Interesting... How would you describe the feel the old one had for you, and what about it do you figure contributed to that feel that the new ones aren't doing?
So the SWADE one goes very tactical in its presentation of mecha, and gives very little in the way of background (which is my primary draw) and goes all in on the subsystems, trying to stat them up, and give them very precise parameters. The layout is also horrendous, which makes reading it a chore. I haven't actually taken it to the table, because I'm not sure I'd want to, which is a disappointment.
In contrast, the Strange Machine Games one is more narrative, but it tries to fuse an overlay in combat to give more tactical options, and it just becomes a bewildering melange. The background is better here, as is the layout and presentation. I have tried it, but the players got the same feel.
An example of how it sort of makes unforced errors - skill checks are called challenges - either basic (automatic), static, or combat (which can also be static, if the GM wants to make it player facing). The combat in no way mentions the rolls as challenges. It took me a while to equate the two, as they are in separate chapters, and the nomenclature describing the combat is very vague on specifics, even though it has copious examples. Add to that, they use ranges and attack types (AOE and such), but it's all presented as ToTM. And don't get me started on Space vs non-space combat, as they use two different scales, and the only hint to the GM is
"The GM might have to do some creative interpolation to get movement rates to work properly. They’re encouraged to make stuff up as needed to help the game run smoothly. The most important thing is that vehicles move appropriately in relation to each other." and
"Ultimately, the exact distances used don’t matter much. What matters is that the vehicles move the proper distances in relation to each other. The GM should feel free to modify distances or speeds to suit their play style or the group’s needs." Those are direct quotes. You can't have it both ways and expect not to confuse your audience, IMO.
In contrast, for all that I dislike about the Palladium system (and my complaints are many), they do work and aren't confusing to implement, if you take it for what it is. The system gets out of the way, and you can have fun jockeying around with your Veritechs, and just not sweating the details. For a fast moving game like Robotech is supposed to be, you need this, IMO.
I still get the SMG stuff- it's great for background and fluff. But the system just was a bit much as it stood, and if I was going to run it, I'd probably just use Fate Condensed or Accelerated.
