My 1 question: Non-destructive play modes?

[Wh1ppet]

This program has been on the edge of my radar since it first showed up on Steam but I have not bought it because there is one question I cannot find an answer to anywhere that I have checked so I'm finally going to ask it:

Is there a mode or settings in the game that can lock everything down and prevent the ability to flip tables, knock pieces over, etc?

It may be fine and dandy to have such an interesting tabletop simulator, but the only ways I'd ever want to use it is to play serious games, usually of the RPG variety, but I am totally unthrilled by the idea of anyone being able to flip the table and ruin the game and from all the advertising and FAQs I've seen, flipping tables, destroying games and generally being the troll that ruins it for everyone else seems to be the #1 advertising sales pitch, but it's the one thing I am totally not interested in... On the otherhand, if I can set up an RPG simulation where thrown dice won't knock over pieces, a mistake won't knock over other pieces, people can't move peices that aren't theirs to move, and no one can just get ticked off and flip the whole table, I'm intersted in everything else being pitched.

So, should I buy this to run serious games or is this just the table-flipping simulator that all the advertising implies it is?

[em]

Many players are serious players. You can get the occasional troll, but they're easy enough to ban if you do get them. There is a rewind button, so if you do get a troll, you can undo any destruction they cause. You can also undo any mistakes like knocking pieces off of their paths accidentally when you're playing normally. Any piece can be locked, and can't be moved until it's unlocked, as well, so if you want to lock your rpg pieces except on their turns, so things like dice can't knock them over, you're more than welcome to. You can also change the "weight" of pieces. Heavier ones are less likely to be knocked over than lighter ones, for instance.

In other words, despite what you've seen, I think you'll be fine.

[TRIBALien]

Yes, you can turn off options for the most disruptive actions. The server's Admin, the person that initially hosts the table, has the option to disable table-flipping (for everyone except himself ... or those individuals that he promotes). Additiionally, locking/unlocking a piece is accomplished by placing the mouse cursor over a piece and pressing the 'L' key.

Finally, there are arrows in the upper-right corner of the screen that allow you to rewind/forward through moves. If someone does something destructive, then they can be kicked and/or banned and the action can be reset to the table's state before it occured. (So even table-flipping doesn't have any real lasting repurcussions.)

P.S.
The latest video on the Steam store does do a better job of distancing TTS from the "Table Toppling Simulator" reputation that it seemed to be going for.

[Wh1ppet]

Thanks.. Answers me question.

Only additional thought that leaves me with is the idea that somewhere in the advertising and FAQs they should make this clear right up front that all the table-flipping fun is an option and not the sole focus because from all the research I've done, it looked an awful lot like the abiity to throw a fit and ruin a game is the primary focus they were aiming for... I would have bought it pretty much on day 1 if it looked like the table-flipping and throwing pieces around wasn't the whole point.

[TRIBALien]

That's sort of a catch-22 situation, though. The table-flipping was not in the original Kickstarter concept (in fact the first time its addition was mentioned was in Update #10). It was added because of the overwhelming demand for it, as it was quite literally the most requested feature. However, that also means that advertising a feature that was added for its sheer popularity risks alienating those of us that don't care that much for it.

[StormbringerGT]

Yeah there are trolls for sure, but you got a couple weapons, banning is one. If you run good games they may beg you for an unban and behave!

You can also pretty much lock players out of doing most things, as the host. However just like in real life nothing is stopping a player from picking up a piece and throwing it around, its hard to stop that since you would stop their ability to interact with the game lol.

Finally the undo function. It will usually undo a table flip other other gaffe (such is spawning in a dice tower and having the tower rag doll all over your board!).