Hi guys. I'm new here, but I've been a huge Trekkie for life, ever since I watched the first airing of TNG as a kid.
I'm posting here now because in my spare time I've been working on a Star Trek fan game, and this seemed the best place to ask for some feedback on the way I'm designing skills. I'm trying to accomplish three goals with the game--maintaining Star Trek "realism", capturing the spirit of the shows (primarily for this game, the multi-role ship in or near Federation territory, ala TOS/TNG/ENT), and making it fun to play. I figure you guys could be a great resource to help me do that--even the non-gamers among you ought to have some strong opinions on the first two goals, right?
In the interests of goal #3, making it fun to play, I've decided that each major shipboard role should have 3 associated skills of roughly equal importance to that role, and there should be 3 general skills representing ability to function in the chain of command regardless of role. Let me show what I have so far, so you can see what I mean.
Engineering: Material Engineering, Systems Engineering, Reactor Engineering
Security: Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Investigation
Science: Physical Science, Space Science, Life Science
Operations: Sensors, Force Fields, Power Distribution
Officer: Administration, Command, Teamwork
Tactical: Ship Weapons, Ship Shields
Flight Controller: Piloting
Medical: Treat Injuries, Treat Illness
Counselor: Psychology
As you can see, I've had some trouble thinking of a way to get three skills out of the Tactical or Medical role, and even two out of the Flight Controller or Counselor. The easiest solution I can think of is to fold Flight Controller into Tactical and Counselor into Medical, but 1) that's not good for game balance and 2) they're separate positions on a ship, so I don't like it.
So! Any thoughts on better ways to organize/divide skills, or even just better names for skills, are very welcome.
I'm posting here now because in my spare time I've been working on a Star Trek fan game, and this seemed the best place to ask for some feedback on the way I'm designing skills. I'm trying to accomplish three goals with the game--maintaining Star Trek "realism", capturing the spirit of the shows (primarily for this game, the multi-role ship in or near Federation territory, ala TOS/TNG/ENT), and making it fun to play. I figure you guys could be a great resource to help me do that--even the non-gamers among you ought to have some strong opinions on the first two goals, right?
In the interests of goal #3, making it fun to play, I've decided that each major shipboard role should have 3 associated skills of roughly equal importance to that role, and there should be 3 general skills representing ability to function in the chain of command regardless of role. Let me show what I have so far, so you can see what I mean.
Engineering: Material Engineering, Systems Engineering, Reactor Engineering
Security: Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Investigation
Science: Physical Science, Space Science, Life Science
Operations: Sensors, Force Fields, Power Distribution
Officer: Administration, Command, Teamwork
Tactical: Ship Weapons, Ship Shields
Flight Controller: Piloting
Medical: Treat Injuries, Treat Illness
Counselor: Psychology
As you can see, I've had some trouble thinking of a way to get three skills out of the Tactical or Medical role, and even two out of the Flight Controller or Counselor. The easiest solution I can think of is to fold Flight Controller into Tactical and Counselor into Medical, but 1) that's not good for game balance and 2) they're separate positions on a ship, so I don't like it.
So! Any thoughts on better ways to organize/divide skills, or even just better names for skills, are very welcome.