This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Author Topic: Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?  (Read 8365 times)

Christopher Brady

  • The Voice of Raisin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • C
  • Posts: 4733
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2016, 07:17:33 PM »
Quote from: Luca;885779
Slightly off topic, but there's the theoretical possibility of FTL travel without violation of general relativity by using Alcubierre drives. It's contentious but it hasn't been disproven yet, one of the biggest sticking points (the sheer magnitude of the energy requirements) has been apparently solved by the improvements of den Broeck and White and the other big one (creating an energy field with negative density) might be possible depending how you interpret the Casimir effect.


That's not the issue, though.  It's radiation shielding, we still haven't beat that one.
"And now, my friends, a Dragon's toast!  To life's little blessings:  wars, plagues and all forms of evil.  Their presence keeps us alert --- and their absence makes us grateful." -T.A. Barron[/SIZE]

Brand55

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • B
  • Posts: 946
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2016, 08:07:09 PM »
Quote from: Christopher Brady;885817
That's not the issue, though.  It's radiation shielding, we still haven't beat that one.

Well, in its defense Nova Praxis is set in the future and a technological singularity has occurred to push technology to levels that mankind still doesn't fully understand in-universe. So yes, it's still fantasy but at least the game provides some explanation for how things are the way they are rather than just hand-waving everything.

Christopher Brady

  • The Voice of Raisin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • C
  • Posts: 4733
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2016, 08:24:20 PM »
Quote from: Brand55;885826
Well, in its defense Nova Praxis is set in the future and a technological singularity has occurred to push technology to levels that mankind still doesn't fully understand in-universe. So yes, it's still fantasy but at least the game provides some explanation for how things are the way they are rather than just hand-waving everything.


Fair point, but I will always fight against it being 'more realistic' than Interface Zero.
"And now, my friends, a Dragon's toast!  To life's little blessings:  wars, plagues and all forms of evil.  Their presence keeps us alert --- and their absence makes us grateful." -T.A. Barron[/SIZE]

jan paparazzi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1273
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2016, 07:27:00 PM »
Quote from: Imaginos;885748
There are so many settings that I enjoy tied to the system.


Rippers, Beasts and Barbarians, Hellfrost, Slipstream, Deadlands Noir, 50 Fathoms, East Texas University, the Day after Ragnarok, Streets of Bedlam to name a few I enjoy.
May I say that? Yes, I may say that!

jan paparazzi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1273
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #19 on: March 19, 2016, 07:48:24 PM »
Quote from: tenbones;885755

I'm also eyeballing Last Parsec in case I want to expand to full blown space-opera. Anyone use that?


Contains mostly the same stuff as the scifi companion plus Jumpcore as the default organisation the players work for. Maybe a little bit more info on the races and the homeworlds than the companion, but not much. It doesn't have much of a setting and the other books (Eris Beta 5, Leviathan, Scientorium) are system/planet only settings. Small scale and really more campaign books than setting books imo.

Alternatively you can also look into High Space which has pretty elaborate rules for spaceship construction and combat. The first edition only had one system (The Lantern) as a default setting, but the new kickstartered edition will have a full setting called the Greater PanDominion.
May I say that? Yes, I may say that!

3rik

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1834
    • https://twitter.com/RPGbericht
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #20 on: March 19, 2016, 08:54:24 PM »
Christopher Brady and jux, have you looked into Brutal Games' Corporation RPG? I'm not really familiar with it but I've read mostly positive things.
It's not Its

"It's said that governments are chiefed by the double tongues" - Ten Bears (The Outlaw Josey Wales)

@RPGbericht

Orphan81

  • Angry Videogame Nerd
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 782
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #21 on: March 19, 2016, 10:29:44 PM »
I was line Developer on the book so admittedly, I'm biased. There are a few things I wanted to do different, like a slightly more in depth cyberware system I wrote up, but the company owner went with the Sci fi toolkit version instead. Still it's one helluva game and I'm proud to have worked on it in such a capacity. It also shows how flexible SW can be.
1. Some of you culture warriors are so committed to the bit you'll throw out any nuance or common sense in fear it's 'giving in' to the other side.

2. I'm a married homeowner with a career and a child. I won life. You can't insult me.

3. I work in a Prison, your tough guy act is boring.

crkrueger

  • Hulk in the Vineyard
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12559
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2016, 11:53:12 PM »
Quote from: Orphan81;886058
a slightly more in depth cyberware system I wrote up
Any chance of that popping up anywhere?
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery's thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

jux

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 125
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #23 on: March 20, 2016, 03:31:22 AM »
Quote from: Christopher Brady;885829
Fair point, but I will always fight against it being 'more realistic' than Interface Zero.


Firstly, you don't find 'more realistic' in my statement. So you are fighting with ghosts that live in your head, mate.

But why IZ2 is more fantasy compared to NP is not when compared to realism, but to sci-fi. In IZ2 you can be a two legged a rhino or tiger - it totally breaks the genre for me. I think this design choice was made to compete with the success of Shadowrun.

But IZ2 mechanically should be very solid for SW. But I've got issues with SW as well.

Orphan81

  • Angry Videogame Nerd
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 782
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #24 on: March 20, 2016, 04:58:13 AM »
Quote from: jux;886090
Firstly, you don't find 'more realistic' in my statement. So you are fighting with ghosts that live in your head, mate.

But why IZ2 is more fantasy compared to NP is not when compared to realism, but to sci-fi. In IZ2 you can be a two legged a rhino or tiger - it totally breaks the genre for me. I think this design choice was made to compete with the success of Shadowrun.


