1,826 Reply by mj12games

(129 replies, posted in Game Design)

Ahh... just saw that you DID have specific questions.

thedugan wrote:

- who has FTL? What's the basic technique? Jump? Warp? Gates?

I'm not sure -- but I do know FTL travel is "instantaneous" for those in transit, even though weeks (or months) may pass for those on the "outside".

- How pervasive are Robots? AI? Are they used as household servants, or limited to military applications?

Depends on the culture -- but I would think that if robots exist at all, they will find their way into everyday life.

- Nanotech? Trek-Style Fabricators?

Nanotech? Maybe.

Fabricators? No.

- Transporters/Teleporters?

No.

Go to forum: Game Design

1,827 Topic by mj12games

(4 replies, posted in Discussion)

"If you are going on an isolated fishing trip with your friends, you should discuss what to do in the event of being chased down by a UFO because that's really one situation where you need a united plan everyone agrees on."

http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/allagash/allagash.htm

Go to forum: Discussion

1,828 Reply by mj12games

(19 replies, posted in Starmada)

MadSeason wrote:

I have now played four complete games with real opponents and I have to say I am extremely impressed with how balanced the system seems to be (at least with ships from the supplements).

We aim to please! big_smile

Go to forum: Starmada

1,829 Reply by mj12games

(129 replies, posted in Game Design)

Yeah, I don't get the "cornrows" thing, either... and I'm not sure I want to.

Regarding the tech question, I thought I had answered that:

I wrote:

I'm not sure I want to get into tech-specifics -- relying instead on Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Go to forum: Game Design

1,830 Reply by mj12games

(4 replies, posted in Starmada)

Pretty wicked cool!

Any idea who did these or what they are for?

Go to forum: Starmada

1,831 Reply by mj12games

(17 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

Blacklancer99 wrote:

That's ADMIRAL ART FAIRY    wink  We must maintain proper respect for rank after all!

Oh dear... we're not going down this road again, are we?

smile

Go to forum: Iron Stars

1,832 Reply by mj12games

(10 replies, posted in Discussion)

go0gleplex wrote:

I am going to be leaving the dark side of gubermental service at the end of June. Hopefully, my self-employment project will be up and running smoothly by that point, but even if it isn't...I'm making my bid to escape.

Dude... I'm sorry that it came to that, but good for you. wink

Go to forum: Discussion

1,833 Reply by mj12games

(46 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

I have a group itching to playtest and be humbled to do so if you would like to include me..

Duly noted... I will certainly be putting out a call for playtesters when we get to that point.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,834 Reply by mj12games

(46 replies, posted in Starmada)

For what it's worth, I have to have something ready for public consumption by the end of May, because we're testing the rules at DieCon...

Go to forum: Starmada

1,835 Reply by mj12games

(46 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

any tidbits you could drop on shields in KA that we could start tossing around??

Nope.

smile

Go to forum: Starmada

1,836 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

I don't have Dreadnoughts, what does it have that can be used with starships?

Everything. smile

Seriously -- all of the rules from any of the sourcebooks have been designed so that can be cut-and-pasted individually or collectively into any other setting.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,837 Reply by mj12games

(4 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

Is my suggestion a possibility?  It would serve the purpose of always knowing what the "latest" revision is as well as what version you were downloading...

I'm not keen on the idea -- it would give the casual observer the impression that revisions are much more common than they really are...

Go to forum: Starmada

1,838 Reply by mj12games

(6 replies, posted in Discussion)

I'm pretty sure you're not missing anything.

Go to forum: Discussion

1,839 Reply by mj12games

(4 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

Does mj12games.com have a system set up so that if a product is updated, via a revision number, that you are given one chance to download the "newer" copy. I would much rather give you directly the money than anyone else.

As of this time, no. But I'm trying to find a way to make it happen.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,840 Topic by mj12games

(6 replies, posted in Discussion)

http://justin.com/

Go to forum: Discussion

1,841 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

japridemor wrote:

The Derrflinger in Dreadnoughts says 340. Thats one reason why I want an official MJ12 version...to see where I am getting it wrong.

Well, that one at least I can answer pretty quickly.

Page 19, Starmada: Dreadnoughts:

3)    All ship weapons have the (star)ship-exclusive trait, and are thus unable to attack fighter flights. (Due to its ubiquity, this fact is not noted on the ship data cards.)

