From: rafael@nvg.ntnu.no (Frank Rafaelsen) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Continuum Date: 11 Aug 2000 19:33:58 GMT Organization: Nettverksgruppa, NTNU Lines: 10 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tyrell.nvg.ntnu.no X-Trace: kopp.stud.ntnu.no 966022438 28745 129.241.210.70 (11 Aug 2000 19:33:58 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@itea.ntnu.no NNTP-Posting-Date: 11 Aug 2000 19:33:58 GMT User-Agent: slrn/0.9.5.7 (UNIX) Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!psinet-eu-nl!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!newsfeedZ.netscum.dQ!netscum.int!uninett.no!ntnu.no!rafael Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14605 Just bought this gem of a role-playing game. I'm digging into it right now, loving every detail. My head is almost spinning trying to grasp the implications and possibilities of the setting. But is it really possible to have a campaign in it? How does it play? -- Ha en god dag! Frank Rafaelsen (Who would most certainly be a narcicist) ###### From: Michael Cule Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 00:16:37 +0100 Message-ID: <2TJMQDAVlIl5EwTu@room3b.demon.co.uk> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: room3b.demon.co.uk X-NNTP-Posting-Host: room3b.demon.co.uk:158.152.77.67 X-Trace: news.demon.co.uk 966035879 nnrp-13:4694 NO-IDENT room3b.demon.co.uk:158.152.77.67 X-Complaints-To: abuse@demon.net MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Newsreader: Turnpike Integrated Version 4.02 S Lines: 30 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!colt.net!dispose.news.demon.net!demon!news.demon.co.uk!demon!room3b.demon.co.uk!mikec Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14562 In article , Frank Rafaelsen writes >Just bought this gem of a role-playing game. I'm digging into it right >now, loving every detail. My head is almost spinning trying to grasp the >implications and possibilities of the setting. > >But is it really possible to have a campaign in it? How does it play? > Well, if you figure it out let me know.... I bought a copy and went boggle, boggle, boggle.... Half of it seems to be a game in which people with the power to alter reality tip-toe very carefully around trying to make sure that they don't actually alter reality. (And this seems to involve making a lot of notes about just about everything you do. Very obssessive-compulsive. Or do I mean anal-retentive?) The other half seems to be set in post-human and near-post-human societies in which people do absolutely incomprehensible things. At one stage in character advancement you seem to have to play a complex game of time-travelling census-taking combined with advanced corporate/university politics. Why was never actually clear to me. Boggle, I say. And yet again, boggle, boggle, boggle.... Sold my copy at CONVULSION... Felt guilty about it.... -- Michael Cule ###### Reply-To: "Michael T. Richter" From: "Michael T. Richter" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc References: <2TJMQDAVlIl5EwTu@room3b.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 8 Organization: Half-Baked Software MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Message-ID: <3C4l5.52836$07.1671193@news1.rdc1.on.wave.home.com> Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 04:43:43 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.112.132.246 X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news1.rdc1.on.wave.home.com 966055423 24.112.132.246 (Fri, 11 Aug 2000 21:43:43 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 21:43:43 PDT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news.tesion.net!news.belwue.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!logbridge.uoregon.edu!HSNX.atgi.net!feeder.via.net!newshub2.rdc1.sfba.home.com!news.home.com!news1.rdc1.on.wave.home.com.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14596 "Michael Cule" wrote in message news:2TJMQDAVlIl5EwTu@room3b.demon.co.uk... > Very obssessive-compulsive. Or do I mean anal-retentive?) If you truly meant "anal retentive" you would not have hyphenated it. :-) ###### From: "cuspofdreaming" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 20:43:07 +0100 Organization: BT Internet Lines: 18 Message-ID: <8n49bn$eli$1@uranium.btinternet.com> References: <2TJMQDAVlIl5EwTu@room3b.demon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: host62-7-92-11.btinternet.com X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news.tesion.net!news.belwue.de!news-stu1.dfn.de!news-koe1.dfn.de!do.de.uu.net!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!newsfeed00.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!codeine.org!grolier!btnet-peer0!btnet!mendelevium.btinternet.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14689 > Boggle, I say. And yet again, boggle, boggle, boggle.... > > Sold my copy at CONVULSION... Felt guilty about it.... > -- I know what you mean, I'm selling my copy. It's a great read (eventually) but as to how playable it is, i would be surprised if people stuck with it - it's just one of those games unfortunately. -- "Just look at it this way...river of space...a ripple of time...like a burial" -Martin ###### From: "Frank T. Sronce" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 17:28:09 +0000 Organization: Oceanography Dept, Texas A&M Lines: 48 Message-ID: <39982C29.92ECE29F@myriad.net> References: <2TJMQDAVlIl5EwTu@room3b.demon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: deacon.tamu.