Worst Sci-Fi Games In History

[Stormraven]

Originally posted by Nurd_boy:
be fair...

it's not 'rolemaster',

it's

'CHARTMASTER' !!!..

I usually try to avoid responding to such things, but occasionally my masochistic impulses get the better of me.

First, let me say that - for Science Fiction set in a specific universe, I'll always take Traveller. For Space Opera, I'll go with WEG Star Wars. For more generic Sci-Fi, I have no problem with Space-Master.

The 'chartmaster' or 'rollmaster' appellations are based on nothing more than GMs who took every single rule at face value, I'm sure.

And I know far too many games that are horrible to play in when GMs do that. I have played and run Rolemaster games where combat went faster and smoother than D&D games, because I or the GM knew that we didn't need to use every single chart provided, any more than you have to use every chart in D&D or Traveller.

Rolemaster has its problems, and I'll be the last person to gloss over them. It has a long, complex character generation system, and leveling up can take almost as long, it's suffered in recent editions with major skill bloat (I don't much feel that my character's rank with Advanced Mathematics or Weather watching will have enough impact to justify making him train them up), and combat is lethal if you're not careful and extremely dangerous if you are. Then there's the fact that luck can play a VERY major role in the game, which not everyone will like.

Rant over. Rolemaster, like Hero, Traveller, Star Wars, and even D&D, is a system that works best with a given style of game.

To stay on topic, worst sci-fi games around? Well, Synnibar has been mentioned, but I'll add my own to it. I think it wants to be Gamma World plus - only I'm not sure what the 'plus' is supposed to be.

Universe is another complex game for character creation, but I've never played it, so I have no idea how it would work out.

 

[Nurd_boy]

Stormraven...

way too serious dude...I played Ice for many a year and liked it (we used all the MERPS material in it)..I still play HERO, and like it, alot...Once past the character creation stage with space opera it was fun too, ditto Other Suns...

point being, Its fun to razz...

Cyborg commandos I bought at a .98 cent store BECAUSE THERE WHERE SO MANY OF THE THINGS, I COULDN'T PASS IT UP...wish I had the will power to though....

gawd, how bloody awful....even the art hurt my senses..

 

[Murph]

Jorune and Aftermath. The combat in Aftermath was a nightmare.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Never played it, but most people who did seemed to like SofJ.

Aftermath! (don't forget the "!") combat was okay, as long as you're not in a hurry...

 

[Vargas]

Originally posted by Gallowglass:

Originally posted by Havocatalyst:
[qb]
I have very fond memories of both the original Phoenix Games and 2nd FGU edition of Bushido, which IIRC was by the same author(s) (Bob Charette, one of the creators of Shadowrun?)

Cheers,

Nick Middleton

Same here! Bushido would be, (ok it is), considered overly complicated and poorly organized today, but it's still a very well put together game that's most enjoyable.

Paul Hume and Bob Charette cowrote Bushido and were highly influential in doing the first two (?) editions of Shadowrun.

Is the 'Other Worlds' someone mentioned the one with the Aslan and the Vargr, whoops, whatever they are called in it? If it's the same game, I always thought I was the only person ever to buy it!

 

[FlightCommanderSolitude]

Originally posted by Nurd_boy:
[snip] ...veggipygmis...

Thank you, Nurd_boy, for jiggling those three neurons back into working order. A flood of memories just came rushing over me, pinning me to my comfortable office chair for several minutes.

Visions of Erol Otus dancing in my head...

 

[kaladorn]

Originally posted by FlightCommanderSolitude:
Visions of Erol Otus dancing in my head...

I remember an Otis (I think) drawing of a Sundew (I think that was it) in one of the S series pulling the chainmail vest off a rather cute looking chick.

Blasters, vegiepigmies, access cards, all of these were wonderful parts of Barrier Peaks. <shudder>

Blackmoor had something sci-fi in it though too... (for some reason, the words atomic bomb or something come to mind, but my copy is deep in the catacombs and I'd need to form my party, recruit a new archmage, and find my old +5 sword and have the plate mail let out before delving in search of it). I might be wrong on the what, and even the where, but one of the LBB-ish early AD&D books has a distinct sci-fi flavour/presence.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by kaladorn:
Blackmoor had something sci-fi in it though too... (for some reason, the words atomic bomb or something come to mind, but my copy is deep in the catacombs and I'd need to form my party, recruit a new archmage, and find my old +5 sword and have the plate mail let out before delving in search of it). I might be wrong on the what, and even the where, but one of the LBB-ish early AD&D books has a distinct sci-fi flavour/presence.

