D&D General Shocked how hard it is to get new players now-a-days

[TheSword]

It is more than possible to build relationships with online methods. They're not the same as face to face ones, but they're still relationships. In some regards they're simpler and probably more focussed on the gaming than all the other stuff.

In fact in gaming terms we probably have less messing about than face to face because people are naturally more respectful of the person talking.

 

[TheSword]

Indeed. And it works fine for most of the things I use it for, which generally aren't all that demanding.

My view is that a computer should be similar to a car or appliance in terms of how it ages. A 1966 Falcon might not have all the mod cons but it can still drive down the road just the same as it always has and in nearly all cases keep up with the flow of traffic just fine. An oven built in the 1950s again might not have all the fancy modern bells and whistles but still does the job, and odds are it's far more robustly built - and therefore long-term reliable - than anything you can get today.

Most of those functions can be done with considerably lower-grade tech and some, e.g. simple household document-keeping, word processing, etc. can be adequately done with an offline computer from 25 years ago provided its hard drive still functions.

Games are the big tech-driver; I can live without those, and if online VTTs want to go that high-tech route I guess I'll live without those too.

Specs for something like Roll20 or Foundry are pretty low. Its just a browser for most folks. I haven't changed my laptop for many years.

 

[payn]

One of the primary appeals of D&D (and RPG-ing in general) is that in the end it's a very inexpensive hobby.

Having to lay down $1000+ for new tech just to play it kinda blows "inexpensive" right out of the water.

That, and I refuse to get on the treadmill that Big Tech has set up, where (in their ideal world) incremental "improvement", usually to software, forces us all to buy new tech every few years just to keep up even when the functional lifespan of the machinery is far longer.

Its like the 90's never ended around here sometimes.

 

[Gorck]

How far are you willing to drive to get to a weekly live group? Twenty miles? Fifty? A hundred???

Personally, I would measure it in minutes rather than miles. For instance, before Covid, my wife used to drive into her office in Cambridge, MA (a distance of 25 miles). Most days that would amount to a 3 hour round trip. Luckily she has been able to continue working from home even after the lockdown ended. That’s why I was reluctant to drive down to Somerville (which is next door to Cambridge) for a D&D group because I know I’d be stuck in ungodly traffic.

 

[Hussar]

Good god. An hour and a half to drive 25 miles?!? Yikes.

 

[CleverNickName]

Good god. An hour and a half to drive 25 miles?!? Yikes.

One of my job sites is only 25 miles away, but takes about 50 minutes to drive to on a good day.

 

[tetrasodium]

My view is that a computer should be similar to a car or appliance in terms of how it ages.

That has never been true of computers.

A 1966 Falcon might not have all the mod cons but it can still drive down the road just the same as it always has and in nearly all cases keep up with the flow of traffic just fine. An oven built in the 1950s again might not have all the fancy modern bells and whistles but still does the job, and odds are it's far more robustly built - and therefore long-term reliable - than anything you can get today.

Most of those functions can be done with considerably lower-grade tech and some, e.g. simple household document-keeping, word processing, etc. can be adequately done with an offline computer from 25 years ago provided its hard drive still functions.

Games are the big tech-driver; I can live without those, and if online VTTs want to go that high-tech route I guess I'll live without those too.

a 10 year old computer is more like a model T or a model A than anything from the 50s. Things quickly progress from there towards ancient one off steam powered contraptions & beyond.

VTTs are not in any way a thing that was really an option with old PCs though. Put in perspective though, Roll20 is only 12 years old & could trivially make a potato cry back then even without any of the modern stuff added like dynamic lighting & such.

Most modern VTTs don't exactly need a gaming rig but they have fairly decent system requirements... That means a budget box from 3-5 years ago is quite possibly a low end potato that will have trouble as the bells and whistles are turned on. The surface table d&d techdemo might have been one of the most impressive VTTs to date, but you've got to put that into perspective with the fact that a surface table had a price tag that wasn't too far from a (new?) car at the time.

You don't need a computer with a 3 digit price tag though, a family member of mine recently picked up a pretty decent refurbished laptop off newegg for like 200-300$ that is more than capable of running most every vtt other than maybe wotc's top end alienware vtt.

 

[CleverNickName]

Roll20 will run on anything that can run a web browser. One of my players is a private contractor, and he travels a lot for work. Occasionally has to join our game via his cell phone and hotel wifi, and even he doesn't have issues.

 

[Lanefan]

Good god. An hour and a half to drive 25 miles?!? Yikes.

No need to drive 25 miles around here, but half an hour to drive 5 miles is pretty much normal during the day.

 

[Lanefan]

That has never been true of computers.

In no small part because they're designed that way. Planned obsolescence is very much a thing, and I don't seen any need to support that paradigm.

Most modern VTTs don't exactly need a gaming rig but they have fairly decent system requirements... That means a budget box from 3-5 years ago is quite possibly a low end potato that will have trouble as the bells and whistles are turned on.

Which is awful.

My take is that until-unless something simply wears out because I've used it too much, I should never have to buy another one. Further, things should be built with longevity and reliability in mind; and that something breaking should be seen as a source of shame for the company that made it rather than a source of revenue.

You don't need a computer with a 3 digit price tag though, a family member of mine recently picked up a pretty decent refurbished laptop off newegg for like 200-300$ ...

Err...200-300 is a 3-digit price tag.

That, and refurbished items are cheaper for a reason; that reason being they've already broken once and thus have already shown the lack of quality in their construction.