Almost There... Stay on Target!
over 9 years ago
– Sun, Feb 01, 2015 at 06:37:25 AM
Hail and well met Backers,
Unlimited Tabletop (UTT) and d20Pro Ultimate
The UTT Architecture is solidifying and the Rules System API is taking shape. The new Virtual Tabletop proper is also coming together well and is being built from inception to embrace mulituser + multitouch in addition to full support for mouse + keyboard as well. JavaFX has been a great experience for rapid development and should be a marvelous environment for gamer/devs around the world to extend or build entirely new tabletop experiences.
Han will have that shield down...
The UTT project has built considerable momentum and well on its way to meeting or exceeding our mutual expectations. I just need a little more time before it's ready for your scrutiny. Thus I must push the schedule out by a month:
- Early Dev Access -> End of February
- Early Gamer Access -> End of March
- All Backer Access -> End of April
Thank-you for your patience. I assure you that the UTT platform and the d20Pro Ultimate System are right around the corner and am exploding with excitement to deliver it.
d20Pro Classic & Marketplace
Release Candidate 2 of d20Pro Classic (v3.4.2) is now available off the forums and will be in wide release next week.
And we are still hard at work on the Kickstarter content for the Marketplace. Here is what what's new since the last update:
Many of the improvements that went into v3.4 have been to expedite creation and publishing of Marketplace content. So expect to see an improved rate of addition for the MonkeyBlood Design Maps, the rest of the ArcKnight content, and the massive Crawl II.
Please stay tuned for the February update. It will be massive!
Best regards and good gaming,
Mat Morton ~ GM Thraxxis
2015: the Year of Unlimited!
over 9 years ago
– Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 03:42:14 PM
Hail and well met Backers,
First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! 2015 promises to be exceptional as we pour a combination of unprecedented experience and resources into making the best possible solution for all your tabletop gaming needs.
Introducing the Unlimited Tabletop (UTT)
As we've mentioned frequently, the d20Pro Unlimited Kickstarter was about way more than supercharging d20 style games. And it goes way beyond other RPGs as well. Our mission will not be considered complete until we have provided the worldwide gaming community with a robust, affordable, and accessible platform for playing any dice, card, board, or role-playing game.
This platform now has a name "Unlimited Tabletop" and will be frequently referred to by the acronym UTT. Just to share a glimpse of what we have in store, allow me to define the following concepts. We'll be going into full detail in the months to come as things fully flesh out.
Session - the UTT platform allows you to create a new Session or resume a prior Session. Gamers holding a UTT Full License will be able to host a Session and other gamers may join this session as Guests. A Session is bound to a System.
System - a System defines what a given Session looks like and how it behaves. The future incarnation of d20Pro will be as a System for playing d20 style RPGs. Or suppose someone wanted to play Checkers on UTT, they would create a System for that. Official Systems will be available on the Unlimited Marketplace as well as unofficial Systems that can be shared directly within a given community. If you are a developer and want to extend an existing System or create your own game from scratch, this will be your infinite playground.
Universe - the Universe is an abstract data model that stores all the data and metadata about the Session. The System will discover and interact with this data as needed. For an RPG System like d20Pro, think of the Universe as your Campaign that contains everything in your game world. A Universe is a way to organize Spaces.
Space - the Space is where the virtual world manifests. UTT will provide an incredibly rich environment for rendering and interacting with the Space. For a System like d20Pro, think of a Space as a Map. For non RPG Systems, like a card or board game, there is likely to only be one Space in play and it will represent the entire playable area.
This is meant to be a quick introduction and I'm sure you have many questions - especially those how have early Developer Access! Over the last two months we have been meeting continually and documenting the system. More information will be unveiled soon!
d20Pro Ultimate
As mentioned above, the future of d20Pro will manifest as a System for the UTT. A good number of gamers out there have used the term "d20Pro Ultimate" and we really like it. Our goal is to build the ultimate solution for augmenting your RPG games.
The d20Pro Ultimate System will be included with the UTT Platform and its source code fully open sourced. In addition to being incredible to use "out of the box" we expect this to foster a rich development environment where gamer-developers around the globe will use this code base as a springboard for creating Systems that we haven't even imagined yet.
d20Pro Classic
The current incarnation of d20Pro, previously referred to as "d20Pro Legacy" is now known as "d20Pro Classic". One of our gamers referred to it as "Classic" and we really liked the connotation. The long awaited v3.4 release is now available as a Release Candidate on the forums. Early adopters can check it out now. Otherwise it will be in wide release later this month.
The "Crawl II" Tiles Now Available
A sprawling collection of high quality tiles and geomorphs are now on the Marketplace and available to everyone how purchased Gen Con Content. Look for them in Map Tile Sets category. They will be made publicly available in the near future.
Make sure you have at least 1 gigabyte of memory allocated to d20Pro as these tiles are 150dpi. We will look at releasing scaled down version in the future for those who prefer response over detail.
