DnD: Maiden Voyage of the Digital Game Table

After a long summer packed full of vacations, weddings, conferences and the always-hectic start of a new semester, our group was finally able to get together Saturday evening for the official debut of the Digital Game Table. As I was out getting groceries for the evening's meal (we all have dinner together on game nights), I happened across what I felt was a DM-worthy vessel for my gaming grog of choice:

$3 at Wal-mart. Elixir of Dew sold separately

I'm not sure if the others were as excited about using the table as I was, but they really stepped things up a notch with the snacks - and this was after we'd already had dinner, complete with ice cream and grape pie.

Homemade salsa, apple slices, sliced cheese n' crackers!

Having already spent a good deal of time earlier in the day trying to find the best position in which to tape the Wiimote to the projector, I had hoped that getting everything set up and running would not take long at all. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate the connection issues between my new laptop and the older one my friend brought to serve as the player client (the one that is hooked up to the projector).

Eventually, we identified one of the issues as having two different versions of MapTools installed. We got the latest version installed on both machines, but still could not connect via the server - possibly due to some of the default Vista security settings on my laptop, now that I think about it. We were finally able to connect using a Direct Connection, fortunately, and get the game started.

Now that we have a better sense of lighting and accurate line of sight, who wants to go down the Scary Hall of Imminent Doom first?

This was a learning experience on so many levels - one of which was figuring out how the party should move on a map outside of an encounter. Even a short walk down a hallway can take a long time when everybody moves one at a time. In the future, I think we will try having the group selected and moved as one until they see/hear/perceive something that, at which point they can choose maneuver individually.

This was also the point at which we realized the Wiimote was slipping out of position. Things would be going fine, then, suddenly, the calibration would become skewed. We wound up connecting a wireless mouse for 'back-up' and having the wheel really made zooming in and out easier for the players - but everyone was still determined to use the pen as much as possible.

This was about the 4th time the Wiimote slipped down . . .

Taping and re-taping was a temporary fix at best, and the constant need to re-calibrate really killed the momentum of the game.

. . . and this was somewhere around the 8th.

3/4 of the way through the evening, I finally get the bright idea to tape the wrist strap to the top edge of the projector, instead of trying to tape the Wiimote itself flat against it. This was a huge improvement and only required two or three narrow strips of duct tape, as opposed to the wads I was wasting before.

Best move anyone made during the entire session

After all that, the party finally arrived at the climactic showdown they'd been working towards for so long . . . and made it through one round of combat (10 crawling claws, 2 Bonewretch Skeletons, 4 Decrepit Skeletons and 2 Skeleton Archers being led by a Deathmaster Deathlock Wight are a lot to wade through in a turn). The good thing about using MapTools (and Trackwork) is that I can save things right where we left them and be ready to go for next time.

I'm really excited for our next session. We got over all the technical hurdles *knock on wood* and, during the course of the evening, figured out the best way to position and attach the Wiimote to the projector. So next session, we should be able to jump right into an action packed encounter and have a smooth integrated gaming experience, rather than the experience of wrangling the hardware and software to play a game.

DnD: Digital Game Table Update . . . Update

After exchanging some e-mails with Shane DeSeranno, it was determined that the IR-pen I made using parts from Radio Shack was simply not strong enough to be seen by the Wii-mote's camera through the surface of the table. I wound up getting a MUCH stronger IR-pen off of ebay and it works great! The new pen is 5v versus the 1.2v of the LED I was using and uses three watch batteries versus the single 'N'-cell battery I had.

I also tried using shorter table legs - going from 14" to 8" - in an attempt to make the surface viewable while sitting on the couch. While this may have improved tracking for the Wii-mote, the bulky, 8-yr old Proxima projector looks really blurry. I'm going to have to keep the 14" legs at least until I get a newer/better projector that can throw an image with a shorter minimal distance (assuming it's even possible). Of course, the shorter the table, the small the projected area (regardless of resolution), so it's a trade off.

In other news, the LCD screen on my Cannon Powershot A630 is beyond my ability to repair. It still works as a camera, but I have no way of accessing the menus or reviewing images. The problem actually lies the wires leading up to the screen, and not the screen itself - one of tiny wires got pulled out of a connector that plugs into the screen. If anyone knows how to repair this, I'm happy to get some instruction.

DnD: Digital Game Table - Update

This weekend I tried connecting the Wii-mote to the computer using Smoothboard. No problems there (the pop-up for the unregistered version is annoying, though) and the pen worked when using it on the monitor with the Wii-mote about 1.5' to 2' away.

I did notice, however, that before long, the N-cell alkaline battery on the pen started getting really hot, really quick. Not being an experienced electrician, I had combined a 1.2v LED with a 1.5v battery - too much voltage for the LED. So I went to Radio Shack to find a resistor. Sadly, the guy working there was no help ("I'm not an electrician, just a dude with a drawer full of resistors." - seriously, he said that).

