The New Virtual Tabletop

Roll20 has undergone big changes over the last year. Between the launch and continued iteration of the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Character Sheet, Compendium redesign, and building a Discord Activity that allows players to jump into games without leaving the chat platform, there has been no shortage of updates for our community to digest. 

In late 2023, Roll20 announced the launch of Project Jumpgate: our effort to modernize the virtual tabletop and prepare it for the next decade of tabletop roleplaying. Fully invested in evolving with our users’ needs, we’ve leaned heavily on years’ worth of collected feedback about areas where the platform could be improved. From loading speeds and user interface to integrating more intuitive tools for Game Masters and players alike, we committed to rebuilding from the ground up by blending cutting-edge technology with community-driven insights. 

After conducting thorough research and engaging directly with users to understand their pain points and wish lists, we targeted a next-gen tabletop that balanced enhanced functionality with the simplicity and reliability players expect. 

I’ve been on Roll20 for a good decade or so, and I really appreciate all of the improvements and additions I’ve seen over the years. Jumpgate in particular has been dynamite!

-Nickjbaer

Since Roll20’s previous rendering engine was created more than a decade ago, implementing updates or improvements proved extraordinarily difficult. Starting fresh allowed us a chance to rework our legacy code with an eye toward what browsers are capable of in today’s world and allowed our developers to create new code using modern standards and practices. By moving as much of the rendering work as possible to hardware acceleration and shaders, we were also able to provide significant speed increases. 

Our focus on improvements to performance, accessibility, and usability kept our mission of connecting people through shared gaming experiences intact, and through multiple beta stages, we were able to collect and incorporate feedback every step of the way. This ensured the new tabletop served as an upgrade for everyone, supporting as many real playing experiences as possible.

The Biggest Improvements

Here’s what you can look forward to in the new tabletop:

Smoother Performance

Thanks to behind-the-scenes optimizations (shoutout to Jeff!), Jumpgate delivers drastically improved performance compared to the Legacy tabletop. Recent data shows that users are 6-7 times more likely to enjoy smooth, seamless graphic performance on Jumpgate! 

While some machines and resource-heavy games (e.g., those with lots of animations or utilizing robust lighting and effects) may still experience occasional FPS dips, most users are enjoying a much smoother and more responsive experience. We’ll be continuing work to improve performance across the board!

Expanded Features

• Pan beyond game edges: freely move beyond the map’s bounds, giving GMs the ability to organize off-map objects or set up scenes for later use
• Multiple Dungeons & Dragons Character Sheets: use both Roll20 official D&D Character Sheets in a single game, effortlessly managing campaigns that blend 2024 and 2014 rules
• Uplifted Visual Effects: now more accessible, enhance gameplay for everyone!
• Dynamic Lighting tool overhaul: redesigned from the ground up, the new tools make diagnosing and fixing lighting setup challenges faster and more intuitive
• Updated Page Folder functionality: create folders, drag-and-drop pages, and categorize your maps and content intuitively, now with the “My Page” title in the top left corner of Page Toolbar replaced by your current page, making it easier to identify where you are and access page settings

Keep an eye out for even more Jumpgate-exclusive features in development now, from better animation handling to integrations with Dungeon Scrawl and Demiplane, plus more that we’ll be posting about soon!  

Quality of Life Enhancements

• Streamlined Token management: rotating, resizing, and viewing tokens is now smoother than ever, with multi-selecting available to speed up workflow.
• Advanced Copy-Paste functionality: copy and paste freely… even doors and windows! (Undo and redo options make it easy to recover from mistakes)
• Re-Center your Map instantly: lost your place? A click brings you back to the action
• Improved Zoom and Pan: navigate your maps with greater precision and ease
• Improved Right-Click Context Menu: enjoy intuitive controls for faster game management
• Enhanced Hide/Reveal Mask (previously Fog of War): simplified tools allow GMs to guide gameplay seamlessly without interrupting the flow of the game
• Copy Game improvements: you can now include Mod (API) Scripts when creating game copies

For a full list of improvements, click here. 

Out of Beta and Here to Stay

This shift doesn’t mean we’re wiping our hands and moving on. Leaving beta simply means that Jumpgate is the fastest, easiest to use, all-around-best way to play tabletop roleplaying games, and is the foundation of Roll20 moving forward. Our commitment to improvement will continue since we’re dedicated to supporting and refining the tabletop based on the needs of our users. 

If you encounter any lingering bugs or have ideas for future enhancements, please reach out through the tabletop, our support portal, our forums, or social media channels. This rebuild is a huge leap forward for Roll20 and the tabletop gaming community, and we’re excited for you to experience your campaigns on it.

We can’t wait to see the adventures you embark on using Jumpgate. Have fun!