Gurps Prime Directive Update

[Eric R.]

Well I just returned from Pyrimid and read a Chat with Gurps Prime Directive people. Info as it stands:

- Due in Stores late April or early May

- Gary Plana and not Steve Cole is writing the book though Cole is writing the GurpsPD: Klingon source book.

-GURPS PD will alow players to be anything including ships crew, civilians, and pirates in the SF Universe (notice the B for battles has been dropped). There will be 46 different race's either in the core book or in a separate Race core book published later!!!

-Other products scheduled for this year include GPD Klingons, Module Prime Alpha (a magazine like book, with Deckplanes!), GPD Romulans.

-Quiality is to be even with most GURPS books.

OK I have to ask this, they said there is nasty rumors afloat at OMEGA about Decipher and the Trek Lisence running out at the end of the year. Now I figure this is rumor mongering and the lawyer boys have just not yet sat back down and discussed the new contract out yet, I mean for pete sakes it is only April.

[Don Mappin]

I have heard from several sources, all close to the situation, that Decipher's Star Trek license is multi-year. One such source was an e-mail with Decipher's legal representative. While I don't have the e-mail in front of me (or know if I still have it at all), the figure quoted to me was in the 5-6 year timeframe.

Of course, everyone could be lying to me, so take that for what you will.

What, if I may be so bold, is OMEGA and who specifically is questioning the license duration?

[Don Mappin]

I’ve asked TBTB to respond to the rumor in some capacity. So, we’ll see…

[Eric R.]

Originally posted by Don Mappin


Of course, everyone could be lying to me, so take that for what you will.

Your guesses are as solid as somes so called harden facts Thats what I figured or Dec would have been in a sure fire more hurry to get the game out by now. I even hestitated to mention it but at least now you can be prepaprd if some chicken comes running screaming "the sky is falling... the sky is falling!"

As to the rest I don't really know what OMEGA is, but it sure fire sounds 'important' in the tone it was spoken of so I figured I should act like I knew what it was . As to the tone and so on it was that I don't really want to say all that I heard but... "important tone" But they were also mentioning the stability of there game in the same breath.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Sounds to me like the PD folks are trying to steal Decipher's thunder.

Well, PD is no, as far as I'm concerned, a Trek game. SFB may be based on Trek, but that (from my point of view) is as far as it goes. Though I don't doubt the more 'militarily-oriented' fans probably prefer the SFB universe.

Anyway, I'll stick with Decipher Trek.

[Eric R.]

Yes I think thats the case too, but i would not just dismiss the game yet, form the sounds of it they are really making a try at opening it up for non-military orinated game. plus converting things from Gurps will be alot easier to do than SFB. Personnely I would like to see what happens when they incorporate Starfleet Command III into the game since it is to be based on the TNG era.

[Cochrane]

Are they going to incorporate SFC3? I thought they were only allowed to include movie and 24th century stuff in computer games.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Originally posted by Cochrane
Are they going to incorporate SFC3? I thought they were only allowed to include movie and 24th century stuff in computer games.

That's my understand as well. And I very much doubt Paramount would allow them to infringe on Decipher's license like that.

I should point out, no derision of the SFB folk's work, they do very very good work. It just isn't my thing.

[jedimuldoon]

I never liked Starfleet Battles OR Starfleet Command

Serparate Klingon and Romulan books...............

Why was LUG Trek sooooooooooooo BAD?!

mmm..................

Give me a D! E! C! I! P! H! E! R!

What's that SPELL?

Quality!

QUALITY!

[AslanC]

I'm on the otherside of the fence when it comes to Prime Directive. While I didn't like the Star Fleet UNiverse I was a big fan of the basic concept. Prime Teams.

Yes it was a more militaristic concept, but then I was a big FASA Trek fan too

[Dan Stack]

jedimuldoon, I'm a little confused... If you think LUG-Trek was so horrible, what makes you think you'll find Decipher all that much better? It is made by the same team of people who made the LUG-Trek which was "sooooooooooooo BAD". I know when I change companies I'm still the same person and produce the same quality work, for good or for ill.