Here is an example map fabricated from a small portion of the tiles available:
Introducing "The Cloak and Stagger" Tavern
This the legendary tavern where The Crawl contestants join every year to be teleported to the every mutating dungeon, and where spectators view the action through various scrying mechanisms. All backers who purchased Gen Con Content will find this map ready for download in the Fantasy Maps category on the Marketplace. It will be made available to the public at large soon.
This is Only the Beginning
Please stay tuned for more content updates, the official v3.4 Classic release, and of course the bright future of d20Pro Ultimate on the Unlimited Tabletop!
Best regards and good gaming,
Mat Morton ~ GM Thraxxis
Good Gaming and Season's Greetings
over 9 years ago
– Fri, Jan 02, 2015 at 02:30:23 PM
Hail and well met Backers,
This Fall has been spent mostly getting all our proverbial ducks in a row. And I'm both honored and humbled to report that I left my position building financial software and am now 100% focused on delivering on the ambition set forth by the d20Pro Unlimited Kickstarter. After over a decade of night and weekends, d20Pro will now finally see full-time development. Mesa Mundi continues to be an exceptional partner and the future of gaming is looking brighter by the minute.
d20Pro Unlimited
A combination of years of research and a fresh jolt are paying off. The overall software architecture and corresponding design language are coalescing during a series of daily meetings with my fellow architects. There's no big reveal just yet; however, at this time I feel confident that we are on schedule to deliver rewards starting in January of next year with the Developer Early Access, followed by Early Access to the new app in February, and all Backers in March. Needless to say the first several months of 2015 will be extremely busy for my team.
Unlimited Prints
The limited edition run of numbered and signed "Unlimited Worlds" prints have been shipped to various locations around the United States. Here is the artist and longtime friend of d20Pro, Monte Michael Moore showing off the finished product.
Look for yours in the mail this week or next. This collector's series was limited to thirty. Thank-you for immortalizing the dawn of the Unlimited Tabletop with this stunning piece.
Gen Con Content
A good number of the products will be reaching the d20Pro Marketplace soon. Everyone who ordered Gen Con Content will gain access to them all. Look for full details in the upcoming end-of-year update. In the meantime, we need your help:
Every annual Crawl begins in the same tavern. Think of it as a medieval sports bar where patrons go to watch the contestants meet their fates. This tavern needs a proper name. If you have an idea for a good name, please post it in the comments for this update. We'll pick the best name available and ship it with the Crawl II product.
Here is the tavern map to be named by a backer. Toss your vote into the comments now! =)
d20Pro Legacy
The vastly improved v3.4 is almost ready for production and will be out by end of year. In the meantime, a stable Beta is available on the d20Pro forums. Among many enhancements, Map creation now goes through a powerful and streamlined wizard. We think you'll love this enhancement whether you are new to d20Pro or a 10 year veteran.
That's all for now. Look for one more update this year with updates on the above and some sneak peaks at Unlimited.
Best regards and good gaming,
Mat Morton ~ GM Thraxxis
Marketplace Content & Software News
almost 10 years ago
– Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 06:17:32 AM
Hail and well met Backers,
I hope everyone's 2014 is coming to a close on an upbeat note. Here are some recent developments to hopefully tide you over. I intend to post a more detailed update before the end of the year. 2015 is going to be the Year of Unlimited and this renaissance wouldn't be happening at all without your support. Thank-you, and looking forward to future updates.
Marketplace Update
Since the prior update, the following products are now available for download. If you purchased any of this content and it's not available for free download, please contact us.
3.5 Monster Manual (Core Books)
- The 3.5 Monster Manual is available for Backers to download but not publicly available yet. If you purchased in as an Add-On please run d20Pro and check the "Core Books" category and you should find it there.
Devin Night Complete (Overhead Tokens)
Adventure a Week (Pathfinder Adventure)
The MonkeyBlood Design Maps, the ArcKnight maps & content, the Scrying Eye ships, and of course the Gen Con 2014 content are coming soon. All products will be compatible with d20Pro Legacy and then d20Pro Unlimited as well.
d20Pro Legacy
Significantly improved over its v3.3 predecessor, the v3.4 release is slated for early December. Please stay tuned for release details. We hope the bevvy of upgrades and fixes will keep you in gaming goodness while we crank on Unlimited.
The v3.4 Beta is installer is still available on our forums. Please give it a try, especially if you've had any problems with Java.
d20Pro Unlimited
In depth architecture and design work has commenced on the Unlimited Tabletop and its flagship plugin, d20Pro. While we still have a lot of work to go before we start revealing technical details of the API to the Early Access Devs in January, I am really confident with how things are coalescing.
In our design meetings we talk about playing the ultimate game of D&D and in the same breath consider how that same "machinery" will also support a game of Checkers. Although revealed our intention is to build the world's best full-featured virtual tabletop for RPGs, Unlimited is also being painstakingly devised from the ground up to power your favorite card, dice, and board games too.
2015 is going to be such an awesome year for gaming. I'll post again before 2014 is over with more news.
Best regards and good gaming,
Mat ~ GM Thraxxis
Legacy Licenses and Initial Marketplace Content
almost 10 years ago
– Sun, Nov 02, 2014 at 02:32:14 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
