Why I don't see too many people playing gurps?

[TheElf]

A game can have 3 import Ss:

• System
• Setting
• Support

Gurps is probably good (it sells only a system and has decent sales for that). With demo group presence, where they can afford it: support should be ok. What they lack is setting. I think lack of well defined setting and lack of US style big cons in many regions make the international presence of the game weak. And US players won't make an european customer happy, since he cannot meet them without buying real expensive plane tickets. In Europe borders are a small thing, language barriers are another, so hard to play with players outside of your country. If GURPS wants a local presence, it should improve in where it is the weakest: With settings, stories, novels, etc. If not in an official way, it can do it by the power of cummunity with unofficial stuff. That can help.

[hakootoko]

Do you really think cons promote games? I've been gaming for 20 years and have never gone to a gaming con.

Different systems breed different styles of play and different worlds. When I have a world view in mind, I ask myself what system I feel best fits what I want out of the game. I don't buy a setting off the rack for gurps; I choose gurps when it fits the setting I want to run a game in.

The flip-side of the setting argument is more often true: games with a good world but such crappy game mechanics you have to translate it into another game anyway.

hakootoko

[TheElf]

I think cons are a good ways for players to see new games, in a country with few players, few stores that specialize in hungarian stuff, and 2 or 3 real rpg store for the whole country you cannot expect them to pick up odd stuff in the stores. So cons are an extra chance, well known and nice settings they want to try in games and do reseacrh to get the game based on it is also a good way to get a game known, otherwise they won't have a chance to see a game first time And yes in some cases even our local cons (organized by players and fansites and clubs, almost no official presence in some, for some others a few invited people from hungarian publishers) can promote games.

[TheElf]

We talked about d20 and...

[17:45:31] <Zarkoneil> sjg lack of a world, rules and only can't attract new players, only old fans

[17:46:10] <+vesse> yep... gurps has no real basic setting to sell it, and new generation of gamers aren't intrested in the rules at all, only the supplement books of gurps
[17:46:58] <uzagi> yep, its pretty bad for SJG, but many people want to know more about a setting than just a single source book
[17:47:40] <uzagi> To be honest, I only bought GURPS stuff to rip off any cool ideas and way back, to admire some of the artowrk

As I see, I wasn't alone with the problem and noone said it had massive sales here or there, etc. And no GURPS fan said otherwise, this is why I said the weakness is probably here, both in IRL and net experience it is a returning problem, but lets make some setting with details, many content which can be constantly updated and designed for GURPS, maybe that will help a bit

[alioshin]

just an Idea, based almost on what I can see here in Italy.
I have been a GURPS fan since 1991 when I walked my Gateway (D&D) into the world of RPG-systems. I found it realistic (a.f.a.i. could see) and simple, based on a simple concept, everything is based on your capacity in a given skill.
Well many players' were used to say that it was not epic (it simply doesn't allow you to rush into a goblin filled cave and get out after the destruction of the whole community, as many Dwarf D&D PC were used to).
Maybe many simply prefer Video-Game like RPG where you can solve all your trouble simply kil,ling every moving thing (altough you still have to get the highest level..... )

[TheElf]

That wouldn't explain a lot of things but maybe that is one of the reasons. GURPS looks interesting for the sourcebook, but from what I seen in GURPS 4 lite, I will still use Rolemaster (Rolemaster Standard System for specific edition) as my system of choice for setting independent universal system

[alioshin]

since I am still waiting for my 4th Edition Books I can't confirm if I will ever change to it or still run my games in old 3rd edition set. What I know for certain is that I won't ever run a D20 campaign

[TheElf]

I think d20 isn't helping you and isn't helping roleplaying yet as a good GM you can run a good campaign with it, and after that you can get players to your favorite game.

If you first expand d20 with Arms Law from rolemaster, then when spells, etc become a problem get any magic system you can intergare with rolemaster, they will ask: Why don't we use all the skills the same way, and you will run Rolemaster

[alioshin]

It wont be a problem for me seince I am not going to run any lelvel based system like d20 and Rolemaster are a.f.a.i. can recall

[TheElf]

Levels are a good way measure your powers, and in some games (like rolemaster) they just mean skill points to spend d20 is a bit more problematic since a lot of your abilities depend on your class abilitis you get automatically with levels. (In Rolemaster even your hit points are determined from skills). Yet there is a "Total points" way as alternative