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Transit: The Spaceship RPG $20.00
Average Rating:4.9 / 5
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Danny [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/12/2024 06:31:04

I'm never one to comment on design or layout which seems wonderful in this. As long as I can read it and the information I need is there, great! As far as I am concerned that's up to the authors. I am a story person. I love ideas. And this one is oh so brilliant. Being an AI is an excellent idea. It can take your mind to some strange but satisfying places. But not just that, a starship's AI. I love it! And I'm not being hyperbolic here, I love this game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Robin C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/10/2019 22:06:01

Unique and excellently designed RPG. The layout and presentation of the rules, mechanics, and background is clean and logically ordered. Hopefully, in the future, some scenerios might be created and distributed either by players or the publisher. The game provided it has the audience in an extremely crowded field has the capacity to be played by a great many people with interest because it is different from other systems, in addition to being usable. Highly recommended.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you very much for the review, Robin. Definitely keep an eye out for at least one supplement coming in 2020. :)
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Kimberly B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/31/2019 08:06:20

This book satistifes my Transhumanist dreams. In most games with starships, you play a member of the crew or a passenger. Your ship is external to you. Not so here! You ARE the ship! More to the point, you are the ship's AI, and the ship is your body. And you can potentially live on after the loss of your ship!

Imagine the freedom of flying anywhere you want, officially following your mission orders, and finding yourself in charge of the well-being of your (in)organic passengers and crew. Now imagine when your mission conflicts with the desires of the crew! Now you're cooking with Crisco!

You crew may call you hero, villain, best friend, impersonal, or even creepy. Your interactions with them will determine whether you become HAL 9000 or Andromeda. Sometimes your crew may need to be dealt with lest they cause you to fail your mission. Sometimes you may have to decide whether the mission is worth succeeding if its success leads to the harm of your crew. Maybe you just want to be a ghost ship, and simply kill off the crew and try your hand at pirating, enslaving those you defeat and forcing them to service your needs. You can be space's version of the Flying Dutchman!

I personally love the idea of uploading a copy of myself to be the ship's AI, uploading copies of myself to androids tailored for crew stations, and maybe uploading copies into clones tailored to their positions to see how interesting things could turn out. I could see such an idea going horrible wrong, blessedly right, or downright boring my Mary Sue to tears. :D I want to try that!

This game uses the Apocalypse World ruleset. It is simple to pick up and play, has structure, but also freedom to play out the concept you desire. I find it to be a fun concept, and am impressed with the book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you so much for the review, Kimberly!
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by William T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/30/2019 13:32:10

The INDEX

A good index can determine whether an RPG can stack up with the industry greats. After all, the ability to quickly navigate through a text for clarification of rules and concepts can easily make or break a gaming session. Today, I will be breaking down the hardback cover of Transit: The Spaceship RPG into the three most important categories to consider (The Three Ls of Any Worthwhile Index) when evaluating whether or not an index is worth your time as a reader or index enthusiast.

LOCATION: One of the most important considerations when looking at an index is to consider it's placement within the text itself. Oddly, the Index is not mentioned within the Table of Contents, which I can only imagine is due to jealousy on the part of the ToC, as it is well known that the ToC is the wannabe heir to a well crafted index's throne. Therefore, to discover the index, I found myself pouring through 217 pages of beautifully layed out lore and rules for the game itself. Elegant and original art by JJ Ariosa (http://jjariosa.art/) can be found throughout the core of this book, either marking the books division into three parts or highlighting various ships your imagination could create through the play of this game. Along the journey to the index, I also noticed that the text is color coded, assisting the reader in differentiating between crunch and lore, which I appreciate from an aesthetic standpoint and makes the already easy to digest text pleasant to look through when searching for the index. After a bit of perusing through, taking in the sights as it were, I found myself coming to page 218, where i saw in large bolded letters the words i had longed to see: Index. Out of a total of 231 pages, the index can be found between pages 218 and 227, with the remainder of the books page's used for Acknowledgements, a legitimate Bibliography, and pages of blank sheets for the readers own Notes, which i found a nice touch. Placing the Index towards the back of the text was not a bold move by the writers, i wont mince words about that, but it was a practical and familiar move. It reminded me of simpler times at my Grandmother's estate in the summers of my youth, the smell of apple pie and warmth of the hearth envoloping me as we sat around the fire, listening to her read Index's out to lull me into drifting off into dreamland. This is the feeling the placement of all index's should hope to aspire to, and Transit did not disappoint. 5/5.

