Ryan Johnston
First Post
Mate you're doing a fantastic job.
Star Wars 5th edition
famouswolfe
Explorer
Long Overdue Update
Hello everyone, it's been a very long time since my last update, and I have several important things to share.
First off, I want to give a shoutout to BlueShepherd for assisting me with transcribing my work to a PDF format. Major thanks man, your assistance is greatly appreciated!!
Second, let's talk release date. I know I'm gonna catch a blaster bolt for this, and I do greatly apologize, however the starter kit and full release will be delayed a few more months (more on the reason why in a moment). Just to provide a status update, I'm still finalizing the player classes and writing up the actual starter kit (which will be in PDF format). My problem is that A.) I'm a perfectionist and try to do everything perfectly, and B.) I keep worrying too much about "game balance" and "trying to stay true to Star Wars". I've spent lots of time researching forum after forum regarding what people love & hate about SW: Saga, SW: Revised Core, and even WEG SW D6 (which I have to say, I've fallen in love with D6 Star Wars after having read the 2nd ed revised & expanded rulebook). I also am striving to keep my work as in-tune with 5th edition and also Star Wars at the same time. The result, is a nightmare in trying to perfectly emulate each class (especially Jedi!) according to source material, while at the same time trying to stay true to D&D 5th edition rules while simultaneously capturing the fast-paced, heroic, dramatic feel of Star Wars. It can't be done. Unless I were to custom design my own game engine (which I'm not), it's difficult to do all those things at the same time. I've pretty much had to step back and say "Okay, my goal is for it to be played as comfortable and elegantly as D&D 5th ed. while still FEELING like Star Wars, but above all I want people to have FUN while playing." So, my point is that I've had to (once again) rethink my design choices and redo a few things (player classes being one of them). In terms of release date (for starter kit or full release), I don't have an exact date, only a (vague) future release.
Now, on to the reason WHY it's taking me a bit longer. So, I recently had an opportunity to attend a coding bootcamp at a local university and I could not pass up the chance. I'd been planning on going back to school to study computer science and hopefully get a bachelor's in software engineering, however I found it difficult to balance full time class with work also 4 years of costs etc etc. Then this opportunity came up and I was able to balance work with evening classes and I just had to jump on it. My daily schedule now consists of working a full time job with evening classes along with weekly coding assignments. My fellow web developers out there know what it's like to learn HTML/CSS/Javascript/jQuery/Ruby/PHP/MySQL. Before anyone panics, I want to reassure you that I AM *NOT* GIVING UP OR CALLING IT QUITS ON MY PROJECT. In fact, I am still actively working on it when I'm able to. Unfortunately, my free time outside of work has been stretched thin because I'm now studying. On the upside, class only lasts UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER, at which point I will have graduated and moved into a nicer job as an entry-level full stack web developer. Sometimes life happens, and you get an opportunity that you can't pass up.
At any rate, progress might slow down for the next few months but it will not stop. I remain just as dedicated now as I was when I first started. Thanks everyone for the support, you all are incredible! May the Force be with you!
Sincerely,
Famouswolfe
Hello everyone, it's been a very long time since my last update, and I have several important things to share.
First off, I want to give a shoutout to BlueShepherd for assisting me with transcribing my work to a PDF format. Major thanks man, your assistance is greatly appreciated!!
Second, let's talk release date. I know I'm gonna catch a blaster bolt for this, and I do greatly apologize, however the starter kit and full release will be delayed a few more months (more on the reason why in a moment). Just to provide a status update, I'm still finalizing the player classes and writing up the actual starter kit (which will be in PDF format). My problem is that A.) I'm a perfectionist and try to do everything perfectly, and B.) I keep worrying too much about "game balance" and "trying to stay true to Star Wars". I've spent lots of time researching forum after forum regarding what people love & hate about SW: Saga, SW: Revised Core, and even WEG SW D6 (which I have to say, I've fallen in love with D6 Star Wars after having read the 2nd ed revised & expanded rulebook). I also am striving to keep my work as in-tune with 5th edition and also Star Wars at the same time. The result, is a nightmare in trying to perfectly emulate each class (especially Jedi!) according to source material, while at the same time trying to stay true to D&D 5th edition rules while simultaneously capturing the fast-paced, heroic, dramatic feel of Star Wars. It can't be done. Unless I were to custom design my own game engine (which I'm not), it's difficult to do all those things at the same time. I've pretty much had to step back and say "Okay, my goal is for it to be played as comfortable and elegantly as D&D 5th ed. while still FEELING like Star Wars, but above all I want people to have FUN while playing." So, my point is that I've had to (once again) rethink my design choices and redo a few things (player classes being one of them). In terms of release date (for starter kit or full release), I don't have an exact date, only a (vague) future release.
