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PriorMarcus posted:I kept giving Disco a chance but I couldn't get passed the resolution to Season Three. It was just nonsensical and I came away from it with no interest in continuing to watch. Season 4's story is pretty good in concept but poorly executed. It's a solid three parter, but since they insist on structuring the seasons as a single plot is just packed with bullshit and horrible pacing. Disco would've benefited a lot from stealing the structure of Enterprise season 4. The whole "it's a ten hour movie!" thing in prestige TV sucks. There's a reason movies aren't ten hours long!
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Feb 26, 2024 19:08
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Yeah, I enjoyed it for what it was, which was a classic Trek "obsessed scientist brings ruin to himself and others because of hubris and tunnel vision" episode stretched out over a season.
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Feb 26, 2024 19:10
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I can hear this post and I love it
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Feb 26, 2024 19:24
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Professor Beetus posted:Man I would kill to have a Trek RPG group but my group has zero interest in doing a Star Trek and in fact we have started a Star Wars campaign. In fairness, the Fantasy Flight Star Wars system is maybe my favourite TTRP system ever. The custom dice are mildly annoying as an obvious attempt to upsell players, but the simplicity and versatility of the actual dice system is beautiful. Modiphius 2d20 system that they use for Trek, Dune and others is also really sweet and they both share the more loose 'who cares about 30 vs 40 ft of movement' aspect, where all that matters is 'are you Next To, Close To, Not Close To or Far Away' from the NPC.
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Feb 26, 2024 19:26
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If nothing else I did manage to browbeat everyone into letting me name our ship the Enterprise by virtue of being the group's pilot. It's actually been really fun but I keep thinking "man a Star Trek RPG where we crew a ship and do thinly veiled episode plots with lots of RP'ing would be really fun."
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Professor Beetus posted:Yeah, I enjoyed it for what it was, which was a classic Trek "obsessed scientist brings ruin to himself and others because of hubris and tunnel vision" episode stretched out over a season. It was such a good idea, and Haz Mazaro’s Karma Barge is great, but it loving draaaaaaaagged. Why not have character development and relationships be constant ongoing concerns, but let the actual crises play out over only one or two episodes? Strange New Worlds has taken that approach and it seems to work.
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Feb 26, 2024 19:26
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Gaz-L posted:In fairness, the Fantasy Flight Star Wars system is maybe my favourite TTRP system ever. The custom dice are mildly annoying as an obvious attempt to upsell players, but the simplicity and versatility of the actual dice system is beautiful. We are not playing that one, we're playing an older one based on D&D 3.5 and it has so many loving numbers
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Feb 26, 2024 19:29
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Apollodorus posted:Why not have character development and relationships be constant ongoing concerns, but let the actual crises play out over only one or two episodes? it's very much an executive-driven decision, made by someone who believes that all TV is ten-episode prestige miniseries and there's no other possible way a TV show can work
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Feb 26, 2024 19:30
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Professor Beetus posted:We are not playing that one, we're playing an older one based on D&D 3.5 and it has so many loving numbers Oh. Ugh. That might be the worst system to play SW in? The old West End Games version lets you roll a bajillion D6s but it's pretty straightforward 'big number = Good'. And the FF version can be crunchy in places, but it also does clever things like modelling an entire group of stormtroopers as one enemy (as you hit them their stats go down to represent individual troopers going down) or how ammo only matters when it's dramatic.
