Going to provide a lot more information later, but just a quick start...

STL SciFi game set in Oort cloud.

This scifi thing started as a Fate game, and I've meandered over to DW. And I struggled with 'how do I reflect the advantages and disadvantages of different technology and different familiarity with technology?'

Well, the move system gives me an interesting, proactive cool direction to go. What I have so far (for tech affinity):

Low tech: So long as you only use low tech gear, you are immune to Basic Hack or Corruption dangers, and roll at +2 when dealing with Critical Hacking or Corruption.
(I'm not 100% sure I like this, because it's fairly passive, but ...)

Standard tech: (I'm really not sure what I want to do here yet. I contemplated making Standard 'rugged and reliable,' but, really... that would be more accurate about advanced tech)

Advanced tech: Your advanced gear is synergistic and easy to operate. If you have a question about how advanced equipment operates, you get a bonus answer, a +1 to Discern Realities about advanced gear, and so on. If you are technically inclined, assembling or connecting advanced equipment is very fast.

General game overview:

Set in Oort cloud, thousands of years in the future. Species are humans, mai (machine intelligences), and shen (data personalities).

There are clusters of territories connected via hyperlanes -- hyper travel is actually slower than light speed, but ships can maintain or create bubbles of spacetime that allow them to accelerate with very little energy.

Each territory is a group of habitats around various free-floating bodies, usually with an identifiable and distinct culture.

At very high technologies, territories often bleed into a transhuman Eruption, which usually goes disastrously wrong, occasionally goes well, but the sum result of which is the transhumans leave the scene... leaving strange relics and dangers behind.

Random tech generation:
Tech
12   Ascendant – imminent Eruption (roll for breakout technology)
11   Advanced technology, roll for one standard technology (ignore 6s)
10   Advanced technology, roll for one standard tech (on a 6, roll for two results and ignore 6s)
9   Standard technology, roll for one advanced tech (on a 6, roll for two results and ignore 6s)
8   Standard technology, roll for one advanced tech (none on a 6)
7   Standard technology, roll advanced and low technology (none on a 6)
6   Standard technology, roll for one low technology (none on a 6)
5   Standard technology, roll for one low technology (on a 6, roll for two results and ignore 6s)
4   Low technology, roll for one standard tech (on a 6, roll for two results and ignore 6s)
3   Low technology, roll for one standard tech (ignore 6s)
2   Scavenging – imminent Collapse (roll for critically failing technology)

Technologies:
1   Mechanization (robotics, industry)
2   Energy systems (propulsion, power)
3   Organics (agricultural, medicine)
4   Computing (AI, drones, data stream)
5   Materials (morphics, plastics, fine fabrication)
6   All/none/pick one

So far I like the races and the six siders only aspect.

But isn't this sort of thing already done well in traveller?  I really don't know.

Well, I'm definitely taking a few cues from Traveller.

But among other things:
DW is different than Traveller.
This is going to be mostly more realistic tech. Mostly.
Traveller doesn't have sentient robots (that I recall)
Traveller isn't STL/Sol-only
Traveller is mostly planet-focused.

I'm definitely interested in reviving the whole 'random cool generation tables' and am glancing at various examples, though I'm approaching things a little differently.
(Taking a glance at UWP codes from Trav, Diaspora's Fate trav-like stuff, and Adventures on Dungeon Planet with a more tag-based approach)

For sentient robots in traveller there are quite a few choices, my favorite right now:



But they have been there for a while, since the early 80's at least.

Ok, you got me there. I have never followed Traveller in depth.

Still, the 'there's another scifi game out there' seems an odd comment to make.

For ideas, try the novel "Mining the Oort" by Fred Pohl. Set a few hundred years hence the Powers That Be decide they want to terraform Mars. To do so they need lots of water. Teams are sent out to the Oort cloud to plant small rockets onto comets and send them sunward to bombard Mars. It may take a couple hundred years but eventually Mars would be changed. Of course politics and sabotage occur.

Also, Pohl's novel "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon", the second Gateway novel, is set aboard a "food factory" ship that mines Oort comets for raw materials. Gateway and Beyond are two of my favorite novels, well worth reading.

Thanks for the tips. I hazily remember being a big fan of Pohl, and I'm pretty sure I read most of the Heechee books as a kid (or preteen? Hmm)

Asked and answered. I knew there was a kernel of stupid in the question the moment I moment I posted it.

Quote from: Scott Anderson;778666Asked and answered. I knew there was a kernel of stupid in the question the moment I moment I posted it.

Eh, I'm just glad some folks read my stuff so far.

Still grinding my gears about this tech thing. I know there's a good idea here, just flailing a bit to nail it down

Tech background
Characters have a broad familiarity with the technology they were raised in. Broadly speaking, this is low, standard, or advanced, though some territories will have a mixture of technologies that the character is familiar with.
+1 Discern Realities, repair, and modification of equipment that fits your background.
Also, gain a bonus item of gear from your territory.

Tech effects
Low tech: So long as you only use low tech gear, Hack or Corruption has no effect on a roll of 7+. If you are trying to Hack a low tech enemy, you can only gain a direct success on a result of 10+ (successes at 7-9 are, instead, distractions, or other parts of your move).
Advanced tech: If your advanced equipment is Hacked or Corrupted, get an extra fail condition on a result of 9-. If you Hack an advanced tech enemy, you gain an extra success condition on a 7+.

Standard tech: One bonus perk
Advanced tech: Two bonus perks

Perks: Morphic (advanced only), quick restart, additional range, +1 damage/armor, regeneration (advanced only), smart (advanced only), rugged, reliable, modular, integral (advanced for humans, any for husks)


(I've been trying to hammer out 'generating places' ideas, then I need to swing back and redo species, write classes, and the fun stuff like that. Then spaceships...)

Quote from: Will;778652Ok, you got me there. I have never followed Traveller in depth.

Still, the 'there's another scifi game out there' seems an odd comment to make.

What's that from?

Traveller is huge, few know all of it (I sure don't), and seems to be exponentially growing. That book is the German 13 mann one for Mongoose, very nicely done.

Have you checked out Eclipse Phase? It has some interesting stuff.

I've been meaning to take a look at Eclipse Phase, yeah. Though there's only so many games I can buy at once.

(I've recently bought Adventures on Dungeon World and Apocalypse World, so...)

Eclipse Phase and a lot of it's supplements are free, given away by it's creator:

http://robboyle.wordpress.com/eclipse-phase-pdfs/

Holy poot! Thanks.

(And I find myself AGAIN falling into my tinker trap. I shouldn't be doing fucking sliding tables, man. I should be doing random cool regional moves, like 'Corrupt Law' move to get out of trouble)