Battlegrounds: RPG Edition (BRPG) 1.4i

Battlegrounds: RPG Edition (BRPG) 1.4i is a useful program designed to provide you with all the tools you need to conduct a role-playing game session: a battlemap - with an optional hexgrid or square grid - on which to place and move your digital miniatures and props, a virtual dice roller with both standard and polyhedral dice, text chat functions, and a Fog-of-War feature that lets you gradually reveal the game map as the players explore.

BRPG can be played online with up to 15 players plus the Game Master. It can also be used offline in face-to-face game sessions (with a projector or HDTV), essentially serving as a digital battlemat.

Battlegrounds is easy to use, cross-platform (Mac OS X and Windows), and supports roleplaying in any genre and with any RPG rules system. It can even be used to play some boardgames and light wargames.

Major Features:

1. CROSS-PLATFORM: Supports Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, and Mac OS X 10.1.5 or better. Sorry, no Unix/Linux version. Buy the program once and use it on any supported platform - no need to buy the Mac and Windows versions separately. Interface elements (such as buttons, sliders, popup menus, etc.) look native to the OS it's running on, even if you are using a custom desktop theme (hint: this is a quick and easy way to "skin" the software, perhaps with the intent of reflecting your game's genre).
2. EASY TO LEARN & USE: There's no steep learning curve, as you might find in some competing products. There are no arcane, indecipherable icons in the user interface. All controls are intuitive, consistent, logically laid out, and clearly labeled. If you know how to push a button, use a popup menu and press a hotkey, you know how to use this program. You can literally be playing within minutes of installing the application. If you've ever bought roleplaying software aids that were so hard to use that you never did use them, you'll realize just how important this is.
3. IMMERSIVE PRESENTATION: BRPG can run in full-screen mode, if desired, so that there are no distracting toolbars and screen real-estate is maximized. The user interface (UI) stays out of your way until you need it, so there is no screen clutter. This, in turn, makes the game session more immersive and conducive to roleplaying. It also makes BRPG ideal for use with a multimedia projector, or even a large-screen TV, if your hardware supports output to these devices.
4. GENERIC: Supports role-playing in any genre, using any RPG system or ruleset, including house rules. Use BRPG to play fantasy, modern day, sci-fi, wild west, whatever.
5. GORGEOUS GRAPHICS: Supports PNG files, a graphics file format which can include transparency and shadows. BRPG can be used with "photorealistic" maps and digital minis, although you can also opt to use more "cartoony", icon-style tokens, if you prefer. The in-game visuals can reach a level of detail where the players aren't just seeing a map of an area, but an actual illustration of it.
6. DICE ROLLER: What would an RPG be without dice? In BRPG, the "virtual dice" are photorealistic (actual photographs of dice, not 3D renders). You can even hear them shake and rattle when they roll! (the sound effects are optional, of course.) Dice rolls may be transmitted to everyone, or kept private. And the GM has the ability to fudge die rolls by assigning each die a result just before "rolling" them. The players will never know the difference. Die roll results appear in their own window (this can be disabled, if you prefer) and the roll results are also reported in the Chat window.
7. COMPREHENSIVE TEXT CHAT SYSTEM: The Chat window is used to communicate in online games. It features functions for private messaging, group messaging, and speaking "in character" or "out of character". The GM can choose to speak as the Narrator or as one of the NPCs that are deployed on the map. He or she can also make up NPC aliases on the spot, to speak as that NPC even if there is no token present on the map to depict that NPC. Players can also use a narrator voice for emotes and/or actions taken by their characters. Messages are color-coded for easy reference. The chat window is also the place where you are notified of system events, such as a player logging on or off. A chat history log can be exported to an external text file at any time. This is useful for those who like to keep a journal of their adventures, and for filling in a player on what happened if he missed a game session. In a future update, visual indicators beside each user's name let you know when that person is typing, or is away from their keyboard (AFK)
8. And much more, please try to see!
   

Requirements:

• MINIMUM:
• • Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/NT/Vista: Pentium III or equivalent
  • Macintosh OS X: Power Macintosh G3 running OS 10.1.5 or better
  • All Platforms:
  • • RAM: 256 MB
    • Hard drive space: 150 MB
    • Display: 24-bit color
    • Resolution: 1024 x 768
    • Internet connection: 56K*
    • Network card required for LAN-based games
• RECOMMENDED:
• • Processor: 800 MHz or higher
  • RAM: 512 MB or better
  • Display: 32-bit color
  • Hard drive space: 200 MB, plus however much you wish to allocate to extra maps, artwork, and sound files to expand your games (1 or 2 GB is not uncommon)
  • Internet connection: DSL or Cable broadband strongly recommended, especially for the GM*