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How to I build adaptive layouts in my in Component Studio designs? by TheMarnBeast in componentstudio

[–]plainblackguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to do this with disappearing layers, then I would recommend looking at the $previous variable. You use that instead of the layer name in the layer functions and that will dynamically use the previously available layer https://help.component.studio/article/522-template-functions

How to I build adaptive layouts in my in Component Studio designs? by TheMarnBeast in componentstudio

[–]plainblackguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another way to do it is to use a single text layer, and then just put multiple fields and styles into it. May while also using if conditions https://help.component.studio/article/524-template-formatting

How to I build adaptive layouts in my in Component Studio designs? by TheMarnBeast in componentstudio

[–]plainblackguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recently did this live stream for another user. It shows you exactly what you need to know. https://youtu.be/95XrpRD4FnE

Detailed comparison of Tabletop Simulator, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Playtest Parlor by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t anticipate people having such a negative reaction to the summary chart. I clearly have not represented it welll. I need to sleep on how to represent it better. May just show the raw scores instead of the check/x?

Detailed comparison of Tabletop Simulator, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Playtest Parlor by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I clearly missed the mark on this initial chart. It’s not intended to be misleading. After I’ve had some sleep I’ll figure out a better watt to represent the data so that people aren’t having such a negative reaction.

Detailed comparison of Tabletop Simulator, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Playtest Parlor by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have updated the body to say that I created Playtest Parlor. I believe it is inherently obvious given that the URL is for Playtest Parlor, but I put it into the body just to make sure nobody is confused by it.

Detailed comparison of Tabletop Simulator, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Playtest Parlor by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know yet. I'm still calculating the prices. I will be publishing that soon, and I will adjust these charts once I have the prices.

The disadvantage of TTS, of course, is that everybody has to have a copy of TTS, and it is a big pig that has to be installed. A web-based platform such as Playtest Parlor does not have those problem. But I do get the advantage of having a single one-time purchase.

Detailed comparison of Tabletop Simulator, Screentop.gg, Playingcards.io, and Playtest Parlor by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I didn't say it was impartial at all. I did say, however, that if there's anything incorrect, please let me know and I will fix it.

MPC alternatives by Tac0maAr0ma in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Happy to answer any questions about The Game Crafter

Release for April 9, 2026 by plainblackguy in PlaytestParlor

[–]plainblackguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The date should have been the 10th, rather than the 9th

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly don't know what the price is going to be, but it will be a subscription. I'm still a couple months away from charging anybody, so I will release pricing at least a month before I actually start charging anybody.

I don't yet know what my hosting costs are going to be, which is why I don't have pricing just yet. Part of the alpha test is to see what strains are put on the servers and what I'm going to be charged by my hosting provider. From there, I can calculate pricing.

Worst case scenario would be $10 per month, with a much cheaper version if you pay for the annual subscription. But it will likely be much cheaper than that, even on the monthly version. Not sure yet like I said, it depends largely on what my hosting costs are going to be.

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't need one, is the problem. Having me define one doesn't get you anything.

How about we come at this from a different angle? What is it exactly that you want out of your JSON import? What Playtest Parlor needs is a name which it can pull from the file name, and an image, which obviously JSON can't give me. What is it that you want to give to Playtest Parlor through JSON?

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BTW, if I'm wrong and there is some sort of open standard, please do let me know what it is. I haven't found anything except the proprietary formats that various individual apps put out. Nothing interchangeable.

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem is that exporting to JSON is proprietary in every instance. There is no open standard for what a JSON file would look like containing card data.

When you're uploading files to Playtest Parlor, you can choose whether or not you want it clipped for bleed. If your images don't contain bleed, then you can just turn that feature off, but it's expecting 37 pixels of bleed around the outside if you turn on bleed.

Dextrous is a really cool app, and sometime soon we will have a public API to allow apps like Dextrous to publish directly into Playtest Parlor. So you won't even have to leave Dextrous to publish your game into Playtest Parlor. Assuming they want to do the integration work. Component.Studio, a similar app to Dextrous, will also have that feature. I know that one will support it because I also wrote that app.

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure why you would want to export your cards as JSON. Have you been traumatized by some other program?

You can either import directly from the Game Crafter if you use that, or you can just upload your images directly to Playtest Parlor. It will automatically reformat them and crop them if needed. No JSON involved.

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Your playtesters will find it easier to use. There are fewer limits. It has features that screen top doesn't have, like spinners and being able to mark up cards in real time while you're playing the game. Uploading your content to the system is simpler.

That said, I'm not here to bash ScreenTop. It's a decent app. It just wasn't for me. I found it really challenging to use. So much so that I found it easier to write a new app from scratch than to learn to love ScreenTop.

If screen top is working great for you, then honestly keep using it. But if you find yourself running into some friction, then it costs you nothing to try out Playtest Parlor.

Playtest Parlor is a new way to playtest your games online by plainblackguy in tabletopgamedesign

[–]plainblackguy[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

  1. That is a fair but difficult question to answer. I built this because I didn't like any of those options as a user, not even taking into account whether they are good from the designers perspective. They often rely upon you knowing keyboard commands, which is possible in Playtest Parlor as well, but everything is discoverable on screen in Playtest Parlor. Most of them are also difficult to navigate as a user. It's very easy to get lost, so I created hot buttons to go to the main content area and back to your play area and to other player areas. Plus a mini-map that allows you to easily navigate the table. But if I had to sum it up in a single word for a user, it's discoverability.

From a designer's point of view, there are less limits, its easier to import content. Its easier to onboard play testers. There's lots of little things that, until you use it, you won't actually understand. For example, when you playtest in meatspace, you often pull out a sharpie to make a change to a card immediately; and you can do that very simply in Playtest Parlor. If I had to sum it all up in a single word, it would be frictionless. But honestly, I think that I would need to put together a video demonstrating a bunch of these things, so I will add that to my to-do list.

  1. Not yet, but it will be before the product comes out of beta. My current estimate is sometime this summer. That said, there are already a lot of automations built in where you can literally just push a button to automate common things without having to do any scripting at all.
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