What do you want for the 35-year anniversary?

[sgtcallistan]

Originally Posted by (E)

If my memory is working properly, "GURPS, Pardon me" was the title of an article in the GM magazine that first informed me of the games existence.
(Late 80's early 90's?)

I have a vague memory of that phrase, wot is wot suggested itself to me. ;-)

[RedMattis]

In the age of working-from-home and meeting on Discord GURPS really should try to modernize a bit I think. GURPS really should try to get onto platforms like Fantasy Grounds, I feel.

It feels like GURPS in general is fading into obscurity where I'm from (Sweden). Large stores used to at least have a copy or two of GURPS, but not even the largest RPG/Tabletop store in Sweden's Capital has any GURPS books anymore.

It is a shame I think, because some character-creation point-value-gripes aside, GURPS is the most solid tabletop RPG around, imo.

[AlexanderHowl]

Well, that is partially because there are few new physical products being released, so anyone interested in GURPS has already bought them. I can usually find a couple of GURPS books at my local gaming store, but there is nothing that I have not already purchased, so there really is no incentive to them to have old inventory on hand. Even a new physical product every year would allow for fresh interest in GURPS.

The issue is that physical product is the best advertisement for a tabletop RPG, especially if someone can flip through it before they buy it. For example, the first thing I always look at in an unfamiliar RPG is character creation. If it is a D20 clone or possess a boring system, I usually put it on the shelf, but I never buy anything unfamiliar if I cannot look at character creation first. In the case of digital-only products from unfamiliar systems, that means I never buy them unless they are part of a bundle on DriveThruRPG or Humble Bundle.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by johndallman

You could submit them to The Path of Cunning, the GURPS fanzine that RogerBW and I edit. That gets read by some people.

Do you mind articles that are basically an add on to Pyramid articles? This houserule is largely "Replace steps 1-3 of Conditional Damage with..."

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Do you mind articles that are basically an add on to Pyramid articles? This houserule is largely "Replace steps 1-3 of Conditional Damage with..."

Let's take a look at it and see.

[Dexion]

When I hear about Vehicles, my opinion is that the majority of players need vehicles but not necessarily a system to build them from A to Z. The Basic Set contains some excellent rules and a list of vehicles. This is all really well done. But if it is well designed, however, it is extremely short list, even reductive. For example, in some categories of vehicles there is only one entry.

If I want to remake the chase in Terminator 2, I need a light bike (I open the Basic and yes I have it) for the young John, a heavy bike for the T-800 (have it too) and a semi-truck for the T-1000 (great it's here too).Great ! I can play.

Now I want to remake the next chase in Terminator 3. I need a pickup for John (Basic had it), a heavy bike at the beginning for the T-800 (ok too) and a Heavy lifter crane truck for the T-X. I haven't it or something similar. And shame, I need after a fire truck for the second part of the chase for the T-800 (nothing in the book, but all young boys love the red firefighter truck, we need it). I can't play.

An example for a recent party in my Zombie scenario, my player in front of the work site. Can I found a bulldozer to go throught the zombie horde to joint my firends ?
Sure ! I look in the tracked section, no bulldozer, no battle tank or tractor.
GM answer : Sorry you don't find it, but I propose you a 1/2 ton truck, it's ok ?
Player : Yes, but can I add an armor ?
GM: yes I have some rules for this (looking in MH we modified the stat) and go to the fight.

Than I wish to say it's that most of us (old like news players, certainly more news one) need just some numerous examples of each categories of vehicules (a Titanic or modern paquebot, a small blimp, a TGV, side-car bike, bicycles, more standard cars, battle tank, Fire truck with water cannon...) a 10-12 pages book with the samples, a short description/notes, and a page of light customization like the ones in Action, MH or ATE.
A Basic Campaign Expansed Vehicules list...

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Dexion

When I hear about Vehicles, my opinion is that the majority of players need vehicles but not necessarily a system to build them from A to Z. The Basic Set contains some excellent rules and a list of vehicles. This is all really well done. But if it is well designed, however, it is extremely short list, even reductive. For example, in some categories of vehicles there is only one entry.

If I want to remake the chase in Terminator 2, I need a light bike (I open the Basic and yes I have it) for the young John, a heavy bike for the T-800 (have it too) and a semi-truck for the T-1000 (great it's here too).Great ! I can play.

Now I want to remake the next chase in Terminator 3. I need a pickup for John (Basic had it), a heavy bike at the beginning for the T-800 (ok too) and a Heavy lifter crane truck for the T-X. I haven't it or something similar. And shame, I need after a fire truck for the second part of the chase for the T-800 (nothing in the book, but all young boys love the red firefighter truck, we need it). I can't play.

