Re: OT: Hard Sci-Fi Roleplaying Games...

I recomend Steve Jackson's  Generic Universal Role-Playing System: it
has a
large following, excellent support, the rules have largely stabilized
(meaning you won't have to buy a new edition of the basic set one year
after
you purchace it the first time), Steve Jackson Games isn't going out of
business any time soon, and for my own opinion GURPS is a better "Role-
not
Roll- playing" system.

Be advised: GURPS is not for the "hack-and-slash set". It is designed
very
much with the aspect of improvisational theater in mind. The character
creation is rather cumbersome if you are planning on a high P.C. body
count.

As far as any specifics, describing it as a Meta System (GURPMS ? nah
wouldn't sound as good) is correct, it can be as realistic or as
outrageous
as you want it to be. The point system has its critics but a large
number of
games (Including TSR's D&D 3rd edition) are favoring the point system
over
the die system. It is at least an attempt (and most GURPS players agree
that
it is a good one) at balancing the player characters with each other so
that
no one player "steals the spotlight" as it were. GURPS is resistant to
abuse
(not abuse-proof, no system is). GURPS has a rare ability to combine
otherwise seperate genres into any mix of circumstances you could want.
You
could create FASA's Shadowrun universe with as much or as little magic
as
you could want, add (or remove) space travel, make magic a secret,
...and on
and on and on.....

I include some recommendations and reviews for anyone interested. The
reviews are the common points between my own feelings and those that I
have
heard from other GURPS Players

***For general consumption I reccomend the following books:

(This is the basic material that you would need to have as complete a
character as you could want for most games.)

GURPS Basic Set Third Edition
    Note: If you plan on getting well into GURPS it may be worthwile to
find
a copy of "Third Edition" not the "Third Edition Revised". Third Edition
includes the sample adventure "Caravan to Ein Arris", and the
information in
the appendicies in 3rd Revised is all included in GURPS Compendium 1.
Just
trying to get more bang for your buck.

GURPS Compendium I
    A collection of advantages, disadvantages, skills, and optional
rules
changes.

***For the Hard Sci-FI roleplayer:

GURPS High Tech
    Heavy on guns from the renissance to today, but contains excellent
information on care and abuse of firearms through the ages, improvised
explosives, artillery, artillery observation and shot rounds from 12
guage
to beehive cannister and flichette rounds. Written by a former U.S. Army
supply seargent.

GURPS UltraTech
    A well rounded catalog of equipment for the "edge of tomorrow" to "a
sufficiently advanced technology"

GURPS Space
    Contains an excellent random generator for creating planetary
systems
based on what we know of the universe and our own solar system, has an
optional set of results for including "extraordinary" objects like
ringworlds, and dyson's spheres, living stars, ect. The generator is as
specific as what level of life has evolved on the planet, and what their
government is like. It gets extremely cumbersome to generate many
planets at
once because of that detail, I have heard of a "Sector Generator"
program
that will let your computer do that for you, but I don't know where to
find
it.

For "Soft" Sci-Fi
Includes all the books recomended for "Hard SF"

GURPS Psionics
    Borderlines a recomendation for "Hard" only because of the popular
consensus about the validity of the topic. Has very good remarks about
recorded observations and how to simulate them in GURPS

GURPS Cyberpunk
    The first and best source of cyberwear, Cybernetic Interfaces,
Hacking
the Net. This book was confiscated by the U.S. Secret Service as a
manual
for computer hacking, at last report SJG still hasn't gotten back all
their
computers.

***For Traveler fans
GURPS Traveler
    Not actually "Hard" SF, but GURPS is now the official source of
Traveler. Already has two or three additional suppliments.

***For The Incureable GURPS Player (Like myself)
(Not a complete listing but here for content information and reviews)

GURPS Compendium II
    For those that *must* know the difference between a bronze machate
and
an iron shortsword. Includes detailed hit location chart, poisions,
diseases, vehicle maintence....

GURPS Vehicles / GURPS Robots
    Must be *Absolutely Incureable* to actually want either of these.
What
the DSII design rules are to simplicity, GURPS design rules are to
complexity. Vehicles has complete rules for making stone age carts,
superscience starships, superscience carts, or a stone age starship.
Very
cumbersome to do, and you never really know how your creation will
perform,
even with practice. I hear that there is a computer program for this as
well, but I'm not sure where it resides on the www

GURPS Illuminati University (IOU)
    Really good just for the read. Excellent "Random Button Pushing
Table"
and "Random Side Effect Table". Illustrations by Phil and Kaja Foglio.

GURPS Warehouse 23
    Excellent source for the conspiracy buffs. Amusing read, try to
figure
out what has been really reported and what SJG made up.

***Books I reccomend avoiding
GURPS Black Ops
    Restirctive character creation: out of 600 points (yes 600 points in
a
100 to 500 point game system) 550 of them are spent. Very combat
oriented
with only hints to any type of "Sean Connery as James Bond" behavior.
Not
even a really good conspiracy sourcebook.

Okay I've put in my $440.00 worth (the amount I've spent on GURPS
books).
I'm done now.