Buck Rogers XXVc wasn't that bad a game.

[Achan hiArusa]

After reading http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/252425-lorraine-williams-did-what.html and the comments on Buck Rogers XXVc I have to ask did you play the game?

Honestly, except for the character cards you could play the entire game without seeing Kane, Deering, or Rogers. It filled the solar system and people lived everywhere.

It was to AD&D what Future d20 was to 3.xE and predated it by 14 years, with high technology, a wide variety of races to play, with a percentile skill system and saving throws that made much more sense than proficiencies and saving throws did in AD&D.

It was transhuman before David Pulver even had thought of the first word of Transhuman Space with an AI NPC class, genetically modified humans (gennies), and totally artifically created species. And games could run from the sun blasted side of Mercury to the upper atmosphere of Jupiter to the rings of Saturn.

It had a nice space combat game and a simple ship creation system and an xp system for ship to ship combat (so your Kryat fighter takes out a Battler, how many XP do you get?).

And toys, lots and lots of toys. No cyberware (sad), but lots and lots of toys.

Now, the Buck Rogers High Adventure Cliffhangers, the less said the better.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

You also described it´s problem: it didn´t know into what genre it belonged. On the one hand there were larger-than-life heroes traveling through space in rockets, fighting evil corporations with swords and rocket rifles.
On the other hand, everything was taken super-serious, there were "realism is important" sections on bioengineering, etc.

You cannot be a game about Buck Rogers AND a game about serious SF, and this disparity showed.

 

[gribble]

I've been thinking the same thing. I *loved* this game at the time (admittedly I was about 15 years old, but it was totally sweet).

The map of the solar system with the little plastic ruler to measure travel times... I think it even had movable planet counters so the travel times always varied. Plus the ship stat cards with the pictures and floorplans. The initial boxed set was a great product!

The ruleset itself was really good too, from memory - it seemed a lot more fun and playable than the alternatives at the time - AD&D, MERP or Palladium.

And it didn't hurt that the two SSI goldbox computer games were both really good too. Much better than the D&D ones...

 

[Achan hiArusa]

You also described it´s problem: it didn´t know into what genre it belonged. On the one hand there were larger-than-life heroes traveling through space in rockets, fighting evil corporations with swords and rocket rifles.
On the other hand, everything was taken super-serious, there were "realism is important" sections on bioengineering, etc.

You cannot be a game about Buck Rogers AND a game about serious SF, and this disparity showed.

So I can't have a sense of wonder and a bit of flair in my serious SF? I would suggest you go back and read some Heinlein.

 

[pawsplay]

It was not a bad game. I've thought about buying a copy and converting it to something. The computer games were, indeed, quite awesome. I liked capturing ships from pirates.

 

[Ariosto]

Based on cursory reading, I think it looks pretty good. I tend not to worry much about setting, as I'm likely to make up my own anyway. There's plenty of interesting stuff.

The rules are essentially 2E AD&D adapted to space opera, which seems (A) not a bad fit and (B) easy to learn and play.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

It was not a bad game. I've thought about buying a copy and converting it to something. The computer games were, indeed, quite awesome. I liked capturing ships from pirates.

I already have one floating on one of my computers somewhere.

 

[Deset Gled]

It was to AD&D what Future d20 was to 3.xE

This example (and others) implies that people who liked 2e will find BR to be acceptable because it the two are similar, mechanically.

If someone doesn't like the mechanics of 2e at all, what are the odds that someone would also enjoy BR?

 

[Xyxox]

The marketplace says you're dead wrong.

Warehouses full of the game say it was one of the worst games in history.

Teh game was pushed and marketed heavily. If you read Dragon magazine at all, you heard about it.

If it was a good game, it would ahve been at least marginally successful.

It wasn't.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

The marketplace says you're dead wrong.
Warehouses full of the game say it was one of the worst games in history.

Man, that Firefly was one of the worst TV Shows ever! Cancelled before it's season finished, didn't even bother showing the episodes they had in the can.

One of the worst SF shows in history.