There are comments from the following sections: Favourite Settings, Favourite Games, General Comments
Magic weak fantasy (ie Harn). I don't like "fantastic" stories (no pet dragons, please), but enjoy a wizard who struggles to gain power, or a wandering minstral who visits new cultures. I also like human races - I can not relate to stories about giant cat-people...even elves.
No real favorite; any setting is fun as long as it's well-developed and internally consistent (or at least, the GM makes it seems that way).
I prefer setting that are creative, ones that provide interesting adventure possibilities for both the GM and the players.
It varies. Often in my Palladium campaign, I merge the settings, including superheroes, space travellers, and even gunslingers. I prefer that the content of the campaign challenge the mind rather than be combat-focused.
I like the superhero genre best. When done right it is infinitely flexible and variable. Any type of character, any time, world, location, power, etc. You are not limited to playing only fighters and wizards on a small island or a human with a laser a nd that's it. My second favorite is space games because it is almost as flexible as superhero games and in some cases can even be better because you don't have super strength or other power to save you. It's just you and your environment.
The actual setting does not matter if the gm has put enough thought into the campaign and it is more than just combat.
An Earth-similar Cyberpunk setting with limited exloration of the moon and Solar System. Corporations have a stranglehold on military powers around the world and espionage is common adventuring activity. Bionics are fun. By being near future it is possible to research some background technology using todays most up to date gadgets. This makes it easier for the players to come up with cunning ideas - because they understand how the world functions ie governments etc better then some strange fantastical Kingdom of <unpronouncable name>.
I prefer an urban setting because there are more options available for the characters and it's easier to throw in political intrigue into a game. I prefer the fantasy or sci-fi genre because it adds that extra bit of mystery. Horror is nice, too, but it's very, very difficult to get across to my players that they're supposed to be scared. I have not yet met the game system that adequately handled this without HEAVY reliance on the gamemaster.
Cyberpunk is by far my favorite game setting. I like this game's setting because I feel that it is the one I am most likely to see. No I don't expect to live in Night City, but it is the one looming in the future. I like the darkness, cold, ruthless cyberpunk world. Make money by killing to do drugs or sell them, to buy more ammo to kill. It's a game where hack 'n slash is okay, but also good with a plot.
Fantasy will always be my favorite. I love playing mages and psionics, and will always love dragons and elves and unicorns, and other cliche stuff :)
I like sci-fi for it's possibilities: time travel, dimensional travel, and space travel.
I guess I basically like anything that isn't normal everyday Earth. Things that include supernatural, fantastic, and different/alternate.
I like a light humor game once in a while, but not as a staple. I also don't like things where I have to know the intimate details of modern weapons in order to play, or where I need to be a master of wargamming strategy.
Call of Cthulu, mid twenties. It's easy to create the mood of the twenties for most of my players -- we're all eighties kids all-grown-up, and I won't even start with the socio-economic similarities between the two periods -- while allowing a fair amount of "otherworldness". No need for a bearskin coat to give a user a taste of the time; hand them a book from the period. It's organic, strange, and yet palpable all at the same time.
Either contemporary anything goes (with a strong slant towards horror), because it lets both the GMs and the players be disgustingly creative, but in a world that everybody's fmailiar with. Also, fantasy, cuz hey, everybody likes fantasy.
Harnworld, for the extremly good history, maps, and because it's very down to earth. A realistic fantasy world. (I hate silly monsters and stories about dimensional travel, hack and slash shit etc. I believe that if you want that kind of stuff it's extremely easy to make it up yourself.) A good story, intrigue, maps, history is what I want.
My favorite seting is fantasy due to the fact that there is very little real about it and I play this to escape from reality. SciFi is also up there in my list of favorites due to the coolness of the wonderful and new technology.
Heroic setting of Earthdawn - Each character, in the beginning, starts as a hero. The emphasis is on building one's Legend, not gaining treasure and power. And building one's Legend requires a lot of good roleplaying.
The Rift's setting because it could actually happen and it also is very well thought out. Also there are multiple choices for a plot line or you don't even have to have one. However the group wants to go. I've never played any other games with that freedom.
Fantasy... Any kind of fantasy, I dislike the mechanics of dealing with firearms in more modern settings... and find a fantasy setting more adaptable to just about anything, even the rogue character from a more modern setting.
My reply: As far as firearms go in Infinite Horizons, there is no difference at all (mechanics-wise) between a standard medieval bow and a fully automatic laser-sighted machine gun. I hope this means that you will like both, not dislike both.
Gothic but still having some sci-fi to it. Like mixing vampires with lasers and computers but still remebering that there is magic just as powerful (more so even) if you know where to look. Post apocalyptic I have fuond to allow for all types of settings. Or the super high tech dimensional gate or a magic gate to other world works well to allow for completely off the wall things being together.
