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Open Q&A with Frost

frost Feb '15
Hi All,

Since I tend to get quite a few questions when I visit tables, I thought I would open a topic where you can ask whatever you want, and I will do my best to respond.

Please keep it focused on the Fabletop ruleset, site, and features. I can also talk about game design & development, or role-playing in general.

Thanks!
austintm Feb '15
Hi Frost, is there any way to make specific minis for this Fabletop? For instance, I play Warhammer 40K, and I will be Gming StarWars Edge of the Empire soon in RL. Could we eventually customize minis that we wish to create, like a Croot or a Dark Jedi, or a Hutt?
frost Feb '15
Custom minis aren't really on the roadmap for a few reasons:

1) Most uploaded artwork would look really bad scaled down to the current dimensions. They would be blurry and unrecognizable.
2) It would be inconsistent with the rest of the artwork.
3) It is a complex feature to design and build.

The design philosophy behind the battlemat and minis is to keep things simple and somewhat abstract. This keeps the focus is mainly on the chat, which is where the real game happens.

Also, working with constraints often leads to more imaginative gameplay. With some inventiveness you can re-purpose just about anything and get it close enough. It's a bit like Minecraft in that way.

That said, there is a suggestions thread for miniatures, which I look at every time I update the sprite sheet.
fabletop.com/forum/topic/455.36/miniatures-request...
austintm Feb '15
alright thnx
austintm Feb '15
Frost may I ask what other websites you have created or you have participated in creating?
frost Feb '15
Most of my projects are listed on my website.
joelesko.com

But the main web projects are:
micromarching.com
fabletop.com
prismaco.de
netflix.com (as a UI engineer)
fisty Feb '15
I have no issues with a paid version,the choice between a monthly or slightly discounted yearly subscription would be nice.
Will their be an unpaid version with basic game resources and a premium version? If so what will be the perks of the paid version over the basic version we have been using and getting along fine with?
If there is no free general membership with access to basic game resources how will the new members test out the sites mechanics?
A large mini resource and different map sizes with site saved maps would be good for premium.
I like the mini's you have added so far,they are quite exploitable when using your imagination.
frost Feb '15
It will follow the "freemium" model, which means that everyone will have free basic access by default. That means premium GMs will be able to run games for all player types.

Right now, everyone is automatically upgraded to premium for the beta period -- not all of the current features will be available to free members afterward. But I honestly haven't figure out yet what the feature split will be. I will let you all know when I have a better idea, but it will be quite a while yet.
fisty Feb '15
Take my money!
austintm Feb '15
Is the premium a one shot payment deal, or would we have to pay multiple times like a subscription...?
frost Feb '15
Most likely a subscription, since it's a web service, where development and maintenance is ongoing. My other web app has an annual membership upgrade which has worked quite well, but I might explore other options for Fabletop.
nightcraw240 Feb '15
Hello Frost. I have some questions I'd like to propose, one of them being what additional content can I expect from you as the creator of this site? I enjoy what you have so far and it is very easy to work with in creating enjoyable games. However, I question if you see this being able to be moved further along in any manner or if you see this as near-finished.

Secondly, what kind of attention will we as paying customers receive for our choice to become premiums (When they come out) ? Obviously we get to have fun with the system you created, but it goes back to if you see this site as near-finished or not. For instance, I've always enjoyed the idea of a friend system of some sort but understand it's easier said then done. What if enough people of the community suggested such an idea? Would you be willing to work on it for us or would you prefer to keep this site as you see it? This is of course referencing to any particular idea the community might back.

Following along with my second question, there have been requests for more miniatures but it's been awhile since I saw an update releasing more of them. Would you add more miniatures or do you feel content with where Fabletop is at?

Another question is how much might we be expected to pay monthly? I'm not asking for a specific amount but more for the general idea of what you have in mind.

Do you think you'd ever create an app for this site to some degree?

All that being said, thank you for reading and I hope you take the time to reply! :D

Always appreciative of your time, Nightcraw.
frost Feb '15
- It will never be finished. =) There will always be a long list of things that I and the community want to add. Most of the big things are in place, but there are a ton of details to still iron out. Maybe I should update the roadmap, so it's more clear. Just realize that this is an indie effort. I have a full-time job and other projects, so development happens in small bursts.

- Community suggestions. Usability and learnability are my top goals as a designer, which means being very strict about what new features are added. Unfortunately that means saying "probably not" to a lot of things that people suggest, but I'm always open to suggestions. I try to keep things general enough that you can accomplish what you want, even if it takes a bit of inventiveness.

- Miniatures. I want to add a lot more miniatures over time. Hopefully another 100 by the time we are out of beta. The problem right now is the workflow isn't as convenient as it could be, and I'm also looking to switch to HTML5 canvas which will allow better graphic options. It wasn't supported by all browsers when I first started development, but now it's an option.

- I really want to make sure Fabletop works on mobile, even if it's only in mobile browsers (it works pretty well right now, but could use more work). I would love to do an app, but that's a pretty big investment.

- Price. I want it to be affordable. This isn't WoW. It's a small indie project and will be priced that way. It will probably be lower than any of the premium VTTs out there.