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Feb 26, 2024 19:32
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Grand Fromage posted:Season 4's story is pretty good in concept but poorly executed. It's a solid three parter, but since they insist on structuring the seasons as a single plot is just packed with bullshit and horrible pacing. Having rewatched 3 seasons of Disco in the past week (quarantining with Covid) I have firmly come to the conclusion that the series would have benefited to being 12 episodes per season with the one threaded plots that they did. Having them be tighter and cutting a lot of chaff would have probably made for excellent Trek instead of really stumbling a lot based on neat ideas. Starting season 4 and I’m looking forward to rewatching the whole thing they did with Gray. It felt like they put them in the series with no idea of what to do beyond “they are trans” which really loving sucks as the character could have been so so much more. It unfortunately gives ammo to the chuds who say trek just puts characters who aren’t white cis people to appease to the supposed libs who run Hollywood. edit: I should clarify that Adria and Gray were characters I really liked- although I'm An Old™ and cis, they reminded me of what it was like to be a self-doubting teen and having someone you love in your corner who helps you along even though they are the same age. I think they were written well and I feel like they just kind of swept Gray aside , which is a real shame. Adria was a successful "Wesley Crusher" in the sense they were a genius but still young and growing, but actually written and acted very well. GATOS Y VATOS fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 19:36
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Kei Technical posted:If you're all dialed in to optimistic 90s trek and looking to simulate it together, the modiphius RPG is extremely serviceable Apparently there is a solo version that one can play themselves without having a group? How does this work? I have multiple reasons for not having played RPGs are a combo of business over the decades and my capacity to interact with groups in a timely manner. I know it wouldn't be the same but I am intrigued since I play JRPG video games and that sounds in the same realm.
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Feb 26, 2024 20:09
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GATOS Y VATOS posted:Apparently there is a solo version that one can play themselves without having a group? How does this work? I have multiple reasons for not having played RPGs are a combo of business over the decades and my capacity to interact with groups in a timely manner. I know it wouldn't be the same but I am intrigued since I play JRPG video games and that sounds in the same realm. You roll on a lot of random tables and then narrate yourself making connections between the events and items that show up on the tables. I found it worked better as a guided experience than as a solo RPG. Like, let the GM roll on the tables and cobble together the story and then let one or more players work through the random encounters. I've played a few session with my son who is very new to roleplaying experiences, but gets how the plot of a Star Trek works and it worked very well for that. Mechanically, the solo version starts you as a captain and gives you a ship as well. The ship rules are greatly simplified, basically just another stat of the captain as opposed to a full set of mechanics. Character creation determines what your path to the chair was and what kind of skills and experiences you have to roll against when solving the issue in each Act of your solo adventure.
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Feb 27, 2024 00:48
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Atlas Hugged posted:You roll on a lot of random tables and then narrate yourself making connections between the events and items that show up on the tables. I found it worked better as a guided experience than as a solo RPG. Like, let the GM roll on the tables and cobble together the story and then let one or more players work through the random encounters. I've played a few session with my son who is very new to roleplaying experiences, but gets how the plot of a Star Trek works and it worked very well for that. If anything, it sounds interesting.
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Feb 27, 2024 01:11
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GATOS Y VATOS posted:If anything, it sounds interesting. It's very well done for what it is. I'm just not sure that "solo RPGs" are my bag, but there's enough meat on the bones and enough hooks in all of the tables and plot threads it dangles that if you're into that, it's probably an excellent example of it. I need a driving force behind my roleplaying, so I guess if I were part of a community that regularly shared their adventures and talked about them like episodes of Trek, I might have more motivation to go through a full episode.
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Feb 27, 2024 01:31
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Atlas Hugged posted:It's very well done for what it is. I'm just not sure that "solo RPGs" are my bag, but there's enough meat on the bones and enough hooks in all of the tables and plot threads it dangles that if you're into that, it's probably an excellent example of it. 1000 Year Vampire was very well received, fwiw, but I don't think it works with salt vampires
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Feb 27, 2024 01:46
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Kei Technical posted:1000 Year Vampire was very well received, fwiw, but I don't think it works with salt vampires A quick Google shows that 1000 Year Old Vampire uses a journal writing framework to tell your stories. This is exactly what the Star Trek RPG expects you to do. It's all about writing Captain's Logs.
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Feb 27, 2024 02:14
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MikeJF posted:Are you playing with the replaced rep/advancement system? I’m honestly not sure because, in addition to the standard rpg group scheduling gaps, the group moves through plots/episodes like cold molasses and we haven’t really had an opportunity to dig into that aspect.
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Feb 27, 2024 02:36
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I wonder if there's a mural of Lt. Cmdr Data on a wall in Belfast. There ought to be.
