dr_kromm: (Default)
Sean Punch ([personal profile] dr_kromm) wrote2009-04-03 08:23 pm
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Another week in the life of GURPS

Caramba, but this was a busy week in the little world o' GURPS. Highlights:

• We reviewed the PDF of David Pulver's GURPS Spaceships 4: Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha. This is just the thing for gamers who like small spacecraft . . . or huge vessels that carry swarms of them . . . or spaceships with arms and legs (what?!). Look for it in early May.

• Steven Marsh ([info]waitingforgo) posted the call for playtesters for GURPS Urban Magics, by Bill Stoddard ([info]whswhs). If you're into magic in urban settings, and meet the playtest requirements, why not jump in?

• I reviewed and wrote up comments on the first draft of GURPS Low-Tech Companion 1: Philosophers and Kings. Those who like thoughtful low-tech games – especially historically accurate ones – will love this GURPS Low-Tech add-on.

• I reviewed and commented on the first draft of GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2: Weapons and Warriors, too. Gamers whose idea of historical accuracy is highly detailed violence will prefer this item.

• And then I started my review of GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics. This veers back into the "thoughtful" category, but at the level of farmers and masons rather than thinkers and leaders.

• I turned in more content for GURPS Gun Fu, which I'm writing with Hans-Christian Vortisch and S.A. Fisher. It'll be in the review and playtest queues before we know it. I need to learn how to review two manuscripts whilst jumping through the week to keep up with all this stuff.

[identity profile] greatbuddah.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 10:10 am (UTC)(link)
Man, the Low-Tech suite is looking sweet! Go, go, go!

[identity profile] greatbuddah.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 10:13 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, and how long are those Companions? 16-32 pagers?

[identity profile] dr-kromm.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Each looks to be in the 30- to 34-page range, pre-playtest, so I'd say 32 pages or so. Tables can lead to surprises, though.

[identity profile] cut-copy-paste.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Just trying to figure out what's in these compared with the main book. Is the main book going to be basically a tech catalog a la High Tech with the supplements filling in the historical info that we all loved so much from the 3e book? or how's it all spacing out? Nonetheless, I royally can't wait. 240+90 pages? sweet. (although looking back it's been a while since a 4e book didn't get bumped up to at least 256)

[identity profile] whswhs.livejournal.com 2009-04-05 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
The Companions are a mixture: part historical context, part optional complicated systems for aspects of adventuring gear and game mechanics, partly catalogs of equipment that doesn't have a lot of adventuring applications. Different mixes in different volumes.

Spaceships 3...

[identity profile] amesjainchill.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
So if 4 is out in early May...3 might be out in late April... Hmmmmmmm.
Having new Spaceships after a year, and close to my birthday? Awesome.

And all the other stuff looks great, too.

Re: Spaceships 3...

[identity profile] dr-kromm.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm, I thought I had hinted at this in a previous week's report: Spaceships 3 is aimed at the first third of April.

[identity profile] xambrius.livejournal.com 2009-04-07 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
While updating my PDF wish list to include the Low-Tech Companion series, I typed Low-Tech Companion 3: Artisans and Engineers before noticing that was not, in fact, the correct name. I have no idea why I typed what I typed, but now I'm actually curious. Just how astronomically slim are the chances of such a PDF being written and released? I know Low-Tech will cover artifice and engineering, but how much information will it provide on the mechanical geniuses who maintained and advanced the tech of "stuff" through the ages? Just curious.

--
Tim Harris
The Seeker
Time Lord

[identity profile] dr-kromm.livejournal.com 2009-04-07 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Low-Tech and its support PDFs won't be Who's Who items, so they won't go into any great depth on specific inventors or scientists – they'll mainly name-drop in passing. However, the tools used by such people will be present, and Low-Tech Companion 3 will include some rules for practical craftsmanship.

[identity profile] xambrius.livejournal.com 2009-04-07 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
That's great. I was thinking not so much a "Who's Who" as a roleplaying guide for players who want their own characters to be artisans and/or engineers (or better yet, beleaguered GMs who want to accurately represent artisan and engineer period-appropriate NPCs). If Low-Tech and the Low-Tech Companion series doesn't do that, it's not horrendous omission. I have no doubt that the entire Low-Tech suite will be chock full of very useful info both crunchy and fluffy. But if it can also be used as such a character guide, WOW! That would be a tremendous bargain indeed.

It's stuff like this that reassures me that my fractional contribution to your paycheck and the paychecks of SJG's many authors is definitely money well spent.

--
Tim Harris
The Seeker
Time Lord