Hope that helps!
talhajami Feb '15
When exactly was Fabletop created?
frost Feb '15
The open beta started on 12/21/2011
talhajami Feb '15
Ah. So, just about three years old, this place.
woolyfsh2 Mar '15
I have another thing that could be implemented and work wonders with the RP quality. Having specialty times, or combination ones, visible to the players as well as the GM. For example, I am using the lines and flat wood block, and it creates a sort of chair, but only I see that. Is it a glitch or is it something that will be implemented in the future?
frost Mar '15
How are you able to see those?
woolyfsh2 Mar '15
I don't know myself, maybe its with my computer? .-. All I know is that anyone can see them on their end and not other people.
frost Mar '15
I mean, what are the exact steps you take to create them, because I'm not able to. Are you just clicking the "lines" overlay?
oman1666 Mar '15
I think i've seen a similar thing, where clicking with the lines overlay sometimes (not sure what triggers it) shows a raised fire or raised stone tile underneath, but keeping 2 of the borders of the tile being overlain.
woolyfsh2 Mar '15
If you put the line tile on a flat stone and place a flat wood on that particular tile, it makes a raised chair.
frost Mar '15
Yeah, that's obviously a bug. There will probably be more tiles added at some point, but not necessarily those.
woolyfsh2 Mar '15
Okay.
k4rm4 Mar '15  /  edited Mar '15
could you make this a non-browser based game?

that would open the possibilities and tools massivley for you and let you give them to us for our boards!

oh and/or an item system where you can keep track of weapons/armour/currency
frost Mar '15
Fabletop will probably always be browser-based, and in the future, potentially app-based. It's far easier to roll out updates, and it makes it easier for people to jump in and use any time.

An item system is unlikely -- the main focus of Fabletop is story gaming, not power gaming, which most inventory systems lead to. There might eventually be support for item-specific traits at some point though.
oman1666 Mar '15
Hey Frost - In regards to the Fabletop rules: Sometimes, when people make a character, they add a single trait at +2 instead of two traits at +1 each, the rules are a little unclear of if this is 'legal' as when leveling adding a die to one trait is equivalent to adding a trait. Just wanted to know for future reference if this is okay.
frost Mar '15
The intent is to have 2 traits -- one "class" trait and one additional trait, so that characters aren't one-dimensional.
jakalope105 Mar '15
how do i change the info on the info tab?!
frost Mar '15
Click "Edit Table" in the menu bar.
thaxas Apr '15
Frost will there be perks for being a beta player at all?
trynt33 Apr '15
Hey Frost, would it be possible to edit the base stats? Like Might, Agility, and Wisdom. Maybe have it so only the GM can do it? Oh and a friend of mine is wondering if it'd be possible to raise the HP and EP stats.
frost Apr '15
@thaxas, the main perk will be a sense that you're simply a better person than non-Beta players. Other than that, you'll have to wait and see.

@trynt33, there may eventually be a way to modify the base stat names. The stat limits are there to keep all games in a consistent progression curve. If your setting involves super powerful characters (e.g. giants, immortals, or what have you) it's best to adjust the stats of NPCs and difficulty rolls downward to match the scale. E.g. a tank is only 2 dice against your giant radioactive cockroach. Hope that helps.
thaxas Apr '15
Will you end up hosting in the beta period because i believe all of us would be excited to see how the creator of this site hosts.
frost Apr '15
I've been meaning to do more of this, yes. It's probably less exciting than it sounds though, since I don't do it that often and I'm usually a bit rusty. You can read through the chat logs on my table if you're curious.
devin Apr '15
I was just wondering what you're doing personally to bring in new players.
frost Apr '15  /  edited Apr '15
I have experimented with Facebook ads, but those cost money and they don't always work that well. My main effort has been on improving the site so people are more likely to stick around when they do discover it. I will probably try more things when we are out of Beta someday.
thaxas Apr '15
why don't you ever talk in the glade? we as a site would like to talk about a lot of things with you, and maybe get to know the real frost a bit more.
palegeon Apr '15
Have you ever considered asking the community to advertise and represent the site unofficially where they can?
frost Apr '15
@palegeon

I think word of mouth will always be more important than ads for attracting new players. But I don't want to compel anyone to do anything that doesn't come naturally. People will spread the word if they really like something. And others are more likely to listen if the message is sincere. (Not driven by some incentive like "Get 10 friends to Like our Facebook page and get a free whatever!")

But I think the easiest way for the current community to help is to be very welcoming to the new players who do join. Things like helping them with the system, not referring to them as "newb", and encouraging them to join in games if they are on the fence. Getting good people to stick around is as important as bringing new people in.
frost Apr '15  /  edited Apr '15
@thaxas

I don't talk mostly because I just pop in to check things out, then tab over to do something else, and forget that I'm logged in!

Or, maybe the real frost is shrouded in an ancient secret that, if you were to learn of its mystery, would shatter your soul and turn your existence into a perpetual nightmare.

Anyway, time to microwave some Chef Boyardee mini ravioli...
surgedragon Apr '15
I've been thinking, and the one name per character thing is kind of weird because sometimes somebody makes a character with some name, yet doesn't come back for a long time, and somebody else wants to use that name. While this hasn't happened to me, I'm quite interested that it's possible, and wanted to know if it was possible to develop a solution.
oman1666 Apr '15
A simple work around until/if Frost develops one is to use the same name but spell it differently. E.g. if another player has made a character called 'Jack' you could make one called Jac, Jak, Jaq, Jaack, Gack or some other ridiculous spelling
talhajami Apr '15
Do you plan on implementing a moderation system anytime soon? If so, how, and when?
frost Apr '15  /  edited Apr '15
Individual tables already have kick/ban features. It's only in the Glade where things have occasionally gotten out of hand. If we ever get to the size where a lot of new trolls are coming in, then I would probably add moderation there.

But our problems have mostly been with established members. If I were to appoint a moderator to deal with those things, some people might take it personally and make things worse. So for the time being, I will take care of it.
funnio987 Apr '15
Will there ever be an option to change the maximum player size on a table if you're GM? It would be really useful.
frost Apr '15
I don't see it ever going above 6. That is already pushing it in terms of giving everyone enough time in the spotlight, and being manageable for the GM. Also, the UI layout works well with that number.
fisty May '15
Is there any way you could implement a self buffering chat with a delayed table logout? Some of our Internets are very sub-par.
I have been wondering about this since the beginning.
duskwolf May '15
I know this is a little thing, however do you think you will ever open up the mini figures available to players to some of the more "NPC" ones. Personally I love playing orcs and goblins and the like. I know the GM can change you, but it would just be one less thing on the GMs plate.
frost May '15
@fisty, sorry, I don't understand exactly what you are asking.