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Date: 14 Aug 2000 19:19:14 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.73 [en] (X11; I; Linux 2.0.36 i686) X-Accept-Language: en Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news.tesion.net!news.belwue.de!news.uni-ulm.de!rz.uni-karlsruhe.de!schlund.de!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!newsfeed00.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!xfer13.netnews.com!xfe11.netnews.com!netnews.com!newshub.northeast.verio.net!verio!news-feeds.jump.net!news.tamu.edu!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14734 Michael Cule wrote: > > In article , Frank Rafaelsen > writes > >Just bought this gem of a role-playing game. I'm digging into it right > >now, loving every detail. My head is almost spinning trying to grasp the > >implications and possibilities of the setting. > > > >But is it really possible to have a campaign in it? How does it play? > > > > Well, if you figure it out let me know.... > > I bought a copy and went boggle, boggle, boggle.... > Lol. Yeah, I remember having that sort of reaction, too. The characters are simultaneously normal folks AND godlike beings. And there's really something to be said for a game that lets a PC have a "To-Do List" that includes entries like "Span back to gun-battle in July 1998 and die." > Half of it seems to be a game in which people with the power to alter > reality tip-toe very carefully around trying to make sure that they > don't actually alter reality. (And this seems to involve making a lot of > notes about just about everything you do. Very obssessive-compulsive. Or > do I mean anal-retentive?) > > The other half seems to be set in post-human and near-post-human > societies in which people do absolutely incomprehensible things. At one > stage in character advancement you seem to have to play a complex game > of time-travelling census-taking combined with advanced > corporate/university politics. Why was never actually clear to me. > > Boggle, I say. And yet again, boggle, boggle, boggle.... > > Sold my copy at CONVULSION... Felt guilty about it.... > -- > Michael Cule Personally, I want a copy of Narcissist (the version oriented around Spanners who DON'T follow the rules of the Continuum). A web search shows places offering the "Pre-Release" game... anyone know if the actual game will ever be printed, or should I snag the pre-release while it's still available? Kiz ###### From: triad3204@aol.com (Justin Bacon) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 20 NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder06.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@aol.com Date: 14 Aug 2000 21:30:07 GMT References: <39982C29.92ECE29F@myriad.net> Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com X-Newsreader: Session Scheduler Message-ID: <20000814173007.10462.00000535@nso-bh.aol.com> Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!bignews.mediaways.net!newsfeed.esat.net!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!portc03.blue.aol.com!audrey05.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:14893 In article <39982C29.92ECE29F@myriad.net>, "Frank T. Sronce" writes: > Personally, I want a copy of Narcissist (the version oriented around >Spanners who DON'T follow the rules of the Continuum). A web search >shows places offering the "Pre-Release" game... anyone know if the >actual game will ever be printed, or should I snag the pre-release while >it's still available? Narcissist will eventually be released. The company is behind on their release schedule for the same reason most companies run into release schedule problems -- they didn't quite time the diversification of their creative talent, and so ended up swamped by the realities of running a business and unable to produce material at the rate they were able to produce it before becoming a business. At the moment they are actively looking for freelancers, so their schedule of releases should begin to pick up over the next few months. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com ###### From: triad3204@my-deja.com Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 19:29:28 GMT Organization: Deja.com - Before you buy. Lines: 62 Message-ID: <8nrvtt$4ii$1@nnrp1.deja.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.142.209.17 X-Article-Creation-Date: Mon Aug 21 19:29:28 2000 GMT X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/4.72 [en] (Win98; I) X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 x55.deja.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 208.142.209.17 X-MyDeja-Info: XMYDJUIDtriad3204 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!news.tele.dk!4.1.16.34!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!nntp2.deja.com!nnrp1.deja.