tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post8521614709613780923..comments2024-03-27T15:59:11.066+00:00Comments on Prometheus in Aspic: Zoom - Back on the Nursery SlopesMSFoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-36862611326856218292022-08-22T23:29:42.412+01:002022-08-22T23:29:42.412+01:00Keith, remote gaming is more than a work-around fo...Keith, remote gaming is more than a work-around for those having no local opponents or for those wishing to avoid solo play. The advent of gaming via Zoom (or Skype, Google Meet, etc.) opens up the whole world (literally) to a global pool of gamers and figure collections. From my lonely spot in the Pacific Northwest corner of the USA, I count myself fortunate to have gamed with gamers across the globe including Australia, Ireland, Scotland, England, Malta, and even across th USA. I consider these all friends and would unlikely have had this experience without remote gaming. Jonathan Freitaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862373894196924886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-77277077496393984482022-08-20T13:16:56.499+01:002022-08-20T13:16:56.499+01:00Webcams were so expensive in 2020 that I didn'...Webcams were so expensive in 2020 that I didn't even pause to consider buying one then - demand and supply (and swindles) and all that.<br /><br />I'm now in a situation where I have a set-up which appears to work, and I'll initiate some kind of situation where I can use it!MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-19677580846010505682022-08-20T01:07:21.927+01:002022-08-20T01:07:21.927+01:00Your musings and thinking aloud make for a really ...Your musings and thinking aloud make for a really useful 'how to' guide for others. Besides which they are really entertaining reading to your legion of followers, who may or may not (like me) be planning to do any remote wargaming.<br />Interesting that there was a deal on Amazon. Perhaps prices are plummeting now since 'everyone' jumped to remote tech. in 2020 and now fewer are using/wanting it? You should soon be able to make a step-jump and get a professional-standard, teleconferencing set-up Tony?!! :)<br />Regards, JamesJames Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17897755636246185173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-8366235179492459692022-08-19T16:49:49.775+01:002022-08-19T16:49:49.775+01:00Hi Norm - it is a bit like playing through the let...Hi Norm - it is a bit like playing through the letterbox, but it was the best we could manage for a while, and the possibilities are far better than I expected back in early 2020.MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-41741243224849880902022-08-19T13:24:06.624+01:002022-08-19T13:24:06.624+01:00Thanks Tony, very useful, two years ago, I doubt &...Thanks Tony, very useful, two years ago, I doubt 'zoom' was in the vocabulary of many. The tech comes with a learning curve for sure ..... every day is a school day :-)<br />Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-41563164830099480652022-08-19T10:06:57.615+01:002022-08-19T10:06:57.615+01:00It was upsetting to realise how poor my outgoing p...It was upsetting to realise how poor my outgoing pictures looked at the far end. If I'm running (often umpiring) a remote game I always send out maps and unit lists to help the generals, but I would occasionally have a conversation in a Zoom battle where I would say, "the chasseurs are the unit with yellow plumes, on the hill", and my remote guest would say, "what hill?". That was a bit of a shock! MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-87523960849457451472022-08-19T10:02:57.979+01:002022-08-19T10:02:57.979+01:00Sorry about the headache - I share your pain. Inte...Sorry about the headache - I share your pain. Interesting point about solo gaming. I have probably played far more solo games than anything else over the years, partly because I have lived in weird places, and because I have never had any mates 😂, but also because solo gaming lends itself to some kinds of game which would not be good as a social effort - heavily one-sided battles from (solo) campaigns, a controlled withdrawal as a game, sieges etc. My problem as I get older is I can hardly be arsed setting up the table just for myself, and the prospect of putting everything away afterwards is a killer. Virtual gaming has been a life-saver in the pandemic, which is what prompted me to try it in the first place, and still has an interesting future enabling games with people who are too far away to be involved otherwise. Without a lot of techno trickery (which is a distraction), I find the style of games has be suitable for the format - so playing hands of cards from a shared pack is impossible (etc), and I find gridded games easier to control and understand - free measurement on a video display is definitely a niche activity - but I am impressed by what is possible. MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-22089550954063646772022-08-19T09:48:55.308+01:002022-08-19T09:48:55.308+01:00I'm now playing catch-up, trying to make my re...I'm now playing catch-up, trying to make my remote games as good as I hoped they might be when I started out. A bit like my entire approach to wargaming, I think! I'm inspired by