@duskwolf, probably eventually.
febidoman May '15
Do you think it would be possible to create player controlled NPC minis? For example, under the editing for the mini, there'd be a dropdown menu stating "Controlled by: (GM)", and you can change GM to an in-game player.
febidoman May '15
Basically, they get to play GM over one mini. =P
duskwolf May '15
You could do pets that way, that would be cool.
arkdude May '15
Why is tabletop booming this week?
ommageden May '15
Hey frost, after playing several games, (and I'm new to the tabletop scene too so if my suggestions don't make sense with your vision I apologize) here I just had a few suggestions:

1) because we can change secondary traits and what they are, let us set our base wisdom, might and dexterity stats. For example to currently get a stat spread for you imagined character you need to look through combinations of the pre-set so you get the spread you want, be it 4,2,1 or 2,3,2 or whatever. While in the base game limited to the presets this system makes sense, when you are trying to make characters like Paladins, or whatever, that rely on certain archetypal stats, it becomes slightly unintuitive to the new player. Preferably I would like to be able to just edit these like secondary traits as everything is already manual anyway, it doesn't seem to make sense to force those traits (especially with the reminder they must add to 7). even if in the current system I cant have 3 million might, I could easily just make a secondary trait that does the same thing. Limiting role players control is something i'm against, as the game balance is already in our (and the GM's) hands with all the other stats available. Are there any plans to give us more creation control at the initial creation of characters?

Secondly I think things such as double pxp weekends, or certain event days might get more players on at lower population hours allowing for a more even amount of games present at different times of the day. For example lets say Tuesdays are your slowest day in terms of web traffic, reward people for hosting games then in order to promote more activity. (If this already exists I apologize). Is there any plans to promote more games during these "down times"?

As someone who codes recreationally I understand this can be an issue and that things are easier said than done, however I think these may benefit the community greatly and allow for some quality of life improvements all around. Please remember that these are only small criticisms of something extremely enjoyable and that these are just a critical analysis.

Thanks for reading, love the site, getting all my friends on it!
alaner May '15
Ommageden, but you can change base traits. You can max 4 4 4 traits, if your GM don't mind :3
ommageden May '15
How? whenever I click the stats it simply says I cant add dice to those traits. only secondary traits?
oman1666 May '15
Fabletop has built in rules - it's not simply a website for any TRPG, it's a TRPG itself. Your base stats are meant to add to 7, and fiddling with this quickly ruins the balance of games and confuses players...

that being said. You CAN have your base stats add to values other than 7 - but if a character has ANY xp on their sheet (i.e. their xp is not 0) then the base stats can no longer be edited. This is because, in Fabletop games, your base stats are never meant to change once they have been decided upon character creation.
ommageden May '15
I understand that oman1666 and I don't disagree, I want the values to add to 7, I just didn't understand how to change them to match what I wanted without manipulating the base traits in the game. The current implementation makes sense in that context but could be better explained. It just seemed I had to look through all the traits for the stat spread I wanted first.
frost Jun '15
Hi ommageden, thanks for your questions...

#1) If you look at the roadmap on the home page, one of the items is to make chargen and advancement more intuitive. I agree that the handling of Base Traits isn't very good right now. However, as oman said, you can them after chargen, but you need to settle on a spread before you gain any xp.

#2) I have been wanting to do something like a regular Fabletop Game Day for a long time. I've just been holding off because I wanted to fix a few more of the bigger things before trying to encourage more games, so that people have a better experience. =)
ommageden Jun '15
Yeah I noticed that after frost, sorry about that. As another question more on topic, do you ever play games on the site yourself? What genre is personally your favourite?
frost Jun '15
I do play every once in a while with a private group, but lately I have just been running the occasional demo game. I like every genre, but I've been doing more sci-fi and Shadowrun-type games to take a break from medieval fantasy.
kryztel Jul '15  /  edited Jul '15
I was wondering how leveling characters exactly worked, me and a friend could not figure it out after a 1 on 1 campaign. I'm new and so is he so we aren't fully sure how all of this works, but we enjoy it a lot. Is there a specific button to level up your character and give him his first time session life or power point? if there is I couldn't find it.

Edit: I found what I needed, I was just being an idiot. Me and my friends love fabletop, thank you for creating this.
frost Jul '15
I eventually want to make leveling up more streamlined. For now, you can just use Edit Character.
woolyfsh2 Jul '15
A number of users are being disconnected from Fabletop rather frequently, interrupting conversations. Can we please know what is going on? I know for a fact that it is not a problem on my end because users including talhajami and lowwinter are reporting it as well. We are worried about your silence, so may you please let us know you still live and why we are being disconnected with increasing frequency?
frost Jul '15
I'm still alive, but real life is keeping me very busy. I can't think of any reason you are seeing disconnects more frequently... nothing has changed on the server. I can try bouncing the chat server, but I wouldn't expect it to help much. A refactor of the chat server is on the roadmap, but unfortunately it's a pretty big undertaking.
thaxas Aug '15
i was reading up on the Q&A and you said you play with a private group, how can one get invited to said group?
frost Aug '15
It's a group of personal acquaintances, so not really open for invites, sorry.
drake Sep '15
Hey frost, I was wondering if there is a possibility to get larger gamemats, I'd like to host a game, but there's not enough room for what I have in mind.
shotgunreign Oct '15  /  edited Oct '15
Hello Frost
Im trying to find a recent chatlog from my table but i can't seem to find it anywhere, in the public chatlogs i have chats from previous tables , most recent one five days old in other words how can i get a complete list of all the chat logs on my table?

