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Post by schlendrian on Jan 23, 2020 22:44:44 GMT
I rather liked this little series so onwards with the next book. Although Starship Traveller would really benefit from a major rehaul, the idea behind this thread remains: go with alterations that don't change the structure of the book to much - yes to an additional encounter, no to rewriting a major portion of the book.
I'd like to alter the unsuccessful ending where you just go for a random black hole if you don't have the coordinates. Basically any random death I could live with, but driving straight at a black hole bc your entire crew is homesick is just ridiculous.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,437
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 24, 2020 21:36:14 GMT
I would probably add a bit of personality to the officers. Though it might be tricky as they can die and be replaced by deputies.
The maze needs to be removed or at the very least get rid of the instant death.
The missing 60 sections could be used to add a lot of meat to each planet.
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Post by Peter on Jan 25, 2020 5:37:11 GMT
The first thing for me would be the illustrations. While the first 3 books had evocative, suggestive pictures (the rickety bridge that leads into darkness - should I trust it or ring the bell?; the butler with sharp fingernails peering around the door - is he harmless or does he have some vampiric power I need to be wary of?), this book didn't stimulate my imagination in the same way. I didn't feel stirred into wondering what strange structures might be found further down the road and what bizarre activities might be going on inside them, or what dazzling alien technology might be contained within the computer mainframe.
I didn't realise until later, how much the illustrations in these books helped to put me in the scene, to make me feel like I was really there, to make me feel that the decisions I made were significant and would have some lasting impact. I felt more distant with Starship Traveller. It was like having a Star Trek script read to me instead of watching an episode.
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Post by Pete Byrdie on Jan 25, 2020 15:24:56 GMT
I'd like to alter the unsuccessful ending where you just go for a random black hole if you don't have the coordinates. Basically any random death I could live with, but driving straight at a black hole bc your entire crew is homesick is just ridiculous. Yes, it could be replaced with an alternate ending where the ship crashes or the crew chooses to settle on an alien planet. Then a sequel could have been made, one which blatantly plagiarized Lost in Space episodes.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jan 25, 2020 18:41:51 GMT
I would give 400 paragraphs to this book. And i would put the winning paragraph as the reference 400!
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Post by tyrion on Jan 25, 2020 21:18:14 GMT
I'd like the 'true path' to involve some rice rolling other than the initial rolling of stats. Also I'd quite like to play American football, as per the original front cover.
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Post by dragonwarrior8 on Jan 26, 2020 0:32:58 GMT
How about an apology at the end of the book.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 26, 2020 2:22:19 GMT
I'd like the 'true path' to involve some rice rolling other than the initial rolling of stats. I imagine that's just a typo, but almost anything would have improved Starship Traveller imo. That would seem to be fitting, given that the next book in the series introduced Bays Ball.
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Post by Wilf on Jan 26, 2020 3:49:18 GMT
More planets - enough to fill an extra 60 references. More fights - there's barely any in this book. Commission Iain McCaig to redo the interior artwork. Less stat-generating at the beginning - no need to roll stats for anyone except YOU, as a simple LUCK roll could replace any roll against any crewmember's scores. I mean, it's not as if any of them are on the true path anyway.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 26, 2020 5:36:01 GMT
Maybe it would add to the atmosphere if the whole book was really badly punctuated so that you're forced to read it in the style of Captain Kirk. "Sucked, through the appalling, nightmare, of the Seltsian Void, the starship, Traveller, emerges, at the other side, of the black hole, into an unknown universe."
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Post by philsadler on Jan 26, 2020 7:02:21 GMT
How about an apology at the end of the book.
LOL! Sorry fans of the book, but that made me laugh!
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Post by philsadler on Jan 26, 2020 7:04:46 GMT
I'd like the 'true path' to involve some rice rolling I imagine that's just a typo
Oh. So you missed the reference where you got to roll tiny little bits of white Chinese food? That was by far the best reference.
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Post by Pete Byrdie on Jan 26, 2020 13:30:59 GMT
How about an apology at the end of the book.
LOL! Sorry fans of the book, but that made me laugh!
I can understand why the book might not be popular. I know nothing about its production, but the impression I had was that it was rushed. As has been pointed out, it was a short book, based on a premise with near infinite possible scenarios. I was a fan of Star Trek when I read it, so I have found memories of playing the book. But even back then, when encountering those situations lifted directly from episodes of Star Trek, I was thinking, 'You can't do that!' I'm surprised there's never been legal proceedings.
