GURPS 5E?

[acrosome]

Ah, yes, living documents. I am familiar from my demoralizing experiences with Phil Eklund's High Frontier. Which is an awesome game BTW but you have to be a space/science geek to play it at all.

So on that subject, if a 5E could be published online in a way that you could choose all of the many optional rules that you wanted to use for a given setting and have them spat out in a PDF or something (properly indexed!) that would be monumental.

I wouldn't even object to a printing fee. Places like FedEx and other office stores will often refuse to print something that looks copyrighted, so for a small fee SJG could send you an official letter saying that you have been approved to print X copies for your personal use. Yes, a lot of folks would just use the PDF or print it at home, but some would want it bound nicely and would pay- like me. Voila- income! (In addition to the income from selling the "books" in the first place.)

I put "books" in scare quotes because you wouldn't really need books. Things like High Tech, Horror, Martial Arts, etc. would just get added to your library of rules in the living document when you buy them.

[Dominator]

Something SJG could do right now is pregen characters as free downloads. I'm currently going through the AtE templates, and they are a slog - wall-of-text presentation, and kitchen-sink design makes for slow going picking them apart and recommending (for example) how to build 125pt characters out of them.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by acrosome

So on that subject, if a 5E could be published online in a way that you could choose all of the many optional rules that you wanted to use for a given setting and have them spat out in a PDF or something (properly indexed!) that would be monumental.

Thats a very expensive proposition. Cheaper to have trait and rules lists with page references and use that to filter the ones you want. Already done.

Originally Posted by acrosome

Places like FedEx and other office stores will often refuse to print something that looks copyrighted, so for a small fee SJG could send you an official letter saying that you have been approved to print X copies for your personal use.

Already allowed.

Originally Posted by acrosome

I put "books" in scare quotes because you wouldn't really need books. Things like High Tech, Horror, Martial Arts, etc. would just get added to your library of rules in the living document when you buy them.

This is the real kicker though. What format, where stored? Setting that up costs money and if its done at a VTT you would need separate setup costs for each platform and they would take a cut on sales. Fans likely would then object if the changed platforms, demanding they get the content on the new platform for free.
This is a big headache and added expense.

[David Johansen]

For a somewhat more realistic and viable approach, start small. Start with GURPS Lite and three small supplements. Call it Worlds of Wonder or something. Do, Fantasy, Horror, and Space Opera right out of the dock. This start keeps the initial investment of resources small, tests the water, and brings in revenue towards the big hardbacks. Kickstart it. Use the income to pay for the creation of the first hardback. Characters. Kickstart it. Use the income to pay for the creation of the second hardback. Probably Fantasy or Magic. Start building the data sets for the electronic version at the same time as each book so that it will exist instead of having to wait for ten years and declare the project too big.

[acrosome]

Originally Posted by Dominator

Something SJG could do right now is pregen characters as free downloads. I'm currently going through the AtE templates, and they are a slog - wall-of-text presentation, and kitchen-sink design makes for slow going picking them apart and recommending (for example) how to build 125pt characters out of them.

Or as part of that living document have an app to generate characters using a bunch of standard templates. And again, as you purchase new supplement "books" any new templates in them get added to your account. So just click "Elf" and "Archer" and it spits the character out with a note that you have 5 CP left to spend.

Originally Posted by Refplace

Thats a very expensive proposition. Cheaper to have trait and rules lists with page references and use that to filter the ones you want.

And that is why I described it as "monumental", Chief. :)

Originally Posted by Refplace

This is the real kicker though. What format, where stored? Setting that up costs money and if its done at a VTT you would need separate setup costs for each platform and they would take a cut on sales. Fans likely would then object if the changed platforms, demanding they get the content on the new platform for free.

I have never used a VTT let alone maintained one so I really can't speak intelligently. But if you are talking about displaying a document I have to assume that merely having it in PDF would suffice?

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

In my opinion?
The system of tech levels and the equipment lists have been left behind by changes in technology and science fiction.

i'd be interested in hearing more thoughts on how to improve this, specifically.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

i'd be interested in hearing more thoughts on how to improve this, specifically.

Most of what that poster wrote I disagree with as I like those things.
However the tech system I could see improvement but that might make it more complicated but perhaps better presented.
I would like tech trees such as in various videogames.
Have a broad core reference base for each tech level that matches real world history.
But maybe put developments at certain levels in the tree with prerequisites from other trees if any.
You would need a good core tech book to outline this approach and tech supplements could focus on and flesh out specific sections - say grav tech or bio tech.
Simple TL descriptions though might be too unwieldy in this approach.
Say TL 8 overall then list exceptions. So you need more like a paragraph to describe UT, Superscience, or alt tech settings. On the other hand is that really bad? The core tech would still appear simple and exceptions merit extra description anyway.
And wow, a tech tree system could spark some creative world building for people with a lower overhead then thinking it up from scratch.

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Most of what that poster wrote I disagree with as I like those things.
I would like tech trees such as in various videogames.
Have a broad core reference base for each tech level that matches real world history. But maybe put developments at certain levels in the tree with prerequisites from other trees if any. Say TL 8 overall then list exceptions. So you need more like a paragraph to describe UT, Superscience, or alt tech settings. On the other hand is that really bad? The core tech would still appear simple and exceptions merit extra description anyway. And wow, a tech tree system could spark some creative world building for people with a lower overhead then thinking it up from scratch.

I agree, and would certainly consider that sort of development.

[David Johansen]

I'd set the modern Tech Level to 10 to allow a couple more steps in the thing. Honestly, Spacemaster Privateers used a thirty step TL system and I could see going that way to represent things better.I'd probably make materials and physical science the key to each rung with things like wheels as advancements that can be moved around a bit.

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

I don't have a lot of thoughts ready to tell you.

I think I would start by stepping away from TLs based on important aspects of material culture and the technology of production and instead draw the boundaries where the personal effects of adventure heroes change, i.e personal weapons, body armour, personal and public vehicles, and means of private communication.

Focusing on the adventurer is always a good idea! Though it is often hard to imagine the technology of material culture not affecting things like body armor (unless you mean something different than what I thought).