Shadow World: A setting with safehavens for begining characters, but a background of great battle between god and evil, allowing more skilled characters to more and more take part in the ultimate struggle. Varied areas that give a lot of different character backgrounds and adventuring scenarios, while keeping the world reasonably together.
FUDGE is by far my favourite, because it allows me to totally customise any aspect of the rules or even drop in a section of any rules system. Also, there is no system or setting that can't be used with FUDGE. This allows me to use the one system, adapt it whenever neccessary, and use it with any setting.
I think that Fantasy settings are the most applicable to roleplaying because they allow for mor variation of existing circumstances (based on magic, etc.) but also incorporate the religious aspect of the game (belief and constraints on the character because of those beliefs).
I love the HERO SYSTEM/Champions. With this system you can do anything. Any genre, any power/spell, design any vehicle/weapon, any monster. It has one set of rules that cover everything. All the rules are also in one book. Not like GURPS, which is good, but too spread out.
Bushido - It requires a different mind set to play a person bound by honor and not by mercinary greed. The system is also simple enough to learn quickly while able to handle most situations.
GURPS. The character generation by allocation of points is well thought out and alllows you to really play what you imagined in the the first place rather than being restricted by any set of random atribute calculation. Skill based systems flesh out the character well. It is more rounded than a few stats broadly indicating many character traits. Source books are complete and generic mostly - they allow the GM to be creative in what the world is like. It is harder to create as deep a background but the scope for development is wider. SJG gives good support to the system, generally. It is possible to adapt other systems to it which makes finding material for adventures really easy.
Everway--the only game system I will use, because it's virtually invisible, and it helps forward the story instead of distracting from it.
Currently the whitewolf system... because of the total background they give each individual group...instead of little backgrounds for each class or race... even in an integrated game, combining all of them, the characters just seem to come more alive than the other systems, the players have so much to draw from... dislike the modern setting though... firearms... like the way the game can be transferred to other settings though, pretty easily... without worrying about game mechanic changes too much... currently playing WW Storyteller system under a fantasy setting.
My reply: Well, with Infinite Horizons being a multi-genre game, it would be hard to provide such detailed background, as doing so really ties the mechanics to a particular setting more than we are comfortable with. As time goes by, and more supplements are available, we'll see what we can do. On the other hand, the way we are designing things ensures that you can move characters from one setting to another completely transparently, with no mechanic changes.
I think that after a while game systems kinda all run together: you roll this die or that die and come up with some results. The system has become secondary to the plot and information provided within the genre or locality. Technology, important persons, geographical data, etc. These are the important aspects of a gaming "system"
I do think that the way you have set up the combat is not very "revolutionary" and that to be more representative of real life that you will need to remove the Round-Theory from the game. The round is based on the concept that Time passes, and skilled fighters will tell you that Time IS, it does not go anywhere. The assumption that everything has a base starting or finishing time (i.e. the round, or your "jiffy") drastically limits the creativity and accuracy of your combat system.
My reply: While it may be that time just "is" for people in the midst of combat (or whatever), in a RPG, the players are, necessarily, outside observers, from which vantage events can be seen to begin and end at distinct times. I don't feel that this limits the creativity (you can do anything you want, you just have to figure out how long it would take) or the accuracy (rather, it seems that not counting the passage of time would be the way to limit accuracy).
When I say I'd like to see all of the rules published here, I don't mean all the rules in all the supplements. If you're going to use the model of a set of basic rules and then genre-specific add-ons, the basic rules should be published here. The add-ons should be purchase-only. This would allow prospective customers to sample before they buy -- something that would be unique in this industry.
My reply: I have been thinking that this is a very good idea, and intend to have most of the rules on-line by the end of the summer, in a variety of formats to make it easy for people to get copies.
A Universal RPG should be truly universal and as complete as possible in one book; Palladium does not do it, too much marketing and lack of rules conformity between its games. With GURPS, you have to buy 5 or 6 books (core, magic, supers, fantasy, psionics, tech, and space) to even begin to have enough cross-genre information so that it comes close to the Hero System. West End Games Master Book series is clumky and, like GURPS, seems to invent new powers/skills with each new genre set released (like GURPS) and nothing for superhero games. THEATRIX has a good idea behind it with completely definable stat and power levels (a max of 10 Strength can either lift 400 lbs or 400 tons depending on genre).
