YumiChat: Online Gaming Experience

Overview

YumiChat is an program for playing traditional Table-top role-playing games (TRPGs) over the Internet.

• GameMaster (GM) login gives additional features to the GM.
• Remote or Local Server Creation. All you need is your own computer and an Internet Connection!
• A map that allows the GM and Players to place and move miniatures in real time.
• Integrated Information for icons and character sheets.
• Integrated real-time chat with HTML and other special functions.
• Support for Dice or Cards.
• Support for Macintosh and Linux.
• Support for web login. No downloading needed!

Connecting to a Server and Logging In

1. Double-click on the YumiChat Icon. A large screen will appear asking you for your User Name, IP Address and your Port Number.
2. Enter the IP Address and Port Number of the Server you will be logging into. This should have been sent to you by whomever started the server.
3. If you would like to log in as the GameMaster, select "GM" from the User Name dropbox. If not, select the User Name you would like to use, or select *New User* to create a new user.
4. You may enter User Information in the box to your right, as well as change your User Name. There is no limit to the number of User Names you may have on a computer. The grey line represents the size of the User Information Box on the chat screen. Use this when determining when lines may wrap.
5. When you are finished, press the "Update Info" button. Please note that User Names may NOT contain spaces.
6. YumiChat supports both Cards and Dice for Games. If you would like to use cards instead of Dice, please check the "Use Cards" button.
7. When you have made all your choices, click "Login."

For this section we will assume that you are a GameMaster attempting to set up a game for the first time. This will guide you through the most basic options for setting up your game.

Starting a Server and Logging In

1. Double-click on the YumiChat Icon. A large screen will appear asking you for your User Name, IP Address and your Port Number.
2. Click the "START SERVER" button to create the server. A command console will appear. This is for confirmation that the Server is running, and that it shuts down properly when the game is finished. You may minimize this console if you wish.
3. Your local IP address for logging into the server will be displayed in the IP Address box. If it is not, or the wrong Address is displayed, you may enter that manually.
4. Your external IP address, that other players will use to connect to your game is displayed at the top of the page, in red. Send this number to your players so that they may connect to your server.
5. If you would like to log in as the GameMaster, select "GM" from the User Name dropbox. If not, select the User Name you would like to use, or select *New User* to create a new user.
6. You may enter User Information in the box to your right, as well as change your User Name. There is no limit to the number of User Names you may have on a computer. The grey line represents the size of the User Information Box on the chat screen. Use this when determining when lines may wrap.
7. When you are finished, press the "Update Info" button. Please note that User Names may NOT contain spaces.
8. YumiChat supports both Cards and Dice for Games. If you would like to use cards instead of Dice, please check the "Use Cards" button.
9. When you have made all your choices, click "Login."
10. Inform your players of the IP Address of your game. They can then log in from their own computers immediately.
11. When you are finished, be sure to click the "Close Connection" button in order to shut down the Chat Server. If you forget to do this, the Chat Server can be closed manually by pressing the close button on the console window.

If you have a firewalls and router on your system, you must configure them to allow incoming traffic to Yumichat, much as you would for an online game Server. You should consult your router or firewall manual to learn how to properly configure it.

• You will need to open port 9090 on your firewall. This will allow information to travel between YumiChat and the server. If you are using WindowsXP(sp1 or 2) Firewall, you will get a prompt asking you to open this port when you first run YumiChat Server. Click Yes.
• For routers, you will need to use Port Forwarding (i.e. packet forwarding, address forwarding) to make sure that information is traveling to the right machine. In your router's configuration setup, set the Port Forwarding so that port 9090 is sent to the server's interal IP address (usually 192.168.xx.xx).
• Your players should now be able to access your server with no problem.

Using the Chat Program

YumiChat's chat function works in real time, which means that as soon as you send a message, other players will receive it immediately. YumiChat uses Unicode, so even non English characters should appear correctly.

YumiChat's chat window uses a subset of HTML, so there are certain HTML commands available to you.

HyperLinks

<a href='http://url.com'>Text</a>
You can create a hyperlink that will open a browser window when a user clicks on it.

Color

<font color='red'>Text</font>
You can change the color of your text by enclosing it in the <FONT> tag. "Color" can be any recognizable HTML color code or Hexidecimal value (ex. #000666).

Bold

<b>Text</b>
You can make text bold by enclosing it in the <B> tag.

Italics

<i>Text</i>
You can make text italicized by enclosing it in the <I> tag.

Underline

<u>Text</u>
You can underline text by enclosing it in the <U> tag.

In addition to the above HTML tags, YumiChat uses a number of chat commands commonly used in IRC and other online chat protocols.

Whisper

/player Text
This will make the Text only available to the player with the Username you specify. The only other player to be able to see it is the GameMaster.

