TWERPS had Space and Twek supplements.

Cepheus Quantum: it's free, and an ultra-light descendant of Classic Traveller.

Star Adventurer, White Star, Death in Space, Stars Without Number for OSR sci-fi games.

Elite: Dangerous, Coriolis, Alien, Savage Worlds (with one of its many sci-fi settings like Titan Effect), and the Cortex Engine (Firefly) can all do simplified and quick to play sci-fi gaming.

Quote from: jeff37923 on June 03, 2022, 06:28:44 PM
Mekton Alpha
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1398203372387.pdf

That is the free introductory version of Mekton Zeta which is what you should be using. Accept no substitutes. Many games have tried to imitate the same feeling of anime mecha that Mekton did, and all have failed.

I really dislike this guy but I have to admit he's right on this. I had Melton zeta+  and it's a workable simple system.

There is a simple fast system called appropriately enough FAST, freestyle action story telling.  A mini system not well known, they run games at local conventions in the Midwest.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369451/FAST-RPG-Quick-Play-Guide

Quote from: weirdguy564 on June 03, 2022, 12:59:04 PMSo if you had to run a sci-fi game out of the blue, with minimal setup time for making a character for everyone, and easy to learn rules, what is your pick?

I've said multiple times that the FFG Star Wars game is fundamentally flawed. However, it works fine for low level adventures and their starter boxes are easy to pick up and run (for anyone with some DMing experience). That's what I would recommend for a pick up game as the adventure and characters are all pre-built.

D6 space is free and has some sourcebooks for it. I hear it was a rejected attenot at a star wars rpg that was repurposed as a generic setting. Seems simple.

Quote from: Battlemaster on June 06, 2022, 10:44:17 PM

Quote from: jeff37923 on June 03, 2022, 06:28:44 PM
Mekton Alpha
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1398203372387.pdf

That is the free introductory version of Mekton Zeta which is what you should be using. Accept no substitutes. Many games have tried to imitate the same feeling of anime mecha that Mekton did, and all have failed.

I really dislike this guy but I have to admit he's right on this. I had Melton zeta+  and it's a workable simple system.

Maybe there is hope for you yet....

 Traveller no question about it.

here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use

roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign  6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them

pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)

pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?

You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.

Start playing.

If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)

Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.

here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use

roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign  6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them

pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)

pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?

You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.

Start playing.

If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)

Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)

Very interesting, and similar to Cepheus Quantum/Quantum Starfarer.

Free League put out Coriolis, The Third Horizon for a somewhat Expanse/Firefly-like take on sci-fi with "Arabian Nights in Space" as a setting filter. Play is fast and smooth, and character creation is even easier than Traveller.

Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 06:41:12 AM

Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.

here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use

roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign  6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them

pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)

pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?

You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.

Start playing.

If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)

Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)

I wouldn't attempt to dignify either of these proposed "systems" by associating them with Traveller. They're both more in the line of "lets just roll dice and make some shit up." Games have rules, so you're not really playing a game at all if you "play" in this manner. Still, whatever floats your boat I guess.

It's a quick and dirty system for a pick up game, and it's based on classic Traveller where the referee is encouraged to make stuff up.

Have you ever talked with anyone who has played in a game run by MWM recently?

Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 10:46:12 AM
It's a quick and dirty system for a pick up game, and it's based on classic Traveller where the referee is encouraged to make stuff up.

Have you ever talked with anyone who has played in a game run by MWM recently?

Yes, I've played with Marc in fairly recent times. He uses a roll under stat system; you can't use a stat again until you've rolled on the other stats. I'm not saying that was much chop either.

No mention of HardNova 2? I'm about to cry

Ready to use character templates and scenarios included.