - GameModel.com may be moving soon! I will be transferring the gamemodel.com domain to a different registrar soon, once I'm certain the site and my email will work after the transfer. So far about 2 days, hopefully no more than that, you may not have access to this page. You can reach its replacement via http://ttoprpg.com. TTopLaunch, however, is coded to look for updates at "gamemodel.com", so the Check for Updates portion of the app will not work until the transfer is complete. I'll keep you posted. The transfer is scheduled to start April 3rd. (If you accessed this site via gamemodel.com, you're at the new site!)

3/25/09 - To European users: on 2/21/09 I released a version of TTop that increased the accuracy of the grid position by one decimal point. In order to prevent converting old files, I built an artifical floating point string for output using a '.' as a decimal. This created problems for European users, who use a comma for that purpose. The end result was grid positions that would increase by a factor of ten every time the map was loaded and an error when the grid slider adjust form was opened. The newest version of TTop (3/25/09) attempts to repair this problem and should prevent it in the future. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Donations

I can't legally charge for TTopRPG, nor was I planning to do so. But if you feel so inclined and have been happy with TTop, if you'd like to donate any amount to PayPal account cyack@gamemodel.com, I would be humbly appreciative. Thank you.

Sample Play Videos

- Want to see TTopRPG, online DnD, and 4e in action? A two-hour long fight starts with this youtube video (Videos will play in sequence).
- I've recorded a second 4e fight, 1 hour long. It starts here.
- Here is a Pathfinder RPG fight in 16th level Savage Tide. 1 hour, 50 minutes. Play! (Savage Tide players stay out!)
- The 4e party's demise is final! 2 hour massacre here.
- My first 4e L30 epic fight (1 hour, 40 minutes): The Tarrasque (it got stomped by only 3 PCs).

What is TTopRPG?

TTopRPG is a free virtual tabletop that can be used to play various RPG's online using a PC with XP or Vista (or a Mac running a Windows emulator - 2 button mouse HIGHLY recommended). I recently heard it also runs well on Windows 7.

I designed it around the minimal utilities I considered necessary to run an RPG game. It isn't yet in an officially released form, as I continue to tweak, rearrange and add new functions as I find them necessary. I primarily use it to run DnD 3.5 games. It can also run 4e games and supports most nWoD die rolls (although other aspects of the nWoD system are not supported). As of last estimation, it seems to have 50 or so users, some worldwide.

Here's what the running application looks like from the DM's side. This screenshot uses the map from Paizo's free GameMastery module D0 - Hollow's Last hope. The PC portraits are the iconics they featured in their first Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rise of the Runelords.

(Click for larger image)

Requirements

The quick instructions: Download and run the two required updates below. Then, a little farther down, you'll find a zip file to extract into its own folder.

TTopRPG 2.0 runs using the .NET 3.5 framework and was developed using Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition. It's expected to run on Windows XP SP2 and Vista (no support for Windows 2000 at this time, even SP4). Currently, it uses GDI+ to render its images, but I'll be updating eventually to OpenGL or DirectX.

Don't have Service Pack 2 for Windows XP? Get it here.

It is apparently also possible to get this application working on Mac OS X 10.5.4 using the Parallels virtual Windows environment. I haven't seen this myself, but the user said it works well. So, bonus! However, one user reported that ctrl key and right hold functions don't work (such as ctrl selecting multiple icons and right pressing to erase sketches). So I highly recommend you get a 2-button mouse for your system if one is available (although I don't know if you can disable the system's capture of the ctrl key for second mouse button use).

Note: TTop also works with VMWare on a Mac. To host, you may need to set the network between the Mac OS and Windows OS to 'bridged' instead of using NAT.

Caution: I've had one report of an XP machine that still failed to run my app even after running the 2008 Redist and .NET 3.5 installs. I have also read reports of other machines having more severe problems attempting to install the packages. I assume these circumstances are rare, but I thought it only fair to warn you. As with anything, installing these are at your own risk. But they should be reasonably safe, since Microsoft provides them with the intent to update XP and Vista.

Updates

To run the program, you'll need to update your machine to run .NET 3.5 as well as acquire the VS 2008 distributable package:

NOTE: These are now Service Pack 1 versions. If you already installed the older versions, you may not need these, as I have tested the new application with the old versions of these updates and the program still ran fine. However, if you encounter strange behavior, you may want to go ahead and install these.

Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable SP1 Package (required) - usually installs quickly

.NET 3.5 framework SP1 (required) - This can be a longer install - 52 MB download plus up to ~25 minutes of update time with a reboot, depending on the overall speed of your PC/laptop. I recommend you close all other apps while it installs (possibly including AIM), since it may pause during the install and ask you to do so anyway. It starts as a small EXE that you execute, which then connects with another server to download the necessary files. One user from Mexico reported that this application repeatedly failed to connect to the download server, preventing him from updating. I will report a workaround here when one is found.

