AVID Assistant VTT Development Project

The AVID Assistant VTT (VTT) is a virtual table-top add-on to the AVID Assistant. It displays a hexmap, box minis, and End of Turn markers.

The VTT is in activate development and can change at anytime as new features are added and tested.

Also, yes, this web page is very basic... I can spend time updating a web-page or the VTT.

Very Important

We want this software to be used. If you need help starting a game, are confused on how the AVID Assistant works, need to learn how to play Squadron Strike, etc.. please ask for help! You can email mezebrowski@gmail.com or ask on the Facebook group.

Important web address

http://vtt.mikezekim.com/public: This is where the publicly available VTT is located.
http://vtt.mikezekim.com/patreon: This is where the patreon version of the VTT is located.
http://vtt.mikezekim.com/playtest: This is where the Per Ardua version of the VTT is located.
AVID Assistant User's Guide: How to use the AVID Assistant.
Ad Astra Games Fans: The main Facebook Group for Ad Astra Games
Per Ardua: The Ad Astra Games Playtesting Group: The Playtest Facebook Group for Ad Astra Games
avid@adastragames.com: Where to email feedback

How to start a game

Games can only be started with the patreon or playtest version of the VTT.

Patrons of Ken Burnside and Mike Zebrowski and members of the Per Ardua playtest group have access to the versions that can start games.

Once a game is started, anyone can use the public VTT to play the game.

Games are created the same way that they are created in face-to-face games. Once a game is created, it plays like a normal game of Squadron Strike.

Schedule a time to learn to play Squadron Strike

Need to learn to play Squadron Strike? You can schedule a time with Mike (mezebrowski@gmail.com).

Requirements

Schedule at least 4 hours for the session.
Have a headset or microphone. The sessions are done via Google Hangout's video chat.

Notes

The Saturday slot is very flexible and you can schedule any four hour block within it.
The calendar might default to Chicago time, adjust to your timezone as needed.
Until you hear back from Mike, your session is not locked-in. Real life happens and he may not be available.
The teaching sessions are free; however, if you schedule a session, not attend and not notify Mike ahead of time, you will have to pay a $10 fine before scheduling another session unless you have a real good excuse.

Resources to make box minis for the VTT

Here are templates to create your own box minis.

If you know how to use Inkscape, you can use the SVG files. Otherwise, if you can use the PNG files with the graphics editor of your choice.

The important thing to do is keep the dimensions of the images. The VTT checks the image dimensions to determine which box-mini size to use.

There are currently 3 box mini sizes supported by the VTT

Size Width Height SVG Template PNG Template
Small 489px 570px SVG PNG
Medium 570px 672px SVG PNG
Large 672px 798px SVG PNG

Size	Width	Height	SVG Template	PNG Template
Small	489px	570px	SVG	PNG
Medium	570px	672px	SVG	PNG
Large	672px	798px	SVG	PNG

Why Patreon

As Squadron Strike is a very niche product, it is difficult to put a price tag on the Virtual Table Top software. We are not comfortable with asking for payment upfront for product that might never leave the alpha-stage. On the other hand, we do incur monthly costs in order to provide the backend support for the AVID Assistant and VTT. Plus, it is nice to get a little bit of pocket money in exchange for the hours spent slaving over a hot processor.

Patreon provides a nice middle ground. We have a revenue stream and patrons can modify their support level at any time.

Additionally, you do not need to be a patron to use the VTT. The only limitation with the public version of the VTT is that it can not create games.

Current Limitations

Chrome and Firefox only. (Safari and Edge don't fully support HTML5 yet)
Squadron Strike Only
Fighters do not have a box mini
Players need to roll their own dice
Players need to use paper SSDs
Players need to communicate via a third party service such as Google Hangouts.

Update Log

April 25, 2018

Initial Deployment

May 12, 2018

Updated to Coffeescript 2. The underlying code is now ES6.
Updated for events to be Asynchronous (again). This should help with "laggy" UI behavior.
Updated the camera controls so that panning is now "map style".
The map moves the EoT markers during the Plotting Phase as users plot their ships.
While on the List page, click a ship on the map will bring up the action menu for that ship.
Incorporated several bug-fixes and UI updates, notably the heatmaps.
Updated hold and release commands to trigger if held for 1 second instead of 300ms.

May 16, 2018

Updated lighting and controls
Holding the Shift Key and Right Mouse Button will Pan the camera.
Added 2 map modes: All White Tiles and Sticks. "All White Tiles" will display the map objects using only White tiles. "Sticks" will show the true height of all objects relative to each other.
Added a Camera Reset Button.

May 19, 2018

Added Crew Aggression markers for Squadron Strike.
Added Online Die rolling. It only works during an actual game.

May 24, 2018

Updated the Online Die roller. It is much faster now and uses Random.Org for its number source.
Added the ability to resize the Map and AVID Assistant. The black line between the two items can be dragged to adjust how much of the screen is used for both items. If you switch to the Dice Tab it will work even better as the web browser will not be trying to redraw a 3D image as you move the bar back and forth.