05 October 2009 BATTLEBLOG - IO-Solar System Creation Rules

[DeJaVu]

As Mike Miller and I began to develop the Solar System Generation Rules, it quickly became apparent that this would encapsulate all the troubles that IO would bring to the plate.

This is the top rulebook. The endcap to all we've done before. So unlike TO or SO where after throwing in everything and the kitchen sink, if we forgot something there was a chance we could re-cast it in a latter book. Not so with IO. If we forget it or can't really include it in IO...it may never appear in a print rulebook.

So at what point is too much detail too much? When it comes to this type of rules set, for those that are interested in using it, you run into several types: 1. Those that like the 'construction' aspect of BT (having been trained through 'Mechs, vehicles and so on that 'constructing' in any fashion is fun), but only want bare bones rules...a "quick-start" if you will. 2. Those that want a more in-depth system but don't know a lot about astrophysics and so previous rules sets have left them asking a ton of 'why is it this way' questions. 3. Those that want a crazy in-depth system and know their astrophysics and so can punch endless holes through previous rules because...well...there's tons of holes to punch.

Now the previous rules system found in Explorer Corps was specifically designed to be a 'rough and easy' rules system. So it covered the first type of fan, but left the last two high and dry. In fact, over all the years since Explorer Corps publication, those solar system construction rules have been the thing I've seen more questions on than anything else in the book.

So as I tasked Mike with writing a new rules set, I let him know that it was time to take the kitchen sink approach to rules development. Go deep...way deep. And he did, enlisting the help of resident astrophysics guru Roberta Elder ("Fallguy") and others to produce a table of very hard star information around which to base the rest of the rules. After all, if someone has delved into the rulebook line all the way to IO...well, these are not the feint of heart when it comes to rules and math.

Now let me be clear...we do bend reality. After all, at the end of the day this has to be playable. And it has to be playable within the BattleTech aesthetic. So some liberties were taken here and there to ere on the side of 'playable' when it became too much even for something as in-depth as IO. However, unlike previous rules sets, we explain what and where such changes were made.

At the end of the day what this allowed us to do was to create a system that is very detailed and flexible. It allows for the creation of almost any type of system you could want, from the mundane to the truly bizarre. Along the way, like all our rule books, it plugs into the Planetary Conditions found in Tactical Operations, so if a player wants to create a specific gravity, atmospheric pressure, or terrain types [intense volcanic activity (TO page 36), intense seismic activity (TO page 55) , hostile life forms (TO page 40), and so on], they can tailor the construction of the planets within a solar system to get the type of planet they want to play with in their campaigns.

Another great angle Mike included was human populations, when the colony was founded, and how all of that can be turned into the USIIR Codes for a given world.

Once all of that was done, the final key was to create a construction sheet for use when building the system's star and then a given planet, and then to wrap it all up by generating a quick-start rules.

What this all does, I believe, is to provide a system that answers all three type of people as noted at the start. Provides everything and the kitchen sink (still remembers to tweak as needed to make it playable) for those that want to go wild, while providing a QSR option for those wanting to take a quick stab but have no interest in digging beyond the surface.

Obviously we won't know how we did until the book publishes, but I'm very proud of it. What's more, the exercise of developing this rules set did leave me with a template I hope to use as we create the rest of the rules for the book.

See ya next time.


Randall