LAYOUT When considering a layout of an Index, the layman might assume that simply placing items in an alphabetical ordering and including page numbers may suffice. To the more discerning reviewer such as myself, there are a few other factors that must be considered by the writer to be worthy of a good review. To start off, Transit's Index uses a three tier division strategy to break down the information in the index. First: A Bolded Letter announcing the differences between each item categorization, placed in alphabetical order. Second: Bolded items are placed in alphabetical order within the previously mentioned alphabetical catergorization, sort of like Inception for you movie buffs: an Alphabetical within an Alphabetical. Finally, the page numbers are listed in ascending order so that you may easily slow through the choices in a way that makes the most mathematical sense. The words typed on the white page are black, which makes for extremely easy reading. Each item listed is separated by a space, which reduces confusion when trying to differentiate similar looking items listed (IE: the item 'Look' and the item 'Looks'). This is a nice touch that while many in the industry may consider unnecessary, I personal appreciate. Overall, he layout is pleasing to me, though if I were to give one minor criticism (I were), I would suggest italicizing the page number for given items in which the concept is defined, for even easier reference. Overall, tough, this did not detract enough from my reading to warrant a toss into the 'Pile of Shame', so I am happy to move on to the next point. 4.82/5.

L'ACCURACY I now come to the most important portion of any worthwhile review of a books index, which is the in depth look at the accuracy of the page numbers for given terms. To properly conduct this review, I conducted my three step index research method to determine indexes ability to guide me to my desired destination, which scholars may refer someday to as the DUH Method.

  1. Determine an item at random.

  2. Understand that the page number listed near the item is the desired location and navigate to the given page

  3. Happily peruse the given page until you find the item.

Utilyzing the DUH method, I chose three items at random and attempted to see if the terms could be found. Item one, the item 'Demonstrate the Drawbacks of One of their Assets', listed pages 138 and 140 and I'll be danged if this item wasnt found on both of these pages. Item 2, the item UI, promptly led me on a merry journey to the item 'User Interface', which in turn led me to the pages 21, 32, 33, 55, 59, 60, and 63. As you may have hoped, each page listed did include the phrase User Interface. Finally , item 3 'Hit Them, Hard!' listed pages 31 and 204 and I will be a monkey's fathers's brother if i didnt not inform you that this phrase was found in both locations. An interesting find in using my DUH method (patent pending) was that page 204 is found in a listing of Quick References for game terms, which will be useful to anyine who picks up this well indexed game. Overall, the L'accuracy of the index was found to be as satisfying as the looks on my player's faces when I introduce this gameto my table. 5.18/5

There you have it! The Index of Transit: The Spaceship RPG has been found to cover the Three Ls of Any Worthwhile Index. If you liked this review, please consider purchasing this game so that you to may be able to take part in the fun and excitement of playing the AI of your very own galaxy traveling vessel.

TL:DNR - the DUH method is pending patent, please be conservative in your personal application until royalties can be collected.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
You, sir, are a gentleman's gentleman of the finest quality. Thank you for your thoroughness in this matter.
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Jason B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/29/2019 14:27:29

Transit is a gem, and does something completely unique. Not only is it the first game I've seen that is capable of handling large-scale playability (ships, fleets, etc.) so elegantly, it also has a lot of innovative mechanics that bring new life to PbtA. The ability to swap your AI between ships lends a fresh sense of choice, even while your AI stats remain more persistant. There are not a lot of PbtA games that deal with equipment and loadout in a meaningful way, but Transit manages to make what you take with you as important as who your AI is.

Even the idea of playing AI's is interesting: you have the choice of leaning into an inhuman, mechanical character, or pumping your Rampancy to full and playing an independant, individualistic construct. I can't wait to set up an actual Transit campaign and cause some trouble among the stars.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you so much for your kind review!
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Cameron C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/28/2019 23:20:30

Transit takes the bold step of removing you from your organic body and dumping you into a cold, metal cyberbrain in the depths of space. Unlike other RPGs, you are not a member of the crew, but instead the crew's caretaker. Their overseer. Their home. And if need be, their commander that will send them into dangers throughout the black beyond, all the while singing "Daisy" over the loudspeakers.

