Call for Playtesters: GURPS Low-Tech

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Playtests for large books typically run for about a month – and that's a generous definition of "month," closer to 30 weekdays or six calendar weeks. Which means that a 50% increase in list membership translates as roughly an extra 50 posts to read each workday. Even if they all took a minute to scan, that's almost an extra hour in the day . . . and most take more than a minute to truly grasp, relate to other posts, etc.

I believe there has been some improvement in this respect in the last couple of years since I've been flogging the plebes harder about quote-trimming and such; longer threads tend to take less time per message to follow.

At least that's my impression; some authors seem to find a ten-message and twenty-message threads daunting the way some posters were intimidated by one-hundred-message and two-hundred-message first days.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Ah. My misunderstanding. You mentioned specific reasons for picking some people out of that batch of 30, so I figured you had specific reasons for all of them.

Bill Stoddard

Oh, yes. He doesn't pick people who are unlucky.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Oh, yes. He doesn't pick people who are unlucky.

Yes, we do; some newbies are chosen non-randomly for persistence. If you keep applying, you'll get there.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Tzeentch

the lack of aliens

Chapter 1 has 169 words about aliens, plus another 90 words about SM adjustments. And for the rest, well, a tentacled horror from Zeta Reticuli can use a chipped stone knife just as well as you or I can . . .

Bill Stoddard

[RobKamm]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Chapter 1 has 169 words about aliens, plus another 90 words about SM adjustments. And for the rest, well, a tentacled horror from Zeta Reticuli can use a chipped stone knife just as well as you or I can . . .

Bill Stoddard

Yes, but since it has compartmentalized mind and extra attack it can make three chipped stone knives at a time. Also, as those of us with Hidden Lore (Zeta Reticulans) knows they tend to prefer to use a native volcanic glass that can hold a monomolecular edge, but that tend to split lengthwise along the axis of the crystalline structure if they hit something harder than DR 4 (non-flexible).

I too have been enjoying the read so far (despite a two-year-old's birthday party yesterday). And I have taken a sneak peak at Dan's armour section. My wife had to tell me to shut up because I was giggling like a 6'6" schoolgirl...

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

Yes, we do; some newbies are chosen non-randomly for persistence. If you keep applying, you'll get there.

Ah-HAH!

Wait... what?

heh

[benz72]

Too bad I missed this sign up. It sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck guys... make it great!

Ohhh.... is it bad form to ask if there are rules for crafting items at various TL's? If it is, please ignore the question.

Have a good game.

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Chapter 1 has 169 words about aliens (...)

Aliens in Low Tech? Hm, GURPS is generic, but I find that a bit worrying... I hope not having real reasons for it, though!

I wish you good work.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

Hm, GURPS is generic, but I find that a bit worrying... I hope not having real reasons for it, though!

The joke is "169 words." That's about 1/5 page at current GURPS typesetting densities, in a book that's, I think, 128 pages long.

And of course there's a reason for it. One of the big markets for Low-Tech is going to be fantasy GMs wanting an expanded catalog of gear from their Bronze Age or medieval campaigns; but an outer space campaign could perfectly well involve an encounter with low-tech aliens, maybe even stone age alien tribes. And they'd have stone age tools. For that matter, a fantasy campaign could have nonhuman races and have to deal with their tools and gear.

Bill Stoddard

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

Aliens in Low Tech? Hm, GURPS is generic, but I find that a bit worrying... I hope not having real reasons for it, though!

I wish you good work.

Well, 169 words is probably not a bad amount for referencing all the "aliens built the pyramids" and similar theories (e.g. the Nazca lines, etc). That's about two or three paragraphs, I'd wager.