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Feb 27, 2024 03:47
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Big Mean Jerk posted:Yeah, the Modiphius rpg is what we’re playing. It has its issues but it’s been pretty fun. We’ve been playing D&D for 4 years now and we’re all completely burnt out on 5e’s boring loving combat, so it’s been a nice transition to something a little more roleplay/puzzle/social focused. Not that we haven’t done combat in STA yet, but it’s way less complex and tedious than 5e.
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Feb 27, 2024 12:24
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There are plenty of modern tabletop RGPs that have been developed to sidestep tedious combat. I haven't had to crunch a single number in years, and any dice rolls are more or less success/failure. Of course, you have to find a group of players who also don't care about crunchy combat, because there are tons of players to whom that's the entire point. If you wanted to use those within a licensed property you'd have to adapt things yourself, though.
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Feb 27, 2024 16:32
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Small Strange Bird posted:The tedium of tabletop RPG combat is largely what puts me off playing tabletop RPGs. If there's a computer handling all the boring number-crunching then fair enough, but otherwise nope. feedmyleg posted:There are plenty of modern tabletop RGPs that have been developed to sidestep tedious combat. I haven't had to crunch a single number in years, and any dice rolls are more or less success/failure. Of course, you have to find a group of players who also don't care about crunchy combat, because there are tons of players to whom that's the entire point. Yeah, this was the problem we had/have. Our d&d DM loves number crunching and rules-lawyering and refused to ever do any kind of homebrewed alterations to combat, so every encounter was a slog for those of us who weren’t into it. We once had a BBEG session that was 20 minutes of intro rp and then 6 straight hours of the most tedious loving combat you’ve ever seen. Just turn after turn of casters getting option paralysis and overthinking and forgetting how to play their characters while those of us playing martial classes would end up waiting half an hour between turns just to throw three punches and move on. In running the STA campaign I am very much in the “rule of cool” handwave-y camp of DMing just to make things more fun and it drives the previous DM insane.
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Feb 27, 2024 16:44
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If you don't want to do all the maths, can you simple not just higher a roving band of mathematicians to do all the maths for you for your games?
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Feb 27, 2024 19:22
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TuxedoOrca posted:The temporal war is/has ongoing/ended. The problem with a temporal war is that even if it hasn't started yet, it's already happening, and it can never end. The_Doctor posted:“Ok, and what band is playing on the ship at the end of the episode? We’re 50/50 on S Club 7 or Lifehouse.” Scott Bakula: "Hey guys, we sure had a lot of fun tonight, on this week's episode of Enterprise. But remember, a TV show isn't real life." John Billingsly: "We all laughed when Trip got pregnant, but rape isn't funny." Connor Trineer: "So lets all make sure that we stay safe, stay protected, and watch out for each other. Don't wind up like Trip." Jolene Blalock: "It's the only *eyebrow* logical choice *sly smile.*." Everybody: group laughter into freeze frame and upbeat closing song.
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Feb 27, 2024 20:15
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I played the beginner adventure for STA at a con last year and loved it. Bought the starter kit in the cool tricorder box, and a couple of the other rulebooks. Paged through them, looked for a group to join, couldn't find one and now the books are gathering dust on my RPG bookshelf. I'd love to run it but I'm already DMing PF2e twice a week and don't have the time/energy to run another campaign in a system I'd have to put so much energy in to learn. Been meaning to find a campaign to watch but haven't gotten around to it. Still didn't stop me from buying the Lower Decks sourcebook, which I also have yet to crack open.
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Feb 27, 2024 20:35
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Gaz-L posted:Oh. Ugh. That might be the worst system to play SW in? The old West End Games version lets you roll a bajillion D6s but it's pretty straightforward 'big number = Good'. And the FF version can be crunchy in places, but it also does clever things like modelling an entire group of stormtroopers as one enemy (as you hit them their stats go down to represent individual troopers going down) or how ammo only matters when it's dramatic. The old WEG game was very much a fast-play, just roll the dice it says on your character sheet. Highly recommended. And I'll just leave this right here, https://www.starwarstimeline.net/Westendgames.htm
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Feb 27, 2024 21:01
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dr_rat posted:If you don't want to do all the maths, can you simple not just higher a roving band of mathematicians to do all the maths for you for your games? The problem isn’t the math itself, it’s the game’s design of having you slowly plink away at a damage sponge for most big encounters and rarely ever encourages unique or strategic thinking. Because of that, every combat encounter ends up feeling the exact same and you fall into a boring pattern. But some of that is also a failing of the DM.