An example for a recent party in my Zombie scenario, my player in front of the work site. Can I found a bulldozer to go throught the zombie horde to joint my firends ?
Sure ! I look in the tracked section, no bulldozer, no battle tank or tractor.
GM answer : Sorry you don't find it, but I propose you a 1/2 ton truck, it's ok ?
Player : Yes, but can I add an armor ?
GM: yes I have some rules for this (looking in MH we modified the stat) and go to the fight.

Than I wish to say it's that most of us (old like news players, certainly more news one) need just some numerous examples of each categories of vehicules (a Titanic or modern paquebot, a small blimp, a TGV, side-car bike, bicycles, more standard cars, battle tank, Fire truck with water cannon...) a 10-12 pages book with the samples, a short description/notes, and a page of light customization like the ones in Action, MH or ATE.
A Basic Campaign Expansed Vehicules list...

I agree, so yes I'd love an all singing, all dancing Vehicle design book (with weapon design system included) for everything from a TL0 canoe up to a TL12 death star.

But that is a monumental task

A nice compendium of GURPS 4e vehicles would cover an awful a lot of the ground I'd actually need that design book for! And the more worked examples you have the easier it becomes to extrapolate other similar vehicles from them.

I really like the format of the listings in HT

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Dexion

When I hear about Vehicles, my opinion is that the majority of players need vehicles but not necessarily a system to build them from A to Z.... just some numerous examples of each categories of vehicules (a Titanic or modern paquebot, a small blimp, a TGV, side-car bike, bicycles, more standard cars, battle tank, Fire truck with water cannon...) a 10-12 pages book with the samples, a short description/notes, and a page of light customization like the ones in Action, MH or ATE.

The titles suggested in the Warehouse 23 Wish List for GURPS can be awfully reductive ("Sports Cars of the 80s, 90s, and 00s"? Really?). I'm not surprised we haven't seen much produced in that line for real-world vehicles.

But I'd love to see a broader GURPS Vehicles: Highway Traffic with just such an assortment of generic TL7 and TL8 vehicles: motorcycles with and without sidecars, subcompact and compact cars, big sedans, trailers, pick-up trucks and SUVs, suburbans and vans, campers, buses (school, civil, and customized), delivery trucks, semis with trailers and flatbeds, tanker trucks, cement trucks and bulldozers and other construction equipment, police cars and paddy wagons, fire-department ladder trucks, and ambulances.

A brief description of variants for each model (by TL or subclass), about on the level of what GURPS High Tech offers for guns, would be plenty for most purposes. Leave military vehicles out entirely, for a separate book (or mention military variants of common civilian types, like a jeep). Train engines and rail cars should also probably get their own volume. Include some discussion of use in Autoduel or After the End settings, or how such vehicles might upgrade or hang around for a Cyberpunk campaign, and you broaden the book's appeal. For the crunchy types, include some rules expanding "close combat" to specifically cover battles in the same back seat or bus bench.

Then, to clinch the deal, add overhead token art (or even 2.5D papercraft!) for each vehicle, for use on physical or virtual playmats. Sure, art is expensive, but you'd broaden sales far beyond the borders of the existing GURPS audience, potentially even to the lucrative d20 set (for Modern settings).

I'd buy such a book in a heartbeat. And, with recent releases on customization, etc., such a release would instantly solve almost every vehicle need in most modern-day campaigns.

The question then becomes: what kind of "professional" credentials would one need to show for SJGames to approve an author?

[AlexanderHowl]

The thing about designing vehicles is that it is not that difficult as a GM. Based on TL, model specifications, and reputation, you can determine stuff like ST, HT, Basic Move, Enhanced Move, etc. pretty quickly. When it comes to HT, TL6 cars are HT 10, TL7 cars are HT 11, and TL8 cars are HT 12, with some brands and models receiving a +1 or +2 to HT while others would receive a -1 to -2 to HT (with a further -2 to +2 to HT based on condition and modifications). A HT 6 is not unreasonable for a very poorly built TL6 vehicle in very poor condition and a HT 16 is not unreasonable for a very well built TL8 vehicle in very fine condition (even an assembly line will likely randomly toss out a fine example of a model every 1:1000 vehicles and a very fine example of a model every 1:1,000,000 vehicles).

[Kromm]

I do desperately hope that:

1. GURPS fans won't overlook or forget about GURPS Action 6: Tricked-Out Rides.
   
   
2. GURPS writers won't miss that this page explicitly states: "All supplements from GURPS Action 3: Furious Fists to GURPS Action 7: Mercenaries offer good worked examples of what we seek."

I realize that realism diehards are frowning and shaking their heads at that, but I happen to know that emulationist rules like those in GURPS Action sell better than simulationist ones.