Re: New Life for Millennium's End

[Steve Peterson <steve.peterson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 4/4/01 12:24 AM, Roger Stenning at roger@isgwds.enterprise-plc.com wrote:

> 
> OK, ideas from here:
> 
> 1. Make the core rules somewhat simpler. I /LNOW/ this will not be
> easy. The strength of the M.E. system is in its' realism to taking
> fire - one hit, and you're potentially brown bread (dead), but I
> suspect this could be made a little simpler. However, it will require
> a GREAT DEAL of work.

Noted. Tinkering with the rules is something we'd be very wary about. My
inclination is to try offering some rules variants or options online first,
in such a way that it doesn't mess with the existing books (as add-on files,
for instance). Then see what response that gets before making any decisions
relative to a printed version.
 
> 2. Make the basic rules a freebie download (as an e-book in PDF?) - it
> could well help hook more new players into the game. Look at GURPS for
> a lead in to the theory; their core rules (character generation,
> taskings, etc) are freebie download, which, I suspect, helped make
> them a major force in the gaming market today.

Yes, that's something we'd like to do for all of our game systems (we
already do that with Fuzion). But it's going to take a back seat to the
first priority of getting the books online.
 
> 3. Advance the timeline a few years, thus keeping the game near future
> enough to be interesting, without being too sci-fi for non-sci-fi
> players. We started this process with the Millennium's End Future
> History Continuation Project, but unfortunately, I gost snowed with
> work, and couldn't devote the time I wanted to it. I still have the
> files and e-mails for the project, and can carry on working on it,
> should the other participants wish to carry on as well; this assumes
> that you guys at Hero Games can make use of the material we produce,
> of course. If you can't, then the MEFHCP is as much use as a roof-rack
> on a helicopter - please advice us on this!

We can certainly use more material for ME, at least as e-products, right
away. As for printed versions, that depends on what we eventually decide for
that. 
 
> 4. How about letting us know the production schedule you have in
> mind - esp in relation to PRINTED material, rather than e-books?
> 

Right now we don't have a schedule for the ME line... first we have to
figure out what we should produce for it. Our printed production schedule is
pretty full for the rest of this year, though. So we have time to think
things through properly, and perhaps test some ides online and gauge some
responses before making decisions.

-- Steve Peterson, Cybergames.com