Now, on to the reason WHY it's taking me a bit longer. So, I recently had an opportunity to attend a coding bootcamp at a local university and I could not pass up the chance. I'd been planning on going back to school to study computer science and hopefully get a bachelor's in software engineering, however I found it difficult to balance full time class with work also 4 years of costs etc etc. Then this opportunity came up and I was able to balance work with evening classes and I just had to jump on it. My daily schedule now consists of working a full time job with evening classes along with weekly coding assignments. My fellow web developers out there know what it's like to learn HTML/CSS/Javascript/jQuery/Ruby/PHP/MySQL. Before anyone panics, I want to reassure you that I AM *NOT* GIVING UP OR CALLING IT QUITS ON MY PROJECT. In fact, I am still actively working on it when I'm able to. Unfortunately, my free time outside of work has been stretched thin because I'm now studying. On the upside, class only lasts UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER, at which point I will have graduated and moved into a nicer job as an entry-level full stack web developer. Sometimes life happens, and you get an opportunity that you can't pass up.
At any rate, progress might slow down for the next few months but it will not stop. I remain just as dedicated now as I was when I first started. Thanks everyone for the support, you all are incredible! May the Force be with you!
Sincerely,
Famouswolfe
Thanks for update and the continued efforts 
Given your software development training, I'll give some development/project analogies I can see:
- analysis paralysis
- development bottleneck
- waterfall
- big bang release
- throw it over the wall
Seems lots of people are waiting with bated breath. Personally I'd release something (even a single chapter perhaps), discuss the community feedback, incorporate changes and re-release. This is lot more engaging and rewarding for everyone involved and you'll get an early insight in that FUN goal you are aiming for!
Given your software development training, I'll give some development/project analogies I can see:- analysis paralysis
- development bottleneck
- waterfall
- big bang release
- throw it over the wall
Seems lots of people are waiting with bated breath. Personally I'd release something (even a single chapter perhaps), discuss the community feedback, incorporate changes and re-release. This is lot more engaging and rewarding for everyone involved and you'll get an early insight in that FUN goal you are aiming for!
famouswolfe
Explorer
Thanks for update and the continued efforts
- analysis paralysis
- development bottleneck
- waterfall
- big bang release
- throw it over the wall
Seems lots of people are waiting with bated breath. Personally I'd release something (even a single chapter perhaps), discuss the community feedback, incorporate changes and re-release. This is lot more engaging and rewarding for everyone involved and you'll get an early insight in that FUN goal you are aiming for!
You hit the nail right on the head, I guess I am caught up in a bit of analysis paralysis lol. Alright, I'll compile and release the first two chapters, which discuss gameplay basics as well as the various species available. I'll post download links soon, and incorporate community feedback as it comes to me. As for the character classes, I'd like to work on those one-by-one with community feedback just to fine-tune them. I realize that attempting perfection is unrealistic, especially with no play-testing, however I would like to at least get the character classes in a "near-ready" state ASAP. Thanks for your input, you've helped put things into perspective ^_^
famouswolfe
Explorer
Star Wars Species!!
Hello all, just here with a quick update. I'm including a link to Google Drive with a PDF of the various alien races that will be featured in the upcoming Star Wars 5E game that I'm working on. **I would love to hear thoughts and feedback** Also, please keep in mind that this is definitely Work In Progress, nothing is set in stone and definitely open to community input and change.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Ig2q5DSn-OdmVFdFlqdmNOVWc/view?usp=sharing
Next on the agenda, we need a name! Right now I'm working with Star Wars Next, however that (obviously) will not be the final name. Anyone got any creative ideas that you don't mind me using? Honestly this isn't too important right now but I thought I'd get some ideas from the community.
Thanks for your continued interest and support, may the Force be with you!
Hello all, just here with a quick update. I'm including a link to Google Drive with a PDF of the various alien races that will be featured in the upcoming Star Wars 5E game that I'm working on. **I would love to hear thoughts and feedback** Also, please keep in mind that this is definitely Work In Progress, nothing is set in stone and definitely open to community input and change.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Ig2q5DSn-OdmVFdFlqdmNOVWc/view?usp=sharing
Next on the agenda, we need a name! Right now I'm working with Star Wars Next, however that (obviously) will not be the final name. Anyone got any creative ideas that you don't mind me using? Honestly this isn't too important right now but I thought I'd get some ideas from the community.
Thanks for your continued interest and support, may the Force be with you!
Ryan Johnston
First Post
Hey not sure if this name works with what you have in mind but what about
The players guide to the galaxy:
Star Wars the New Era
The players guide to the galaxy:
Star Wars the New Era
The races are extremely unbalanced. I'd recommend taking a look at JamesMusicus' homebrew race guidelines, he's done a good job reverse-engineering the 5e races and has a nice point-based system for building new races. Right now you've got weak species like the Duros and very powerful ones like the Trandoshans.
