Runo Knows...Transhuman Space
I said I was going to review the whole series - or, at least, the series of what I have. But I'm behind in my reading as it is, and just can't get through In the Well right now. I'd read Under Pressure, being that it was one of my $5 GURPS books, and I then re-read Transhuman Space, so I figured I'd review those two books separately and then go about the ones I'm reading now, the other GURPS books I haven't gotten to yet (Undead and Mecha) as well as Battlestations!. I'm still reading The World is Flat, as well as Earth 2089, and I'm staring at the other three Amazon.com books I have sitting on my desk (not to mention I'd prefer to re-read the Black Widow TPB I have before reading the 2nd one, and I still have a historical "What if?" anthology in my car I'm so...close...to done with).
But first Transhuman Space.
TS is, basically, an optimistic view of the year 2100. The "Singularity" hasn't happened yet, but some people see it rapidly coming. Society is as fractured as ever, and the human race isn't the only sapient race in the solar system - there's various forms of AIs, uplifted creatures, even artificial creatures. Humans can upload their minds into machines, AIs can be built in biological bodies, where will this wacky train ever end?!
This makes Transhuman Space an incredibly fascinating background, in my opinion. It is hard science fiction - no faster than light, no aliens, no antigravity. The main book covers the "big picture" as well as the tons of various GURPS-isms you'd need to play this game using the GURPS rules.
Personally, I stand by my usual thing that the GURPS rules make a good starting point for converting the game into an actually decent system. Given the game background, it seems fit for a good espionage/thriller type game, or perhaps investigative - the problem sometimes with a game that is as wide-open as Transhuman Space (or, at least, the background is so wide-open) is that there's no set point to put the PCs into - and so it can be hard to decide. On the other hand, you can take almost any group of PCs and probably find someplace to put them into.
The other 'gotcha' for the game might be in the gamemastering. It's an incredibly involved background, and with the sheer amount of technology available - particularly as it's overlaid with reality ever moment of the day - it could be hard to run unless you've really immersed yourself not only in the Transhuman space background but also in related materials. Your players probably should, too, if only to have an idea on how they live their lives day to day.
I find the Transhuman Space to be great. They've got good quality to them (something I'm learning to appreciate after reading Earth 2089) and great ideas. I'm not a fan of the GURPS system, but I definitely have to recommend any hard sci-fi fan to try out the books.
But first Transhuman Space.
TS is, basically, an optimistic view of the year 2100. The "Singularity" hasn't happened yet, but some people see it rapidly coming. Society is as fractured as ever, and the human race isn't the only sapient race in the solar system - there's various forms of AIs, uplifted creatures, even artificial creatures. Humans can upload their minds into machines, AIs can be built in biological bodies, where will this wacky train ever end?!
This makes Transhuman Space an incredibly fascinating background, in my opinion. It is hard science fiction - no faster than light, no aliens, no antigravity. The main book covers the "big picture" as well as the tons of various GURPS-isms you'd need to play this game using the GURPS rules.
Personally, I stand by my usual thing that the GURPS rules make a good starting point for converting the game into an actually decent system. Given the game background, it seems fit for a good espionage/thriller type game, or perhaps investigative - the problem sometimes with a game that is as wide-open as Transhuman Space (or, at least, the background is so wide-open) is that there's no set point to put the PCs into - and so it can be hard to decide. On the other hand, you can take almost any group of PCs and probably find someplace to put them into.
The other 'gotcha' for the game might be in the gamemastering. It's an incredibly involved background, and with the sheer amount of technology available - particularly as it's overlaid with reality ever moment of the day - it could be hard to run unless you've really immersed yourself not only in the Transhuman space background but also in related materials. Your players probably should, too, if only to have an idea on how they live their lives day to day.
I find the Transhuman Space to be great. They've got good quality to them (something I'm learning to appreciate after reading Earth 2089) and great ideas. I'm not a fan of the GURPS system, but I definitely have to recommend any hard sci-fi fan to try out the books.