Post originally by flyingmice at 2003-12-27 18:41:54
Converted from Phorums BB System

Caveat: The font of the introduction. It works for headers, but please,
please, don't make us read sentences in it.

LOL! I certainly understand! I'll shift it to another typeface.

Caveat #1: IQs are not realistically distributed -- even in a 'low-tech' world,
the average IQ is about 110. What reason there may be for doing this is
unexplained.

Correct, it is not explained, but the reason is the people of earth had at least 200 years of genetic enhhancement before leaving in the earliest ships, and a century more before the last ships left. That raised the baseline IQ significantly above 100. It has deteriorated somewhat perhaps in a few places, but that is counterbalanced by even better bio-enhancement in others. In any event, IQ is always a survival enhancing characteristic in humans, and won't melt away.

Caveat #2: Level 1 of a job gains you so many credits per year. Level 2
multiplies the first level's employment by a certain number (the 'jump
number'), and every subsequent level of that job adds the same multiple.
The job tables could have been simplified, by using two columns: 'Base
Pay' and 'Pay Increase Per Promotion'.

OK, but the whole format of professional and educational presentation will be changing. See below.

Caveat #3: These tables really need some cleaning-up. A smaller font
size and/or light shading would really help keep the charts from swimming
in front of our eyes.

Good point.

Caveat #4: Rules for characters from Book of Jalan, Starcluster's sister
fantasy game, are included here. The exceptions to the rules meant for
Jalan characters keep distracting from character creation. When you
consider that Jalan is a world that is verboten to travel to or off of in the
world of Starcluster, you wonder why they even bother.

I have been wondering the same thing, and have already decided to place all Jalan related information in the Book of Jalan package, which has been pulled from the market pending a total rewrite.

Caveat #5: Rules for generating the height and weight of elves, gnomes,
half-orcs, and dwarves appear on page 55, for no appearant reason.
Perhaps Mr. Bowley got drunk and started writing Dungeons & Dragons
halfway through?

This, too, is a Book of Jalan reference, soon to be expunged.

(from summation) If it had more information in it about the Cluster -- politics,
society, et al -- it would rank a 5 (a rating I do not hand out lightly).

Consider it done! Well, already started. I've decided to put more background and setting info in already, and this remark merely affirmed my decision.

Thanks for an excellent in-depth review, Shanya! I agree with most of your caveats, and this review will help me make StarCluster a better game.