P.S if i cleared the chat im looking for, does it still exist or is it gone forever?
talhajami Dec '15
Yo, frost. What's up?
madmankthree Jan '16
Could you add more gamemaster tools, like invisible minis and editing a level without showing it to the players.

jebus made a thread here: fabletop.com/forum/topic/455.64/miniatures-request...
kindacool Jan '16
Frost, I've a small question concerning the nature of the chat logs. Is the date displayed for the chat logs the beginning or the end of the chat?
kaympf Jan '16
Hey Frost, just a suggestion to make the map making easier instead of using a whole command system like the /save or /load have something like buttons instead and then you can pick the maps from a list. Like how the character sheets work. It would make it a lot easier for the GMs when we make maps. I'm new and loving the site.
nah13 Jan '16
Frost Are you Still Alive at this point?
P.S. Thank you for Creating Fabletop. I'd buy a sub
drake Jan '16
Hey, Frost. I was just wondering if you could possibly implement fonts. I mean, I like this font and all, but It would be cool to have different voices in different fonts. Especially having another font for, say, the main villain or something. Would be interesting. Of course you should focus on what you want to. But it's just something I think people would definitely use.
kaliam Jan '16
Heyyy, Frost! An interesting concept that I would really appreciate the possible implementation of the GM being able to make character sheets, and then providing them to their player's for use. Or, if not, at least allowing GMs the ability to modify the player's sheets directly would be greatly beneficial.

And, as everyone else has asked; how are you doing?
st2002 Jan '16
Frost,one question,out of all of the games you maked,what is your favorite?,my favorite game of yours is Fabletop.best,game,found on the internet
frost Jan '16
@kaympf: Yes, a map interface is on my todo list.

@nah13: Yes, I'm alive. I've just been extremely busy with work and travel. =)

@drake: Hmm, it's an interesting idea. No promises, though.

@kaliam: The GM isn't allowed to edit character sheets directly, because it can take away the feeling of control that is important for players. I do want to allow GM's to add built-in traits to the chargen system at some point though.

@st2002: I like all of them for different reasons. Fabletop is probably the most complex, technically and design-wise. Totally Tiny Arcade has a ton of cool stuff in it, and is the one I wish more people would check out. =)
st2002 Feb '16
Frost.there were games like this one,not counting games you play on a board,like D&D.i mean tabletop games you can found on the internet,before fabletop?
ferhargo Feb '16
So, in an attempt to make the above post somewhat coherent... I think he's asking if you know of any online TTRPG systems that were around before Fabletop. I think.
percind Feb '16
This must have been asked a dozen times but here goes for nothing:

Will there be a way to export/import maps? Some browsers dont like exchanging cookies, you know... so this is a bit of a problem when you change pc or log in somewhere else. Maybe you could come up with a solution for exporting saved data into a specific file format?

Also if we could share custom maps with each other, that would be awesome. (it would consume a lot of disk space to save them on your servers, I know... But maybe send them via e-mail to each other as attachments?)
palegeon Feb '16  /  edited Feb '16
The maps themselves only take a Kb or two. That isn't much in comparison to the framework that makes this website. Take about, oh... 50k maps? Thats less than 50 Mbs. It's not the maps that would take the hit, it's the player IDs and privilege coding that could run into problems.

Who gets privs to what? How many IDs would have to match the amount of players registered? Where would you get the indexes to match up to the player requesting and the shared map? Thats the bigger question.
oman1666 Feb '16
I've played flash games before where a player-made map can be distilled into a few lines of jargon, then put in by someone else and the game loads the map. With a grid of 169 squares and what... 30 or 40 different types of tiles, surely something could be written so that each tile has a character associated with it and we can exchange strings of 169 characters, put in /load then the string and get the map?

I know nothing about code, but I feel like that would be within frost's capabilities, right?
frost Feb '16
@st2002, there are quite a few virtual tabletops out there. When I first started working on Fabletop, Wizards was working on their own version. Before I finished, they had already scrapped that project. This is arguably the first virtual tabletop with an integrated ruleset, though the first Neverwinter Nights might also qualify since it had a "GM mode".

@percind. Yes, someday you'll be able to save/load maps on the server, and share them with others. =)

@oman1666, that would be possible yes. I think I'd rather spend the time making it all server-side though. I was thinking something like "/load oman1666/deadly-sewers". If you know the map name, you can just load it directly.
talhajami Feb '16
Woohoo for new features!
arathtil Feb '16
Just a quick question- I like to use google docs sometimes as a GM; It's just a quick, sleek, easy way to provide a lot of information to my players through a simple link. On Fabletop though I'm finding that my links get broken by the chat system or when I put them in my info tab. Others players have said it's because the system tries to auto-correct the link by adjusting capitalization and stuff, but I'm not sure. Is there a way to bypass this so I can use google docs?
frost Feb '16
@arathtil, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely look into it.

BTW, in the future, I would post this kind of thing in the Report a Bug section. Thanks
edon1234 Mar '16
@frost
Could you probably after the site has gone out of beta, all the beta members would get premium privileges. Thx
exterminatus Mar '16
Frost, I suspect the links getting broken due to the anti-caps system, which will cause letters to turn into lowercase ones. Caps letters can be important in stuff like youtube links or google docs
jsan Mar '16
Perhaps in a future update, maybe implement a system where players can input their timezone in a central listing. This can help make scheduling games run more smoothly for a GM who doesn't have a set of regular players.
spartan Apr '16
Why is Monday censored?
frost Apr '16  /  edited Apr '16
@spartan, it's a joke from one of my earliest beta testers. For many people, "Monday" is a bad word. =)

You can use "Moonday" as a workaround.
nightcraw240 May '16
Hello Frost, a few questions for you whenever you have the time.

