Comstar Game products
- Thread starter jackleg
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Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I haven't read much of Martin's work, but I don't think I'd go that far. He's certainlay a proliferate writer, and he certainly has his fans. But, there are several who aren't that keen on his work as well. Those people don't post their opinion that much because the MJD supporters tend to bash the crap out of any of his detractors. But, believe me, there are several who are quietly unimpressed with his work.
As for me, I'm reserving judgement until/when I read more of MJD's stuff. But, I do own a couple of things he's written, and I must admit I feel the items I have are "sufficient" rather than "GREAT!"
Most of what (not all) DGP published was "GREAT!"
I reviewed it here:
http://jeffro.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/1248-goes-where-no-traveller-has-gone-before/
MJD does all the stuff that seems obvious to do- but that noone else will touch: he's made a series of LBB style booklets and pushed the time line forward.
Even though his production values sometimes suffer, on the whole I find his work very playable and easy on the ref. The GURPS authors are probably better for half a dozen technical reasons, but MJD is better for folks that actually want to run a campaign.
I've run his red Spinward Marches stuff, but have not yet run 1248 sessions. It is a very good read, though-- he addresses dozens of hanging plot threads from the line.
http://jeffro.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/1248-goes-where-no-traveller-has-gone-before/
MJD does all the stuff that seems obvious to do- but that noone else will touch: he's made a series of LBB style booklets and pushed the time line forward.
Even though his production values sometimes suffer, on the whole I find his work very playable and easy on the ref. The GURPS authors are probably better for half a dozen technical reasons, but MJD is better for folks that actually want to run a campaign.
I've run his red Spinward Marches stuff, but have not yet run 1248 sessions. It is a very good read, though-- he addresses dozens of hanging plot threads from the line.
Simply put MJD is a dynamo*. Without his preservance Traveller would not really have a content in its T20 form. He extended himself to write for many different milieux to get his vision of the future in place known as 1248. Whilst, some might quibble over parts, it certainly brings a CT sensibility back into wreckage that left many fans felt with TNE/MT**. He also was instrumental in trying to bring realism into Traveller with CT+ but ultimately failed. He has also kept the flame alive through partnering with ComStar when many had given up hope. So, in short, ComStar is a mixed bag, there are excellent releases and there are ones that one wished stayed on the drawing boards/playtest - a little longer. Kudos to ComStar for rekindling the flame, it is now our job to spread it***.
*dy·na·mo
1.an electric generator, esp. for direct current. 2.an energetic, hardworking, forceful person.
#1 definition works for me...but taken as a metaphor.
**I don't count myself as one of them, for, MT is Traveller for me and I can understand what they were trying to do with TNE (old age has softened me somewhat)
***ALthough, when ComStar/Avenger does get some more money they seriously have to retool their website...as most of the information gets conveyed in forums. This should be front & centre to promote all their wonderful products and news.
*dy·na·mo
#1 definition works for me...but taken as a metaphor.
**I don't count myself as one of them, for, MT is Traveller for me and I can understand what they were trying to do with TNE (old age has softened me somewhat)
***ALthough, when ComStar/Avenger does get some more money they seriously have to retool their website...as most of the information gets conveyed in forums. This should be front & centre to promote all their wonderful products and news.
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daryen
SOC-14 1K
Quite a few didn't like the DGP materials, especially the MT core rules (written by DGP under contract for GDW), and quite a few found them "sufficient" including my Ref at the time I found the first of them. Rick was unimpressed with TD8, the Task system, and their whole approach.
But, both DGP and MJD grow on one. He's been the prime mover on setting for T20, CT, and now MoTrav the last 5 years, he's behind HeroTrav, and has written for GT as well.
He will be one of the "great old ones" eventually...
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I believe its the Joe Fugate thread on this forum that discusses some of the problems DGP had with GDW. DGP blames the issues and erratta on GDW (and, I'm sure GDW blames it the other way).
Depends on who you believe, I guess. I know that the non-GDW stuff that DGP wrote was fantastic. The stuff that DGP wrote for GDW (like Book 8) is either a bit too crunchy/unwieldy or has a lot of erratta.
It seems to me, when DGP did their own editing, they turned out some remarkable products.
Rhialto the Marvelous
SOC-13
What kafka said.