In doing some reading on the 'net before hand, I saw a post somewhere saying that 75 ohms should be fine. They didn't have a 75 ohm resistor, so I purchased some 100 ohm (1/2 watt 5% tolerance) resistors instead - better safe than sorry, right? It eliminated the heat issue with the battery and I could still see the light on my cell-phone cam (remember, IR light can't be seen by humans). The question is: what if it's too much resistance? Will it reduce the intensity of the IR-LED? EDIT: I double-checked, the resistors are 100 ohm, NOT 100K ohm.

Anyway, I taped the Wii-mote to the projector, right above the lens and aimed at the mirror. Unfortunately, I could not pick up the light from the surface of the table. I think the white protective film I left on one side of the 1/4" plexiglass may be too thick for the light to shine through, but I'm not sure. My cell phone camera can pick up a faint spot of light, but I have no way of knowing intense it needs to be for the Wii-mote - obviously more than it is currently. I need to test it on the clear plexiglass and with other translucent substances - such as tracing paper - to verify. I may also want to get a smaller resistor for the pen.

Trying to figure out where I screwed up . . . *sigh* I always hate this part.

Here are two links I've found that have made me a bit more resistor-savvy:
- Electronics 101 - Basics for those who want to make their own IR-Pen
- LED calculator: current limiting resistor value

* Sorry for the lack of pics lately, my digital camera is on the fritz again - something else I have to take apart and fix . . . again. >_<

DnD Project: Building a Digital Game Table, Pt. 3

In which a table is stained and a projector is mounted . . . sort of.

I was wracking my brain for a good way to mount the projector inside the table. I considered building a mount and looked for tripods and stands, but none of it really seemed like a good solution, especially since I don't plan on using the same projector forever.

My wife suggested bungee cords - which I initially dismissed as I didn't want the hooks scratching up the edges of the table and preventing the plexiglass from lying flat. Of course, bungee cords were exactly the cheap and easy means of holding the projector I wound up using. I guess it pays to listen to your wife . . . sometimes (love you, honey! :-P). My contribution to the solution was the loop (bracket?) from a couple of cheap hasps wide enough to hold the hooks.

I don't have the receipt with me at the moment, but each hasp was approximately $1.80 and the wide, flat bungee cords (individual pairs of these) I used were just under $4.00 for a pair at Wal-Mart. Initially, I got them 40" long, thinking I would need it for the behemoth of a projector we have, but it turns out that the 30" cords work better.

From above	From below

It's probably evident from the pictures that I attempted to stain and seal the table, as well. I had some leftover Minwax Polyshade from my 40K table, so I thought I use it. Bad idea. The stuff is runny but sets up thick and goop-y, so you have to make sure that you apply just the right amount or you'll have dark runs - especially on edges and corners. It also kills brushes unless you have mineral spirits to clean up with - which I don't.

Also, the stain does not take on the Liquid Nail that got smeared around when assembling the table. As a result, there are light-colored blemishes here and there on the exterior, mainly along the seams. Fortunately, this kind of project doesn't have to be 'showroom perfect.'

Finally, throw in an 18" x 24" mirror ($10.00 from Wal-mart) which will lay flat on the floor and we're ready to roll! From here on out, it's a matter of getting the software synched up and building encounters in MapTool.

At some point, I will probably add fold-down trays to the sides and maybe even some trim to pretty it up, but we need to start saving up for a new house. Priorities!

DnD Project: Building a Digital Game Table, Pt 2

In which a table is built and Paul thinks this might actually turn out kinda nice.

My Memorial Day weekend was spent collecting materials and assembling the table that will house the projector. The weather did its best to frustrate me - being nice and sunny one hour, and rainy the next - but I finally managed to get the thing put together.

The table is going to have a 3'x3' surface that is 32" from the floor - this should allow players to sit on a couch and view the top, or stand and not have to bend too far over. It would also allow me to acheive the 50" minimum distance I decided on after playing around with the digital projector (the dimensions of which are 16" wide, 12.5" deep, 6" tall).

Here is my list of materials from Lowe's:

Part #	Description	Qty	Price	Subtotal
4512	1"x3"x8' Premium Furring Strip	2	$1.48	$2.96
4513	2"x2"x8' Premium Furring Strip	2	$1.86	$3.72
37461	3/4"x49"x97" MDF	1	$19.98	$19.98
100549	Pine Outside Chair Rail	4	$1.78	$7.12
838	Straight Top Plate	4	$1.68	$6.72
43652	14" Traditional Chair Leg	4	$4.64	$18.56
96871	A21Z 2"x1" Angle Zmax	8	$0.51	$4.08
2391	6x1/2" PH FL Wood Screws	1	$3.77	$3.77
TOTAL (before tax)				$66.91

The medium density fiberboard (MDF) panel was a large 4 foot by 8 foot sheet. I had already determined that I wanted the panels on this table to be 18" wide, so I had them cut the panel into four 18" x 4' panels with some extra left over. Having this done at the store is a huge time saver.

I still needed to make four straight 18" cuts to get the panels down to the 3' width I wanted. Unfortunately, MDF is very dense and my poor little jigsaw was taking forever to cut through it.
A quick call to my dad, and he brought his circular saw over - I was already borrowing his miter saw and finisher nailgun, so one more tool wasn't a huge deal. ;-) The miter saw was then used to cut the furring strips of both sizes to fit the panels.