My first question would have to be about the creation of the mini-map. What prompted the diamond shape design instead of the typical 2D and viewing from above, map? Any reason it is the particular size it currently is?

Lastly, while I understand it may require a bit of work, do you think there would ever be a time when the mini-map was increased in size? This isn't to say as large as a 100x100 square grid, but, anything larger than it is now?

As always, I am appreciative of your time and effort in replying. I look forward to a response.
frost May '16  /  edited May '16
@nightcraw240, good question. I experimented with a lot of formats for the battlemat before settling on isometric (diamond-shaped).

Some of the reasons why:
- 3d-like tabletop effect, which reinforces that this is not a video game. It's also more interesting to look at than a flat projection.
- Allows for stand-up miniatures, which are more interesting than tokens with floating faces
- More efficient use of vertical space than top-down (isometric tiles are about half as tall as they are wide)
- Allows a difference in height in some of the tiles. It's harder to convey height in top-down maps.
- Allows for UI elements to fit in the corners of the viewport (e.g. the character sheet)

Regarding size, I don't see it getting much bigger without changing the overall layout. Part of the philosophy behind Fabletop is that constraints bring out creativity and inventive solutions, just like they do when playing tabletop RPGs in real life.

There is enough there for an enormous amount of variety, but limited enough that you still need rely on storytelling. Ultimately that's what role-playing is about, and is what makes it special and engaging.

Thanks
edon1234 May '16
@frost
Could you probably after the site has gone out of beta, all the beta members would get premium privileges. Thx
rodgeidblack May '16
Hello Frost, first i have to say that this website is amazing, thank you for creating it.
I have a few question so please listen to me.
The first one is: What about people can make their own character sheet? I have been wondering because all the character sheet are for Roleplay games but it would be cool to see another types of games with it, like for example the Dark Souls Board Game, It haves a different character sheet and stuff.
Second question: What about expanding fabletop to a more kinda tabletop but in browser? It would be cool because you could play any types of board games here and it would quite awesome.
Third question: What about more dices? We have the normal 21 dice but i think it would be better all the set, the 3D the 10D etc.
Thanks you for reading me, keep doing this Frost!
doomweaver13 May '16  /  edited May '16
Good day frost! Hello, just have a quick question regarding the networking code that's responsible for connectivity. I know I've mentioned this already in the post i made the other day that i can't connect to FT tables or when I do I disconnect frequently (sorry for mentioning this again i swear!), I also get that you're super busy and that you may not have the time to address this issue just yet but I wanna know if there are things i can do on my end to at least lessen the likelihood of these connection problems? Like should i change my browser for compatibility or things like that?

Thank you.
arkdude May '16
Hey frost, is Fabletop still supported with future updates? I noticed that it has been a year since the last update.
frost Jun '16
@rodgeidblack, there are already software out there that do some of the things you are asking for. I prefer to focus Fabletop on what it makes it special. =)

@doomweaver13, sorry about that. I am aware of the problem but it's a lot of work to fix right now. I would recommend Chrome since that's what I use to develop, so you might have better luck there.

@arkdude, I do plan on future updates, but I can't promise anything on the timeline.
kingdevyn Jun '16
Hey frost,

I came here to talk about negative value traits. I don't know if they're suppose to be an aspect of fabletop, but I actually make use of them frequently as a GM here instead of +0 flaws. If a player has a sprained ankle I prefer to give them a temporary -1 trait instead of making them automatically skull on any movement roll as it gives them more motivation to make the action in the first place even if they have a penalty, as opposed to auto skulling where making the action shouldn't even be considered. Currently negative traits can't have descriptions. Will this be fixed?
oman1666 Jun '16
interestingly, whilst negative traits can't be formatted, the dice do account for them

roll might 4 + warrior 2 + no sword -1 will result in 5 dice being rolled.

In terms of the sheet I think the idea is that flaws (0 traits) are a voluntary thing to express the weakness of a character where as penalties such a a twisted ankle are meant to be tagged, and then the difficulty for a jumping roll may raise to needing 2 stars :)
frost Jun '16
What oman said. Tags/difficulty are really intended for that. But I have considered supporting negative traits, if only as an un-documented feature.

The downside of negative traits is that there is no incentive for players to remember to add them. Tags put control of penalties in the hands of the GM, and avoids disputes around re-rolling.
radioactive Jun '16
Hello Frost,

So I had an idea that I think would be a good idea to implement, if you could that is. Perhaps you could add a universal clock on the main page of FT so that game planning is easier. It could also remove the need to remember everyone's time zones.
kierbrony Jun '16
Wow, radioactive does have a good point! That would eliminate so many problems, but probably a 24-hour clock to make it easier to plan, maybe.

-Kierbrony

(P.S. Love your work frost! You're a COOL dude. Heh.)
doomweaver13 Jun '16
@radio amazing idea dude. Adding an official FT time would do wonders for the players who have a different timezone.
oman1666 Jun '16
If we add an official FT timezone, can we make it something really weird so no one gets the advantage of it being their own timezone (GMT +2 hours and 21 minutes?)
pandaboy Jul '16
Dear Frost, recently i have found there is a glitch/bug where my minis go up a bit on the battemat when i return to my table. Can you please fix this?
avinash Jul '16
It may sound like a stupid question, but does rolling more dice lower your chance of getting more stars, or is that just bad luck?
frost Jul '16
@pandaboy, please report bugs in the bug forum, not here. Otherwise I won't see it when I work on the next patch. Thanks

@avinash, no. Keep in mind there is a 1-in-3 chance of a star, so rolling all 10 dice will usually only result in 2-4 stars.