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:15569 In article , rafael@nvg.ntnu.no (Frank Rafaelsen) wrote: > Just bought this gem of a role-playing game. I'm digging into it right > now, loving every detail. My head is almost spinning trying to grasp > the implications and possibilities of the setting. > > But is it really possible to have a campaign in it? How does it play? CONTINUUM is an absolutely brilliant game conceptually, which I never quite get the time to sit down and read all the way through (although I am now on page 5 for the fourth time and this time I *am* going to get through it, by hook or by crook). It is, literally, unlike anything that's come before it -- an almost completely fresh and original outlook at how time travel works. The most common complaint I've seen against the game, however, is the matter of"record-keeping" -- which I feel the game makes overly complicated with its "Spanning Card". I've found that it's relatively easy to simplify this down to keeping track of everything you know on three lists: 1. An Objective Timeline 2. A Subjective Timeline 3. Events Without Time The Objective Timeline keeps tracks of things with specific dates/times attached to them: I know that I was born on December 4th, 1979. I know that I'm typing this message at 2:07 PM on 8/21/2000. And so forth. The Subjective Timeline keeps tracks of things in the order they appear to happen to you. 1879 comes before 1979 objectively, but my birth in 1979 took place (subjectively) before I spanned back to 1879. Events Without Time are, specifically, things which I know I *will* do at some point in my subjective future -- but which I have not yet done. I may know when they happen objectively (in which case they will also appear on my objective timeline); I may even know roughly or specifically when they happen subjectively (when I'm 40 years old; after I fight the dinosaurs, but before I save the Pyramid at Giza; or whatever) (in which case they appear on my Subjective Timeline). Now, for each event on these lists leave a little space open next to them. When you've accomplished them *subjectively*, check them off. As long as you do that consistently and accurately, you shouldn't have any problems and you shouldn't spend more than a handful of minutes during each gaming session keeping track of your Past and your Yet. Also, keep your life simple: In the long-term, only keep track of the major events. Like Bill and Ted you can take care of the short term stuff (coming back and helping yourself out fifteen minutes from now, for example) in the short term, and then discard it. As for adventuring and campaigning possibilties, I'll have to get back to you. But I would suggest checking out the Aetherco website (where they have some sample scenarios posted). That's www.aetherco.com. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. ###### From: "David Trimboli" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc References: Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 42 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Message-ID: Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 05:31:56 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.188.34.245 X-Trace: news02.optonline.net 967267916 24.188.34.245 (Sat, 26 Aug 2000 01:31:56 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 01:31:56 EDT Organization: Optimum Online Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news.tesion.net!news.belwue.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!uni-erlangen.de!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!feed2.onemain.com!feed1.onemain.com!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!news01.optonline.net!news02.optonline.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:16221 I've run it several times as one-shot games, and it plays just fine. Once you get over your shock at actually having to THINK about keeping track of your spanning and your Yet, you find that it's actually quite easy. Everyone's just afraid to get past this point. You just need a little practice, like your spanner character. And it's a game where learning to play is a part of the roleplaying. (The rules of play are easy to learn. The rules of the Continuum are the thoughtful parts.) As for campaigns, you bet you can have a campaign in it! I'm setting one up right now--mostly in the '90s and 2000s. But you can place one ANYWHERE and ANYWHEN. You want spanners in the Old West? No problem! You want to play a time travel game where the characters are native to some prehistoric civilization which is unknown to science in the year 2000 AD? Easy as pie! It's especially easy for the GM to pace a campaign, as he can spring new plot devices on the characters at LITERALLY any time he wants. And as the characters gain Span, the depth of the Continuum becomes clearer and more grand. This is the game I've always wanted to design myself, but could never quite work out the details. I always ended up stuck with a deterministic universe setting, and with no controls on what characters can do. CONTINUUM solves all of this nicely, and more believably than I could have imagined. David Stardate 652.2 Frank Rafaelsen wrote in message news:slrn8p8l96.hmr.rafael@tyrell.nvg.ntnu.no... > Just bought this gem of a role-playing game. I'm digging into it right > now, loving every detail. My head is almost spinning trying to grasp the > implications and possibilities of the setting. > > But is it really possible to have a campaign in it? How does it play? > > -- > Ha en god dag! > Frank Rafaelsen > (Who would most certainly be a narcicist) ###### From: triad3204@aol.com (Justin Bacon) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 26 NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder06.