Is a 5th Edition coming soon? [Answer: NO, it isn't!]

Kromm · 04-07-2012, 01:09 PM

Well, to sort of stay on topic . . .

There are people out there with crummy math skills, for whom addition is faster than subtraction, both are faster than multiplication, division is nearly hopeless, powers are hopeless, and transcendental functions (trig functions, logarithms, etc.) are "stuff geeks did that I didn't understand." This makes anything that relies on fractions or percentages difficult, texts containing mathematical expressions frightening, and even table look-ups kind of scary. Probabilities are best left vague, not played upon explicitly. Then there are the people who have a PhD in mathematics or a physical science, who would consider all of the above trivial.

Thus, audience selection is always an issue when deciding how much math to design into an RPG. For GURPS, we were already aiming fairly high with the concept: a single, unified tool kit for emulating specific genres and fictional tropes, for telling stories in worlds that exist only in the mind, while keeping a synthetic persona separate from your natural one. Thus, we aimed the math at the same general level of mental horsepower. That means we took "can do basic mental arithmetic (+, -, ×, and ÷) intuitively, without much regard for the specific operation" as given, and didn't dwell on it, and included things immediately upscale from that (%, √, etc.) without comment.

If GURPS were a single-genre, intro-to-roleplaying kind of game aimed at total newbies to the hobby, we would have to lower the conceptual difficulty, and at that point we would probably lower the mathematical difficulty to match. It's a valid criticism that the two don't have to track one another, but we reject it. A game written to appeal to advanced roleplayers with bad math skills, or to people with excellent math skills but no grasp of role or story, would end up insulting half its potential audience by writing down to them. A game that maintains a consistent high level shows respect for their ability to learn and adapt.

04-07-2012, 01:09 PM	#11
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Re: Is a 5th Edition coming soon? Well, to sort of stay on topic . . . There are people out there with crummy math skills, for whom addition is faster than subtraction, both are faster than multiplication, division is nearly hopeless, powers are hopeless, and transcendental functions (trig functions, logarithms, etc.) are "stuff geeks did that I didn't understand." This makes anything that relies on fractions or percentages difficult, texts containing mathematical expressions frightening, and even table look-ups kind of scary. Probabilities are best left vague, not played upon explicitly. Then there are the people who have a PhD in mathematics or a physical science, who would consider all of the above trivial. Thus, audience selection is always an issue when deciding how much math to design into an RPG. For *GURPS, we were already* aiming fairly high with the concept: a single, unified tool kit for emulating specific genres and fictional tropes, for telling stories in worlds that exist only in the mind, while keeping a synthetic persona separate from your natural one. Thus, we aimed the math at the same general level of mental horsepower. That means we took "can do basic mental arithmetic (+, -, ×, and ÷) intuitively, without much regard for the specific operation" as given, and didn't dwell on it, and included things immediately upscale from that (%, √, etc.) without comment. If *GURPS* were a single-genre, intro-to-roleplaying kind of game aimed at total newbies to the hobby, we would have to lower the conceptual difficulty, and at that point we would probably lower the mathematical difficulty to match. It's a valid criticism that the two don't have to track one another, but we reject it. A game written to appeal to advanced roleplayers with bad math skills, or to people with excellent math skills but no grasp of role or story, would end up insulting half its potential audience by writing down to them. A game that maintains a consistent high level shows respect for their ability to learn and adapt. __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]