It seems like the Fulgori are our current fan favorites! Voyagers can't seem to get enough of their thick tails and authoritarian charm!
Let's move on to some reader questions and comments.
Ian Asked: "Can you give an estimate of percentage of how far you are along?"
I don't think I could give a percentage, but I can tell you that we've been working on this for over 2 years now, and we have a lot of the groundwork laid. We have the broad strokes of the setting, the factions in place, the big ideas.
Mechanically the game is a lot earlier. I'd say we're about 10 - 20% done with rules. We have basic weaponry for each culture and a list of ideas for the Precursor gear, but nothing is set in stone yet. We also have the basics for the terrain generation and gear modification written, but it will need tweaking and adjustments that we can't make until we do some serious testing.
Nehm Asked: "What's the main thing that help keeps you focused on making the game?"
Min: Seeing how much interested people are when I show them the concept work and tell them about the setting and races really keeps me pushing. I love building worlds and I've been wanting to make a game since high school, so this is also just a massive passion project for me.
Sam: Having played RPGs all my life, I want to for once make something instead. Having a sense of accomplishment where I can say "I made that" and have made something others will enjoy.
Nehm also asked to hear about more Robot History
Robot history in the Aether Adrift universe is just a continuation of our own robot history from the real world. They've been advancing more and more so that they could continue to do jobs too dangerous or specialized for humans, and to be able to support humans in other jobs. On the colony ship Albatross, the Robots were charged with maintaining the ship and monitoring crew safety while most of the human crew were in cryo sleep.
Robots are only supposed to have simulated personalities, though being active for 20+ years without regular human maintenance has allowed some to develop quirks and personalities beyond their original programming to some degree.
Casca Commented: "I'd really be interested in seeing the kind of gear voyagers utilize"
I will dedicate a full post to this later, but I'll give you a little taste of some of their non-combat tech.
The standard Voyager Uniform is a survival suit designed to keep its wearer warm in cold climates and cool in hot climates. It can keep you comfortable in a 90 ºf summer day or a 20 ºf Winter afternoon, but you'll need extra protection for extremes.
Their armor is made of sturdy polymer plates that can normally be easily 'printed' if they have materials, but their situation has them in short supply.
They carry E-canteens and E-rations (The E stands for Electronic) that can heat or cool their contents, and because they're electronic they don't require disposable chemical elements.
Every Human Voyager has a PoCom. It stands for Pocket Computer, and it's basically a super powered cellphone. They can call each other (though range is limited because they don't have a satellite system), record pictures/audio, store data, everything a cellphone can, but they have much more storate capacity and they have attachments for specific functions like medical scanning, and forensic analysis.
Lynx asked about: "The interaction of the Fulgori and the Mikwa. what the Fulgori rebels feel about the Mikwa."
The Fulgori and the Mikwa have conflicting ideals. Mikwa believe that hand craftsmanship and individuality is the most important thing, whereas Fulgori strive for mass production and conformity for the sake of efficiency. The Mikwa and Fulgori seem to have had some sort of friendship or alliance in the past, because many Mikwa firearms and vehicles are retooled Fulgori equipment that has been in maintained or repurposed for over 100 years.
Currently the Fulgori see the Mikwa as a nuisance that stands between them and their goals, often pushing into Mikwa land to gain access to Precursor ruins that their settlements have sprung up around.
Fulgori Rebels' opinions about the Mikwa vary. Mikwa are sometimes distrustful of the rebels and they are rarely seen working together, though there have been cases of Mikwa teaching the rebels how to provide for themselves, whether it be out of pity or genuine kindness.
Neko wants to see: more about the landscape/animals and technology they create or piece together.
I think there might be enough information there to do a full Aether Tuesday post, so I'll have to get back to this later.
Iygua wants to see: "more in the way of big-boss type enemies. The kind that you fight at the end of the campaign."
Check out our free one sheet adventure 'Scientist Snatch' for a look at an up coming 'big boss'. Beyond that, here's a concept for what could be a pretty scary boss.
