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Thanks, I agree, they have been making a lot of changes and improvements! And they have not said they are competing with Roll20 or the other established VTTs out there. It is what it is, a beta version of an up and coming VTT with a huge advantage of being directly connected to DnDBeyond. A lot of people are just going to hate on anything WOTC related. Thank you for the comment!

I see. That is actually news to me that it works with tablets. I will have to check that out. Thanks for the insight!

I agree with all that. They have been adding a lot of good features so my hope is I will get to keep making this videos because they keep adding to the integration and features.

I'm going to look into this. Thanks for commenting.

@@progressiveDND Yeah, their customer service kept gaslighting me that "we have negative comments, it just has to pass our standards," but when I read on reddit: I get see these three comments over and over: - I wasn't able to leave a negative comment - I've never actually seen a negative review - Some supporters again saying it is theoretically possible to leave negative reviews, not that they ever see that happen or allow that if they are DMs.

very interesting. I am doing some digging, and will check reddit. I am also going to speak with some DMs over there and see what they think as well.

@@progressiveDND Yeah, I mean I have some sympathy for the GMs, but the platform incentivizes them to be untrustworthy in this case. If you take money, you are heavily incentivized to flag negative reviews. The reviews do not go up for a 24 hour window, so no one will see them if you flag them. Reviewers are not notified that their review was flagged, or not posted, and even if you reach out to customer service directly about a review, they won't give you any clarity. There's no way to a get a review reinstated, and I have tried editing it carefully for tone and for community standards, and it made no difference because the GM just flags the new one, and you can't contest that either. So reviewers have no say or push back, GMs are heavily incentivized to spin things, and there is no effective penalty for doing so, because they can't get caught doing it. I don't think most GMs say "I flagged an honest review because I didn't want a negative one." They are going to have a reason. But just by virtue of the fact that the player/reviewer cannot contest that reason, it doesn't actually have to be a good one.

Lol...the draw features do have a "draw" program feel to them. But I will say it actually makes it very intuitive to use. So, you are advocating for AI to be built into the system? I would agree with you, but with the scrutiny they are under and the push back they would get, I could see them being hesitant. But I would support it. I have used Chat GPT makes so great stats for bad guys.

That would be great. With the beta release they moved the feedback over to the right hand side of the screen.

Yes, it's annoying!

I agree. It defintiely has a long way to go before it is comparable to Roll20 or a lot of the other VTT. It would be nice if they would also start making a lot of the images from from the campaigns available for the DM to reveal to the players. That said, I do think they are adding things that are improvements and not just fluff. Thank you for your comment!

Yeah, for it to have as much integration with the dice roles I am not sure why initiative isn't working yet. They are getting there, but the character sheet integration really needs to up it's game. That should be a no brainer and really the main selling point if they want people to move to it.

hey hey, i looked it up in the 2024 rules, its to be rounded down. :)

@progressiveDND cool! Thank you! :D

Lol...that's funny. Maybe all that is needed is just a safe word. Of course, "no harm" is subjective if you have never dealt with any kind of PTSD. Thanks for the comment! Nice profile pic! Deus Ex is my favorite game all time.

@progressiveDND If someone is going to have a PTSD induced breakdowm over a D&D game they should be getting therapy instead of playing.

perhaps the DnD game is a form of therapy. I know I have often used it as a means of escape when I have had a rough week. I am not equating that with having traumatic issues in my past that might raise their ugly heads, but it also means I can't relate to it and as a DM, I don't think it is too much to ask to spend 5 minutes of a session zero to discuss any topics that players might not want to deal with or give them an easy way to let me know.

@progressiveDND Its not Therapy unless youre a licensed Therapist. Im there to run a game and be a referee not counsel issues i am neither qualified nor capable of treating. If imaginary monsters or mature topics are things they cannot handle, there is no shame in stating the table is not for them, rather than them imposing their will on the other players or myself, who is the final authority at my Table. I have no say over someone elses table, and no expectation mine is for everyone.

