The different versions of BESM

[Tinker Gnome]

I'd still prefer to hear the differences in rules if someone can give them. Just because something is lighter on rules than a comparable product does not mean that this is accomplished in a way everyone would want.

I would have been able to tell you about it if RPGNow had not decided to take my money but not give me my product.

 

[Samurai]

I'd still prefer to hear the differences in rules if someone can give them. Just because something is lighter on rules than a comparable product does not mean that this is accomplished in a way everyone would want.

1e was too light for my tastes. As far as I know, it doesn't even have skills, just the 3 stats (Body, Mind, Spirit) and some special abilities.

2e (and 2e revised) added skills so that you aren't equally good at all things physical, mental, or spiritual. It also expanded the number of special abilities, and added optional rules like variable damage.

3e went from a roll under system to a roll high and beat a target number, which helped fix a lot of the wonky math in earlier editions (though changing 1e or 2e to roll high and add was a very simple and common house rule). It also added optional rules for tweaking the special abilities, so that your powers could have a longer range, or affect more targets, or last longer, etc. (previously, it was all standardized.) Some people felt that made the powers/abilities too complex, though.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

I would have been able to tell you about it if RPGNow had not decided to take my money but not give me my product.

Huh, you should have at least gotten an e-mail from them with your download link. I'm also assuming you either already have an account with them or created one. Granted, it's been a while since I bought anything from them, so I dunno how much they've changed how they do things.

It's also Saturday, so their Tech Support may not be on duty at the moment. Also only been about three hours since you posted about having the issue. I would say if you don't hear anything back from them by Monday at the latest, then start blasting their e-mail address about your issue.

Back on topic...

Never played much 1E BESM, but did notice in the few games I did play that it could be astonishingly easy to create lopsided and/or overpowering chararaters without really being aware you were doing it. Played a fair amount of 2E without too many issues (other than a couple instances of a GM that loved showing off how awesome his GMPCs were). Never got to play 3E though.

It was a fun, fast, and fairly simple system. Darn shame GoO went belly-up.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Huh, you should have at least gotten an e-mail from them with your download link. I'm also assuming you either already have an account with them or created one. Granted, it's been a while since I bought anything from them, so I dunno how much they've changed how they do things.

It's also Saturday, so their Tech Support may not be on duty at the moment. Also only been about three hours since you posted about having the issue. I would say if you don't hear anything back from them by Monday at the latest, then start blasting their e-mail address about your issue.

Yeah, If I do not hear anything by Monday then I will start harrasing them.

 

[Relique du Madde]

REPORTING SPAM. Its sad when a spammer states that they are the best (including at game programming)... yet they come across as being illiterate as hell. I mean seriously, if you don't understand the fundamental rules of English then how do you expect us to believe you know C++ or whatever language you develop in?

 

[Tinker Gnome]

REPORTING SPAM. Its sad when a spammer states that they are the best (including at game programming)... yet they come across as being illiterate as hell. I mean seriously, if you don't understand the fundamental rules of English then how do you expect us to believe you know C++ or whatever language you develop in?

Wuh?

 

[ruemere]

Yeah, If I do not hear anything by Monday then I will start harrasing them.

Hmm. You may want to consider that an error may be on your side. I have had ordered many a book from rpg.net and all their services were solid.

Also:
1. Any downloads you purchased are valid for redownload. If you log in, you should be able to reattempt the download.
2. There may have been an error with processing of your payment. Check the validity of the data you put in.
3. Check pop-up blockers (and other security measures). I have seen quite a few times people who in their zeal blocked important site functionality.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[jdrakeh]

I'd still prefer to hear the differences in rules if someone can give them.

The short version is that BESM 1e provided rules with a broad scope that rarely strayed from the core resolution mechanic of Tri-Stat. BESM 2e went the other way to acheive the same end, introducing very narrowly defined rules that hinged on special-case rulings and multiple sub-systems (e.g., different powers and abilities often have their own special rule systems).

In many ways BESM 1e is to BESM 2e what BESM 2e is to games like HERO FRED. If you prefer having a wealth of mechanical options in your games and multiple sub-systems for various abilities or powers don't bother you, grab BESM 2e. If you prefer simple elegance over options, grab BESM 1e. To use the old GURPS analogy, it's the steak (BESM 1e) versus the cow (BESM 2e).

The cow has more meat but if you don't need or want 300 lbs of beef, it's best to go with a steak lest you end up biting off more than you can chew. If you wanted a page by page or rule by rule breakdown of differences between the systems, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I don't own either rule book anymore and even if I did, that's a lot of work for no reward.

FWIW, I loved BESM 1e, hated BESM 2e (which felt very clunky/unintuitive to me), and enjoyed the comparative streamlining of all subsequent Tri-Stat games (including the various non-Tri-Stat implementations of BESM). I think that BESM 2e is, quite possibly, the worst implementation of Tri-Stat or BESM to date.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Wuh?

There was a spam message which said "come see site. have best gold bot. is best game programmer." etc.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Hmm. You may want to consider that an error may be on your side. I have had ordered many a book from rpg.net and all their services were solid.

Also:
1. Any downloads you purchased are valid for redownload. If you log in, you should be able to reattempt the download.
2. There may have been an error with processing of your payment. Check the validity of the data you put in.
3. Check pop-up blockers (and other security measures). I have seen quite a few times people who in their zeal blocked important site functionality.

Regards,
Ruemere

I can not download it at all, even when I got to the "My Account" section. Even though I got an error message it said all my data was verified and still charged me. I do have a pop up blocker, but there were no pop ups that appeared to be blocked.

Since they charged me, I want what I payed for.

EDIT: I got an email from them. Something weird happened. I will have to try again.