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@aol.com Date: 26 Aug 2000 13:36:40 GMT References: Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com X-Newsreader: Session Scheduler Message-ID: <20000826093640.28045.00000835@nso-fg.aol.com> Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!xfer13.netnews.com!netnews.com!newsfeed.skycache.com!Cidera!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey05.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:16205 In article , "David Trimboli" writes: >This is the game I've always wanted to design myself, but could never quite >work out the details. I always ended up stuck with a deterministic universe >setting, and with no controls on what characters can do. CONTINUUM solves >all of this nicely, and more believably than I could have imagined. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book. I've got two problems with it: 1. The way Frag works seems to be an active counter-argument against the way the Continuum claims the universe works. Specifically, Frag is driven entirely by the perceptions of the individual -- not any sort of outer reality. 2. The game opens up with a really great it about how most time traveling scenarios find ways to chicken out from dealing with the really *fun* stuff about time travel (because it's too difficult to handle)... but then at several points during the game they kinda chicken out from dealing with the really fun stuff. Take the way Time Combat is abstracted, for example. The game never really seems to face up to *all* the challenges of characters who live in four dimensions. But I'm still assessing. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com ###### From: "Frank T. Sronce" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 12:41:30 +0000 Organization: Oceanography Dept, Texas A&M Lines: 17 Message-ID: <39AA5DFA.F769A291@myriad.net> References: <20000826093640.28045.00000835@nso-fg.aol.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: deacon.tamu.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Date: 28 Aug 2000 14:31:55 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.73 [en] (X11; I; Linux 2.0.36 i686) X-Accept-Language: en Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!newshub.northeast.verio.net!verio!news-feeds.jump.net!news.tamu.edu!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:16421 Justin Bacon wrote: > > I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book. I've got two problems with it: > > 1. The way Frag works seems to be an active counter-argument against the way > the Continuum claims the universe works. Specifically, Frag is driven entirely > by the perceptions of the individual -- not any sort of outer reality. > > Justin Bacon > triad3204@aol.com That bit might even be deliberate, considering that Narcissist is coming out soon, and the Narcissists say that the Continuum's description of frag is pretty much just propaganda. Dunno. :-) Kiz ###### From: "David Trimboli" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc References: <20000826093640.28045.00000835@nso-fg.aol.com> Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 67 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Message-ID: Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 05:35:02 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.188.34.245 X-Trace: news02.optonline.net 967786502 24.188.34.245 (Fri, 01 Sep 2000 01:35:02 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 01:35:02 EDT Organization: Optimum Online Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!news.maxwell.syr.edu!feed2.onemain.com!feed1.onemain.com!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!news01.optonline.net!news02.optonline.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17333 Justin Bacon wrote in message news:20000826093640.28045.00000835@nso-fg.aol.com... > 1. The way Frag works seems to be an active counter-argument against the way > the Continuum claims the universe works. Specifically, Frag is driven entirely > by the perceptions of the individual -- not any sort of outer reality. As I've been pointing out in another forum, Frag is the force of one's Yet announcing that you have "yet" to provide the necessary causal relationships necessary to explain your existence (or parts of it). It is not an indication of a change in the universe. According to narcissists, you feel frag not because a change in the universe has been made, but because the Continuum prevents the change from occurring. [Narcissist POV:] Even crashers recognize the unchangingness of Swarm Prime. They try to crash free from it, not change it. The Swarm says that an As/As Not is contained as precisely as possible, but that it doesn't have to be perfect: a few seconds and the universe heals itself. What it doesn't admit is that those few seconds are enough to release a certain amount of energy, which can be used as crash points and coordinated to form a gate to a paraverse. But a crasher who tries to fight a Time Combat with the Swarm will probably lose. > 2. The game opens up with a really great it about how most time traveling > scenarios find ways to chicken out from dealing with the really *fun* stuff > about time travel (because it's too difficult to handle)... but then at several > points during the game they kinda chicken out from dealing with the really fun > stuff. Take the way Time Combat is abstracted, for example. The game never > really seems to face up to *all* the challenges of characters who live in four > dimensions. I disagree. I LIKE the abstractedness of Time Combat. It makes it fast and furious: fun. And as the book says, you CAN fully play out Time Combats if you want. Personally, I think this would become very, very tedious. "Okay, on the first day of my two-week stint of library research, I buy some coffee and donuts for breakfast. I'll start looking through the ledgers of the Hilton Hotel of April 1, 1970. What do I find?" Much better to say, "I do an Oracle to find out when and where my opponent is going to be next Sweep. I spend two weeks doing it." Another rule that has been objected to is the absolute number of Geminis per Span. Again, this is a game-balance thing, and the rulebook even suggests that if you don't like it, things will work just fine if you ignore the rule. I'm familiar with the tendency of most games to "chicken out." I love time travel games, and have played a couple. For instance, the GURPS TIME TRAVEL rules for the Time Corps campaign uses what is known as the "Exclusion Principle." It states that a person cannot exist in two places at the same time. If you stick around in a time when you know an earlier version of you is about to appear, you suddenly pop back to Project Timepiece. This reminds me of the silly "Don't touch the alternate you" rule of the movie Timecop, a rule which makes no sense whatsoever. Another nonsensical but necessary for play rule of the Time Corps campaign is the Absolute Now. Without it, the game cannot work. (Mind you, I LIKE the Time Corps campaign, but I definitely prefer CONTINUUM). David Stardate 668.7 ###### From: triad3204@aol.com (Justin Bacon) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 40 NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder07.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@aol.com Date: 01 Sep 2000 09:29:14 GMT References: Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com X-Newsreader: Session Scheduler Message-ID: <20000901052914.25595.00000033@nso-fg.aol.com> Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!portc03.blue.aol.com!audrey04.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17286 In article , "David Trimboli" writes: >And as the book says, you CAN fully play out Time Combats if >you want. Except that it still says you "have" to use the abstracted mechanics. All its done is lightened the 60 second rule. You still get this odd "Sweep" terminology, despite the fact that they're time travelers. >Another rule that has been objected to is the absolute number of Geminis per >Span. Again, this is a game-balance thing, and the rulebook even suggests >that if you don't like it, things will work just fine if you ignore the rule. Implying game balance onto a situation where balance does not exist is a chicken out. There's no difference between arbitrarily applying this for the "sake of the game" and preventing people from meeting each other for the "sake of the game". >This >reminds me of the silly "Don't touch the alternate you" rule of the movie >Timecop, a rule which makes no sense whatsoever. Especially beyond the seven year timespan where you're body has almost completely recycled itself. Rules like this also raise all sorts of interesting questions: Let's say you bleed all over a carpet, and then you time travel away. Later you travel back to the point in time just after you left -- but there's still all this blood on the carpet. Does that count as "you"? If you touch it what happens? >As I've been pointing out in another forum, Frag is the force of one's Yet >announcing that you have "yet" to provide the necessary causal relationships >necessary to explain your existence (or parts of it). It is not an >indication of a change in the universe. So you've said. But frag outs occur, which contradicts your thesis that the universe cannot be changed. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com ###### From: "David Trimboli" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc References: <20000901052914.25595.00000033@nso-fg.aol.com> Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 15 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Message-ID: Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 05:02:03 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.188.34.245 X-Trace: news02.optonline.net 967957323 24.188.34.245 (Sun, 03 Sep 2000 01:02:03 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 01:02:03 EDT Organization: Optimum Online Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!isdnet!howland.erols.net!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!news01.optonline.net!news02.optonline.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17350 Justin Bacon wrote in message news:20000901052914.25595.00000033@nso-fg.aol.com... > Implying game balance onto a situation where balance does not exist is a > chicken out. There's no difference between arbitrarily applying this for the > "sake of the game" and preventing people from meeting each other for the "sake > of the game". Oh well. Don't play. David Stardate 674.1 ###### From: triad3204@aol.com (Justin Bacon) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 11 NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder07.