the good results others have achieved, so am keen to give it a decent shot.MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-44320313517516318722022-08-19T09:46:33.563+01:002022-08-19T09:46:33.563+01:00Quite so - very narrow view of the world - not lik...Quite so - very narrow view of the world - not like us, eh?MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-21701493427380237702022-08-19T08:34:42.856+01:002022-08-19T08:34:42.856+01:00Those images look pretty clear (and crisp) to me. ...Those images look pretty clear (and crisp) to me. I'd be happy being on the receiving end of the Zoom feed with that quality. I learned some useful facts from this post too although the chances of me putting them to use is fairly low information like this is always useful as you never know who may ask about a similar issue.Elenderilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05950182992274113214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-2998392857376095592022-08-19T06:31:11.733+01:002022-08-19T06:31:11.733+01:00I can't understand why the likes of Sony would...I can't understand why the likes of Sony would have overlooked playing with toy soldiers remotely, when writing their "how to" guides on web cams etc....what is wrong with these people??!😂rrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316317334203888350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-56028168339932545252022-08-19T06:27:59.940+01:002022-08-19T06:27:59.940+01:00OMG.....I got halfway through this and I had a hea...OMG.....I got halfway through this and I had a headache! I have enough trouble getting my VPN to work at home. Good on all yo who have persevered with making virtual gaming a thing though, it's certainly added a new dimension to ar gaming and I suspect if we had always had this type of technology, solo gaming would be much less prevalent....ok, I realise some may like/prefer solo but to me, it's basically a work around for the fact you don't have any local opponents?!rrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316317334203888350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-42767192519751895262022-08-18T12:24:15.792+01:002022-08-18T12:24:15.792+01:00I tried hosting Zoom games twice, and decided that...I tried hosting Zoom games twice, and decided that to do so well would require a new laptop, and several more cameras, microphones, etc. Just not worth it at present. Perhaps when I retire? Zoom isn't perfect for wargames by any means but it's not bad, having done many, many with Tim and David in the UK, and a couple with Jon, even farther away in Oregon!Gonsalvohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531623280789478092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-79023203223758996942022-08-18T08:42:47.548+01:002022-08-18T08:42:47.548+01:00I am mostly thinking aloud, but there are some mys...I am mostly thinking aloud, but there are some mysteries in there. Just about all the online help is for people working in a limited range of contexts, i.e. educating or selling, or some kind of face to face Zoom-type meeting. The autofocus thing is a bit weird, but is a necessary tweak for tabletop games, I think. The autofocus works pretty well, but it tries to focus on what it decides is the important subject - by default this will be someone's face, a couple of feet away. If you switch off the autofocus (using the calibration app) and set the manual focus adjustment to minimum (full left), you get decent pictures of objects between about 2ft and maybe 12ft from the camera, which is about right for small objects spread over a tabletop. Another potential issue is that many videoconference practitioners employ packages other than Zoom - OBS, I think is one such, which will reset the camera settings on a new session, so will put the autofocus back on, every time. Zoom doesn't seem to do this, but it is as well to have the calibration app available, to check. MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-77501096213100148842022-08-18T08:30:42.562+01:002022-08-18T08:30:42.562+01:00Well Jon, I am also dogged in the sense that I am ...Well Jon, I am also dogged in the sense that I am capable of digging away on my own, and I may learn (or invent) all sorts on the way, so a quick look at what the other dudes are doing is valuable and necessary, and puts an anchor back into reality, so I do appreciate it!MSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-81285546483719889622022-08-17T22:58:57.384+01:002022-08-17T22:58:57.384+01:00This is a very useful post Tony. I wouldn't ha...This is a very useful post Tony. I wouldn't have thought of half of these things. So thank you.It will be very useful when I pull my finger out and start looking into cameras.nundankethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12895608927860103442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-64727264565131799532022-08-17T18:20:40.074+01:002022-08-17T18:20:40.074+01:00I appreciate the shout-out, Tony! These sessions a...I appreciate the shout-out, Tony! These sessions are not one-way learning episodes. You are a dogged researcher and I learn something about the depths of Zoom with every session.Jonathan Freitaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862373894196924886noreply@blogger.com