Call for Playtesters: GURPS Realm Management

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

You instead have resources like "Agriculture Points" that you can spend to feed your people or perform other actions. It *does* come with its own task resolution system which is it's own chapter and I'm pretty proud of it. One thing that system should also allow is "fights" between groups like those presented in Boardrooms and Curia. At least that was the plan.

I sincerely hope folks like it because it tested me sorely at every turn and I think it's some of my best work.

Its more like GURPS Spaceships than GURPS Vehicles in this regard. Some would love more details like the variations in growing cycles of various grans and the effect of a single degree change in weather. However I suspect most would not and if it were it would get similar complaints. But as a playtester I found enough detail to let me build kingdoms and provinces with defining characteristics that have some plausibility. Plus considerations for unrealistic elements.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Or in this case, "only one Nikki."

Incidentally, having worked with her on a lot of books, I want to say that I often think "So, how great is Nikki, anyway?"

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Incidentally, having worked with her on a lot of books, I want to say that I often think "So, how great is Nikki, anyway?"

I always tell her how much I appreciate her. She does some damn heavy lifting and she does it well.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

I always tell her how much I appreciate her. She does some damn heavy lifting and she does it well.

Indeed. Nikki does excellent work and has pulled off significant improvements for my stuff more than once.

(I mean, everybody I've worked with at SJ Games has been great, but Nikki tends to be very much behind the scenes, so it's worth emphasizing.)

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

Nikki tends to be very much behind the scenes, so it's worth emphasizing.

I agree.

Customers mostly know about and praise writers, because their name is right there in large type on covers and title pages. To some extent that goes for artists, too . . . though that feels a little strange to those of us who know that just about all of our art is either reused from forever ago or bought from generic services like Shutterstock.

Line developers like me are spokespeople for their lines and therefore have platforms. In that capacity, I'm not exactly unknown. People often thank me. (People often curse me, too, but I have thick skin.)

Project managers . . . well, that varies, but it's a high-profile role. Steven is the person you hear from when there's a playtest, a new product, or just about anything else that's news. Writers love him because he's the one who sets up the contracts that get them paid. He's also pretty famous as the Pyramid editor.

Editors tend to be unsung. After more than 25 years, I've yet to be named in a history of the games industry – much less nominated for any kind of award – on the strength of my editing. It's pretty much "technical support" that's invisible when it goes well and harshly attacked when it goes poorly. But the latter means it's noticed at least some of the time. (Plus there's the secret smile when people like something I know is really my effort, not the writer's.)

Production artists are really unsung. Yet they do at least as much of the work as all of the people above. As a line developer, I count on Nikki to support me with a consistent look and feel for my product line. As an editor and writer, I count on her to follow my directions on translating specific projects from my mind's eye to reality, especially in supplements with lots of formatted text (like tables and templates). And while I can't speak for Steven, I'm pretty sure that being a project manager is a lot easier when you have a production artist who can handle requests to "get this done yesterday."

So please give Nikki a round of applause!

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

And making more Nikkis is nearly as problematic as making more Kromms, not least because it would really complicate things for the only one Steven Marsh.

So what is the optimal Kromm:Nikki:Steven ratio?

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Anders

So what is the optimal Kromm:Nikki:Steven ratio?

It's less a ratio and more a coordinate in three-dimensional space. Different projects require different values of (k, n, s), though √(k² + n² + s²) is relatively invariant.

[Pomphis]

Originally Posted by Kromm

People often thank me. (People often curse me, too,

Is that suicide by Kromm?

Originally Posted by Kromm

After more than 25 years, I've yet to be named in a history of the games industry – much less nominated for any kind of award – on the strength of my editing.

But you have been deified and have your own church and worshippers all over the globe

Originally Posted by Kromm

Production artists are really unsung. Yet they do at least as much of the work as all of the people above. As a line developer, I count on Nikki to support me with a consistent look and feel for my product line. As an editor and writer, I count on her to follow my directions on translating specific projects from my mind's eye to reality, especially in supplements with lots of formatted text (like tables and templates). And while I can't speak for Steven, I'm pretty sure that being a project manager is a lot easier when you have a production artist who can handle requests to "get this done yesterday."

So please give Nikki a round of applause!

Three hoorays for her

[Been]

I actually realised how good SJG production was when playing a different game, was trying to find a rule and just couldn't, normally would have gone straight to the index and be on my way 30secs later

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

Indeed. Nikki does excellent work and has pulled off significant improvements for my stuff more than once.

(I mean, everybody I've worked with at SJ Games has been great, but Nikki tends to be very much behind the scenes, so it's worth emphasizing.)

Pretty much. Like I've said elsewhere, she's made me a better technical writer. Her patience is seemingly endless at times.