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Playtest Feedback: Creating a Star System
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<blockquote data-quote="LucasC" data-source="post: 6242629" data-attributes="member: 6762606"><p>As I prep for gameplay, and because I know absolutely nothing about star systems, I gave the random generator a try (pages 165-169). </p><p></p><p>I will start by saying I am grateful that this section is included and think it is a great tool. Further, I realize that most of what I note below under 'bad' can easily be corrected by applying some non-random logic to the results. That is what I will do as I create the setting we play in but provide this feedback so you can tweak tables and such if the results are not what you want. </p><p></p><p><strong>The Good</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Quick: It took me about 30 minutes to generate my star system, and as I do it more often this will be reduced significantly</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Diverse: I ended w/a diverse set of planets - much more varied than I would have likely created</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Imagination: The unusual results often sparked my imagination (see aliens below)</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>The Not-So-Good</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Confusing Table Layout: Many of the table are confusing. I figured them all out in time, but the roll once, read vertical, roll again, read horizontal, sometimes roll again, add from previous, etc. all got to be confusing. This should be helped in the final document I suspect by better labeling and maybe some help text.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Unintended Results: There were a few things that came out differently than I think would be intended. Including:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Planet 1 is closest to the sun and is an ice giant</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3 of my 4 terrestrial 'planets' got demoted to moons when I rolled on the tables for creating terrestrial planets (this then had the added effect of leaving me with 3 undefined planets)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2 of my 4 terrestrial planets end up classified as 'Industrial' planets but they are of a tech level too low to support space travel - while I recognize that a society can go backwards technologically, the results when rolled randomly will produce this somewhat frequently</li> </ul></li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>And a Few Final Things</strong> </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On page 168, the sentence directly beneath the table that begins, “Moons: roll…” trails off without actually ending.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sticking with the 'moons' line under that table on 168, should planets have a 0 option for moons or is the intent that they have at least 1?</li> </ul><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Things I'd Like Added</strong></p><p><strong></strong>A set of tables for generating traditionally habitable planets (such as class “M”). This would allow me to ensure I have one or two human-friendly planets. Keeping them separate from the core tables allows some cool results like the above.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>The Aliens</strong></p><p>As I looked at my star system I realized my only homeworld was unable to support 'traditional' human life. At first I was disappointed by this, then it occurred to me that I was simply limiting my imagination too much and so was born a new alien race to populate my inhospitable planet. As such, I consider this a strength as it forced me to think outside my normal comfortable boundaries. </p><p></p><p><strong>What's Next </strong></p><p>Now that I have a new race to create that gives me a good excuse to try out those rules. I'll report back here after that is done. </p><p></p><p>My players and I are all excited about this. We will be making characters next week and hopefully run the first game the following.</p><p></p><p>--</p><p></p><p>Screenshot of actual results of my rolling below. </p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]60211[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LucasC, post: 6242629, member: 6762606"] As I prep for gameplay, and because I know absolutely nothing about star systems, I gave the random generator a try (pages 165-169). I will start by saying I am grateful that this section is included and think it is a great tool. Further, I realize that most of what I note below under 'bad' can easily be corrected by applying some non-random logic to the results. That is what I will do as I create the setting we play in but provide this feedback so you can tweak tables and such if the results are not what you want. [B]The Good[/B] [LIST] [*]Quick: It took me about 30 minutes to generate my star system, and as I do it more often this will be reduced significantly [*]Diverse: I ended w/a diverse set of planets - much more varied than I would have likely created [*]Imagination: The unusual results often sparked my imagination (see aliens below) [/LIST] [B]The Not-So-Good[/B] [LIST] [*]Confusing Table Layout: Many of the table are confusing. I figured them all out in time, but the roll once, read vertical, roll again, read horizontal, sometimes roll again, add from previous, etc. all got to be confusing. This should be helped in the final document I suspect by better labeling and maybe some help text. [*]Unintended Results: There were a few things that came out differently than I think would be intended. Including: [LIST] [*]Planet 1 is closest to the sun and is an ice giant [*]3 of my 4 terrestrial 'planets' got demoted to moons when I rolled on the tables for creating terrestrial planets (this then had the added effect of leaving me with 3 undefined planets) [*]2 of my 4 terrestrial planets end up classified as 'Industrial' planets but they are of a tech level too low to support space travel - while I recognize that a society can go backwards technologically, the results when rolled randomly will produce this somewhat frequently [/LIST] [/LIST] [B]And a Few Final Things[/B] [LIST] [*]On page 168, the sentence directly beneath the table that begins, “Moons: roll…” trails off without actually ending. [*]Sticking with the 'moons' line under that table on 168, should planets have a 0 option for moons or is the intent that they have at least 1? [/LIST] [B] Things I'd Like Added [/B]A set of tables for generating traditionally habitable planets (such as class “M”). This would allow me to ensure I have one or two human-friendly planets. Keeping them separate from the core tables allows some cool results like the above. [B] The Aliens[/B] As I looked at my star system I realized my only homeworld was unable to support 'traditional' human life. At first I was disappointed by this, then it occurred to me that I was simply limiting my imagination too much and so was born a new alien race to populate my inhospitable planet. As such, I consider this a strength as it forced me to think outside my normal comfortable boundaries. [B]What's Next [/B] Now that I have a new race to create that gives me a good excuse to try out those rules. I'll report back here after that is done. My players and I are all excited about this. We will be making characters next week and hopefully run the first game the following. -- Screenshot of actual results of my rolling below. [ATTACH=CONFIG]60211._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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