Your true companions are other members of the fleet. Other AIs tasked with accomplishing the same mission as you, in whatever way each of you sees best. This can mean very different this for a Ship-of-the-line holding statesmen for diplomatic events verus a stealthy gunship that just knows it can get the job done and no one will see it happen.

The true purpose of Transit though is to put exploration and discover at your feet, as there is a large, dangerous, and wonderous galaxy to explore. Might you find new races, wonderous technologies or interesting cultures? That is all for you to decide.

The rules for the game are simple to understand, but fiddly enough to allow each player to feel different and interesting. The game knows what it wants to be and easily hits the vibes of many Sci-fi favorites from the past. The hardcover book has a great layout, an index that makes navigation a cinche and information is found right where you think it belongs. But most importantly, the fun is easy to jump into and can go so many different directions.

Do you want to have an alien invasion that your outgunned ships have to fight off? Done. Do you want to escort colonies into the dark reaches of space to explore new worlds? Done and Done. Do you want to explore the questions of "what is alive" and can a machine have true intelligence? This game has it in spades.

So upload yourself today, as there is a galaxy of adventure waiting for you.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you very much for taking the time to review it.
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Ryan G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/26/2019 12:54:43

Any system that lists "Rampancy" among the stats a character can have is one that is probably going to get my attention.

What is particularly interesting about a game where you're playing an AI is the way Transit separates the "software" from the "hardware". A lot of rolls are presented as a combination of AI and ship stats: AI-specific stats are helpfully listed in all-caps, while ship-specific stats are all lowercase. To use an example, to request a "PSYCHREP" - a psychological report, the AI equivalent of a Sense Motive check - Transit has us "Roll + UIsys". "UI" is the AI stat relating to the relative strength of your AI's user interface: how it interacts with other entities both within and without its ship. "sys" is a ship stat, representing the physical apparati it uses to handle that interaction. Most of transit's checks involve making rolls that similarly marry your ship's physical systems with the underlying AI's capabilities.

As a software developer, it's refreshing to see a sci-fi setting that better represents the infinite configurations of hardware and software that technology allows for. Many cyberpunk settings glaze over these details by relegating them to a separate subsystem that only certain characters will ever interact with (Shadowrun come to mind) but in Transit it's the bread-and-butter of the entire system.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your very kind review.
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Dustin P. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/23/2019 21:55:23

Who hasn't wanted to play a game as the sentient AI controlling a spaceship, and entrusted with the lives of its precious biological crew? Well, me. At least, I never knew I wanted that until I learned about the game a few months ago. Having never played anything in the Powered by the Apocalypse system, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but Fiddleback and co. made good with this tightly focused game that knows exactly what it is, and doesn't waste time or page space trying to be something it isn't. Transit does a magnificent job of putting you in the headspace of a newly minted AI, developed to help push civilization out into the galaxy. The mechanics are clean and focused, and beautifully translate into a game where you and your fleet (controlled by other AI whose motives may or may not align with your own) push out into the black and test your limits against the strange and the dangerous that awaits outside of your home system.

Get this book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Much appreciated! Thank you.
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Dante D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/21/2019 19:47:08

this game takes advantage of the powered by the apocolypse system in the best way. it explains the rules intuitively and makes finding information easy. planning a game in this system has been a fun and uplifting process. It's been out a week and im already running a game this upcoming week



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your review. Have fun running the game. :)
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Transit: The Spaceship RPG
Publisher: Fiddleback Productions
by Tomasz W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/19/2019 02:33:00

I never thought of myself as a sci-fi RPG player. Sure, I like books and films and video games, but RPG always felt like purely fantasy thing. That is until I read the Transit. There is something really captivation to it I can't pin down... But it feels good to think of myself as sophisticated Artificial Intelligence, with own, customized ship as my body and hardy crew as my blood. Everything makes sense and even if, at first, the abbreviations feel clunky they help a lot when one knows their meaning. I am really glad I have given it a chance, as it opened my eyes to new ways one can play an RPG.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you kindly for the review.!
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