What is everyone's thoughts on this game? Can it do Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, John Carter pulp-style adventure really well?

Take my reply with a grain of salt as I've never played or run the game...I got it when it first came out, probably 10 years ago at this point. It's a decent sized book that is mostly background material, the game system is like 1/5th the page count. I read through it, thought it had a cool 50s scifi vibe with some interesting concepts and a lackluster/boring system, and put it down. I don't think there's anything you really couldn't do with Traveller or Savage Worlds or GURPS after watching The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, and a bunch of Buck Rogers serials.

If you're super lazy, though, I don't see any reason it would be a bad game to run. I think it's basically similar to Yggdrasil in that it's a game that does exactly what it says it does, but sort of no frills.

I own a copy which I have just taken down from the shelf, but I could have sworn it was a Savage Worlds based game! I see it says "Vortex System". That's how much impression it made on me. I remember liking the setting, but the rules density is a lot more than I want from a pulp game.

Quote from: Brad on January 13, 2023, 08:03:50 PM
It's a decent sized book that is mostly background material, the game system is like 1/5th the page count.

Background is pages 1-92, rules are pages 93-228, GM advice and adventure seeds are pages 229-238, and Bestiary pages 239-251 by my count. It looks distinctly crunchy to me. I remember it being quite good crunch for the genre.

Quote from: Batjon on January 13, 2023, 07:52:28 PM
What is everyone's thoughts on this game? Can it do Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, John Carter pulp-style adventure really well?

The retro-futurist setting - battling Nazis on Mars in the late 1930s - is probably closest to Buck Rogers I guess. It can do Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, it's not designed for John Carter Sword & Planet.

Quote from: S'mon on January 14, 2023, 05:26:37 AM
Background is pages 1-92, rules are pages 93-228, GM advice and adventure seeds are pages 229-238, and Bestiary pages 239-251 by my count. It looks distinctly crunchy to me. I remember it being quite good crunch for the genre.

Alright, thanks for correcting me. As stated, I haven't looked at it in years, mostly because it just wasn't that compelling.

Quote from: S'mon on January 14, 2023, 05:23:57 AM
I own a copy which I have just taken down from the shelf, but I could have sworn it was a Savage Worlds based game! I see it says "Vortex System". That's how much impression it made on me. I remember liking the setting, but the rules density is a lot more than I want from a pulp game.

You're thinking of https://peginc.com/savage-settings/flash-gordon/

Which is probably just what the OP is after.

Quote from: Grognard GM on January 14, 2023, 03:09:31 PM
You're thinking of https://peginc.com/savage-settings/flash-gordon/

No, though I might have confused it with Slipstream for SW. But honestly I have a strong memory of discussing the game online when I bought it, as a Savage Worlds variant. Looks like Mandela Effect - guess I've slipped into another alternate universe again! 

I think I said I liked the setting but would use eg Mini Six for the rules, while some other people said they liked the rules for a Buck Rogers game, but would discard the setting.