Duros (3.5 points)
+2 Dex (2)
+1 Int (1)
Skill proficiency (0.5)
Trandoshans (6.5 or 7 points)
+2 Str (2)
+1 Con (1)
Darkvision (0.5)
Limb Regeneration (0 or 0.5, it's cool but won't come up much)
+1 hp/level (1.5)
+1 AC (1.5)
I think referencing that doc could help you even things out a lot. A couple ideas off the top of my head to start with for those two species in particular: maybe give the Duros an ability like the 5e dwarf's Stonecunning where they add double their proficiency to astrogation checks, and instead of a flat +1 AC (VERY powerful with 5e's bounded-accuracy), have the Trandos have a 13 + Dex AC calculation when not wearing armor (just like 5e's lizardfolk).
Duros (3.5 points)
+2 Dex (2)
+1 Int (1)
Skill proficiency (0.5)
Trandoshans (6.5 or 7 points)
+2 Str (2)
+1 Con (1)
Darkvision (0.5)
Limb Regeneration (0 or 0.5, it's cool but won't come up much)
+1 hp/level (1.5)
+1 AC (1.5)
I think referencing that doc could help you even things out a lot. A couple ideas off the top of my head to start with for those two species in particular: maybe give the Duros an ability like the 5e dwarf's Stonecunning where they add double their proficiency to astrogation checks, and instead of a flat +1 AC (VERY powerful with 5e's bounded-accuracy), have the Trandos have a 13 + Dex AC calculation when not wearing armor (just like 5e's lizardfolk).
famouswolfe
Explorer
Absolutely love the solid feedback, thanks a ton! Honestly, what I did was take the races as presented in Saga Edition core rulebook and modified them a little based on some races as they appear in 5E PHB (I.E. Ewoks = Halflings, only with a little more Strength because Ewoks as described in SW canon were like small, super-agile bears that were surprisingly strong despite their small stature). At any rate, I'll delve into the link you posted and re-evaluate my species design. By chance, would you happen to have resources to help balance out the classes? I've done some research but apparently designing classes in 5E is a bit more art than science compared to 3.X lol.
Well, Wizards put out an Unearthed Arcana about Creating New Class Options. There's not anything gamechanging there, and its more about new subclasses, but it could be useful.
The same guy who did that race doc also made a Class Analysis/Creation Toolkit. It's not quite up to the same level as the race guidelines, but still solid work with general templates for full/half/non-caster classes.
The same guy who did that race doc also made a Class Analysis/Creation Toolkit. It's not quite up to the same level as the race guidelines, but still solid work with general templates for full/half/non-caster classes.
famouswolfe
Explorer
Species 2.0 and Weapons/Armaments
Hello everyone, just checking in after a bit of a break. Regarding my personal life, class is wrapping up here next weekend (I'm graduating, woo-hoo!!) and I'll begin entering the next phase of my life as a professional web developer. I know most of you don't care about my personal life, I only share this because it means that I'll have more free time again to resume working full speed on this project. As it stands now, my daily schedule consists of work in the morning and class at night with plenty of homework and precious few hours during the weekend to do any kind of recreational activities. My point is, I'll be resuming work full-speed here after next week.
In the time since my last post, I've went ahead and reviewed my species per the feedback I was given and was able to finish revamping them. I ended up going through Wookieepedia and really reading in-depth over the various galactic species and redoing their species traits entirely using the homebrew guide. Overall I'm very pleased, and I think you will be too. Here's a link to my Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1o_ixtjLoCkxhhMxlbR3YnJnzv8kC7tXh
Once again, any feedback is welcome and appreciated!!
Next on the list we have weapons/armor/equipment. I'd also like to throw this out to the community for further review and discussion. Here's (another) link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fwpbc9HKImofEAESV7GTW3ve3GGyAS8U
Sorry if this seems like a lot, I just wanted to share some progress and let everyone know that things are progressing (slowly but steadily). I'd like to thank the community for their support, you all are the best!
May the Force be with you,
Famouswolfe
Hello everyone, just checking in after a bit of a break. Regarding my personal life, class is wrapping up here next weekend (I'm graduating, woo-hoo!!) and I'll begin entering the next phase of my life as a professional web developer. I know most of you don't care about my personal life, I only share this because it means that I'll have more free time again to resume working full speed on this project. As it stands now, my daily schedule consists of work in the morning and class at night with plenty of homework and precious few hours during the weekend to do any kind of recreational activities. My point is, I'll be resuming work full-speed here after next week.
In the time since my last post, I've went ahead and reviewed my species per the feedback I was given and was able to finish revamping them. I ended up going through Wookieepedia and really reading in-depth over the various galactic species and redoing their species traits entirely using the homebrew guide. Overall I'm very pleased, and I think you will be too. Here's a link to my Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1o_ixtjLoCkxhhMxlbR3YnJnzv8kC7tXh
Once again, any feedback is welcome and appreciated!!
Next on the list we have weapons/armor/equipment. I'd also like to throw this out to the community for further review and discussion. Here's (another) link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fwpbc9HKImofEAESV7GTW3ve3GGyAS8U
Sorry if this seems like a lot, I just wanted to share some progress and let everyone know that things are progressing (slowly but steadily). I'd like to thank the community for their support, you all are the best!
May the Force be with you,
Famouswolfe
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