I'm not sure they can provide API's. Too much of a security issue. People could export compendium content out potentially (ie monsters, magic items, etc). I'd be happy to pay a separate sub fee for VTT from DnDBeyond.com.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to see Virtual Table Top like no other before it built within DnDBeyond.com? Upvote the feature request. It's 2nd highest voted so far:
NOTE: You will need to setup a zendesk account (which is not your DnDBeyond.com account, the team uses this 3rd party software). It's easy to do and your votes are needed!
That wold be a huge disappointment. They'll likely not make a VTT - and if they did it's years away. They don't seem to have any interest at all with tracking campaign details .. so not having an API cuts off the legs of the potential of Beyond (as with prior iterations of D&D tools - never tapping into their full potential)
They have acknowledged the idea in prior monthly vids.. but I haven't been following lately - so I wasn't sure if they've commented lately
Public facing APIs are a hard thing to manage because as Envaris pointed out, you need to prevent people scraping data, or even making excessive database queries through poorly implemented scripts. They also need to provide secure authentication methods using their current login providers (google/twitch) that are safe enough to maintain user security. Basically they'd have to idiot proof it, and idiot proofing takes a lot of work. Considering that the number of users that'd actually leverage would likely be low, it probably ranks quite low on the RoI scale as far as assigning devs to it.
I took a look at Talespire and I must admit it looks very nice so far. I think if they and DnDBeyond worked together they could produce an exceptional VTT tool for D&D. As a game developer myself, I tend to see the potential in products and games and am often disappointed when they do not achieve what they could. Even if they don't tie in DnDBeyond, using the two in conjunction could make for some great play sessions if Talespire turns out to be what they are shooting for.
I'd love to see DDB build a VTT, but also understand that it requires an enormous amount of development time to even alpha. However, if that point ever arrived, I'd most likely subscribe.
This idea would be so great now. I have access to a bunch of resources here that I won't have access to for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds (PHB, DM manual, monsters guide, supplement books....).
I took a look at Talespire and I must admit it looks very nice so far. I think if they and DnDBeyond worked together they could produce an exceptional VTT tool for D&D. As a game developer myself, I tend to see the potential in products and games and am often disappointed when they do not achieve what they could. Even if they don't tie in DnDBeyond, using the two in conjunction could make for some great play sessions if Talespire turns out to be what they are shooting for.
I must be one of the few who don't like the look of Talespire all that much. I feel like you would hit a creative wall as a DM very quickly using that since custom assets would be difficult to make for the average person, and players would disengage the imagination because the visuals are so compelling, meaning any details not displayed will be forgotten. Even using all the majesty of the internet, it's quite common that I do not find an artist's representation of the area my players are in (no one drew the thing I need). Comparing that to the limited nature of the Talespire art assets. It seems a bit sad.
Maybe in the future, if people are allowed to make and share custom assets for free or for small fees (like the nexus/workshop for Skyrim) it will become something more appealing.
I agree 100% with incorporating a VTT into DnD Beyond. It's the future and I would suggest they spend the vast majority of their time developing a VTT.
If they don't soon, they risk losing folks like me to Roll 20.
I just found a new VTT nearing its release called FoundryVTT and if DDB was to emulate something, that seems like something to draw inspiration from. A lot of neat little things without making things beyond the scope of a laymen's ability.
I never said D&D Beyond was owned by Wizards. Business, however, goes beyond such trivial things as ownership. Deals are where it's at! Mixing the resources that D&D Beyond already has with with a VTT would be a game changer (including with revenue).
I'm sure Wizards could say "Hey...so do you think that you could put this on your 'next up' list? There's a lot of people at home, and we could really capitalize on this right now." Let's be honest, it probably wouldn't even be in question form.
I never said D&D Beyond was owned by Wizards. Business, however, goes beyond such trivial things as ownership. Deals are where it's at! Mixing the resources that D&D Beyond already has with with a VTT would be a game changer (including with revenue).
I'm sure Wizards could say "Hey...so do you think that you could put this on your 'next up' list? There's a lot of people at home, and we could really capitalize on this right now." Let's be honest, it probably wouldn't even be in question form.
Ownership is not trivial. Ownership is a big deal in business. Ownership matters for taxation, how profit is divided, legal liability, regulations, and a whole host of other things. Things are not as simple as "Hey, let us make a deal!" and products will automatically pop into existence. Because Wizards and Beyond are separate entities, there are added complications involved that the public will not see.
