Grading the Rolemaster/Spacemaster System

[Wofano Wotanto]

What has been cool to me that it hasn't (yet!) received any "Never Heard Of" votes.

The new edition is relatively recent (less than a year) and is still coming out, which keeps it in the news (and new DTRPG listings) to some degree. You might have had different results if you'd run this before the edition was announced and the system had been fallow for longer.

It's hard to recall these days, but ICE also had a pretty serious ad budget back when gaming magazines really meant something. If you were old enough to recall that era, you probably saw an ad or review in some mag or zine at some point. It probably also benefits a bit from ICE's old association with Hero Games, as well as MERP putting them in at least the fringe of the conversation when talking about LotR.

Between having new releases and its past history roleplayers are likely have at least heard of it - and the ones who haven't probably won't open the thread to vote, so there's some poll bias there, too.

 

[Kannik]

It's hard to recall these days, but ICE also had a pretty serious ad budget back when gaming magazines really meant something. If you were old enough to recall that era, you probably saw an ad or review in some mag or zine at some point. It probably also benefits a bit from ICE's old association with Hero Games, as well as MERP putting them in at least the fringe of the conversation when talking about LotR.

I do very much remember seeing plenty of adds for all the ICE games in magazines back in the day. That's part of what had me wonder if it would be less well known in the poll, whether it was only 'old guard' who would remember it (and would they be the only ones looking in this forum/thread ) or whether it has been seen or shared about more widely to keep it 'alive'. A new edition certainly helps there too! Either way, I'm happy that, at least amongst those who responded, it remains well known.

 

[aramis erak]

After a second "Hate..." vote, we're back down to a solid C+. What has been cool to me that it hasn't (yet!) received any "Never Heard Of" votes. While Rolemaster is for sure one of the classics, I wondered if it had faded into the past or faded into the background enough that it was no longer part of the collective RPG headspace. So far it seems not, at least not to those who frequent this forum.

The most recent edition's gettting what looks like paid-for pride of place on Drive Thru...

 

[Kannik]

Just a quick note that, amazingly, the replies right now are just the exact right number such that nearly every single percentage is working out to a whole number with no decimals (the only exception is the % of those who have played), and even the GPA is exact to a single decimal place (at 2.5, on the very cusp of C+/B- ). Unexpected and cool to see!

 

[Kannik]

The most recent edition's gettting what looks like paid-for pride of place on Drive Thru...

As in you feel that they're paying for heavy ads/placement within DriveThru?

 

[aramis erak]

As in you feel that they're paying for heavy ads/placement within DriveThru?

It feels that way.
It's thrown at me every login since Jan.

 

[Kannik]

It feels that way.
It's thrown at me every login since Jan.

Heh, in a way I guess that would be some nice continuity, taking all the advertising they used to place in the old gaming magazines going and keeping that train rolling into the digital realm.

 

[pemerton]

From 1990 to 2008 RM was my main game. I GMed thousands of hours of it.

At the time I loved it: it had seriousness - in characters, in spells, in combat (even if some critical results were a bit cheesy). It was possible to have viable characters with poor combat stats. Our game saw a lot of PCs whose important contributions included social, performance and perception.

Now Burning Wheel gives me the same seriousness of PC build, but with better resolution mechanics. So I voted It's alright I guess.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Heh, in a way I guess that would be some nice continuity, taking all the advertising they used to place in the old gaming magazines going and keeping that train rolling into the digital realm.

Interesting theory. Now we need to have Martian Metals raise from the dead and start running digital ads that only display upside down on your screen and we'll really have some nostalgia going.

I miss those goofballs and their wacky ads. Been gone a long time now.

 

[Kannik]

Now Burning Wheel gives me the same seriousness of PC build, but with better resolution mechanics. So I voted It's alright I guess.

Burning Wheel is a system I'm curious about -- I've played a version of it with Mouse Guard but haven't tried the original. I will add it to the list of "Grade..." posts.