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Streamlined Character Creation Methods

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Wed, 2011-02-23 10:43
#1
Teh_Az Teh_Az's picture
Streamlined Character Creation Methods
Anyone got one? With all due respect, the character generation for EP is hella tedious.
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Wed, 2011-02-23 15:34
The Doctor The Doctor's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
Teh_Az wrote:
Anyone got one? With all due respect, the character generation for EP is hella tedious.
The best solution I found was to take one of the pre-generated characters and start swapping points around in blocks of five. Then recalculate the bonuses.
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Wed, 2011-02-23 15:46
Teh_Az Teh_Az's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
I just did that. I think this character generation things is for making templates, not actual characters themselves.
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Wed, 2011-02-23 15:56
sjmcc13 sjmcc13's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
Ya, taking a sample character and modifying it can work. The worst part is keeping track of the math, but you can use on of the spread sheets that calculate the points spent for you to help there. You could also create a skeleton with some stats that you want for all your PC's (eg: minimum of 60 for Fray, Perception, Networking, and 1 weapon skill), and start with that whenever you make a character.
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Wed, 2011-02-23 18:14
CodeBreaker CodeBreaker's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
The trouble with streamlining the way Character Creation works in EP is the methods of calculating all the math they use. Aptitude + Skill is easy, you can fit that into a PACKs (Shadowrun) type thing easy as hell. But the addition of that 60+ double point barrier screws everything up. I happen to know through PM's that a few people are working on easier methods that create balanced characters, and I myself have been working on a PACKs method using hacks a plenty. Hopefully a few will come out of the woodwork soon.
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Wed, 2011-02-23 21:34
Yerameyahu Yerameyahu's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
Exactly, CodeBreaker. That 60 threshold, plus the morph aptitude limits, really made the process much more complicated than it needed to be. The sort of aggravating part is that the system basically *is* Apt+Skill anyway… better to just admit it. :)
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Thu, 2011-02-24 18:03
ssfsx17 ssfsx17's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
The 60 threshold does its job in the absence of teamwork and complementary-skill modifiers. However, with those modifiers, characters with half a brain will [i]always[/i] have an effective skill of 90 or better, so then there's once again no point to the 60 threshold. As someone who normally uses the karma-build system of Shadowrun 4, I think the chargen of EP is pretty clean and fast besides the unbalanced bits and the odd gear-pricing system. The only thing that takes a while for me has been equipment picking, but then again, that always takes a while in any game in which the setting is important and there is supposed to be some semblance of realism.
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@-rep: 2 | x-rep: 1 | y-rep: 1

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Thu, 2011-02-24 18:36
Yerameyahu Yerameyahu's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
(Personally, I don't find gear a problem at all, once you look up what 'High' means in money). Otherwise, I agree, but I want to stress that 'easy except for the skills' isn't the same as 'easy'. One solution might be admitting that things are Apt+Skill and going with that. That is, no virtual 'free' points, just bought skill + aptitude; this largely solves the 60 problem. But, certainly there are solutions that are less radical. If it's necessary to block hyperspecialization (instead of leaving that to the GM and players), one possibility (pulling from SR4) is to enforce some number of limits: SR4 does 'one skill at 6, or 2 at 5, the rest max=4', IIRC.
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Thu, 2011-02-24 18:56
sjmcc13 sjmcc13's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
ssfsx17 wrote:
The only thing that takes a while for me has been equipment picking,...
I have to agree with this, if you have a decent idea going in on what you are making, and use a character creation tool you are familiar (like one of the excel sheets on the resources page) then you can make all skill, rep, morph and trait choices fairly quickly.
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Thu, 2011-02-24 19:18
Decivre Decivre's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
CodeBreaker wrote:
The trouble with streamlining the way Character Creation works in EP is the methods of calculating all the math they use. Aptitude + Skill is easy, you can fit that into a PACKs (Shadowrun) type thing easy as hell. But the addition of that 60+ double point barrier screws everything up. I happen to know through PM's that a few people are working on easier methods that create balanced characters, and I myself have been working on a PACKs method using hacks a plenty. Hopefully a few will come out of the woodwork soon.
Well, the skill package mechanic of Shadowrun was capped at a skill of 4 (you had to buy individually beyond that). Just assume that your pack mechanic for Eclipse Phase is capped at 60, with further improvement involving single skills at double cost. Very few skills are necessary to be so high. Other than infolife characters, most character builds I see usually have only 1 or 2 skills above 60.
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Thu, 2011-02-24 19:27
Yerameyahu Yerameyahu's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
I didn't like the Excel options, but I can see how automatic recalculation is almost required for the skills chargen in EP. I think this thread is partly about how that's not a good thing.
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Thu, 2011-02-24 22:48
Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
Last year, a guy was making a chargen software, but I haven't heard or seen anything about it in months. Personnally, I use the Excel spread sheet for chargen. it takes care of everything though there should be a thumbnail for the Rez point expenditures and gain-loss of rep. I'm of a mind to save it on an USB flashdrive and hand it to the excell specialist at work, with the ratio, and see if he could make one. That bloke can do wonders with macros I know how it could look:
Spoiler: Highlight to view
an input cell in wish you type the earned rezpoints. it records it and add it to the saved-up RzP if there's any. Another cell shows the amount of RzP aviable. one drop menu to choose what you want to buff, limited to whatever you already have. three macros buttons next to the menus, one (+), one (-) and one (new) with a second menu next to it *the (+) to increment the score of whatever is selected in the menu by 1 per click *the (-) to decrement the score of whatever is selected in the menu by 1 per click, active only after the (+) has been used. *the (new) to buy a new skill or trait in a second, complete menu a fourth button is used to confirm, which make the changes definite, desactivating the (-) button for the rep it could be like this, for exemple earned network purchased (+)(-) @-rep "x" (+)(-) (burn) and again, a (confirm) button that will lock the (-) in the earned part and implement the burning of one rep with (burn) in selected rep
on the pack stuff, it's a good idea to limit them to 60. saves loads of headache what would be such packs? and how much would they cost? and could RzP be spent on one in its whole? A french game called Kuro use something like that: (in spoilers, because refers to another game system)
Spoiler: Highlight to view
you buy a new group, and get the same "basic" score in all the "specialisation" While you can up a specialisation "manually", there is a catch: when you up the general group, the buffed up specialisations aren't upped along with the general group, unless the general score becomes superior to the buffed score exemple: Microphotonics 4 crypting 5 Hardware 4 Holography 4 Laser 4 Data hacking 6 Programming 4 Optical Network 4 Software 5 Squids 4 If I were to go from 4 to 5 in Microphotonics, Crypting, Data Hacking and Software wouldn't go up. in fact, to augment hacking along with the rest, it would require for Microphotonics to be upped to 7 as a group
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Sun, 2011-12-04 06:49
Katrex Katrex's picture
Re: Streamlined Character Creation Methods
I look at it this way, intent was for people to not have skills above 60, however changing it to aptitude + skill makes your skills cost more, but makes it easier to get them higher. Compromise, skills work like shadowrun x 10, as many as you like at 40, 2 at 50 or 1 at 60. Of course everyone will take two skills at 50 and have the morph stats at 30, so you'll need to do something to make 60 just as attractive
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