[Evan van Eyk]

While I do not know the GURPS system ( yes I know a major flaw for a roleplayer ) I definitely do not know Starfleet Battles, only Starfleet Command. While it certainly was a militaritic game I still liked it, because I always like the military part of the Star Trek series, especially the battles. There were great special effects and I have to say the game was of good quality, although I did not like some aspects, like the missiles or the fighters, because they were not very TREK-Like.
Nevertheless I think it is funny that there will be two Star Trek Games now in the future. The only thing which sounds real interesting is the book with the deckplans - I am a real friend of something lilke this ( and did some deckplans on my own ), so I will probably buy this and as this as only drawings it should not be to complicated to use for LUG-Trek.
Yes I said LUg-Trek, because I am one of those thas still plays it and does not want to play another one. I made some bad experiences with the new SW Game and do not want this repeated with ST. Additionally I have everything I need ( two weeks ago, I got the TNG Core Book at ebay, now I have all three ) and do not want to buy a whole new game, which won't be much available hear in GErmany and if then only very expensively.
So my 'politcs' will be to buy that what I am interested in and leave want I do not want and then incorporate it into my game, which will count for both SF and DEC-Trek, although the later will probably have the better chances, because battle may be a cool concept for an episode or a PC Game but its nothing to built a game on. To built a Game on I always prefered the real trek, 'to boldy go where no man has gone before'.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Originally posted by AslanC
I'm on the otherside of the fence when it comes to Prime Directive. While I didn't like the Star Fleet UNiverse I was a big fan of the basic concept. Prime Teams.

Yes it was a more militaristic concept, but then I was a big FASA Trek fan too

I didn't mind the concept of Prime Teams. And it's worth noting that FASA Trek didn't start out militaristic. Though as I recall, it was the increasing militancy of the game that lost them the Trek license.

[ImperialOne]

In response to SFC III:

Activision hired Taldren, makers of SFC I, SFC II, and SFC Orion Pirates. Taldren will make SFC III for the TNG universe setting... and totally non-compatible/non-connected with the SFB universe of SFC I, II, OP.

Activision has the rights to Trek from Paramount. SFB now has no computer game designer.

For more information on SFC, visit the Taldren Forum (General Forum). but be aware that the majority of posts are from the (minority) of SFB snobs crying about the loss of SFB/SFC I, II et al.

SFB players(and hence SFC I, II, OP players) are hard core wargamers (ever played, let alone read through the several volumes of rules that comprise StarFleet Battles?) who aren't into Trek canon (esp. from TNG on).

Anyway, here is the Taldren forum link:
http://216.203.248.212/cgi/ubb/forum...=10&LastLogin=

Charles

[Eric R.]

For one I am more convinced that FASA lost the lisence due to its feud over the Next Generation and its right to produce material for it rather than the old line it went too "military", though it is arguable that one are one and the same.

The Star Fleet Battles Universe was created to generate battles for a starship naval combat game pure and simple. as time went by the Captains log and etc... added more and more flavor to it. When Prime Directive was first created they thought that the RPG would be the same essentually a combat orinated game. Turns out and they now admit it that was wrong, really wrong. Shot up RPG had to wait until Computers came along to really win. Even when the new Gurps PD started I remeber reading Steve Cole posting that he didn;t understand why somebody would want to be "Bridge crew or any other personality" in the SFB universe.

Thats changed and with that change will come a balancing out of the TOS era world in which the newly termed Star Fleet Universe will exist in. Emphises is all here to make a good RPG which will take effort at rounding the that universe out so. So while hardly no new military stuff will be added look for countless new civilian stuff to be added. Further in lue of official material, I have no doubt within months websites with TNG era info for the games will appear, but again it might look abit like and sound a bit like but wont be the next generation era we all know.

As to the Romulan And Klingon Books duplicating material that is far from the case as SF Klingons and Romulans are VERY differant and will be a source for subject races of the empire still. Steve Jackson still has final approval on all material and layout so if he doesn't OK it, it wont get printed.

I want to mention real quick here something I am a collector therefore both games will be bought by me (hey I am lucky not married no kids etc....) second I see both being able to compliment the other for example I will find RRT overlays in decipher but Marines in Prime Directive. Further no mention of the Kziniti will ever be seen in the Decipher game, in the Prime Directive game it will be a core race. While Federation races will get little attention in Prime Directive is past history is correct Decipher will giving me more than I want in the little old i book of alien races. Maybe its my Historians nature to want to get as much information as possible and then figure out a plausibale reconcile between the two that I don't stick to canon maybe I am just so stubborn that I want to make up my own mind about canon. I just don't get it when someone automatically discounts a source of very good material for simple reasons like that universe is too "militaristic" to be of value.