Game Computer Alpha Released! (Patreon)

Hello everyone, long time no see! As I've updated some of you in the Discord server I've had some personal stuff going on in the last week which have slowed down the progress on this module and on the upcoming modules' updates, but after so much work the module is finally here!

Or at least a very early version! I have decided that I should release the module in its current, early, state as it is better than to leave you all in the dark for much longer! The module will be receiving substantial updates in the upcoming weeks, but this also allows me to release updates for other modules as well in the mean time!

Ok, enough yapping about the organizational stuff

What is Game Computer?

Game Computer is a new Foundry module that puts a fully working, computer inside monitors from Hacking Games.

Currently, a win98 "system" acts as an actual desktop with windows, a Start menu, apps, files, games and a boot sequence, that your players sit down at and use.

Basically, every computer is an Item. The GM decides what is on each machine, what apps it has, what emails are in the inbox, what is hiding in a password protected folder. Players find a computer on the map or in their inventory, boot it up, and start digging. Whatever they change stays changed.

Features:

Computers are Items!

Place them on the scene (players double-click the tile to use them), put them in inventories, or open them from the sidebar

Note: If you are using Enhanced Inventory please update that module as well so the computers can show up in your inventory!

Edit the computer in the sidebar and every copy on the map or in inventories updates instantly

The machine itself

Choose the monitor per computer: Old Desktop or Laptop, each with clean and dirty variants (the item icon matches!)

A real Win98 desktop

Draggable windows, taskbar, Start menu with submenus, desktop icons, right-click menus everywhere, cut/copy/paste, Recycle Bin per computer

Display Properties with 9 color schemes and custom wallpapers picked from images on that computer

All the effects from Hacking Games carry over for each monitor/theme!

20 apps, including:

Full file browser with folder tree and drive list

Email with inbox/sent/deleted, players can write and send mail (you get notified with a button to read it!)

Notepad and Paint that save real files onto the machine

Media Player with audio, video and live music visualizations (spectrum bars, oscilloscope and fire, switchable in the View menu!)

Phone Dialer with real touch tones. It keeps ringing until the GM picks up, declines, or lets it ring out

Camera Feeds the GM can retune live with static bursts

Hacking Terminal that launches the actual Hacking Games mini-games on the same screen

Games such as Minesweeper, Solitaire and FreeCell!

The Database

Multiple databases per computer, searchable with partial matches and a proper result table

Mugshot-style record cards with photos, notes and redacted fields (blacked out for players, and no, they can't find redacted info by searching for it)

Password locked records, and cross-links between records so players crawl from clue to clue

Search-only mode: no browsing, players must already know the name they are looking for

You get a quiet notification every time a player searches anything. You always know what leads they are chasing!

A record generator that creates up to 200 believable fake people so your real clues hide inside realistic noise

Removable disks!

Floppies, CDs and USB drives as Items with their own files

Insert one and it physically leaves your inventory and appears as A:, D: or E: in My Computer. Eject it and it comes back with whatever is on it now. Files really travel between computers!

Disks left in a machine stay there, even across sessions

Password protection

Anyone can protect any file or folder. Opening it asks for the password, with the option to remove protection. The GM can always see the password

Spectating

When a player uses a computer you get a notification: Spectate or Use/Edit

Spectating is a true live mirror with every mouse movement, click, window, menu highlight, typed letter, Paint stroke and sound all shown in real time

Players choose which other players may watch them, and the GM can flip between using and spectating with one button

NetMeeting

Live chat between player and GM

Push any image or looping video as the caller's webcam feed

Players calling you get a Join button on your screen, and the whole conversation is saved on the computer

GM tools everywhere

Per-computer app toggles, so an office terminal and a hacker den feel completely different

GM Options menus inside Email, Database, Camera Feeds and NetMeeting to author content live while players watch

New File (GM) on any right-click: real images, audio and video through the FilePicker, or random junk files for set dressing

One-click Populate to fill a whole computer with believable files

Notes!

Very important: Game Computer requires Hacking Games, so make sure it is installed and up to date!

How to use:

Here is the important part: the GM can open the same computer the player is currently using, at the same time! When a player boots a computer you get a notification with two buttons, Spectate and Use/Edit. Spectate shows you their screen live, Use/Edit opens your own session of that exact machine, and this is how you interact with many apps live:

Open NetMeeting on both sides and you are talking to your player in real time, under whatever caller name you set, with a webcam image or video you control. When a player starts a call you get a Join button that takes you straight there

Change a camera feed while the player is staring at Camera Feeds and they see the image cut over with a burst of static, live

Add a database record, an email, or drop a new file onto the machine mid-scene and it is just there the next time they look.

You can switch between using and spectating with one button next to the monitor, so you can watch them read the email you just planted

Compatibility

Foundry VTT v13/14, System Agnostic!

Plans for the future:

The themes from Hacking Games will all be integrated into Game Computer, not only that, but themes will have different "operating systems", for example the Fallout terminal will behave like an actual fallout terminal, the sci fi and Cyberpunk themes will also have their own unique systems and applications! This is also not the end of development for the old desktop and laptop themes, I'm very eager to hear feedback and suggestions! Let me know what you think and want!

How to Install/Use

Manual installation is straightforward:

Download and extract the zip file attached to this post ( download zip if you have windows, tar.gz is for Linux)

If Updating, delete the old module folder entirely, if not updating skip this step

Place the extracted folder into the data/modules/ inside your Foundry user data directory

If Foundry is already running, restart it so it recognizes the new module

Enable the module in your world under Manage Modules

You can now created computers and data containers

Right click to access all the options