It's true that not everything Martin does is 100% superb--I love the *idea* of the Homecoming Campaign, the tone and some of the episodes, but others have issues.
That said, it should be remembered that nowadays no one who writes for Traveller does so full time any longer. It's what you do when you're done earning the rent because it pays so vanishingly little. And if the writers are part-timers, the job of editor seems to be permanently extinct.
Given that situation, Martin is doing the best that can be done.
It's true that not everything Martin does is 100% superb--I love the *idea* of the Homecoming Campaign, the tone and some of the episodes, but others have issues.
That said, it should be remembered that nowadays no one who writes for Traveller does so full time any longer. It's what you do when you're done earning the rent because it pays so vanishingly little. And if the writers are part-timers, the job of editor seems to be permanently extinct.
Given that situation, Martin is doing the best that can be done.
Peter Schutze
SOC-12
>And if the writers are part-timers, the job of editor seems to be permanently extinct
Only because we the customers of avenger/comstar/qli etc let them get away with it !
I know of several other publishers who have updated and corrected the PDFs a matter of weeks after release .... as soon as significant feedback is received
Having only started purchasing traveller related PDFs in the last year I have noticed that NONE of the products seem to have ever been corrected even though many of them are copyright 2006 or earlier.
Only because we the customers of avenger/comstar/qli etc let them get away with it !
I know of several other publishers who have updated and corrected the PDFs a matter of weeks after release .... as soon as significant feedback is received
Having only started purchasing traveller related PDFs in the last year I have noticed that NONE of the products seem to have ever been corrected even though many of them are copyright 2006 or earlier.
When it comes to Traveller publishers after GDW, the setting seems to go everywhere and canon is in shambles (at least that is what I feel). After T4 I was so disgusted that I shelved Traveller for years and didn't offer it a thought.
However, after I came back in 2003 (gee where did those last 5 years go?) I am even more confused in many ways. Too many Travelelr publisher with their own agenda and variant of the setting. For new-comers it will be hard to start Traveller with all this mess. And the us old timers doesn't help because we are too fixed in our favourite setting and/or rulesett.
Allthough it is no doubt that the efforts of Avenger/QLI and SJG and others that Traveller still is around as a game.
I have bought a few books from Avenger and from SJG's GT. However, this is not enough to improve my gaming experience much as until now, Traveller hasn't been under central command with a proper line editor.
Allthough I have my doubts about MGT, but I have some faith in T5, even if I am not going to use the rules straight out of the box/CD.
However, after I came back in 2003 (gee where did those last 5 years go?) I am even more confused in many ways. Too many Travelelr publisher with their own agenda and variant of the setting. For new-comers it will be hard to start Traveller with all this mess. And the us old timers doesn't help because we are too fixed in our favourite setting and/or rulesett.
Allthough it is no doubt that the efforts of Avenger/QLI and SJG and others that Traveller still is around as a game.
I have bought a few books from Avenger and from SJG's GT. However, this is not enough to improve my gaming experience much as until now, Traveller hasn't been under central command with a proper line editor.
Allthough I have my doubts about MGT, but I have some faith in T5, even if I am not going to use the rules straight out of the box/CD.
True, traveller now has multiple settings and multiple rules systems which is a bit confusing / bit of a pain. But this is more of a IP issue rather than problems with any specific traveller publisher. Its really up to the owner of the IP rights (and a delegated line editior) to keep the flavour of traveller consistent and stop publishers wandering of on a tangent.
Is it really worst than say D&D (basic / expert etc. + AD&D (4 versions now) + multiple settings (greyhawk, forgotten realms, dragonlance, misc generic + some new ones)
Cheers
Richard
Is it really worst than say D&D (basic / expert etc. + AD&D (4 versions now) + multiple settings (greyhawk, forgotten realms, dragonlance, misc generic + some new ones)
Cheers
Richard
D&D 3.x/4.x isn't in the AD&D tree... mechanically, it's closer to the Metzner tree. (Yes, really. I've run all the below, and while S&P has a skill system, the rest of the system is more congruent to the metzner and revisions of the metzner tree... despite greyhawk... and my older copies of Greyhawk include notes for the metzner ed as well as the Gygax AD&D...)
