Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > The Fantasy Trip

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-22-2018, 02:24 AM   #41
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

I don't see the nation becoming metric-centric any time soon.
It just seems like demanding everyone speak English as a first language. It would make international communication easier. But when that's necessary, people can just learn it as a second language.
Same for metric and American systems.
Getting upset that most of your prospective American customers want measurements or words different than what the rest of the world prefers seems a bit egocentric and silly. You can't make your audience want something by shoving it down their throats.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 08:56 AM   #42
tbeard1999
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Tyler, Texas
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
For weight, what matters is how it compares to the encumbrance rules, and that just requires the equipment chart and the encumbrance rules to use the same units. Similarly, for long distance travel, what matters is comparing the distance to the overland movement rules (because what I really care about is travel time), and again, all that's required is for the map and the movement rules to be the same. Not to mention the possibility that overland movement is measured in hexes.
Don’t you think it makes more sense to use weight and distance units that most TFT players are most familiar with?

Last edited by tbeard1999; 02-22-2018 at 09:00 AM.
tbeard1999 is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 09:31 AM   #43
Chris Goodwin
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeard1999 View Post
Don’t you think it makes more sense to use weight and distance units that most TFT players are most familiar with?
For which game?

For the arena combat game, hexes and turns are sufficient. To the point that I'm not sure it was ever stated in Melee and Wizard what a hex and a turn represented.

For the roleplaying game, players and GMs generally want to know how big a hex is and how long a turn is. The roleplaying game has a history with metric. I don't see any need to change that.

Are you assuming most TFT players are American? Maybe they are, but maybe for the next edition of TFT, Steve plans to go a little more international in scope. (There have certainly been a lot of complaints over the years about GURPS using American units and not metric.)
__________________
Chris Goodwin

I've started a subreddit for discussion of INWO and Illuminati. Check it out!
Chris Goodwin is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 09:34 AM   #44
Chris Goodwin
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
I don't see the nation becoming metric-centric any time soon.
Officially, US measures have been defined in terms of metric for a long time now. An inch is exactly 2.54 cm.
__________________
Chris Goodwin

I've started a subreddit for discussion of INWO and Illuminati. Check it out!
Chris Goodwin is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 10:32 AM   #45
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeard1999 View Post
Don’t you think it makes more sense to use weight and distance units that most TFT players are most familiar with?
The major effect of using recognizable units is to lampshade how unrealistic the rules are.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is online now  
Old 02-22-2018, 12:53 PM   #46
tbeard1999
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Tyler, Texas
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
The major effect of using recognizable units is to lampshade how unrealistic the rules are.
My question was:

Don’t you think it makes more sense to use weight and distance units that most TFT players are most familiar with?

Your response seems to be "no, we should not use units that are familiar to anyone". That seems, well, absurd, so I wanted to be sure that's what you meant.
tbeard1999 is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 01:57 PM   #47
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeard1999 View Post
My question was:

Don’t you think it makes more sense to use weight and distance units that most TFT players are most familiar with?

Your response seems to be "no, we should not use units that are familiar to anyone". That seems, well, absurd, so I wanted to be sure that's what you meant.
Listing weights in Encumbrance Units is a perfectly viable option, and has the useful side benefit that you can adjust the rating for objects that are unusually convenient or inconvenient relative to their weight.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is online now  
Old 02-22-2018, 03:22 PM   #48
tbeard1999
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Tyler, Texas
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Listing weights in Encumbrance Units is a perfectly viable option, and has the useful side benefit that you can adjust the rating for objects that are unusually convenient or inconvenient relative to their weight.
But how is it a BETTER option than simply expressing weights, distance, etc., in the most familiar units to most TFT players?

After all, "viable" isn't the same as "desirable".

And seriously - doesn't Steve Jackson have better things to do than create an entirely new, imaginary system of weights and measures??

Last edited by tbeard1999; 02-22-2018 at 03:45 PM.
tbeard1999 is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 03:24 PM   #49
Chris Goodwin
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeard1999 View Post
But how is it a BETTER option than simply expressing weights, distance, etc., in the most familiar units to most TFT players?

After all, "viable" isn't the same as "desirable".
Are most TFT players American?

Are we expecting no one outside of the US to play TFT?
__________________
Chris Goodwin

I've started a subreddit for discussion of INWO and Illuminati. Check it out!
Chris Goodwin is offline  
Old 02-22-2018, 03:45 PM   #50
tbeard1999
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Tyler, Texas
Default Re: Metric? Keep or change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Goodwin View Post
Are most TFT players American?

Are we expecting no one outside of the US to play TFT?
Isn't it reasonable to assume so? Most copies were sold in the US, after all. I'd expect that Americans make up the majority of purchasers for GURPS for instance.

And while everyone is of course encouraged to play it, why unnecessarily inconvenience the majority of your players? Are non-Americans so fragile that they'll reject a game that uses pounds and yards? Is there any evidence of that?

I also note that I've played UK rules that used centimeters for measurement - that didn't so deeply offend me that I refused to play the game. I really think non-American gamers are made of equally stern stuff.

Perhaps expressed another way - IF the majority of TFT players are American, doesn't it make sense to use units of measurement that are the most familiar to most of them?

Last edited by tbeard1999; 02-22-2018 at 03:53 PM.
tbeard1999 is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.