Yes, it was Blackmoor. There were aliens in "Temple of the Frog". Not exactly a good idea, in my opinion, but...

Alan B

 

[DElrick]

Originally posted by kaladorn:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ben W Bell:
I cannot believe no one has mentioned the fantastic Sci-Fi game by Gary Gygax. Cyborg Commandos. If any game deserves to get the worst label then surely this is it. It was simply dreadful.

Hold on, I retract my prior comments. This one wins hands down. It's so bad, I'd even repressed memories of being at the Gen Con where it was being out-ed. That's a truly terrible piece of rubbish, I must say.

</font>[/QUOTE]For an idea of how awful Cyborg Commando was, read the following article from Critical Miss:

http://www.criticalmiss.com/issue3/worst1.html

Cheers

David

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

I have not yet encountered a Science-Fiction RPG that did not have something about it that was useful, with one exception: An 8-page photocopied zine of...

"LOST IN SPACE, THE RPG"

Really. I saw it in the darkest, dustiest bin of previously-owned games in a local game store, and paid fifty cents for it.

There were no graphics, or any character generation rules. Just the following character types:

The Dad - An astrophysicist, with a laser.
The Mom - A botanist/biologist, with a laser.
The Pretty Daughter - Blond hair and a laser.
The Plain Daughter - Whiny voice and a laser.
The Smart Son - Plays with robots, gets in trouble 1x/week, and carries a laser.
The Hotshot Pilot - Flies ship and crashes, climbs out of wreckage with a laser in his hand.
The Doctor - Medically proficient comic relief, strange relationship with Smart Son, shoots self with laser (PUH-LEEZ!).
The Robot - Low movement rate, shoots lightning bolts from manipulators, rescues kid 1x/week, vulnerable to laser fire.
Alien of the Week - Humanoid covered with glue and latex appliances. May be friendly, always dangerous. Immune to laser fire.

The adventure outlines had titles like: "Alien Rescue", "Alien Attack", "Hide the Alien", "What Alien Artifact Do You Mean?", and the ever popular "Let's Change Planets, This One's Boring."

Seriously! I wish that I still had this one, if only to remind me that no matter how bad an RPG product may be, someone will buy it!

Before you tell me that "Lost In Space" was not that bad, let me remind you that not even the cheesiest anime company has ever bought the rights to the title!

 

[clementk]

Originally posted by Keklas Rekobah:
Before you tell me that "Lost In Space" was not that bad, let me remind you that not even the cheesiest anime company has ever bought the rights to the title!

Likely because the TV Show is a Fox property and Season 1 is coming out January 6th of next year? U.S. Anime companies (even ADV Films) likely wouldn't have the $$ required even if the dvd rights to the show were available. And cheese or not it seems to be well liked/remembered by a good number of people still.

And Dr. Smith 0wnz j0uR p41|\|.

Casey (who has both the Robot and Carrotman figures)

 

[Lord Iron Wolf]

I'm surprized no one has mentioned "Expendables" yet. It has a reputation as one of the worse games ever produced--and yes, I bought it. The premise sounds good but there is next to nothing but lists and a history with little or nothing to allow the poor referee to make adventures. The included adventure was a yawner.

LIW

 

[Nurd_boy]

Originally posted by Lord Iron Wolf:
I'm surprized no one has mentioned "Expendables" yet. It has a reputation as one of the worse games ever produced--and yes, I bought it. The premise sounds good but there is next to nothing but lists and a history with little or nothing to allow the poor referee to make adventures. The included adventure was a yawner.

LIW

this that the one where you played humanoid anamals (betas) owned by corporations...your teleported (with equipment to build a return teleporter) to a planet, if you live long enough to build the teleporter, the planet is colonized and you can pay-off some of your creation cost to eventually be free...if you die, the planet is TOO dangerious to colonize....

or am I wrong?

 

[jackleg]

I have played/read a lot of games. In regards to the sci-game with the worst mechanics was 1st edition Shadowrun. My first time I ran the game, the group talked their way out of every combat to avoid the awful rules.

The game with the worst setting was ICE Spacemaster. It was a mixture of Dune, Traveller, Bladerunner and anything else they could put in.

By the way the person who listed Alternity as a bad game got it wrong. It is a very good system and one article was written to use it with Traveller.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

I can't be diplomatic in this case... Shadowrun just plain BUNS! From its horrible archetype Character system, to its poorly-composed background, it just made me hurl...

If your talking about Futuristic elves, then it better be ELDAR...

