First Thoughts

[Doctor TOC]

Oh boy. I've been psyched about OP since I first heard about it a few years ago. When I heard it was still alive, albeit as a PDF, I actually did the Dance of Joy. Now that I've read it, I have to say I'm really bitterly disappointed.

Odyssey Prime is a great idea, but it's been done before, so in order to impress OP had to bring something new and exciting to the table. It doesn't. Both AEG's "Stargate SG1" and GURPS Infinite Worlds do the "worlds through the gate" thing better, and Rich Tucholka's "Fringeworthy" does the exact same thing with more fun and passion. Even the slender "Tangents" supplement for the old Alternity RPG was more original and exciting than this, and had better rules for generating alternate worlds.

About the best part of the PDF is the backstory to the Project. The armageddon scenario adds some sense of urgency to the proceedings, but it's not really touched on beyond the backstory. The history is nicely written, creative and interesting. If the rest of the game matched it, I'd be a happy man.

Where are the example worlds? The alien species? The weird gate effects?

I'm really unhappy that a lot of the material appears to be repeated between the D20 and Unisystem sections, and I'm frankly stunned that nearly 12 pages of a 189 page document are either given over to ads for Misfit Studios, or are effectively ads for small-press games with virtually no material on how to integrate them into an OP campaign.

I really wanted Odyssey Prime to be great. I was rooting for it. What a let-down.

[Steven Trustrum]

Sorry you didn't like the product, but like anything it won't suit everyone.

A point of clarification, however: Misfit Studios has exactly ONE ad in this book. Eden has a single ad stretched over two pages. The rest details other products (and other than the Eden products, there are absolutely NO ties to Misfit Studios) that can be incorporated as alternate worlds. You ask where the example worlds are? There they are. If you don't have the product mentioned, there are enough details there to get you started on something similar, especially when using it with the world generation rules (the rules that themself follow 8 pages of adventure design tips and scenerio seeds.) We have plans to flesh out other worlds/dimensions and other species in future products but, frankly, the OP corebook was never intended to be a massive tome you could use to hold a blast door open with, especially when we designed it to allow one to "plug in" so many other d20 supplements.

And the reason you see a repeat of some of the material between the d20 and Unisystem is because we wanted to keep the flipping between the two sections to a minimum; we did page references with equipment but didn't want it happening in other sections so that you'd constantly be flipping between d20 material and the Unisystem section on the fly just to find a simple answer to a simple question. That is the nature of dual stat books.

Lastly, I'll address the armageddon scenario. The text states that OP is designed to be an ongoing project that will continue to develop with future releases. That means with each new release you're likely to get new clues. Beyond that, I don't see where you think the armageddon scenario failed you. The reader is told the end of the world is coming. They're told what will cause it. They are told they're meant to be a part of the solution. They're given the means to help save mankind. They're told it's seven years away. Beyond that, I don't see what more needs to really be put before the reader from the get-go without hitting them with the meta-plot hammer.

[Christina]