As of a latest test, the required packages to run TTop will NOT install on Windows 2000, even SP4. The user I spoke with couldn't get the VC install or even .NET 2.0 SP1 installed after updating to Windows 2000 SP4.

After you get the required packages installed, you may want to run Windows Update and grab any latest files your machine might need as a result of installing these packages.

When you're finished updating, you just need the single TTopRPG 2.0 EXE to run the program. Make a folder for it, put it inside, and you're set to go.

Here's the app: TTopRPG.zip (200KB) (v 0.99.033 in zip - use TTopLaunch 1.03 in zip to retrieve latest version from now on - latest is 0.99.099)

NOTE: This zip file includes a TTopLaunch.exe. Use this application to launch TTopRPG. It can check for an update and run TTopRPG. If you create a shortcut for it, make sure its starting directory is the same directory where TTopRPG.exe is located. If you get an index error when Checking for Updates, remove any version.txt and and version_old.txt files in your folder, and try again (for some reason one of my test folders had a blank version_old.txt file that was causing problems).

Just unzip it into an empty folder and run it from there (or create a shortcut for it, just make sure its starting directory is the one you unzipped the file to, since all the campaigns and graphics will be stored there). I DO NOT recommend running it from inside the ZIP file. The program will work, but the files downloaded from the host will end up in a temp folder somewhere, and it's unlikely that running it again from the ZIP file will allow you access to those files, so everything will be downloaded again. Extract it to its own folder!

If you are running under Vista, you may need to make sure you run these programs as an Administrator. TTopLaunch failed to download the update for one user until he did so.

WHEN UPDATING AN EXISTING EXE: Usually all you need to do is make sure the new EXE from the zip file overwrites the older EXE in your folder (TTopLaunch now does this automatically). If you are concerned about possible data loss, then I recommend you zip up the ENTIRE folder (campaigns, portraits, old EXE and all) before attempting the update. That way, if something goes wrong, you'll have all of your old data and old version of the program. I usually try to load old campaigns with my latest version to make sure it doesn't mess anything up. But I can't be held responsible for user error, and using TTop is at your own risk.

Here is a sample campaign that illustrates the basic ideas behind setting up a campaign: Sample 1. Unzip this into the campaigns folder of the TTopRPG folder (you may have to run TTopRPG once to generate the campaigns folder). The Sample 1 Details.pdf file contains the details of the campaign itself. You should have the latest version of TTop before loading this campaign.

No portrait or map graphics are provided with the application. Eventually I will provide some sample graphics (free to use, since they are mine) and a campaign that will help to introduce you to the app's functions.

NOTE: For testing purposes, you can run a single host and single client using the same exe. But DO NOT run two hosts or two clients from the same folder, or file conflicts will occur and one app will likely bomb out!

If the program fails to run at all, the problem could be a number of possibilities:

If you Host but no one can connect:

I wrote up a more detailed discussion about Connection Problems at TTopForums.

Features

TTopRPG was designed around what I wanted in a tabletop emulator. Hit point statuses of creatures are available at a glance, and combat tracking is fairly complete. An older version of this application was used to track the combat involving the defense of a keep. The fight lasted 30 rounds in total, and the application handled it very well. The same combat was attempted using this latest version, and despite one strange lockup which the application fully recovered from (allowing everyone to reconnect and continue), it ran fine. As you conduct your campaign, you'll still be required to have your own mastery of all the participants and spells, since the application won't handle all of the deeper details for you (resistances, damage resistance, spell results, etc.).

That said, using the emulator will make it clear that it is very geared towards combat, and there may be a degree of pulling people out of the roleplaying as the emulator keeps combat variables very visible. So far, my players haven't noticed a real problem with this, so it really depends on the users.

Other notes

Sharing your campaign with others

If you want to share your campaign with others, you usually just need to zip up the folder with the campaign's name, and have others unzip it into their campaign folder. This of course assumes that they don't have any campaigns by that name already. A couple of important notes about this, however:

Re-using a campaign

If you are setting up a campaign and you plan to use it multiple times, here's how you can re-use it:

OR

Sadly, if you've set up a campaign and have started using it in an actual session, there is no way to restore it to its original form, short of going through every map and changing everything back.

Dial-up users

I've tested TTopRPG 2.0 with my own secondary dial-up connection, and it seems to work fine. However, there seems to be a repeated timing out problem, but I've added some wake-up messages that help jiggle the connection when it happens. Usually, the connection recovers during the second timeout.

A typical 1 meg-size map with all relevant data usually arrives to dial-up users in about 5 minutes with a decent 50k connection. Most maps are smaller than that.

I do NOT recommend that dial-up users host with a large jpeg map. You have to send that map data down to all users, and that would take a while on a dial-up hosting connection! Sketch maps should be fine. And make sure your icon graphics are decently sized (no larger than 10k each or so).

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