I have heard lots of concerns over the last few weeks surrounding the new rules proposal and the future of the game. Last night I held a very long meeting to discuss everything people had been saying.

Firstly... Why change the rules, why re-write them from the bottom up, why not just fix the current rules set? When I purchased FI, one of the things I wanted to do was to make a sustainable game that could last decades. The old rule book was designed to be a five year game, and the old rule book was a ren game adjusted to be a sci-fi game. The new rulebook is being designed with the long term in mind, and the new rule book is a sci-fi game from the ground up. Let me try to explain the first point in a non-FI way... Wizards of the Coast did a great job on D&D. So great, in fact, that they got the Star Wars license from Lucas. What they did was take D&D and try to manipulate it to fit Star Wars. After three pretty crappy attempts of altering fantasy rules to sci-fi they lost the license, and now a new company is writing an RPG in the Star Wars world. This company is writing it from scratch and it's looking really good... We don't want a fantasy game turned sci-fi, we want a sci-fi game. MJ's ruleset never quite fit in this genre and the only reason it worked was because of the hard work of Derek and his staff. While I appreciate what Derek and his team were able to do with that rulebook, it is not sustainable long term.

But the old rules set has more than just "skills." Where are the coalitions, where are the world flavors? I was told, last night, a little bit about what is planned for the coalitions. One of the big reasons that they were not included in the beta was because the rules comm members are working with cast to determine what they can say without giving away any secrets to non-coalition members; once they figure out what they can say the rules comm will release a statement about the coalitions. We went through a few other "flavor concerns" and I was reminded that this beta was about the "rules," not about the "rulebook"... There will be much more information coming in the next few months.

After much reading/re-reading and discussion, I fully support moving forward with this new rules system. I will be the first person to say it has issues and faults, but I will also be the first person to say it has some amazing ideas and remember (yes I know I'm repeating myself), it's still in its beta form. Show me anything in beta that does not have issues and faults! Please continue to post your rules concerns in the forum. The rules comm is serious about making this a game we can all be proud of, and wants your feedback.

Another thing that came up last night was the personal attacks against Jim. I am beside myself... I cannot believe the level of distrust and disrespect he is getting from this community. Without Jim we would not have a Future Imperfect. He (and Yelena) stepped in to back me financially. Without Jim we would not have an Auto-Forge, our security system, or our network. Do I think he is a saint? Nope. Do I think he is a "nice guy"? Nope. Do I think he is working for what is best for this game and this community? Yes. Jim has put himself on the line for this game, he has poured more time into it than most of you know, and I am offended that you would think he is trying to manipulate the system for his own interest. He is NOT D-Trip, he just plays one on TV. I would encourage you to get to know the real Jim and not just the character he plays in-game.

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So, with all of that said, here is the plan going forward:
Winter One Day 2014
After the regular event we are going to set up a room for Rules Comm. They will be available to help you write / re-write your characters and to answer questions.

Spring 2014
Two event play test of the new rules system.
You will get a re-write before Spring One and before Fall One 2014.

If you have any questions or concerns please remember to talk to your player reps. As a reminder, here is our current eBoard:
Anthony Linkens - Owner & Executive Director
Jim Waldrop - Head of Finance
Yelena Tsitkin - Player Rep
Rob Blache - Player Rep
Derek Herrera - Outgoing Head of Plot
Steph Tyll - Incoming Head of Plot
Amber Robitaille - Head of Logistics
Thomas Schlapp - Head of Technology



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 02/26/14 03:27PM