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@aol.com Date: 03 Sep 2000 14:53:48 GMT References: Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com X-Newsreader: Session Scheduler Message-ID: <20000903105348.02357.00000314@nso-ck.aol.com> Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey04.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17279 In article , "David Trimboli" writes: >Oh well. Don't play. This is so typical. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com ###### From: Brent Irvine & Dianne Lancia Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Re: Continuum Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 09:06:33 -0800 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Lines: 25 Message-ID: References: <20000901052914.25595.00000033@nso-fg.aol.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.6f.d4.c2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Server-Date: 4 Sep 2000 16:07:51 GMT User-Agent: Microsoft Outlook Express Macintosh Edition - 5.01 (1630) Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!uni-erlangen.de!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!skynet.be!newsfeed.skycache.com!Cidera!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!easynews!cyclone-west.rr.com!news.rr.com!news-west.rr.com!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!news.mindspring.net!firehose.mindspring.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17639 in article fXks5.1154$TY4.12074@news02.optonline.net, David Trimboli at SuStel@hotmail.com wrote on 9/2/00 9:02 PM: > Justin Bacon wrote in message > news:20000901052914.25595.00000033@nso-fg.aol.com... >> Implying game balance onto a situation where balance does not exist is a >> chicken out. There's no difference between arbitrarily applying this for > the >> "sake of the game" and preventing people from meeting each other for the > "sake >> of the game". > Or as Douglas Adams said in Hitchhikers (I paraphrase): People could visit the Restaraunt at the End of the Universe as many times as they'd like and never risk meeting themselves due to the embarrassment it would cause... :) :) Just got the game. WOW! One of the best game-reads I have had in a LONG time. I don't think I could ever be a good spanner -- I just am not good at that kind of note taking. Can you say "Frag" Maybe even "Fraggle Rock" :) ###### Lines: 10 X-Admin: news@aol.com From: triad3204@aol.com (Justin Bacon) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Date: 04 Sep 2000 21:38:06 GMT References: Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com X-Newsreader: Session Scheduler Subject: Re: Continuum Message-ID: <20000904173806.22953.00000005@nso-ba.aol.com> Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!psinet-eu-nl!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!xfer13.netnews.com!netnews.com!dc1.nntp.concentric.net!newsfeed.concentric.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey04.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17702 In article , Brent Irvine & Dianne Lancia writes: >Just got the game. WOW! One of the best game-reads I have had in a LONG >time. Absolutely. Fantastic book. Fantastic universe. Great gaming experience. Justin Bacon triad3204@aol.com ###### From: "David Trimboli" Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc References: <20000903105348.02357.00000314@nso-ck.aol.com> Subject: Re: Continuum Lines: 29 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Message-ID: Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 22:09:52 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.188.34.245 X-Trace: news02.optonline.net 968105392 24.188.34.245 (Mon, 04 Sep 2000 18:09:52 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 18:09:52 EDT Organization: Optimum Online Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.nextra.ch!news1.sunrise.ch!news.imp.ch!psinet-eu-nl!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!xfer13.netnews.com!netnews.com!newsfeed.skycache.com!Cidera!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!news01.optonline.net!news02.optonline.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.games.frp.misc:17767 Justin Bacon wrote in message news:20000903105348.02357.00000314@nso-ck.aol.com... > In article , "David Trimboli" > writes: > > >Oh well. Don't play. > > > > This is so typical. Well what do you want? What response are you looking for? Did you simply want me to agree with whatever you said? I've answered your questions at least three times in various forums. You say "Implying game balance onto a situation where balance does not exist is a chicken out." Does this mean you think they should have written an unbalanced game? At the end of the day, do you have to remind yourself that RPGs are, in fact, games, just in case you've forgotten? The only way you're going to have 100% realism in a game is to play the game of Real Life. What rules would you have changed to be non-arbitrary? If you answer this question, remember to only list rules which do NOT have suggestions in the book on how to ignore them. David Stardate 678.8