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Aliens RPG Post Mortem
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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8421969" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>For me, I can see ways to hack the game to make it better, but then I'm not talking about the game as written. I'd rather discuss how the actual game functions, what works there and doesn't work and why, to nail down exactly what the root issues in the system are. When discussion immediately goes to fixing table entries, my first (and strong) worry is that we're addressing symptoms, not gameplay, or something else is being missed while doing this and setting up future issues.</p><p></p><p>So, for me, there's a set of interconnecting issues:</p><p></p><p>1. Panic results create incoherencies when applied outside of combat. This isn't just a fictional issue, but ties into the assumed action economy and also the nature of skills and talents and the combat system. It's not just the table entries.</p><p></p><p>2. The skills and talents are extremely narrow and focused on a specific set of assumptions as to what play will be about. To me, this is as big an issue as the panic, because you have to do a lot of work to ignore these when applying them outside of pretty much combat or exploration of a combat zone. There's almost no support for anything not related directly to survival or combat or combat survival. Those that exist are aimed at getting the GM to tell you stuff about the situation your in to aid with survival or combat.</p><p></p><p>3. The time/action assumptions. Aliens has a pretty strong time issue. As the last discussion in our game happened, we were looking at the time between actions outside of combat and realizing that the stress reduction mechanics, which are tightly constrained in combat/survival situations, are such that stress bleeds off very quickly when doing things at a slower pace. Thus, the time assumptions of the game are again geared to specific scenarios and not broader play, and this directly ties into how the whole game drives at combat and survival. I mean, this makes sense, look at the title!</p><p></p><p>While changing entries on the panic table does some work, I don't think it's the patch that's needed. I'm not sure it's worth patching this game to do something other than what's on the tin, and that's recreating the sort of scenarios that are like the source material. I haven't tried this yet, but I think it'll do a bang up job here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 8421969, member: 16814"] For me, I can see ways to hack the game to make it better, but then I'm not talking about the game as written. I'd rather discuss how the actual game functions, what works there and doesn't work and why, to nail down exactly what the root issues in the system are. When discussion immediately goes to fixing table entries, my first (and strong) worry is that we're addressing symptoms, not gameplay, or something else is being missed while doing this and setting up future issues. So, for me, there's a set of interconnecting issues: 1. Panic results create incoherencies when applied outside of combat. This isn't just a fictional issue, but ties into the assumed action economy and also the nature of skills and talents and the combat system. It's not just the table entries. 2. The skills and talents are extremely narrow and focused on a specific set of assumptions as to what play will be about. To me, this is as big an issue as the panic, because you have to do a lot of work to ignore these when applying them outside of pretty much combat or exploration of a combat zone. There's almost no support for anything not related directly to survival or combat or combat survival. Those that exist are aimed at getting the GM to tell you stuff about the situation your in to aid with survival or combat. 3. The time/action assumptions. Aliens has a pretty strong time issue. As the last discussion in our game happened, we were looking at the time between actions outside of combat and realizing that the stress reduction mechanics, which are tightly constrained in combat/survival situations, are such that stress bleeds off very quickly when doing things at a slower pace. Thus, the time assumptions of the game are again geared to specific scenarios and not broader play, and this directly ties into how the whole game drives at combat and survival. I mean, this makes sense, look at the title! While changing entries on the panic table does some work, I don't think it's the patch that's needed. I'm not sure it's worth patching this game to do something other than what's on the tin, and that's recreating the sort of scenarios that are like the source material. I haven't tried this yet, but I think it'll do a bang up job here. [/QUOTE]
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