For another example, even with Disney finally acquiring substantial portions of Fox, Disney still has not announced anything concrete regarding putting X-Men into the MCU. And that is with much of Marvel's film licensing finally being back under one corporation.
The problem with Roll20 is Nolan. He does not want white males. He is the biggest issue with Roll20 bar none. As long as he is a co-owner o fRoll20 I will not spend one red cent on the service. Don't get me wrong, the service itself is solid, but with Nolan's attitude I just won't use it.
The Fantasy Ground UI sucks. I started using FG years ago, or tried to at least, for use with Rolemaster. None of my players liek the UI. Every once in a while I look at it again and even with the new version in Beta, the UI iwsn't all the different from the original.
I am currently following VTT's such as Astral, but it has its fair share of issues at this time.
I keep praying that DnDBeyond will start putting more resources into a VTT. From what they have done to date with their site they would do a great job as long as WotC doesn't mess them up.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
As I said, the issue is not with the website and it's services but with its management and the co-founder Nolan T. Jones. Despite all the controversy Nolan NEVER issue a public, or even a private (as far as I have been able to discover, apology for his actions on behalf of his company. To even use Roll 20 is to condone Nolan's actions; whether you pay for it or not (in my opinion).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
As I said, the issue is not with the website and it's services but with its management and the co-founder Nolan T. Jones. Despite all the controversy Nolan NEVER issue a public, or even a private (as far as I have been able to discover, apology for his actions on behalf of his company. To even use Roll 20 is to condone Nolan's actions; whether you pay for it or not (in my opinion).
I mean the banning controversy is pretty dull as it is, and one of the links you’re provided gives an apology.
Tbh can’t help but feel a lot of entitlement around the white guys making their incredibly long winded videos about how they’re the best around and Roll20 made poor business decisions ditching them. Maybe this Nolan guy had bad intent, maybe it’s been blown out of proportion or his words have been twisted or misinterpreted (their videos make it sound like they waited two years?). Who knows.
I'm not sure they can provide API's. Too much of a security issue. People could export compendium content out potentially (ie monsters, magic items, etc). I'd be happy to pay a separate sub fee for VTT from DnDBeyond.com.
Want to see Virtual Table Top like no other before it built within DnDBeyond.com? Upvote the feature request. It's 2nd highest voted so far:
https://dndbeyond.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115008597088-Virtual-Tabletop-Gameboard
NOTE: You will need to setup a zendesk account (which is not your DnDBeyond.com account, the team uses this 3rd party software). It's easy to do and your votes are needed!
That wold be a huge disappointment. They'll likely not make a VTT - and if they did it's years away.
They don't seem to have any interest at all with tracking campaign details .. so not having an API cuts off the legs of the potential of Beyond (as with prior iterations of D&D tools - never tapping into their full potential)
They have acknowledged the idea in prior monthly vids.. but I haven't been following lately - so I wasn't sure if they've commented lately
Public facing APIs are a hard thing to manage because as Envaris pointed out, you need to prevent people scraping data, or even making excessive database queries through poorly implemented scripts. They also need to provide secure authentication methods using their current login providers (google/twitch) that are safe enough to maintain user security. Basically they'd have to idiot proof it, and idiot proofing takes a lot of work. Considering that the number of users that'd actually leverage would likely be low, it probably ranks quite low on the RoI scale as far as assigning devs to it.
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I took a look at Talespire and I must admit it looks very nice so far. I think if they and DnDBeyond worked together they could produce an exceptional VTT tool for D&D. As a game developer myself, I tend to see the potential in products and games and am often disappointed when they do not achieve what they could. Even if they don't tie in DnDBeyond, using the two in conjunction could make for some great play sessions if Talespire turns out to be what they are shooting for.
Dungeons and Dragons, yep.
"I say we eat their brains!"
Making and playing games my whole life.
I'd love to see DDB build a VTT, but also understand that it requires an enormous amount of development time to even alpha. However, if that point ever arrived, I'd most likely subscribe.
This idea would be so great now. I have access to a bunch of resources here that I won't have access to for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds (PHB, DM manual, monsters guide, supplement books....).
A VTT is on the list of planned features (https://trello.com/b/vIKxuEs8/dd-beyond-feature-roadmap), but please don't necro threads
I would say the Microsoft Whiteboard adds an essential live, shared mapping feature to use with the Avrae bot.
