SketchUp & Hirst molds

[vooood]

I did some playing with Google SketchUp 6 and got a lot of Hirst molds that I got from the google 3d warehouse.

Check out the result in the attachments and let me know what you think!

It took me less than 2 minutes to create a room as all 3D models are already done and prepared to be used in building stuff like this..

I use maps like these for my Play By Post games. You can create virtually anything (there are a lot of free models online) and export the images with nice effects that really deepen the atmosphere of dungeons and gaming in general..

[RobA]

I've always likes the "sketchy" rendering mode that is available.

Ars you using the free version, or the pay version to do these?

-Rob A>

[vooood]

I've always likes the "sketchy" rendering mode that is available.

Ars you using the free version, or the pay version to do these?

-Rob A>

Everything you see on that picture is free..

[pyrandon]

Yet another post convincing me I need to play with this application a bit more!!!!! Wel done, vooood!

[vooood]

i took some time and rebuilt the whole stuff.. lowered the walls so 5' wide corridors are more visible.. i don't have the stuff on this PC but i'll post it tomorrow so you see what i managed to do..

my idea is not to use these maps as whole but only parts of them - images of rooms, corridors, chambers, locales, etc as the party advances through the adventure.. that is why it's 3D..

experience shows that these kind of maps are mostly usable in online play by post games.. but they can be used in any real time game (be it online chat, voice, or real play at the table) as a quick reference to how a place looks..

sketchup offers a ton of free models for use online so you can virtually do whatever you want and present it to your players.. for example i found a model of a fox and placed it lying in one of the rooms.. the party was totally amazed by the dead fox and it turned out to be a great adventure hook.. when i tried to use the same trick at the table with the same party they almost completely ignored a dead animal..

it's not a rule but tricks and visual things can improve a game by a lot..

at this time i'm experimenting with sound and sound processing software so the players can also listen to their environment..

be aware that all this can take a lot of time for a "newbie" who has no experience with all the tools.. but if you have the time and will, go ahead and learn to use these tools (more on what else i use later).. your players will really enjoy it all.. and their enjoyment is our (DMs') enjoyment, too!

as a side note: i'm currently running one campaign that is only play by post on my own forum and the gameplay goes on all the time.. i'm a software developer so i'm at my pc most of the day and it allows me to advance the campaign all the time.. i "lose" around an hour and a half each day for d&d activities - including typing on the forum, reading the books, drawing, or creating the sounds..

[Badger]

I played PBP for a number of years, while its fun and entertaining I found it to be incredibly slow... and for those who have never played a PBP game... when I say slow, I don't mean slow... I mean ..... S - L - O - W ....but I enjoyed running PBP games immensly ... it turns out however, that I am a really bad PBP GM/Player as my RL usually interfere's and it could take me weeks sometimes before I could get something posted....

I've been a GM for over 20 years... and I've found that visuals do improve a game... especially if its something you can give the players to hold ... a map or a visual aid of some sort.. it gets them involved... and I never really used sound to help in gaming, but when I would run some of the Horror RPG's like CoC or Ravenloft... I would produce my own sound effects while standing up and walking around the table as I GM'd ... it was incredibly effective, especially if you use it to scare a player... with today's software and ever advancing gadgets like Ipods and the like... these are now even more interesting ways to improve a game...

oh, and the fox idea... great stuff... I wonder if it will work in my TT game when I throw this dead racoon I found on the road onto the middle of the table... think it will work??... lol