[RPG]: Universe of Babylon 5, reviewed by C.W.Richeson (1/2)

[RPGnet Reviews]

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14246.phtml

Christopher W. Richeson's Summary:

Flawed in almost every way, this book can be useful to a group wanting to play a Babylon 5 game with <I>Traveller</I>, but it offers little over what a group could come up with on their own.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Emboldened Navigator]

Poor editing and incomprehensible rules are becoming the standard for Mongoose books, especially in the Traveller line. I realize times are tough for everyone, but their editors just aren't doing their job.

[eskatonic]

A good review, and, unfortunately, spot-on. I was disappointed in this book, and wish I'd looked through it before I bought it. I was excited by it and had been pleased with the other Traveller books I'd purchased, though.

The grey background and pixelated tv-screen captures were especially bad, considering all of the great Babylon 5 artwork out there.

I've been pretty happy with the core Traveller books, but I won't be buying any more campaign settings from them without at least a cursory read-through any more.

[yorrick]

Thanks for the thorough review.

I like the MGT core book and complimented it in a review on Amazon, but I haven't really been wowed by what I've seen in the other releases so far. The execution of the content doesn't seem to be consistent enough and there are little frustrations, like the ship layouts in the .pdfs not scaling up properly for easier viewing.

Maybe they'll get a chance to do another, cleaned up edition of this supplement, but until then I'll have to look at home brewing with the core books.

[Praetorian]

This is Mongoose's M.O. for some time now. Great corebook, let down with increasingly shoddy supplements. I think the Paranoia line stands as a sterling excpetion to this trend, but I am still not purchasing any Mongoose products after the horribly disappointing Starship Troopers D20 line.

Mongoose is turning into the company known for quantity over quality.

[King of Old School]

Originally Posted by Praetorian

Mongoose is turning into the company known for quantity over quality.

Turning? They've been known for quantity over quality for nearly a decade!

It's increasingly hilarious how, after every crap product with crap production values hits the shelves, Matt Sprange shows up and pledges that the problems with "this book" have been fixed and Mongoose won't be putting out any more crap books ever again. How many times do people have to put up with the same lameass justifications before they realize that Mongoose are shitpeddlers? The brilliant Traveller corebook is proving the adage about broken clocks being right twice a day...

KoOS

[mechascorpio]

Originally Posted by King of Old School

How many times do people have to put up with the same lameass justifications before they realize that Mongoose are shitpeddlers?

I think the answer is "3 times". At least it was for me. Between the issues last year with the Core Book and High Guard, and now this (UofB5), I've made a form decision that I'm done.

BTW, a very detailed and extremely fair review. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[arete66]

I must admit that the I found the mining rules in the recently purchased "Belters" byzantine at best in spots, and incomprehensible at worst. In addition, there were major layout problems in tables that, as someone involved in producing technical documents for 20 years, I found simply inexcusable to actually go out in a final shipped version.

[Eponymous]

Originally Posted by Emboldened Navigator

Poor editing and incomprehensible rules are becoming the standard for Mongoose books, especially in the Traveller line. I realize times are tough for everyone, but their editors just aren't doing their job.

I have purchased U-B5 and am also very disapointed ... possibly more disapointed then diaponment I experianced with B5 d20 second edition. I didnt think that was possible.

I could not agree with you more.

Mind you "start as you intend to continune" seems to be the moto.

Mongoose seem to start poorly...

I brought my MongTraveller sight-unseen only to be horified by the first prinintg ...art [if you could call it that]. I dont know what I was expecting ..but it was no the scrible of the first printing art. [ok to be honest I was expecting the technical type of art mad popular by Rob Caswell. Well you can hope ]

I sent a politly wored and respectful, snail-mail [and follow up email] to Mongoose expressing my dismay and ...to-date have heard nothing back.

In general I find Mongoose products, rushed, amatureish, and with production standards in a late 80's time warp [thought to be honest Star Wars by West End was a late 80's rpg and it was simply amazing]

Mongoose really could use a Quality department and a top flight graphic designer on staff or retainer.

I will give credit where it is due.

I really thank Mongoose for making the games available.

I love that they brought back Traveller, Dragon Warriors, RuneQuest, Elric, Lone Wolf, the list goes on. Well done Mongoose. The new games they are introducing are great too.

I really just wish they would shed the amature and unprofesional content managment. I have seen better production standards in net books. For a start I would like Mongoose to make an upfornt decision to do either a color book OR a B/W book. And to have style guides for each type.

I WANT to buy the products Mongoose porports to sell .... I just want the fished product to approach a higher profesional standard.

[arete66]

And who can forget the first printing of "Conan". I certainly haven't. Easily, the absolute worst editing/production job of a major RPG product I've ever seen. They even had to offer a discount (remember cutting the back corner page as proof?) to first edition buyers. That's how bad it was.

I was going to pick up Traveler Supplement 3: Fighting Ships. But I think I'll look at it first and see if it, too, displays the hallmark bad editing of the aforementioned products.