Also, I cannot endorse enough the uselessness of Level Based games. They are incredibly restrictive and greatly hamper the concept of a UNIVERSAL SYSTEM (or any RPG genres), for an extreme example of this, see Heroes Unlimited by Palladium Games. In the way of relegating what races, classes, etc should be available to PCs, should be, in the end, dicated by the GM, not forced on the players by a purposely crippled game system. I once saw a statement in a RPG that basically said (to paraphrase) "we don't like superpowered characters so we have written the rules to not allow them." This statement immediately turned me off to that game and I don't have a copy of it (I do own a lot of RPGs) and frequently encourage people to avoid it. These type of choices should be up to the GM, not game authors. (sorry for rambling, pet peeve)
Your systems looks pretty good, but I think the rules for "weapon speed" etc are a bit too complicated. (Yeah, I know, I GM RoleMaster, and I call that rule complicated?) Still, what I do in combat, is to ask every player in his turn what he's doing. All actions are simultaneous, to do away with math and tracking of "action points" and what-have-you-not.
My reply: How does one account for actions that take (widely) different amounts of time to accomplish (ie. draw a sword vs. load a crossbow)? If you are willing to ignore this issue, there would be nothing stopping you from running IH this way.
I like your idea about throwing game balance out of the rules and into the setting/world/genre. Some games can force this too much, sometimes with disastrous/ridiculous results (AD&D: "Mages are too good. They can't wear armor, just BECAUSE."). What do you recommend to keep balance, then? What GM strategies? For instance, if mages are rare and powerful in my game, do I just say (as the GM), "You guys can't be mages. Unless you wash my car. No, they're really rare -- buy me a new car!" Heh. When, if at all, would a player be allowed to play a rare occupation/class or race?
My reply: The way I prefer to handle this is to allow it when there is a good reason, and it will not upset things too much. I have no problem with an overpowered character, as long as there are offsetting penalties that go with it. If mages are rare and powerful, I will allow a player to be a mage if:
I don't see anything remotely revolutionary here. A skill-based system instead of classes? Oh, shock! Ever heard of GUPRS, Hero system, RuneQuest, or the 800 million other skill-based systems out there? Why mess with new rules? There are more rules out there than anybody needs! Just give us someplace interesting to tell stories in.
My reply: It's not the skill-based system that makes Infinite Horizons "revolutionary". It's not the unified combat and skill system. It's not the point-allocation method of character generation. It's not the way we handle commitments. It's not any one thing, because almost everything has been done before, and surely parts of it have been done better elsewhere.
It's the way it all comes together, with each thing designed to work seamlessly with each other thing. It's the way the rules are designed so that once you know how one thing works, you can basically guess how something else will work, with no glaring contradictions like so many other games have. It's the little things that are never mentioned in the rules, and which, if we do our job right, you never even notice until you look at another game where they did them wrong.
I'd also like to point out that this comment came from the same person who said that (s)he always uses Everway. I thought Everway was a fairly recent game. Where would you be if they hadn't "messed with new rules"? Just curious.
Add some rules, but also have an address to clarify queries about rules and explain them.
My reply: I'm always available (ih@trawna.com), and there's also the mailing list.
You all seem very nice.
My reply: Why thank you. We are. :-)
Your alignment/commitments system is interesting, but a trifle complex IMHO.
My reply: Hmmm. Do others agree with this? The idea is supposed to be that it is really just the opposite of complex; it doesn't really impact on any game mechanics, but rather just acts more as a reminder of how the character feels about various plot aspects (for lack of a better term).
I like the idea of multi-genre games, but in my experience they tend to lack focus. A strong campaign world would be a great bonus.
My reply: I tend to agree, and have done some thinking on how to keep the focus, or as I think of it, the excitement. I haven't yet come up with any concrete ways, and would love to hear from anyone who thinks they can solve this.
In playtesting, have you found the freeflowing actions to be difficult to track? I would think for many players it might get complicated...
My reply: It really hasn't been a problem, so far. Mind you, I tend to run fairly low-combat games, and there should really be more testing done on this. It's actually not that different from another system that I played once or twice. (Can't remember which one, but it's one of the more popular ones. The idea was that each character has a speed rating, and you look up the speed on a chart to determine which segments (or phases, or some such term) the character gets to act in. Very like how ship movement works in Star Fleet Battles, for those who've played it.) Anyway, this is somewhat similar in effect, but eliminates the nuisance of having to constantly be referring to the table.
I may include an optional rule which allows for simplified combat, for those who want it. It would likely also be quite useful for resolving unimportant conflicts (ie. between NPCs). Have to be careful not to give one method any serious advantage over the other, though...
All the rules should be made availiable after the game is out of print or in one edition behind or the current edition without any of the "added material".
My reply: Well, since the game's not actually in print yet, and since we're dedicated to never having a second edition (more on that elsewhere), this won't really work. What I'm thinking is that all the base rules should be here, maybe (or maybe not) including all the skill descriptions and "standard" races, but the supplements will have to be purchased. And of course, proper printed copies of the base rules will also be available.