Tree 1
1st Ed D&D: Little (Brown or White) Books (Gygax/Arnesson)
2nd Ed D&D: Metzner Basic (Blue)
2.1 D&D: Metzner Red Basic & Blue Expert
2.2 D&D: Revised Basic and Expert, plus new Companion, Master, and Immortal sets
2.2.1 Basic/Expert/Companion/Master plus Gaz and HollowWorld rules expansions
2.3 D&D: Cyclopedia and Wrath of the Immortals
2.3.1: 2.3 + Gaz & HW & Race Expansions
3.0 D&D: WOTC D&D 3E
3.5 D&D: Hasbro D&D 3.5E
4.0 D&D: Hasbro D&D 4.0
Tree 2
1st Ed D&D (G/A)
1st Ed AD&D (Gygax)
1.1E AD&D (Gygax) 1st Ed + UA, FRA, DLA, GHA
1.2E AD&D 1E + UA + DSG/WSG
2.0 AD&D: 2E core
2.1 AD&D 2E Core + Complete Guides
2.2 AD&D: 2E + Player's Option/Campaign Option series...
(tree may be influencing other tree...)
3.X AD&D: Hackmaster
Peter Schutze
SOC-12
>Peter
>any particular issue causing you problems, or was it a case of just not liking some adventures / books
For the most part I have as a minimum not disliked the adventures. It is purely a product quality and support issue.
For many products theres a typo's / errata folder somewhere on this forum .... none that Im aware of have been updated in PDFs although I believe a few of the printed products have benefitted from this
Take a look at any of the subsector maps included with the adventures .... even simple things like getting abbreviations to match the listing eg base codes, names of empires often isnt done
I'll skip the 2320 book because that was QLI and apparently only the "draft" version and a fixed version will be out in Oct 2007 / april 2008 / pick a date ..... although lately the idea seems to be just dont answer posts asking for updates
>any particular issue causing you problems, or was it a case of just not liking some adventures / books
For the most part I have as a minimum not disliked the adventures. It is purely a product quality and support issue.
For many products theres a typo's / errata folder somewhere on this forum .... none that Im aware of have been updated in PDFs although I believe a few of the printed products have benefitted from this
Take a look at any of the subsector maps included with the adventures .... even simple things like getting abbreviations to match the listing eg base codes, names of empires often isnt done
I'll skip the 2320 book because that was QLI and apparently only the "draft" version and a fixed version will be out in Oct 2007 / april 2008 / pick a date ..... although lately the idea seems to be just dont answer posts asking for updates
Peter Schutze
SOC-12
>Can you give a couple of examples
if I get the time I'll write something up over the w/e. I havent looked at any of the adventures in months having switched off traveller again except for this forum.
are you looking at their traveler / traveller new era stuff or the new setting (which I havent seen)
if I get the time I'll write something up over the w/e. I havent looked at any of the adventures in months having switched off traveller again except for this forum.
are you looking at their traveler / traveller new era stuff or the new setting (which I havent seen)
The first few books I got from Avenger, I went through and listed all the typos I found and what page they were on. I never heard back that they had corrected them. They were no big deal, though.
The PDF's on e23 are not necessarily the same as the ones sold at Comstar. I tried to get e23 to correct it but I don't think they cared. e23's updates on SJG products are generally very good and very consistent.
I recall purchasing an adventure from Comstar I think that had a pretty significant issue; this was handled promptly. The PDF was the wrong version or something and they emailed me a new one right away.
Avenger is not quite as professional as they could be, but the problems are not generally show-stoppers. I personally find the CT CD-rom issues to be much more annoying, but I'm not going to argue with $35 for that much Traveller stuff.
The PDF's on e23 are not necessarily the same as the ones sold at Comstar. I tried to get e23 to correct it but I don't think they cared. e23's updates on SJG products are generally very good and very consistent.
I recall purchasing an adventure from Comstar I think that had a pretty significant issue; this was handled promptly. The PDF was the wrong version or something and they emailed me a new one right away.
Avenger is not quite as professional as they could be, but the problems are not generally show-stoppers. I personally find the CT CD-rom issues to be much more annoying, but I'm not going to argue with $35 for that much Traveller stuff.
Peter Schutze
SOC-12
>from Avenger, I went through and listed all the typos I found and what page they were on. I never heard back that they had corrected them
In contrast I've received notification of a replacement book available for download ..... for something released in mid FEBRUARY from another company
In contrast I've received notification of a replacement book available for download ..... for something released in mid FEBRUARY from another company
