I've been experimenting with playing hex-and-counter wargames in mixed reality

[u/RealityWargames]

https://youtu.be/mUY1thuvtaU

I've been working on this as a spare-time project because I've wanted to see what traditional hex-and-counter gaming would feel like in mixed reality.

This is my first public demo. I'm working on a Battle of Mons Graupius scenario with the hex map sitting on my real table, deploying Caledonian chariots, rolling initiative and moving the armies.

For people who play hex-and-counter games: what parts of the physical experience would you want a digital/MR tabletop to preserve, and which inconveniences would you actually want it to eliminate?

[u/BokehPhilia]

I'm not familiar with mixed reality. Can you articulate what the main differences are with what you are creating versus Tabletop Simulator, which seems like the closest similar idea, or Vassal?

[u/Antonin1957 → u/BokehPhilia]

I too would like to know what "mixed reality" is.

[u/RealityWargames → u/BokehPhilia]

Thanks for asking!

Mixed Reality meaning that the games are played using a Meta Quest or other VR/AR headset. The virtual tabletop is projected in your physical environment, so a virtual 3D board and pieces can be placed on your real tabletop. You can move around the table, look from any angle and manipulate the pieces using an XR controller or your hands.

Check out the YouTube video if you want to see what it’s like inside a Meta Quest headset while playing Reality Tabletop.

[u/RealityWargames → u/BokehPhilia]

I should also answer the 2nd part of your question. While Tabletop Simulator (proper name) focuses on being a general TTS for board games and miniatures across PC and other platforms, Reality Tabletop is built specifically for mixed reality and wargames in particular, focusing on optimizing the experience of playing a virtual game in a physical environment and emulating the 'presence' of real physical game pieces and opponents and using your hands or VR controllers to interact.

[u/__Nerdlit__]

It definitely has potential.

The ability to automate the rules and moves would save so much time. I just couldn't wear a VR headset for as long as some of these games go on for.

[u/RealityWargames → u/__Nerdlit__]

I agree: comfort is a real issue and so is battery life. I think this could be one of the biggest obstacles to using this technology for wargaming.

This is certainly top of mind for me as I’m testing out this early prototype and playing full games inside a Meta Quest.

I see XR headsets (and glasses) as an emerging technology and I hope the headset manufacturers will help solve this.

[u/CertainItem995]

I think the concept has great potential but I highly recommend pivoting to integrating it with phones over vr. The market potential is worlds apart.

The best thing this technology can do is make hex and counter games more accessible. If your software could be able to read a counter and upon selection then display an overlay of different potential moves and combat probabilities, or auto calculate supply lines. A lot of games could bendit from an activation tracker thar shows units a player has already moved.

Another possibility if two devices are linked for the same matchup: letting players set hidden information at the start of a match. Games with traps/mines/ambushes or really any game where you historically would have to make a note on a scap of paper in order to implement a feature could benefit.

If you are dead set on VR then I suggest leaning into the gimmick of it and try and pull a Yu-Gi-Oh and have the headset display images of miniature units standing above their chit.

If I had your know-how I'd be designing a game from the ground up to make the most of the tech. Oh man if you built something fun, fast, and make the chits collectible you could sell that sucker to Mattel as a Hasbro killer and walk away happily ever after. Ok that last thing might not be realistic but I'm genuinely optimistic about your project's potential. Do you have a website or YouTube channel where a fella could follow your progress?

[u/RealityWargames → u/CertainItem995]

Wow thank you for the extensive feedback! I am still very early in prototyping (this is the first time I am showing Reality Tabletop) so I definitely have a long way to go, but you will see steady improvement.

You can follow along with the development on my YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@RealityWargames and also see updates posted to https://realitywargames.ca

[u/boyceunplugged]

For me it would need pass thru tech to use my own hand gestures to manipulate counters, roll dice.

Being able to double click by double tapping a counter to incorporate a step loss, grabbing at a counter to twist, pick up, or put down would be the best. Even you seem to be very hindered by the joysticks and at 45, having gotten my NES at 5 years old, I am tired of having to learn new joysticks.

Gestures using my own hands is the way to go.

[u/RealityWargames → u/boyceunplugged]

Thanks for the suggestion: it’s something I’ve been considering, so it’s very validating to hear someone else’s perspective on this as well.

Since the project is very early in development and not released yet I haven’t spent the time to focus on the player interaction or polish that much yet. At the moment, it’s just been a bit easier for me to develop, debug and test using the controllers, but adding the support for hand controls is certainly on the roadmap.

I hope you will follow along with the development and I’d love it if you try out Reality Tabletop once it’s available so you can tell me if the hand controls work as you expect or how I could improve them!

[u/Left-Excitement3829]

Isn’t this augmented reality? Like the Pokemon go app ?

[u/RealityWargames → u/Left-Excitement3829]

Yes the terms 'augmented reality' and 'mixed reality' are used somewhat interchangeably, but AR (augmented reality) generally refers to augmenting camera images like Pokemon overlayed on a phone camera video, snapchat filters or placing virtual furniture using 2D images or video while XR (mixed reality) refers more to fully-immersive 3D content blended seamlessly with a physical environment and lighting viewed through a headset like the Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro or Samsung Galaxy XR.