Pretty sure it was obvious I didn't mean "Therapy" with a capital T as opposed to self care, but that's fine. You are 100% right, its your table and no one will ever make you do this at your table so you are safe. And if someone does try to make you do it, I will support your right to not be made to do something at your table that makes you uncomfortable.

uhh, well the good news, i literally just a few minutes ago got my codes and got it installed. we are barred from posting anything but i will say it appears they are going for a simple UI on it and it's nice. as for new players, this shouldn't be too terribly different than in person at a table.

Thanks again!!

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback!

Thank you! I am glad the video was useful to you! Thanks for the sub!

At my table i would ask you to name them. I think the intent of ready action is to specifically call what triggers and what you will do.

@@progressiveDND Thank you. I guess then I loose the spell slot if those 3 creatures are not inside the spells reach at the triggering moment?

I mean, if any of them are I'd allow it, the game is to have fun, not rules lawyer it into an endless abyss of despair :D

Thanks for watching. Yes, for sure. You can upload custom maps. For example, there are a set of custom maps the Eve of Ruin campaign and I have uploaded a replacement for almost every map. You can upload new maps and scale the maps to a 1" = 5' grid (or other if you choose). It is very easy and intuitive.

@@kgeo2686 couldn’t agree more

Hopefully they make it very easy for the DM to still CREATE on the fly. I find that even going too in depth with VTTs starts to inhibit my freedom.

@@kgeo2686 well that is why I’m excited about being able to use a 2D map in it, for when I just need a quick scene

@@progressiveDND So true! 🙌 Keep us posted

I couldn't agree more. 😀

Not gonna lie, I like your thinking. However, I don't think that is a fair comparison since MAPS really is still in the alpha stages, so they have a long way to go. But an acquisition would be a quick way to level up their VTT game, pun fully intended. 😀 thanks for your comments

Yup. I definitely noticed a drop in quality. This is my fifth color printed mini and it is the poorest one. I am sorry you haven't received it yet. As I mentioned in the video, I had some concerns about that.

Yeah, that's a great question, and a difficult one. In that case, I would put it on me, the DM. By that, I would steer the RP away from the topic and if the question came up from P1 as to why, I could legitimate say "I prefer to not go into that direction", not specifying that it is because I am making that decision based on feedback from P1. P2 doesn't have to know my reasoning, just that I am uncomfortable with the scene. Thanks for watching and the great question!

Thank you! I am using MAPS every week for my campaign and will continue to provide my impressions as it continues to evolve. Thank you for watching!

I think that is fair. That's more than a lot of people do and then end up in weird situations. I think sometimes people think the point of safety tools is get the DM to not include things. What you are doing sets the stage correctly of just letting people know what's coming. Thanks for watching!

Lol...oh, I get it. Here, show me on this doll where that big bad player hurt you in the past.

@progressiveDND this is the gayest thing ever such a joke

​@@progressiveDNDyoure weak

I think thou doth protest too much? Do you need an X card so you can talk about your feelings?

I know, I know. This is a safe zone. Go ahead and let it out. I can help you through this tough time with these big feelings right here with you.

Great feedback and disectYeah, I love the persistent rage as well.

Thanks. That makes sense on some of these changes are triggered by other core changes. So much to learn. 😀 thanks for watching and the comments!

that is the exact kind of tech we need in sigil to make building maps easier. it would be amazing.

Yup, I can't argue. It is not stunning. It is nice from a from a distance, so for table top use it looks above average, but if you are looking closely at the detail, the newness wears off pretty quickly. Thanks for the comment!

I feel because they are approaching this from a "sandbox" point of view that the depth you are looking for might not be there. I know a lot of people love the automation coming out of roll20/foundry/FG. I will say for me looking pretty and rolling dice is as far as I want a VTT to get me, but I'll never fault a fellow story teller for wanting a VTT that makes life a little easier.

Hey there, in some of our videos we were giving out dice and other stuff on dndbeyond.

Thanks. Yeah, it looks decent from a distance, and the technology is cool. I do think the quality is going down a little bit though.

well I believe it's a unity application which means it must be installed. Foundry is basically a web server and a web app rolled together. The good thing about project Sigil is that they are promising mobile, so it's possible you could play much the same, and let them use tablets for movement etc, I would absolutely not expect the mobile app out soon though and would expect it to roll out PC only for the time being. I am also suspecting it's going to be released via steam. Overall I think its great, and looking forward to getting in there and trying it.

