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I think you could save a lot of space by saving the galaxy and universe maybe even , System level games for the Companion or Starcharts.

Also the more detailed system generation could also wait till companion. maybe just commander and captain. That way some of the other optional techs can be removed as well.

That way more could be given over to balancing and enriching the basic game. Such as diplomacy, intel ground combat , crew quality etc.

duxdarius wrote:I think you could save a lot of space by saving the galaxy and universe maybe even , System level games for the Companion or Starcharts.

Also the more detailed system generation could also wait till companion. maybe just commander and captain. That way some of the other optional techs can be removed as well.

That way more could be given over to balancing and enriching the basic game. Such as diplomacy, intel ground combat , crew quality etc.

I was thinking about this over the weekend, and had essentially reached a similar conclusion.

While it would save some space... I do think it could be core to a fair few games, and perhaps laying the groundwork now is a good thing (I know that I plan on using it, and I can't say the same about the new and far more complex CSCR, although I will withhold final judgement until it's in my hands)?

Additionally, most of the "work" has been done already - so it really is more a case of reducing page-count rather than workload,

And for a book that you'll likely buy as a .pdf and print out as you need it, you can always skip the offending chapter?

Gareth_Perkins wrote:While it would save some space... I do think it could be core to a fair few games, and perhaps laying the groundwork now is a good thing (I know that I plan on using it, and I can't say the same about the new and far more complex CSCR, although I will withhold final judgement until it's in my hands)?

Additionally, most of the "work" has been done already - so it really is more a case of reducing page-count rather than workload,

And for a book that you'll likely buy as a .pdf and print out as you need it, you can always skip the offending chapter?

Some good points there, but only effective if the basic rules section is complete without having to flip back and forth. The more advanced options could be there just fine (for those not using them to print, etc etc) if the sequence was not cluttered. But I have not looked at the latest set (darn RL), so not sure what the state of the arrangement is currently.

My update later today will address some of this, but the gist of it is that now that we have started actually laying out the book in InDesign there are several things that have become abundantly clear to us in regards to content that really should just be removed from this book in order to make it more approachable, both for new and experienced players alike.

Now, in regards to the map generation and star system rules, those will be staying simply because they don't represent enough content to warrant porting them to their own book. The "flipping back and forth" effect would be a pain in the butt, and it is just easier to present them alongside all of the other options. Also, as far as page count goes, the Universe and Galaxy map options don't take up that much extra space, and I expect that most "mid-sized" VBAM campaigns will actually use galaxy maps to at least track the location of sectors on the map.

The advanced star system and planet rules fall under a similar umbrella of being not enough extra to warrant their own book. It is just easier to give players all of the tools in that particular toolbox rather than try to awkwardly cram them into a followup book.

That is not to say that I haven't seriously debated deferring the System Map rules to another book, but that requires that the interplanetary lane be deferred, too, and then you end up with solitary jump lane types just sitting in isolated source books that you can never remember the location of. So consolidation is key here.

As for the star system rules, I will admit that the star generation rules take up a bit more space than most would like. But, again, it is easier for the rest of the rules to have them be present.

We are pulling some other rules, which I will discuss in this afternoon's VBAM update. And I may still be convinced to remove some of these other rules, but right now I am thinking they are going to stay.

-Tyrel