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Post by The Count on Jan 26, 2020 21:34:35 GMT
Agree on the illustrations and adding another 60 paragraphs.
I'd also have the cover encounter on the true path so you have at least one fight.
Ideally though, just pretend it doesn't exist and hope it never gets republished again
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Post by vastariner on Jan 26, 2020 21:37:21 GMT
I think with some more experience you could make Starship Traveller something of an open sandbox book. A bit like Robot Commando (and Fabled Lands). Indeed you could make it absolutely massive. Imagine the entire Fighting Fantasy world, but Deathtrap and Lizard King and so on are on different world...
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Post by Peter on Feb 1, 2020 7:51:25 GMT
I'd also have the cover encounter on the true path so you have at least one fight. Before I learned the true path, I always assumed this must be on it, as it was the toughest fight in the book. Surely, I thought, there must be a worthwhile reward for this battle. But no, just another false lead.
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Post by misomiso on Feb 7, 2020 18:31:51 GMT
I think this book of all the early classic is most in need of bigger rework. The concept is good but the execution was very very confusing. Just giving the player a bit more guidance and a bit more structure in where to go would have made life a lot easier.
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Post by Akharis on Feb 8, 2020 13:25:10 GMT
I'd burn the whole book; it's Steve's weakest book by far!
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Post by linflas on Mar 3, 2020 21:25:38 GMT
As it is my very first gamebook, i wouldn't burn it... Suggestions if we had 60 more paragraphs (or more!) : - rename title : Beyond the Void - choose starship between 3 or 4 different models in the intro - fuel, water, food management - map of galaxy, able to jump directly to any planet (consumes more fuel when far) - develop officers (names, story, relationships...) and if killed, no replacement - develop planets lore - scenarized starship fights - failed jump at the end may lead you in past instead of death
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Post by Charles X. on Jul 19, 2021 23:28:48 GMT
How about an apology at the end of the book. Ouch, but I wouldn't disagree, either. I'd have gone the other way with the book. Make it an epic, with more references, not less, and lots of dice-rolling and 'feel' about it. I don't like the way the book feels like a light-hearted tribute, when imho, it should feel large and amazing. Possibly that wouldn't have worked, either, but it would have felt like they were trying harder.
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Post by scouserob on Jul 7, 2022 9:31:17 GMT
It is very difficult to keep this to a minor changes but working with what is there.
I'd swap around the crucial sector clue from the boring maze mini adventure to the more interesting Rain Lord adventure with its red herring of a speed clue.
One major problem is the lack of replay value due to the non-risk victory path.
So changing it just a little bit more in the Rain Lord adventure I'd force 315 to go to 91 and ensure that there is at least one mandatory phaser battle between your landing party of 4 and the Rain Lord's 3 guards.
I'd also swap around the crucial stardate clue on Tarryal with the Manslayer Robot clue to give you a full landing party punch up against the cover star.
These changes add a couple of multi-way fights, allow you to sample the phaser battle mechanics, give you a bit of party management in keeping your Science Officer alive to help the Rain Lord, and give you some simple decisions to make in forming landing parties with possible skill deductions that are able to survive battles.
All for two clue swaps and a sentence change from "Another group of guards comes to take you inside the keep" to a sentence initiating the phaser battle once the guard returns from inside the keep.
(I'd try to fit in a mandatory space battle on the true path as well, add more landing party decisions and party member skill rolls, but this is beginning to stretch the minor tinkering.)
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Jul 14, 2022 22:08:28 GMT
This was one of the adventures I planned to revise after doing Crypt of the Sorcerer and Knights of Doom. I have already typed it all up but, alas, the more I thought about revising it, the more I realized how big of a task it would be. One of the main problems was that even if the gameplay was perfectly balanced, it doesn't improve any of the prose so reading it would still be as uninteresting as it was originally.
The book basically could do with a complete overhaul which would be awfully time-consuming yet not impossible. I has the foundations of a decent adventure but needs to be built on, a lot. Some of the already suggested changes are genuinely good. I totally agree that the crew members and encounters could be fleshed out a lot more. Scouserob's ideas are also great and on the right track making the more interesting encounters crucial to the winning path. Expanding to 400 sections seems like a must as well.
One of the more drastic ideas I had in mind was to have the ship and crew take significant damage on paragraph 1 which would lead to you requiring to repair the ship at some point. The idea was that if everyone had taken damage from the start, there would be more incentive to visit planets in order to heal. There was also an idea that at the end you would need to Test your Shields successfully to return home and failure would rip apart your ship. I felt that would give exploring the planets more purpose.
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