​@@progressiveDND If I remember correct the VTT is made in unreal engine 5.x. Unreal is procedural, meaning when you make a video game you can let's say I want to create a desert with mountain cliffs that are such and such high, and it will render that for you without doing anything, but set the parameters of what you want make really fast and easy. What this might mean is that you can make a 3D basic environment very fast, then if you need details, you add as much as you want or little. Don't quote me on it as I haven't read tons about the new Unreal 5.X Engine, but it's the same as if you would make a MMORPG, you make the basic/more advanced biom, then have the developers (the Dm being the "developer"), refine and add the assets to make it a polished version of that part of the game, I would think the same with the VTT. If you could use AI combined with that and just tell the program (the VTT), I want a dungeon that has a blacksmith room, etc etc, hopefully this will help us create a scene either on the fly really fast and/or make different assets really quick even with some details in it. Sorry for the kinda long explanation. I hope that I am making myself clear, what I mean by that is the possibilities that comes with the Unreal 5.X engine and the hopefully freedom and ease of making assets that you want to make. Gone will be markers, having to either make the maps on a analog grid, either what you can do prepping (which for me takes way too much of making the world come alive, story building, NPCs etc), or the horror when you have to make something on the fly, even with Roll20 (which I find very cumbersome and restrictive, even Foundry). My hope is that they will bring in tools that will add to the imagination of the DM describing scenes, adding the theatre of mind and combine it with all these assets smoothly. This kind of got too long and um a bit disorganised, but I hope you and your audience, get what I mean and hope the VTT can be for both DM's and players alike. 😊👍

My understanding of unreal is that it's a game engine. There are some extensions available to do procedural tasks such as building forests or dungeons etc. Unreal itself though is just the engine, backed with c#. The problem with procedural is that zoomed back a little, it looks copy/paste. Joining AI to it like you mentioned is how we over come that. Ultimately yeah we are trying to tell a story and the VTT to do 3D the right way is going to allow us to do that well with exactly as much effort as we the DMs choose to put into it. At the end of the day story is king anyways :)

Thanks Dwayne! Yeah, the more I look I the print the less I am liking it over all. I think I may do a video on a comparison of the ones I have had printed over the years. It is anecdotal right now, but I think the quality has gone way down and it is worth a comparison and would probably make a good video. Daniel and I have done some searching and I think you are right on what's out there. I think I am going to find someone to paint one and do that comparison. Like you said, I think I might be able to get better quality for cheaper. Thanks for the comments!

@progressiveDND send me the mini and I'll paint it for free and assign a "market value " to what my quality is. #channel collaboration

I have gotten prints from them before. And I’ve noticed that the printed pained minis are of questionable quality in comparison to their normal prints

I do own Talespire actually, I just haven't had much luck with putting anything together. I have seen tons of great stuff in talespire and I love the way you can import things though!

Great question! You can scale the map right now at creation to make sure your tokens will fit a 1" = 5' scale (or whatever you need the scale to be) but as of now, you can not adjust the size of the tokens on the fly. You would need to create a separate token and give your player control of that. Almost like a companion. That is great suggestion though. I will provide feedback. You should too. The more feedback they get on a feature the better! Thanks for watching!

I agree completely. I don't think in the version that I posted I mentioned this but in my original take I talked about how the inclusion of BG3 in this new teaser appears to be an attempt to fold in the insane success of BG3 and try to capture some of those players and bring them to our D&D tables. I do think for many it's going to create confusion. Those of us in the hobby already can look past the marketing pitch and see it as a VTT but someone who's never rolled the dice and only played BG3, yep, there's going to be a lot of "What is this?" Thanks for weighing in!

I equate sigil to like critical role, when Matt slaps a map down. No fog of war, just the map and it's there for the encounter. I think the over arching design of the dndbeyond VTT system (Maps + Sigil) is to use maps for those dungeon crawls where we do have FOW, then launch them into Sigil for that epic encounter. How stream lined that ends up being is the real question.