01-05-2022, 03:35 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2010
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What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
I've looked at a lot of RPG spaceship design systems, and have never been quite satisfied with any of them—particularly when it comes to the handling of space combat. I'm coming at this from a position of not minding complexity much, but being deeply annoyed by things that make no in-universe sense. Here are the systems I'm familiar with:
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01-05-2022, 03:38 PM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
Oh god I meant to post this in "Roleplaying in General" can a mod please move it rather than just deleting it?
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01-05-2022, 05:27 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
I quite like Spacemaster Privateers but the book is full of errors and stuff. Still it's a decent variation on build a box and put stuff in it. It's one of those, not quite as complex and detailed can be a good thing situations.
Traveller the New Era's Fire Fusion and Steel is really good. BRTC's Vehicles is excellent, of course. I've designed a couple systems of my own but I'm not here to spam the board.
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01-05-2022, 06:03 PM | #4 |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
Reading reviews of Fire, Fusion, & Steel, I'm reminded of another reason I'm dissatisfied with Traveller—assumptions about computers that are stuck in the 1980s. But BTRC's books (I assume BRTC is a typo) look interesting, would you recommend starting with CORPS VDS or EABA Stuff!?
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01-05-2022, 08:36 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
It was a board game but I quite liked Starfire.
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My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries |
01-05-2022, 09:01 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
Jovian Chronicles has a nice inversion of the "put stuff in a box" model. You choose the capabilities first, then calculate the size of the box it takes to fit it all. There's no explicit power budget, for example, because "competent engineers would make sure the power is sufficient." Their delta-V calculations look odd, but are actually realistic.
There's also something to be said for the simplicity of Warp War, if the tech assumptions match your setting. I've often thought there's a great game to be had by combining Warp War ships, shipbuilding, and combat with the setting and map from The Company War, which models CJ Cherryh's Alliance/Union universe. I cribbed a lot of the boats in the Serenity roleplaying game from real-world aircraft, suitably jazzed up for the setting. The rules were sort of empirically derived from those benchmarks. |
01-07-2022, 03:18 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Cidri (exact location withheld)
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
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01-07-2022, 10:37 AM | #8 |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
Grabbed CORPS VDS and the first thought is "ooph, this is dated"—to the point of having the year 2000 as the dawn of the fusion era. Though the copyright page claims it's from the late 90s. Also, apparently rules for weapon design are sold separately, which is disappointing for my purposes. Also also, while it has some nice quick & dirty rules for AI, they don't mean anything without the main CORPS book.
I think I might pick up EABA Stuff! next rather than plunk down $20 or more on old CORPS books—EABA Stuff! apparently has a GURPS conversion.
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Handle is a character from the Star*Drive setting (a.k.a. d20 Future), not my real name. |
01-07-2022, 11:15 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
Is there some reason you're focused on RPG spaceship design systems? Unless you're using the system intended to work with whatever RPG you're using, a non-RPG designer will be just as usable with your game as an RPG designer.
Also, what is it you want out of a design system? |
01-07-2022, 11:41 AM | #10 | ||
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: What RPG has the best spaceship design system?
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Handle is a character from the Star*Drive setting (a.k.a. d20 Future), not my real name. |
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