This means all of the ship's weapons have a x0.7 multiplier -- which translates to roughly a 16% reduction in final Combat Ratings. 400 minus 16% = 335.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,842 Reply by mj12games

(129 replies, posted in Game Design)

thedugan wrote:

We need a name for the Empire. Is it primarily Human-analogs? (since it's explicitly NOT future-earth)

We can refer to them as Human without explicitly identifying it as "our" galaxy (a la Star Wars, Foundation, etc.)

As far as a name goes, part of me wants to just call it "The Empire", as in, there really wouldn't be any OTHER Empires... at least none worth mentioning.

What technology is extant?

I'm not sure I want to get into tech-specifics -- relying instead on Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Obviously, there is some variation in levels of technological development, but I'd rather focus on capabilities, rather than technologies -- i.e. this particular race is able to teleport from here to there, while that race isn't able to; but HOW they teleport can remain a mystery.

I think that also fits in with a heterogeneous Imperial setting, in which many races may obtain capabilities due to contact with other races but not really understand the tech behind those capabilities.

One thing that probably should be defined, however, is interstellar travel/communication. Different races are unlikely to have different methods of achieving that particular magic trick... smile

Go to forum: Game Design

1,843 Reply by mj12games

(7 replies, posted in Discussion)

I actually managed to pick up the first four seasons at Best Buy a while back for $20 each (season 5 is not worth watching, IMHO).

Go to forum: Discussion

1,844 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

What is the latest revision of SAE available?  I have 0/0 origiginal version

I'm really confused ... I thought that's what we were talking about.

SAE Rulebook is at revision 1.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,845 Reply by mj12games

(129 replies, posted in Game Design)

thedugan wrote:

Alrighty - I always loose track of who's from where - I'd of said "Empire of Avalon", or "Democratic Star Union of Avalon". We'd BOTH be Solarians, but I'm not sure what the 'right' name of Weber's Solarian nation is in those Honor Harrington books. He can't copyright Solarian, but the other name might be...

Again, this is not "our" galaxy -- at least not overtly -- so the names "Avalon" and "Solarian" would not fit.

Go to forum: Game Design

1,846 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

Dan, when will SAE 2.0 be able to be downloaded as a PDF from your site, Rpg now, and available as a hard copy?
I am planning on getting new copies at that point.

I'm not sure that it will... as I said, the only change at the moment is the addition of that one paragraph. Hardly worth making the change to a new "Revision".

I'll probably wait until if/when there are more changes.

Go to forum: Starmada

1,847 Reply by mj12games

(3 replies, posted in Grand Fleets)

Nope... discussion hasn't gone anywhere. It's just quiet. wink

There may be something interesting to talk about in the very near future. In the meantime, what brought you to our fair corner of the internet?

Go to forum: Grand Fleets

1,848 Reply by mj12games

(129 replies, posted in Game Design)

thedugan wrote:

If you're serious about something along these lines, "North American Combine" has a nice ring

Three things:

1) This isn't necessarily "our" galaxy, so "North American" isn't an appropriate appellation.

2) Even if it were "our" galaxy, "North American" seems very limited in scope -- we're talking about thousands of star systems here. smile

3) The Combine was a faction in SJ's OGRE.

Go to forum: Game Design

1,849 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

OldnGrey wrote:

The version at RPGNow.com still shows as Revision 1.0 January 2008 on pages 2 & 10.

Huh. I guess I never actually made the update. Don't worry -- I've checked the files on mj12games.com and at our print-on-demand site; nobody's got revision 2, except me on my hard drive. smile

The only change was to add the following paragraph under section B.3: Cloaking Device:

A cloaked ship may not be attacked by opposing weapons and/or fighter flights (even those with the “Area Effect” trait; see option C.4: Weapon Traits) unless it has been detected (see below). However, a cloaked ship is subject to other forms of damage, such as from minefields (see option B.8: Mines).

Go to forum: Starmada

1,850 Reply by mj12games

(166 replies, posted in Starmada)

kehrer1701 wrote:

If I order from mj12games or rpg.now, either print or pdf, would I get R2 of SAE and R1 of ISS?

Yes.

I'd prefer you ordered from mj12games.com ... wink

Go to forum: Starmada