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Feb 27, 2024 21:05
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Big Mean Jerk posted:The problem isn’t the math itself, it’s the game’s design of having you slowly plink away at a damage sponge for most big encounters and rarely ever encourages unique or strategic thinking. Because of that, every combat encounter ends up feeling the exact same and you fall into a boring pattern. But I know I'll never play 4e, because god drat, it seems like Xcom except you have to work out all the math yourself and all the monsters have hundreds of hit points and if you're lucky you'll get to roll a die once every 15 minutes (and then miss).
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Feb 28, 2024 00:01
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Ground combat in STA is so much better in comparison. Two or three hits tops and most enemies/players are down. Combat is actually quick and doesn’t get in the way of storytelling. Ship combat can take a little longer but it’s still nothing compared to your average D&D 5e encounter.
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Feb 28, 2024 00:09
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mllaneza posted:The old WEG game was very much a fast-play, just roll the dice it says on your character sheet. Highly recommended. Timothy Zahn asks for more background details of the setting so he can write the Heir to the Empire trilogy and Lucasfilm just shrugs and hand him copies of all the game books.
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Feb 28, 2024 01:26
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TheCenturion posted:The problem with a temporal war is that even if it hasn't started yet, it's already happening, and it can never end. Well, no, if the temporal war ends, then it has never happened, and will never ever happen. Loki covered this pretty well.
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Feb 28, 2024 03:26
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Itzena posted:Funniest thing about the old WEG Star Wars rpg is how it sort of fell backwards into being the foundation of the old Extended Universe and still has some bits carried over into Disney SW. I seem to recall that Freddie Prinze Jr, I think, brought in his stash of WEG star wars RPG books for everybody to plunder when they were doing Rebels.
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Feb 28, 2024 15:05
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TheCenturion posted:I seem to recall that Freddie Prinze Jr, I think, brought in his stash of WEG star wars RPG books for everybody to plunder when they were doing Rebels. I feel like that's much more a Sam Witwer (Darth Maul) thing. I know FPJ is kind of a board game guy but I got the vibe he wasn't much of a TTRPG one.
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Feb 28, 2024 17:26
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E: wrong thread
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Feb 28, 2024 18:31
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A.o.D. posted:Well, no, if the temporal war ends, then it has never happened, and will never ever happen. Loki covered this pretty well. It hasn't'd've happened.
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Feb 28, 2024 18:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA-PzkD8jOQ
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Feb 28, 2024 19:09
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Screeners for Disco S5 eps 1-4 are out. Haven't had time or the inclination to watch yet. Embargoed til March 11th.
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Feb 29, 2024 18:15
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MichaelFlatley posted:Screeners for Disco S5 eps 1-4 are out. Haven't had time or the inclination to watch yet. Embargoed til March 11th. Which gives you 3 weeks between embargo lift and broadcast. They must be pretty confident.
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Feb 29, 2024 18:21
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Given their history with screeners, that’s basically just confirmation it doesn’t properly poo poo the bed until episode 5.
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Feb 29, 2024 18:43
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DavidCameronsPig posted:Given their history with screeners, that’s basically just confirmation it doesn’t properly poo poo the bed until episode 5. 
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Feb 29, 2024 18:48
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finally got around to watching the second half of prodigy and it's good starting to believe that Star Trek is better depicted as an animated series than with live action 
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Mar 1, 2024 11:38
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Top tier opening credits too, probably my favourite after SNW and Enterprise. E: also the animated shows can show off some fun alien designs that they can't do in live action. Lower Decks has the squid guy collector, the plant guy collector, the three armed orange aliens, the green one who can split into different parts and the hunter K'ranch just off the top of my head. Doctor_Fruitbat fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Mar 1, 2024 |
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