Hosting one one computer with the GM on another.

[Ksanchez1987]

So we are in a weird position. We have been trying to play on FG unity for the last few weeks, but whenever we try to log into the session, we freeze and can't get in. I believe this is partly due to the fact that the DM is running an old underpowered laptop and we have 5 computers trying to connect. Are there any tips/tricks to help this? Does anyone else have this problem? Also, I have a very powerful computer that is hardwired to my internet connection. Is there any way to host the game on my computer and have everyone connect to me and run the instance on my PC but still grant the dungeon master his abilities?

[RoleforFun]

So we are in a weird position. We have been trying to play on FG unity for the last few weeks, but whenever we try to log into the session, we freeze and can't get in. I believe this is partly due to the fact that the DM is running an old underpowered laptop and we have 5 computers trying to connect. Are there any tips/tricks to help this? Does anyone else have this problem? Also, I have a very powerful computer that is hardwired to my internet connection. Is there any way to host the game on my computer and have everyone connect to me and run the instance on my PC but still grant the dungeon master his abilities?

It sounds like this may be more of a connection issue than your GM's computer, although there's no way to be certain. There have been many people having issues with connecting and freezing up, so I'd try looking around to see if anyone has your specific symptoms (or closely similar) and perhaps that will give you some insight.

As far as someone else hosting for the GM, the answer is unfortunately no. The Host computer is the one that retains the main database and all the associated functions, so whichever machine is hosting is the machine the GM would have to operate from. It's impossible to grant GM "powers" to any of the client machines connecting to the host. I personally wish it were different, as do many others, but it's not something that is currently possible due to the way FG handles campaign data and access. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news regarding that. :-(

[Dr0W]

Either way, being an experienced GM on FG... I know GM will need to handle a lot more stuff than the others. Lots of windows open, will have to check everyone's sheet, check NPCs, deal with effects and such, have the CT open at all times. It's pretty possible for a person to play on a weak computer, they only have to deal with their own sheet and the map.

So, in my humble opinion, it's a very hard task to actually DM if you have a bad computer. Even if you could be the host to handle connections, if his computer is that bad, he'll have a very hard time.

[damned]

It may just be that FGU itself is not yet well optimised and there are networking issues for quite a few people still.

[NoblePrince]

I'm am going to run an experiment that I believe will work and will allow me to GM from my normal desktop. My plan is to use a remote desktop software to connect to the computer that will host Fantasy Grounds. I already have Foundry running on it for my 5E campaign. So my idea is that Fantasy Grounds will run on this host machine and I'll use remote desktop to dial in and take full control of this machine, allowing my players to join from the internet and myself to control the machine from my desktop as if I were sitting in front of it. The remote connection software I'll be using is Remote Utilities which gives one a free license to manage up to 10 computers and the experience is very close to sitting at the actual machine. I will then launch FG Unity and operate it from my desktop or laptop, while using Discord on which ever machine I'm physically sitting at. I'll let you guys know how that works out.

[Marquis_de_Taigeis]

I have managed to remote desktop into fantasy ground unity using Steams remote play feature, streaming the actual app causes some screen sizing issues, but streaming a shortcut for wordpad, minimising this and then opening FGU does work as the minimising of wordpad lets you use the remote pc for whatever. This was on the same network, so anyway that would allow you to remote control a PC even a cloud based virtual machine should work for running FGU from a underpowered PC