 

[grendelttroll]

My worst game I ever picked up was Underworld by Mayfair Games. Real awful. The setting just got to me (I have personal problems with cannibalism). I returned toe game to the store the next day - a thing I have NEVER done before.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by Grendel T. Troll:
My worst game I ever picked up was Underworld by Mayfair Games. Real awful. The setting just got to me (I have personal problems with cannibalism). I returned toe game to the store the next day - a thing I have NEVER done before.

It pushed your buttons. That happens. Besides, Underground (not Underworld) was intended to do that.

It was an odd piece of work, certainly. The author was laying on the satire rather heavily and unsubtly.

The game system was a version of the one used in the Mayfair DC Heroes RPG, which is OK if you like that kind of thing. It's rather abstract, but straightforward enough once you get your head around its (rather difficult) concepts.

It had _some_ very good ideas though. The most important of these were that it was possible for PCs to influence society by their actions. T4 also had aspects of this, but Underground did it first. T4 also didn't do a fabulously good job of it, but that's T4 all over.

So: it's not surprising that very few people actually bothered to play Underground. On the other hand, it had redeeming features, and actually broke new ground. This sets it way ahead of a lot of other games, including many that people actually play! As such, it can't be considered to be one of the worst games ever.

And the kind of political satire/rant it presented could well be done from a more coherent (ie MY) viewpoint... Hmm... RPGs as political propaganda... Interesting.

Alan B

 

[Stormraven]

Originally posted by Nurd_boy:
Stormraven...

way too serious dude...I played Ice for many a year and liked it (we used all the MERPS material in it)..I still play HERO, and like it, alot...Once past the character creation stage with space opera it was fun too, ditto Other Suns...

point being, Its fun to razz...

Cyborg commandos I bought at a .98 cent store BECAUSE THERE WHERE SO MANY OF THE THINGS, I COULDN'T PASS IT UP...wish I had the will power to though....

gawd, how bloody awful....even the art hurt my senses..

It wasn't the razzing of RM that made me post. It was the same old, tired, overused stereotype. Rolemaster does have problems, just like any other system I've played. I just get tired of people focusing on one perceived problem and always harping on it.

I think a similar raz for Traveller would be 'Geezerplay'. The raz is based on the same kind of mis-understanding, and - I believe - would get just as old, just as quickly.

Like I said - I don't respond often to such things, but sooner or later, one reaches a certain saturation point. You just had the timing necessary to be that saturation point.

That's as may be, however. I will make a point more or less on topic about a game I saw - and, to my eternal regret, bought - called Enforcers. I don't immediately recall if anyone else has mentioned it. Technically, it's superheroes, though it's set in a kind of sci-fi type world.

As an example of the terrible-ness of the game, the forward made the statement that they wanted a game where 'you didn't have to have an advanced degree in mathematics to play'.

Then, in character creation, they present you with algebraic formulae for nearly every aspect of your character, from how much energy he has, to how much damage he can do with his attacks.

 

[Rupert Boleyn]

Originally posted by Havocatalyst:

Aftermath was the worst thing FGU produced. I was a Gamma world freak at the time and got Aftermath for a different setting, shelved it shortly after see "combat flowchart".

I realise that this post is way late, but I've got to just in here. Aftermath's combat flowchart is actually not a lot more complicated than many other games' would be. Aftermath was merely honest about it.

Many of the games mentioned were of course products of there time as has been mentioned, but others are bad no matter what time it is.
ICE space game also suffered from a bad system that may have worked some what in a fantasy setting but really broke down in Sci Fi.

My many years playing Spacemaster suggests otherwise. In fact IMO SM 2e (the boxed set) was probably better than Rolemaster, and it was certainly more popular round here than MegaTraveller (probably because you didn't need to find a copy of the errata before playing).

And, unfortunatly, Marc Millers T-4 could have been and should have been a great game but, as has been mentioned, it suffered from very poor editing to the point that it was unplayable. But, some of the supplements are now must have books for any die hard Traveller player.

This I can agree with.

 

[Captain Bob of the LEXX]

Originally posted by secretagent:
Does anyone remeber a game that was advertised in Dragon magazine way back when, the advertisement was "Are you tired of Travelling But not getting anywhere?" I was wondering what the name of this game was.
=================================================
Obviously it was not memorable enough to unseat Traveller.

I,m pretty sure it was either space master or space opera. I can't remember which right now. I just remember that i bought into the hype and purchased the game. I own both so i am a bit confused as to which one i bought because of the ad.
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