Second Fantasy Grounds License

I would like to install FG on a second computer for testing and guests, etc. I have the Ultimate license already. For the second computer, should I just log in with my usual account (that will already be logged in on my main computer) or should I create a second account and just download the free license? The idea is to use them at the same time. Thanks!

I use the same account, but don't put in the license key. I use that as a player instance.

either works, just don't input your license key. (Or you will not be able to connect that client to your host)

I would probably use a different forum account, that way the second instance won't spend time updating all the content attached to your account (which won't be usable without the key.)

Hello, all;

I am running a campaign where I host a Unity Ultimate License campaign online. I currently join a second instance of fantasy grounds to my hosted game on the same computer. I would like to connect a third instance of FGU on the same computer, but it is not letting me do so. What would be the best way to connect a third instance from the same computer?

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Originally Posted by Lawlesslisa

I would like to connect a third instance of FGU on the same computer, but it is not letting me do so. What would be the best way to connect a third instance from the same computer?

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You can't. Running two player instances connected to the same campaign on the same computer is not supported - they try to access the same data cache files and this can cause local data corruption and unexpected errors and behavior.

FGC allows you to run more than one player instance on the same computer, but the same issues occur. So, you can on FGC, but you shouldn't. In FGU you can't even try to do this any longer.

I don't think the architecture would support a third instance. Maybe if you were able to have a second installation so that both player instances have different caches. But be aware that many people have update issues when they have more than one installation since FG stores information in the registry and you can only have one set of registry entries. So, not even sure a second install would even be useful.

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Originally Posted by LordEntrails

Maybe if you were able to have a second installation so that both player instances have different caches. But be aware that many people have update issues when they have more than one installation since FG stores information in the registry and you can only have one set of registry entries.

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Because of the registry being used to store file location details for FG, you wouldn't be able to have multiple instances running, even with separate installs.

The best you can do is run a VM or remote desktop to another computer, and use another FG install from there. The issue here (other than having a VM or another computer) is that the GM will need to be an ultimate license, or the second player instance will need a standard license.

Thanks, I didn't think if their might be a way around the registry issues. Thanks for clarifying and providing a better answer than mine :)

Thanks for the quick responses.

for the free account you can just leave it blank on FGC. however, FGU requires a login. If you use the same as your host it won't work.

I use a whole separate fg account with free version fgc for my test/player instance. Have that setup on my laptop and my desktop has this account and my ultimate license . Used this method for a while now works great for testing .

I have an ultimate license, and 2 computers, what I want to do is be able to switch licences on the same computer. So my wife can use her demo license on the main computer while I am on my laptop running the campaign. But then when I am designing modules I want to use my ultimate licence on the main computer without reinstalling. All of ultimate licence changes are made to a networked drive that I can access on either computer.

Are the licenses stored in a per-user location? (Registry in Windows, filesystem somewhere for Mac). In which case, logging in as different users may be sufficient.

You can’t run two instances of FG with the same license at the same time on different computers. You would need to swap out the license key on whatever computer you are using in order to use it to DM with and then switch it to the other computer when you need it. When your wife is using the other one you’ll need to remove the key and update to revert it to the demo version.

IMO it's easier to run a VM for the demo 'license' than it is to change out the license key and update each time to switch.

License keys are stored in the registry, I don't believe they are in the user keys though so they are per computer. You could switch them out there with a script, but again the update would be annoying. Though maybe you could change the FG Data directories with the keys, since those are also stored in the registry. But, not sure. VM was easier for me when I had this with my son before he had his own computer and I worked on 2 different ones.

I would need to do some testing of this but in \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SmiteWorks\Fantasy Grounds seems to be were the License key is kept. If she logged into the PC as her user then you logged in as yours I think it would work. If you wanted to use the same user account you would need to make 2 reg files. One with no key for her to run then another with the key for you to run.

I hadn't thought about switching user profiles, I'll give that a try thanks!!!