I talk more about dice results here:
fabletop.com/help/about#common-questions
kansiwiz Jul '16
Hey frost, can you add a circle next to the people you're following and your followers that lights up when they're online?
oman1666 Jul '16
Hi Frost, I was recently talking to someone on the glade about flaw traits, and went into the How to Play to try and copy and paste the exact ruling... only to find that there's nothing in there any more!

I was wondering if flaws are still an 'official' rule of Fabletop or not. :)
frost Jul '16
@oman, I'm not sure that it ever was in the rules. I think there was just a forum post, but otherwise it's still a bit experimental.
rocktalon Aug '16
Will there ever be a GM set party size?
hamlet Aug '16
any way you would think about designing the six sided dice we use in game so we could actually buy them (I feel like they remind me of "Hero Quest")
avinash Aug '16  /  edited Sep '16
Hey frost, maybe you can add a sticky for ideas? Right now, all we got is an old thread made by a user: fabletop.com/forum/topic/5014.8/ideas
And it seems some people here discuss suggestions anyway, with an example being "the official FT time" thingy.
And just to clarify, I'm not actually firing shots at those people or anything. After all, this section does seem to get more attention.
excel Aug '16
How can I read game logs of games I've not participated into?
aspark Sep '16
@excel You can read logs of games you've not participated into.
oman1666 Sep '16
@Excel

this is a link to all of my chat logs: fabletop.com/chatlog/index/oman1666

replace 'oman1666' with the name of the player who hosted the game you want to read the log off to access any log on the site :)

Keep in mind that players can hide their logs from public view if they don't want them read :)
slimshadyy Sep '16  /  edited Sep '16
FROST! I just brainstormed and found about this. A feature that allows you to change your user... okay fine... maybe i just wanted to change my dumb user. But can you please make it?
edon1234 Oct '16
@frost Are we ever going to have animations and particles in the site? Something to spice things up.
mchadwick Nov '16
@frost Hi there! New player\GM to Fabletop.

First, I wanted to say that I have fallen in love with the simple and intuitive design and interface of this platform. Great job. Really.

I want it to continue! How may I support this site? I did not see any form of donation or anything.

Again. Great job. Keep it up!
ddragon15 Dec '16
@frost Hi there too :)
Im also new here and same as above from mchadwick - awesome site.
Just two little questions:
first: I played a round with an friend to get into the commands and overall use of the tools, but after an loggout there was no chatlog to be found anywhere. I coudn't find anything about the chatlogs and snippets in the "how to Play" manual and so it seems all we played is lost now O_o

and Second: at first i found this site by searching for excactly what i found here, but for an longer therm game. It would work if players could log onto the table and stay there even if theyre logged out (in the rules there is even one that tells 'no multi tableling') so this could safe position of players and give the chance to play games over long time kinda like an forumRPG.
foxknight89 Dec '16
Hi Frost, been on here for about a year + now and I just want to say, I love this site as it did wonders for me when I was bedridden which actually led me to find this site. But I digress.
Is there a way to delete an account? You see I made an account with my current email address because I had forgotten/lost my password for this account and I would like to receive the emails when a game is starting, but because this said email address is taken by my obsolete account I can't change the email address. That might be hard to follow.
Also do you intend on giving us the ability to change our username? Because I, as I'm sure others might, would appreciate that.
Thanks for hearing me out, and once again thanks for this awesome site.
oman1666 Dec '16
Hi Frost, my questions is... are you okay?

I know you've got other projects, but it's been a long time since we saw you. Starting to worry that I'll wake up one day and find the entire website's disappeared!
redblitz Feb '17  /  edited Feb '17
Hey there, Frost and all FT Users.

I have a Question, sort of a Concern too. So, I have 2 (actually 3) Table Concepts that's about to go live. So I made forum threads for them. One of the table is an EPIC, so being an Epic it's meant to have lots of threads, but I have this problem, it seems to me that there is a limit on visible threads it's like once I hit 28 threads, and I add another one, one of the stickys or non-stickys get's thrown out of the list. I don't see any Next link or at least numbered ones. The Question is, is it just my game/laptop/memory allotment? or FT really have a cap/limit on threads (visible that is)

I already thought of a solution or a fix for this scenario, but I just need to know the answer for this one and hopefully, if it's a glitch, I hope it gets fixed. Thanks.

THE FIX : As it turns out, the Sticky Ones are the ones that have a cap Only 10 Stickies are allowed. I trimmed it down to just 9 and all the lost threads (I think) have been recovered. Problem solved, but then the Info Tab Table Forum Count is lost in counting. It says I only have 19 but I have like 30+ Topics in my Table Forum, but it's not that annoying so it's all cool.
wolfmech Feb '17
HI there Frost, I have a question that I'm not too sure has already been answered so I'll just ask it again;
Why is it that bonus traits only go up to +3 and will there be an update to add more to them?

Anyway keep up the good work and hopefully I might see you on sometime.
shioshiro Feb '17
Greetings Frost, before i begin id like to express my gratitude towards you as well as the other developers of the site, this has been an amazing experience for me and i can't wait to play more!

that being said, i do have a few suggestions for the sites overall improvement:

maybe we could have a separate chatbox for the Rolls, Turns, and actions and a separate chatbox for narration and character interaction? its just that ive noticed and in a full table, the action and narration by the GM as well as the character interaction tends to flood the chatbox very quickly and it gets very confusing at some points

other than that maybe just a few more miniatures, but overall the site is amazing in and of itself.

thanks for hearing me out, and best of luck in your future endeavors!
lanesully15 Mar '17  /  edited Mar '17
Hey Frost,

First off, I never knew you were a UI Engineer on Netflix, Frost! That's really, really neat! Secondly, are there any more Battlemap tiles coming out in the near future?