The Hybrids weren't put in to compete with Shadowrun, they were put in because the creator of the game "Dave Jarvis" came up with the idea and thought they were cool.

This became a point of contention to a small degree, as I was more in favor of far more subtle Hybrids where a portion of the fan base and Dave Jarvis himself liked the full on TMNT style mutant Hybrids.

I left Gun Metal Games not entirely on the best of terms. I'm happy with it's success to a great degree, but there were several design choices I was against, and or in favor of something else. Ultimately this is why I parted ways with the company when work on the IZ 2.0 book was completed.

An example of this being the inclusion of the "Bioroid" race and the "Simulacrum" race...

To me, Bioroids are literally just Simulacra by a different name. They're both artificial people grown in a vat for a specific service...But one of the writers really didn't like the idea that Roy Batty and the Puma Sisters are the exact same thing just different presentations.... So that's how we got the "Bioroid" race for Japan.

I still am very proud of the work done on IZ 2.0, it's a beautiful book, and it has some of the best rules and writing in RPG's, design wise thought, I would have tweaked a few things differently.
1. Some of you culture warriors are so committed to the bit you'll throw out any nuance or common sense in fear it's 'giving in' to the other side.

2. I'm a married homeowner with a career and a child. I won life. You can't insult me.

3. I work in a Prison, your tough guy act is boring.

Orphan81

  • Angry Videogame Nerd
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 782
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #25 on: March 20, 2016, 05:00:21 AM »
Quote from: CRKrueger;886070
Any chance of that popping up anywhere?


Probably not, the Company Head thought it was to complex since it used decimal points for calculating Cyber Strain ala Shadowrun, rather than whole numbers.

Of course the decimals allowed for the creation of much more granular cyberware like cyber-eyes and their varieties, but I was over ruled in the end and the basic Sci-Fi toolkit cyberware rules were used instead.
1. Some of you culture warriors are so committed to the bit you'll throw out any nuance or common sense in fear it's 'giving in' to the other side.

2. I'm a married homeowner with a career and a child. I won life. You can't insult me.

3. I work in a Prison, your tough guy act is boring.

Christopher Brady

  • The Voice of Raisin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • C
  • Posts: 4733
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #26 on: March 20, 2016, 12:37:28 PM »
Quote from: 3rik;886045
Christopher Brady and jux, have you looked into Brutal Games' Corporation RPG? I'm not really familiar with it but I've read mostly positive things.


I remember hearing about this a while back, but no I haven't.  Once I save up the pennies, I'll look deeper.  Thanks!
"And now, my friends, a Dragon's toast!  To life's little blessings:  wars, plagues and all forms of evil.  Their presence keeps us alert --- and their absence makes us grateful." -T.A. Barron[/SIZE]

tenbones

  • Poobah of the D.O.N.G.
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6164
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #27 on: March 20, 2016, 02:03:16 PM »
Quote from: Orphan81;886096
The Hybrids weren't put in to compete with Shadowrun, they were put in because the creator of the game "Dave Jarvis" came up with the idea and thought they were cool.

This became a point of contention to a small degree, as I was more in favor of far more subtle Hybrids where a portion of the fan base and Dave Jarvis himself liked the full on TMNT style mutant Hybrids.


That's funny! My first thought when I saw the degree of mutation was exactly the same as Jux's - I definitely thought it was a "Shadowrun-nod". I agree with your design sentiments - I don't think it should have gone that far. I could see some subtle hybridization, but the TMNT stuff is ehhhh in terms of "genre adherence" (which is a debatable phrase itself), but I can leave it easily enough.

Quote from: Orphan81;886096
An example of this being the inclusion of the "Bioroid" race and the "Simulacrum" race...

To me, Bioroids are literally just Simulacra by a different name. They're both artificial people grown in a vat for a specific service...But one of the writers really didn't like the idea that Roy Batty and the Puma Sisters are the exact same thing just different presentations.... So that's how we got the "Bioroid" race for Japan.


/Agreed. My first pass through the book I was asking the same thing.

Quote from: Orphan81;886096
I still am very proud of the work done on IZ 2.0, it's a beautiful book, and it has some of the best rules and writing in RPG's, design wise thought, I would have tweaked a few things differently.


/Double-Agreed. I'd be pretty stoked to have had a hand in the outcome of this book too. Kudos. It's a marvelous piece of work. No piece of design is ever "perfect", the nature of SW is toolkit enough to allow anyone to leave what they don't like on the floor. So it's win/win.

tenbones

  • Poobah of the D.O.N.G.
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6164
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #28 on: March 20, 2016, 02:04:30 PM »
Quote from: Orphan81;886097
Probably not, the Company Head thought it was to complex since it used decimal points for calculating Cyber Strain ala Shadowrun, rather than whole numbers.

Of course the decimals allowed for the creation of much more granular cyberware like cyber-eyes and their varieties, but I was over ruled in the end and the basic Sci-Fi toolkit cyberware rules were used instead.


You wouldn't have a copy of those rules for, you know... your own personal game, by chance? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Soylent Green

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2508
Savage Worlds: Interface Zero 2.0 - Yea or Nay?
« Reply #29 on: March 20, 2016, 04:12:48 PM »
I only have the older IZ edition for SW. I've used the excellent adventure generation tables at the back extensively for other games but I never took the plunge with IZ itself.  Not sure why, I guess it just didn't click. In the end I just wrote my own little cyberpunk game.

Is IZ 2e much different?
New! Cyberblues City - like cyberpunk, only more mellow. Free, fully illustrated roleplaying game based on the Fudge system
Bounty Hunters of the Atomic Wastelands, a post-apocalyptic western game based on Fate. It's simple, it's free and it's in colour!