NPC Chat

//name Text
This allows the GameMaster to send a message as an NPC character. This can be used to make it seem as if the NPC is sending the text. For example, the chat message "//MonkeyMan I want a banana!" Would display "MonkeyMan says: I want a banana!" The NPC name may not contain spaces.

NPC Whisper

//name /player
This allows the GameMaster to send a whisper to a character as an NPC. Only the player with the username specified will be able to see the message.

Scene/Round Break

/new Text
This sends the Round/Scene breaker to the chat window. This is useful for marking the beginning of a round, or for starting new scenes. Text describes the segment being started.

Roll Dice

[ndx+y ndx ndx+y ...]
Users may embed dice rolls into their chat instead of using the dice buttons at the bottom of the screen. "n" is the number of dice to roll, while "x" is the value of the dice. "y" is a modifier to the die roll. 4d6+2 would roll 4 six sided dice, and then add 2 points. Whether the dice values are totaled or displayed seperately depends on the "Total Dice" checkBox. If a modifier is used, and dice are displayed seperately, the modifier is applied to each die.

Dice

YumiChat supports the use of various dice in games. Specifically it uses 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20-sided dice. You may roll dice by clicking the Icon of the Die type you want to roll. The Results will appear in the Chat window. Name rolls: (4)[1d6]

You may also add descriptors by tpying text into the chat box before clicking the dice. Your message will be send along with the dice.
"kick him in the head" and clicking the d20 would return:
Name rolls to kick him in the head(14)[1d20].

You may roll multiple dice by typing a number into the "Number of Dice" box and then clicking the icon. If there is no number in the box, only one die is rolled.

You may add a modifier to the roll by entering a number into the "Dice Modifier" box before clicking the die icon. This number may be positive or negative. If there is no number in the box, no modifier is applied. If a modifier is used, and dice are displayed seperately, the modifier is applied to each die.

You may choose whether or not to total the values of the dice by clicking the "Total Dice" checkbox. Totaled: (12)[4d6] Not Totaled:(1 3 4 4)[4d6]

Cards

Cards may be used in place of Dice if you wish. Each player has their own "deck" of cards. By pressing the "Deal Card" button, a single card can be placed in their hand. A player's hand size is limited to 10 cards. A player may play a card by clicking that card. It will be send into the chat window. When all cards are played, press the "say" button to send the card values to other players.

Mapping

On the bottom left corner of the YumiChat window is the game map. This serves as a whiteboard for the players and GM to visually describe what is going on in the scene. The map, like chat, is updated in real time.

Icons

An Icon is a representation of a character on the Map. A player may use as many Icons as they wish. Below each Icon is the User who created the Icon as well as the Icon's name.

Create an Icon

To create an Icon, drag the icon from the icon list onto the main map. This will create an instance of the Icon.

Move an Icon

You can click and drag any icon that belongs to you. When you release the mouse, the icon is dropped.

Remove an Icon

To remove an Icon, drag it from the map back to the Icon list. Anywhere on the Icon list is fine. This will remove the Icon from the map.

Icon Information

When you click an icon on the map, it's information will be displayed in the information box on the top left side of the screen. This shows not only the icon's name, but also any relavent information such as damage, strength, etc.

Updating Icon Information

When you click on an icon that you own, you have the option of updating the icon information. To do so, simply write the new information in the information box, and press the "Update" button. You can also change the name of your icon through the same method.

Predefined Icons

There are four colored icons displayed above the map. These are the Predefined Icons. You may define names and information for these Icons, and whenever they are used, the icons placed on the map inherit the name and information from the preloader. This is useful for creating armies, or multiple characters that share the same attributes.

Grid

By clicking the "Grid" checkbox, players and the GM can turn on the grid for their map display. The grid is a 32 x 32 square set that is equal in size to an icon.

Pen

The GameMaster has the option to draw on the Map by clicking the "Use Pen" checkbox. By clicking and moving the mouse, the GameMaster can draw anywhere on the screen. This is visible to all players, and is useful for drawing in setting or surrounding items. Pen markings can be cleared by clicking the "Clear Pen" button.

Character Information

YumiChat has an integrated character sheet and information system in addition to its icon system. By clicking on a Username in the "Who's Online" box, Information regarding that player will be displayed in the Information Box. This information can be anything the player wishes, from rules, to a character sheet, to notes about the game, etc...

When a player logs in, YumiChat searches for a text file with the same name as the Username. If it finds it, it is loaded into the program as character Information. Thus, if your Username was MonkeyJohn, YumiChat would load MonkeyJohn.txt into your character Information. If this information is not found, NULL will be displayed.

Updating Character Information

You can update your own Character information from within YumiChat by loading your own information into the Information Box, writing the new information, and clicking update. The information will automatically be sent to the other players, as well as update your text file for next game. If there is no text file currently present, one will be created for you.