The base system is solid. The condition track can be wonky and unbalanced (especially a powerful Force Wizard with several uses of Force Stun) since it essentially gives all characters only 5 hp against certain kinds of attacks, but that's the only really "broken" spot.
I've heard that. I tried a game with a Force Wizard, and it's died now. He took out a crab droid with Move Object (flipping it over), so I had to use actions to get back up to keep things moving.
The issue is that you're attacking Defences with Skills, and skills can have that +5 from training as well as stats as well as feats; +15 at first level isn't as hard as it could be, and defenses don't seem to keep up for too long. Maybe I read it wrong...
I don't think that'll be an issue per se. I'm using the Gneech's lovely Sword & Sorcery conversion for the magic system of Rifts; and I may use the Force as the basis for Mind Melters and other psionics. I would have liked it if the two "magic systems" could have worked differently, not just off different stats, but maybe Rifts already had mirroring magic systems. So the Force isn't the only thing out there
My worry is that it won't be enough like Rifts-style magic. DCs for high level spells, or more complex ones, may make high magic out of reach for regular PCs.
I've basically decided I'll also be expanding level ranges to 30, rather than 20 levels, like 4e. That's way down the line, though, as I'll have to crunch out some monsters and some math charts to keep things balanced. It is more Rifts-like, though, as higher level monsters and characters are just that: massively powerful. Ranging things at 20 levels doesn't make sense, even if the PCs will never be that powerful.
I don't know about building monsters for SAGA, but so far I haven't tried.
Cybernetics I'm porting over d20 Future, along with mutations. SW never did enough for gadget-minded PCs, and I think this helps. Also, they're slots to fill with rewards as the campaign progresses.
It's hard, but I've found that my best GM memories, most told player stories, and best scenes have all been derived from the players doing something totally unexpected. It's hard but it's worth it when you get into it.
Good luck.
Thanks.
I think it comes from a fear of being vulnerable, of not having control. Not that I'm that bad, but at that moment, as GM, I've got a table full of people looking at me and waiting for me to do something. I've seen it in a lot of GMs; some who take on the roll because they're control freaks (which is a surprising inconsistency, as it's so vulnerable to losing that control), and some who are just there because someone needs to do it ot get things rolling.
I'm lucky that I have years of experience, and I've been training myself to think up possible paths players could take when I'm designing. I'll have, for example, a list of probable shops they would want to go to in a town, so they have an NPC ready when they go there.