Various Replies

Bertil Jonell [email removed] writes:
> Dane Johnson writes:
> > Well, I've managed to unearth a copy of Space:1889 at a gaming store in
> > San Jose, and I have to say I like the idea.  It's simple to use and seems
> > to have a lot of potential.  Any thoughts on why it never caught on?
> One theory that I have heard is that the rules and the background were
> incompatible in that they attracted different segments of the gaming community
> The victorian background attracted the serious role players but the
> simplistic rules were more targetted toward beginners.

Nah, I don't buy that argument.  How about this one: Space:1889 only
appeals to gamers who actually read (and enjoyed reading) the source
material: Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The
rest just don't understand it.  And most of the current generation of
role-players, born around when Star Wars came out give or take a few
years, just haven't done the reading, either because they don't read
much, or because they aren't interested.

I have noticed an accellerating trend.  Everyone, even science-fiction
fans and role-players, seems to be doing less reading and more watching
of movies (on videotape, actually) and television.  And this is
reflected in our games.

> > Are there any other enthusiasts out there?
> The only 1889 fan I know about is Ed 'Elminster' Greenwood:)
> (He claimed as much during Gothcon 12 at least)

I like Space:1889.  A lot.  I know one other person who does.

I own a lot of role-playing games.  Some of them I've never played.
Some that I never will play.  Space:1889 is my favorite role-playing
game that I've never played and never will play.  It is the only game in
this category that I continue to spend money on.

*However*, I typically don't buy "new" stuff for Space:1889.  I buy
"used" stuff from Crazy Igor, or stuff I find in the bins down at
Wargamers' Depot.  There are two reasons.

Originally, I did this because I had just gotten burned (again) with the
MegaTraveller rules, and I didn't trust GDW to produce something worth
spending serious money on.

Currently, because I don't expect to ever be able to
play the game, I can't justify spending lots of money on it.

[email removed] (Chuck Hamilton) writes:
> I'm working on a framework for technology developments in Traveller (and
> SF games in general).  First, I'm trying to come up with the general
> categories available for advancement with tech level.

The company I work for manages databases for the National Science Foundation
and the National Institutes of Health.  Anyway, we have a classification for
academic disciplines that is used by the NSF.  I've listed it below (it
has broad categories and "details"; it's not perfect, but all of the
different parts of NSF can at least agree on it.  All of the disciplines
also have an "other" detail.  One other thing: it's weak in the medical
area, because NSF doesn't do much medical research (that's NIH's
mission).

Sciences and Engineering:
Engineering
	Aerospace, Electrical, Chemical, Civil,
	Mechanical, Materials, Industrial
Physical Sciences
	Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics
Envronmental Sciences
	Atmospheric, Earth/Geological, Oceanography
Mathematics
Computer Science
Life Sciences
	Biological, Medical/Health, Agricultural
Psychology
Social Sciences
	Economics, Political, Sociology, Anthropology,
	Linguistics, History of Science, Area/Ethnic Studies
Technologies
	Science, Engineering, Health
Other Science or Interdisciplinary Sciences

Non-Sciences:
Humanities
	History, English/Literature, Foreign Languages
Religion and Theology
Arts and Music
Architecture and Environmental Design
Education
	Science, Math, Social Science, Other Science, Non-Science
Business
Librarianship and Communication
Law
Social Service
Vocational Studies
Other Non-Sciences

Anyway, I hope that helps!


[email removed]
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                                                 Science-Fiction Adventure
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