Now that Beta 3 of the Shadows Over Sol playtest is in full swing, I have some questions for the playtesters. Feel free to also talk about any other comments you have.

Are there any gear or character creation options that you feel are still conspicuously missing from the game?

Are there any character creation elements which still concern you in regards to balance?

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Edited beholdsa (May 01, 2015 16:50:59)

Are there any gear or character creation options that you feel are still conspicuously missing from the game?

I don't remember all the new stuff, but here are some random thoughts. More rules and equipment related to food production (hydroponics/protein vats) and oxygen-regeneration/life support might be good. More future-bio-sci in the form of toxins and poisons might be interesting. Who doesn't want to have a vial of synthesized snake venom and gene-specific neurotoxins that only kill the intended person?

I liked the minor subcultures mentioned. I'd consider playing a stasis-dreaming Virtual certainly. I would like to see the minor subcultures with stats and more details. Maybe a few experience (+3) for Endurance for the Postals (since implants require it?) at the loss of a skill to represent time spent trying to prep for implantation. For the Postals, you may want to consider also having some cheaper implants with some minor or cosmetic benefits.

Are there any character creation elements which still concern you in regards to balance?

I think the genelines tend to be most useful for high stats or high edge. I don't know a way to fix this, but none seem particularly problematic. The new attribute build-point system will allow more min-maxing, but since it doesn't make buying anything cheaper at creation than later, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't mind a little min-maxing, and I don't think the layering build-points and the right geneline can really get too much more.

The cultures provide a minor and interesting benefit. I like how they also give focus to a character's goals and personality. I haven't really looked them over in depth since the skill-list changed, but they seem pretty balanced.

Gear is always an issue since not all expensive toys are created equal, but nothing stands out as broken.

Are there any gear or character creation options that you feel are still conspicuously missing from the game?

No, everything I would consider “must-have” is in the game at this point, I think. THAT SAID, I will always be the guy excited about more options in terms of gear. Ship weapons caught my eye; right now the options are basically a kludged laser comm, a gauss cannon, or as many missiles as you can afford. Exterior mounts for smaller weapons that would work in space (laser, presumably) but are less intense than the Gauss Cannon might be cool.

Are there any character creation elements which still concern you in regards to balance?

No balance concerns.

Session Questions: Now that we've seen the largest combat so far:

Are there any parts of the combat system that you think are still rough around the edges?

Throwing it open to the game a whole: What still needs work?

Are there any parts of the combat system that you think are still rough around the edges?

I think all of the resolutions and mechanics I saw made sense and felt reasonable. One thing that was a bit odd was the EMP. It's very swingy - it either very likely works (if the target is not hardened) or very likely doesn't (if the target is hardened). Since the shutdown is usually pretty brief, this is generally okay, but in the case of the ‘mech it instantly removed a massive threat. This was to our benefit, of course, but it seems like it might be reasonable to create a more moderate range of effects for EMP - maybe it imposes a high Spin consequence on drones, ’mechs, etc., and gives their weapons a chance to misfire, but doesn't completely turn them off. Being able to instantly shut down any mechanical threat seems like it would work against horror, rather than promoting it.

Throwing it open to the game a whole: What still needs work?

I think the game has done a good job with the horror so far - the Kronos protein is genuinely frightening, the deaths have been horrific, and the decisions have been terrible. One moment that struck me as particularly appropriate to the horror genre was when Milos got his leg stuck in the ‘mech’s joint while he was trying to disable it. We all knew it was going to come back online soon and crush his leg, and he was desperately struggling to free himself in the meanwhile. That felt JUST like a moment from a horror movie. Jokers seem to create these scenes - where someone drops the plasma cutter at the crucial moment, or something like that. I wonder if there might be some way to incentivize people to create these scenes, making things go horribly wrong in interesting ways. Maybe give everyone a one-Joker-a-session option, where we can CHOOSE to Joker rather than having to wait for one to come up randomly, letting us refill our hands and create a suitably dramatic failure at a critical moment.

Are there any parts of the combat system that you think are still rough around the edges?

The EMP was weird. It was pretty effective, but I'm not sure it is too good. After the initial shooting roll, it is sort of balanced by the 3-4% chance of not working (Jokers), 7% chance of only working for the round it is used (Aces), 7% chance of only working for the next one. It also has a pretty low range, which is why the mech took a few rounds sniping us before we could get close enough to do anything.

Movement is still a little weird with the 3-2-1 count system. If I want to ready a weapon and move on the same turn, depending on the order it is either 2 units of movement and readied weapon or 1 unit of movement and a readied weapon. There is a less efficient method with no benefit, and it was initially counter-intuitive. Pick a target some distance away, and a character needs to ready a weapon and hit that object. There is some breakdown of count that is the most efficient way to solve that problem. 4 units: 2 move, draw, 2 move, hit. 5 units: 3 move, 2 move, draw, hit. I think movement is really the only way it feels particularly weird, though there have been times when because of timing and how actions are declared, things get sort of messed up. Like declaring who would go down the zip line last session. I do like the count system's feel though. It fits the setting.

Throwing it open to the game a whole: What still needs work?

It is tough to say. I think cards-in-hand sometimes work against the horror feel, but I do think the genelines as they stand now are balanced against each other. If edge were lower, modern superman would be probably a superior choice to budget and the other one that gives edge. I like the card system as it is, though having 9 hedges against joker-tragedy may be a bit much.

Gear looks good, though future tech always presents more opportunities for longer and longer gear lists. An optional traits and such might be interesting, though they always present balance issues. A formalized contact system might be interesting.

I haven't felt subculture always matters as much as it seems like it should.

This week's question:

What are your thoughts on spaceship combat as it exists now? What about it still needs work?

The combat seemed fine. I didn't see any weird edge cases. Initial jamming and hits in space combat can be pretty powerful. However, that gives a gritty feel. It makes the first few rounds critical.

We only saw 1-v-1 combat. There may be more weird effects with multiple ships. Multiple jammers and lots of small fighters may make things pretty odd. We also didn't see the mechanic's role much, though in part because we were successful.

Common lines in many sci-fi shows is “target their engines” or “target their weapons.” It might be nice to make called shots on ship systems. Maybe make it a Comp-Ops (sensors) to figure out where (and reduce penalty) and then normal Ordinance roll to hit with a significant penalty? Any other options for called shots such as by-passing armor might be nice too.

Since individual rounds and space ship rounds are different length, if boarded, does the game go into individual rounds?

Micah
Since individual rounds and space ship rounds are different length, if boarded, does the game go into individual rounds?

Yeah, the idea is that then the game would go into personal-scale combat, but as we have yet to see a successful boarding action, that hasn't been tested yet.

I liked the changes to the Engineer's role; it turns them into a sort of Pointman for the rest of the crew. The fact that the Engineer can give away his own AP (I think? I did that, not sure if it's intentional) makes it sort of the obvious choice to do, although doing so affects WHEN he can do it, and I think it fits well with the theme of prioritizing speed or action efficiency.

Jamming seemed to do pretty much what was intended, and I agree with Micah on everything he said (both on that and on called shots being a good idea). Jamming with multiple combatants is a good question - can you only jam one ship at a time? I will defer to Kat on the jamming experience as a whole.

Also, is ramming supported in the spaceship combat system? I can't remember if I saw it there, but it seems like suicide attacks should be an option for the space horror game.