Hope all is well,
Lanesully15
weeaboi Mar '17
@frost

I would like to know if this weebsite [jokes] will still get updates, its been a long time, i don't want to see this website die :(

weeaboi
frost Mar '17
@wolfmech, they only go up to +3 because that's already a huge bonus. Characters are more interesting with a variety of traits instead of maxing out a single one.

@shioshiro, thanks. Balancing out the OOC text with the story text is really difficult to do right, and something I put a lot of thought into with the current design. I'm quite happy with how it currently works. Some of the problems with a 2nd chat window are limited screen real estate, knowing how messages in each one line up, and splitting the user's focus.

@lanesully15, not in the near future, sorry.

@weeaboi, it will get updates again, but I can't promise any specific date. It already has a ton of features. I ran my RL campaigns with far less. I suggest being inventive with what you have, than to keep wishing you had more. Fabletop won't die for lack of updates -- only a lack of imagination. =)
avinash Mar '17
With all the recent bans, could you at least provide banned users with a reason on why they were banned?

This way, nobody has to go all "detective mode", and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place. Plus it would probably help them sleep at night, and there's a chance they might actually learn from their mistake.

Hell, maybe let them defend themselves. Misunderstandings are pretty common.
frost Mar '17
A majority of bans are alts, which makes it seem like more people are banned than is actually the case.

Also, I have spent time working one-on-one with people in the past, and unfortunately I found that it rarely works out. The same 2% of people cause 98% of the problems. Sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it's just a lack of maturity. Either way, it's hugely time consuming to try and "correct" complete strangers online. I already put literally years of my work online for people to enjoy for free. I think I at least deserve the benefit of the doubt, since I only ask that people follow very simple common sense rules.

I know it sucks to have players or GMs taken out of your gaming plans, but unfortunately, that's going to happen from time to time. The best thing to do is to set a good example and call members out when they are starting to cross the line, if you want to keep playing with them. If it gets to me, it's already too late.

Everything else regarding bans is very clearly written in the Code of Conduct.

Thanks!
daretobe Mar '17
So was the main page trimmed down? The top players list, and update log are gone. Its not that big of a deal if it was, but I know that a lot of new people have used the list to find me, follow people, and get a sense of the playerbase outside of the glade.
frost Mar '17
I removed the bottom section, because it very rarely changed. At this point I don't want to put a disproportionate amount of attention on a small group of players. I might add a separate page that lists players by pxp at some point, though.
oman1666 Mar '17
Just to note as well - if you're both a high xp player and an active host, postings in 'upcoming tables' are listed by pxp, so if you post there you'll still get the sense of the player
base - it even has a follow button
meltdonw14 Apr '17
Hey frost is it possible that player miniatures can be a little more customizable in the future?
avinash May '17
How'd you create Fabletop? Like what coding language did you use? Did you learn online? etc.
yummypancake May '17
Howdy Frost,
Is there gonna be a way so that we can have scenes saved on accounts instead of just browsers, so we don't have to always host from on place?
Would be really useful
nephilim May '17
Hey, Frost. I'm a returning player from quite a while back. Here are a few features that I think would help with the experience - any chance of them getting implemented?

* A way to save scenes with our accounts, along with UI to call them up with a click instead of using /list and then typing in the name. In particular, I'd love a way to group my saved scenes by adventure - I have a few canned adventures I can pull out, and right now, I'm "namespacing" them to keep them straight ("mines-entrance", "mines-cavern", etc.), which makes it even more tedious to type. Plus, I'll lose them if I move to another machine, which is bad.

* Similarly, it would be nice to be able to save and load the roster of miniatures, or save them with our scenes.

* A way to message your followers without posting your table. In particular, I'm thinking about messages like, "Tomorrow night, I'll be running a game."

* Some optional sound effects to help draw your attention to new developments, like when a guest enters or disconnects from your table, a new message comes in, etc. Nothing intrusive - just something quiet, like what you hear when chatting someone in a chat program, that can alert you to respond to something if you're over in another window. A little audio flourish when you roll a moon or a skull would be a nice addition, too.

* It would be cool to be able to tag a miniature with "Hidden" and have it be hidden from the players. This would be useful for setting up ambush encounters, hiding characters that are no longer in view, having some alternates waiting in the wings when we load a scene, etc. Alternatively, have more miniatures available to be predefined, so that it's not as time consuming to delete and place more minis than are available in the roster. Currently, this is a problem if, say, you have several named NPC's that you'll be using often, but you also want to get your enemies into your miniatures roster.

* A way to adjust text size up a little, at least in the chat window, for people with poor or aging eyesight.

* A link to your table's chat logs from your profile page. I'd remembered that the chat logs were saved, but it took me quite a while to find them, and I thought for a while that the feature had been removed entirely.