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I must be one of the few who don't like the look of Talespire all that much. I feel like you would hit a creative wall as a DM very quickly using that since custom assets would be difficult to make for the average person, and players would disengage the imagination because the visuals are so compelling, meaning any details not displayed will be forgotten. Even using all the majesty of the internet, it's quite common that I do not find an artist's representation of the area my players are in (no one drew the thing I need). Comparing that to the limited nature of the Talespire art assets. It seems a bit sad.
Maybe in the future, if people are allowed to make and share custom assets for free or for small fees (like the nexus/workshop for Skyrim) it will become something more appealing.
I agree 100% with incorporating a VTT into DnD Beyond. It's the future and I would suggest they spend the vast majority of their time developing a VTT.
If they don't soon, they risk losing folks like me to Roll 20.
Peace
I just found a new VTT nearing its release called FoundryVTT and if DDB was to emulate something, that seems like something to draw inspiration from. A lot of neat little things without making things beyond the scope of a laymen's ability.
And now, in the midst of COVID-19, how nice would this be! You're missing out on a lot of revenue right now, Wizards.
Wizards doesn't own D&D Beyond, so I'm not sure they're missing out on revenue...
They do license D&D to existing VTTs though, so when the VTT makes money, Wizards makes money.
I never said D&D Beyond was owned by Wizards. Business, however, goes beyond such trivial things as ownership. Deals are where it's at! Mixing the resources that D&D Beyond already has with with a VTT would be a game changer (including with revenue).
I'm sure Wizards could say "Hey...so do you think that you could put this on your 'next up' list? There's a lot of people at home, and we could really capitalize on this right now." Let's be honest, it probably wouldn't even be in question form.
Ownership is not trivial. Ownership is a big deal in business. Ownership matters for taxation, how profit is divided, legal liability, regulations, and a whole host of other things. Things are not as simple as "Hey, let us make a deal!" and products will automatically pop into existence. Because Wizards and Beyond are separate entities, there are added complications involved that the public will not see.
For another example, even with Disney finally acquiring substantial portions of Fox, Disney still has not announced anything concrete regarding putting X-Men into the MCU. And that is with much of Marvel's film licensing finally being back under one corporation.
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The problem with Roll20 is Nolan. He does not want white males. He is the biggest issue with Roll20 bar none. As long as he is a co-owner o fRoll20 I will not spend one red cent on the service. Don't get me wrong, the service itself is solid, but with Nolan's attitude I just won't use it.
The Fantasy Ground UI sucks. I started using FG years ago, or tried to at least, for use with Rolemaster. None of my players liek the UI. Every once in a while I look at it again and even with the new version in Beta, the UI iwsn't all the different from the original.
I am currently following VTT's such as Astral, but it has its fair share of issues at this time.
I keep praying that DnDBeyond will start putting more resources into a VTT. From what they have done to date with their site they would do a great job as long as WotC doesn't mess them up.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I'm using roll20, but I refuse to give them any money. The moment D&DBeyond release any usable version of their VTT, I'm switching over
I mean, use whichever program you want but I'm pretty sure there's no need to kick up controversy?... Unless I've missed something.
These are just a few articles I found using the search terms on Google: roll20 nolan controversy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Roll20/comments/9jk65h/a_chronicle_of_the_roll20_controversy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZJHAywQFm0
https://dungeonmongrel.wordpress.com/2018/09/28/on-the-current-roll20-fiasco/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK-H0dDeG38
https://popcultureuncovered.com/2018/09/26/roll20-shows-how-not-to-handle-social-media-complaints/
As I said, the issue is not with the website and it's services but with its management and the co-founder Nolan T. Jones. Despite all the controversy Nolan NEVER issue a public, or even a private (as far as I have been able to discover, apology for his actions on behalf of his company. To even use Roll 20 is to condone Nolan's actions; whether you pay for it or not (in my opinion).
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I mean the banning controversy is pretty dull as it is, and one of the links you’re provided gives an apology.
Tbh can’t help but feel a lot of entitlement around the white guys making their incredibly long winded videos about how they’re the best around and Roll20 made poor business decisions ditching them. Maybe this Nolan guy had bad intent, maybe it’s been blown out of proportion or his words have been twisted or misinterpreted (their videos make it sound like they waited two years?). Who knows.
In my own digging I found Web DM’s comments which seem to suggest it was overblown https://twitter.com/therealjimdavis/status/1045758920969646081?s=21