I used Liquid Nail (Heavy Duty) and a cordless Dewalt finish nailer (to which I am very lucky to have access) to secure the furring strips to the MDF panels. I used 6 nails along the bottom strip (the 2"x2"), but only 3 for the top. This was because the 1.5" nails I was using were sticking out of the 1"x3" furring strip. I filed the points down so no one would pucture a hand when moving the table, but they still stick out a tiny fraction of an inch.

The furring strips do not go all the way the both ends of the panel. I decided that I wanted the strips to interlock with each other in the corners. I did not, however, take into account the width of the panel itself and soon found myself faced with the following problem when I tried test-fitting a couple of panels together:

Dylan, my 3-yr old son, was helping me

I had to take a coping saw and a chisel to each of the strips that had been attached to the panels and remove 3/4". This added a lot of time to this phase of the project. Finally, I was able to glue and nail the panels together:

As soon as I would get a corner joined together, I would add the right angle brackets. These help maintain the square shape of the table and take some of the stress off of the nails in the MDF. I put the long side of the bracket against the outside furring strip, and the short side on the strip that sat further back in the corner. I have no basis for this reasoning, but it seemed like it'd be more sturdy that way.


So, finally having gotten the panels fit and joined together, it was time to attach the plates that the table legs would screw into. This would allow the table to use legs of differing height if needed and to be disassembled to a point and moved more easily between rooms. We are also planning to move in the near future, so anything that makes that easier is a plus.

It was at this point that using the MDF for the table panels became a bit of a burden. MDF does not like screws - it tends to split and can break. Most of what I read on the internet suggested using coarse drywall screws. I just used the screws that came with the plates, and you can see the results below - not catastrophic by any means, but annoying (to me, at least). Pre-drilling the holes does help a little, as does going very slow. To compensate, I slathered a generous helping of Titebond II Premium Wood Glue into and over the splits.


One final touch and the table would be ready for a finish (MDF is terrible with moisture and needs to be sealed, else it will flake and disintegrate). Instead of screwing down the plexiglass sheets that would be used for the surface, I thought it would be easier to hold them in place with something - ideally something that might add a little style to the table as well. I found these chair rail exterior corners near the table legs in the store and thought they looked nice:

You can see my poor, forgotten Warhammer table sitting against the wall

I have considered adding decorative trim to the top and bottom edges of the panels, but it is prohibitively expensive and does not add any functionality to the table. Still, I will keep it in mind for the future. Another feature I'm hoping to add, but will probably hold off on are hinged trays on the outside of the panels that would allow players to set their materials on.

The next post in this series will deal with finding a solution to getting the projector into position and supporting its weight. Whatever I use will have to be adjustable to different styles and types of projectors.

DnD Project: Building a Digital Game Table, Pt 1

Thanks to Mad Brew Labs for exposing me to this with his article on the Untapped Potential of Technology for roleplaying games. I have read and re-read Shane DeSeranno's blog entries related to his digital game table and finally came to the conclusion that, yes, I could make one of those.

So, without further ado . . .

Building A Digital Game Table, Part I
In which an infrared pen is built, and various other materials are collected

There are tons of tutorials and YouTube videos on the web. Personally, I found Ken Moore's website (which includes a video clip and printed instructions) to be especially helpful.

It won't win any awards, but it works.

I purchased all my parts at Radio Shack - here's the list, including part numbers and prices:

Item	Part #	Price (USD)
5mm IR LED 940 NM	276-0143	$1.99
1 "N" Battery Holder	270-0405	$0.99
PK2 Submini PB Switch	275-1571	$2.99
PK2 Alkaline N Batteries	2300023	$4.99
1.5 oz solder .062	6400002	$3.49
SUBTOTAL (before tax)		$14.45

It should be noted that I purchased 1 of each item, but the batteries and the switches came in packages of two. Also, if you already have solder and/or an oddly sized 'N' battery, you'll be paying less. For the housing, I used an old furniture repair marker that was used to color in scratched wood with stain.

The lid still fits snugly over the bulb.

A couple of important things I learned: First, The positive wire is red. Seems obvious, I know, but after wiring my basement, I got used to seeing the black (pos) white (neg) color scheme. Second, the switch goes in the negative part of the circuit, between the battery and bulb along the black wire. Finally, and probably most importantly, we can't see infrared light!

Once you get this thing wired together and try it out, you'll have to look through a digital camera to see it light up. I spent a night fuming at a pen I thought was messed up, only to rtfm (or website, in this case) the next day and figure it out.

In addition to the pen, I spent about $110 getting two sheets of 3' x 3' plexiglass for a table surface (one was 1/4" and the other was 1/8" thick). That's been the most expensive thing thus far. I am fortunate to work at a university and was able to get an old digital projector for $1.00. It's not super high-end, but it serves its purpose and I can always upgrade when they swap out projectors each year. ;-) I also purchased a $5.00 mirror from Wal-Mart, but I think it's too small and will have to return it.

I'm hoping to have the remaining materials purchased and the table constructed next weekend. Stay tuned for updates!