Anyway, great work. Love the system, and just about everything about the design of the tools and the features of the game mechanics.
crisisking22 May '17
Maybe optimized table music for mobile.
Moar minis! Like divers or more aliens.
thunderstar Jun '17
When can we expect the next update to fabletop with "GM defined traits," new minis, etc.?
archerboy102 Aug '17
Frost help me I'm addicted to this game ._.
deepestlore Aug '17
Hello, Frost! I would really like to hear your opinion on fabletop.com/forum/topic/8455.1/on-core-philosophy...

tl;dr Do you feel like the intent behind the site is being dismissed in favour of a different paradigm (serious preparation in house-rules and lore as opposed to light, core mechanics and hit'n'run roleplaying?)
frost Aug '17
@deepestlore, thanks, I just responded to that thread.
deepestlore Aug '17
Thank you! If you don't mind, I did write up a bit more, so it would be cool if you checked it out.
matthieu Aug '17
Do you think you'll be adding to the charcter sheet? Things like armor? and a way it affects attacks?
solbor Aug '17
@matthieu Stuff like equipment and their abilities are usually pasted into the notes section of the sheet. More often than not that is sufficient for game purposes!
seanisaswom May '18
hey frost! whats the exact header size.
greywolf1600 May '18
Hey, what would one do if hoping to become a little more popular? And also, I could use some campaign ideas. But I posted something for that anyways.
thegobbler Aug '18
how is it seeing fabletop become what it is today and what do you hope for fabletop to achieve in the future ?
greyline Oct '18
Are you thinking of adding more mobile support or an app for mobile users?
greyline Oct '18
Are you thinking of adding more mobile support or an app for mobile users?
florenceano Jan '19
Hi frost. Im florenceano. Kinda newbish but I think I am doing a fine job at Gming. I do have a few questions and requests.

1. Will we keep our automatic premium memberships when the game moves out of Beta?
2. What are the perks of being a premium?
3. Could you add a feature to the minis where you can give them a hairstyle and/or hair color? One of the two would be great.
4. Can you add more dice systems besides d21 and dstar?
5. Will there be changes to battlemat customization because for my current campaign, I need some specific features for my battlemats.
6. How do people becomes trustees or moderators around here?
7. What are your plans for fabletop in the future?
8. Finally, is there a table limit for the homepage?

You can answer some questions with just Yes or No to save time.
frost Jan '19
Thanks for your questions... :)

@matthieu I have thought a Defense stat would be useful, but I'm worried that it would slow down combat resolution by enough that it might not be worth it.

@thegobbler Fabletop is still quite small, but I'm glad it has an active following. I haven't really decided what is next, to be honest. :)

@greyline If/when I work on a new iteration of the site, it will be more mobile friendly. A standalone app is kind of unlikely, due to the time involved.

@florenceano

1. There's a good chance that it will just be free for everyone, with the caveat that updates will continue to be infrequent.
3. I'd like to add more color options, but I'm not sure about hair.
4. The tricky part of adding more dice options is that a lot of other features are needed to support e.g. d20 style rpgs. It is also sort of counter to the core philosophy of simplicity.
6. Right now it is mostly based on reputation and maturity level. I think we have enough mods for the time being.
7. I'd like to just update the design to scale to different screen sizes, including mobile.
8. Sorry, I don't understand your question.
alkwyzheir Jan '19
What @florenceano is asking is, how many ongoing tables can be posted in the main page?
wwtall1 Jan '19
Weird question, but how is this site hosted? Are you basically paying rent, or do you have it on a machine in your house somewhere?

asking because it popped into my head reading through this.
rutniuf Aug '19
Do you have anything in mind that will make it easier to make a custom battlemats? (e.g. rotation feature, where you click a button and the battlemat just rotate 90 degrees)
maxy Sep '19
Would you be willing to accept suggestions for miniatures? With sprites provided.
frost Oct '19
@wwtall1, it is hosted on a third-party server that I pay monthly for.

@rutniuf, it's already pretty easy, but rotation is a feasible idea.

@maxy, there is a thread elsewhere in the forum for miniature suggestions.
gongrath Oct '19
Hey, Frost, why haven't you followed me back on Twitter? I'm @gongrath.
oman1666 Oct '19
A 90 degree rotation feature would be amazing. I don't know why, but my instinct when making scenes is to have the party start at the bottom of the mat and fight towards the top (possibly because players are listed at the bottom and minis spawn by default on the northern edge of the board). I've lost track of the number of times I've built a scene like that, and then thought 'hang on, the party are currently travelling west, this is all wrong'
rutniuf Oct '19  /  edited Apr '24
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penguein Oct '19
Hey frosty, is there a way to make it so that the dice colour doesnt reset every time we restart fabletop and that our dice colours are saved on each table and dont change on all tables everytime we adjust them?
elderprince Nov '19
Hey frost! When can we expect Fabletop beta to be complete? What's the next step, if so?
jorahm May '20
Hey frost. First of all, great idea, this whole thing. Also, I was wondering if there could be, or if you could add, a toggel for sensorship of swearing in the tables. As some people, me and friends included, swear to give more feel to the game and immersion. Even if not, brilliant game regardless. Thanks!
oman1666 May '20
In the top corner of the Fabletop Mat, is a character sheet, pencil and some dice, as well as a green cylinder. What is this object? A few of us have had a debate about this, arguing soda can vs dice cup. Please settle this.
bustamark Jun '20
Do you know how to teleport
alkwyzheir Jun '20
What is your experience in roleplaying? (DnD, roll21, fabletop, etc, etc.)
tarasrex Mar '24
Hey Frost, are you still active on fabletop and are you planning to keep developing this website, or have you moved on to other projects? Should we expect any updates at all? Is there any roadmap for us to see? Tell us about your plans please
frost Apr '24
@oman1666: It's a can of Mountain Kewl!

@bustamark: I know how, but I'm unable to actually do it.

@alkwyzheir I started playing D&D around like 1983, and played most of the major RPGs from the 80's. More recently, I run my own rule systems, but I read a lot of other rulebooks for inspiration.

@tarasrex: I have mostly moved on to other projects, but I will probably re-think Fabletop in the next year or so, as it relates to another RPG project I've been working on.
tarasrex Jun '24
Thank you for your answer, Frost. Can you please tell us more about your RPG project you've been working on? Also, personally, I am very interested in what are your general thoughts on the current state Fabletop.
theratgod Jul '24
Heya Frost. Do you have a Discord that we could join? Curious.

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