The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Web of Stars (A review by Jason W. Tice)

"Web of Stars" was another purchase I made over ebay for a reasonably low price. Given the product was, again, sight-unseen, I had no idea what to expect. Of the three or four books I purchased in this batch, this is the only one I plan on keeping.

First off, it is a sourcebook for use with the "Web Games" game system. I'm not at all familiar with the "Web Games" system, and don't much care to become so. However, this doesn't detract from the value of the book at all. But it needed to be said, in case I inadvertently slam something as irrelevant that is in actuality, an integral part of the Web Games universe.

The book suffers a little bit in its' appearance. The cover artwork is quite nice, depicting a space ship leaving a star, a comet, or an explosion of some sort. The artwork within is for the most part well below the quality I've come to expect from most RPG books. That's not to say I could do better (I might), but rather that it might have benefited more if the company had out-sourced to other contractors. Now, thankfully, the actual use of graphics in the book is kept to a minimum. Not all the graphics are that bad. The corporate logos for various companies of the future are quite beautifully done.

Now, for the meat of the book is in it's technology, and guidelines for the creation of various things, including:

A Star-System,
A Planet,
A Space-Faring Race,
A Space-ship, and
A battle-mech.

The level of research and hard science in this book is phenomenal. For instance, when talking about creating a star-system, there is information on abnormal stars & stellar oddballs, the spectral decimal classification, and more. The level of scientific detail available to you, as the creator is wonderful.

I've looked at a number of books, for creating worlds, creating cultures, etc. I found "Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth" to be impressive, if extremely confusing. This, while it doesn't have nearly the breadth or depth that Aria had, does put down, in easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement section, the cultural considerations for creating races. It's not a be-all and end-all, of course, but it provides a real good foundation from which to develop such a race.

SO, really, as a Sourcebook, I'm sure it's wonderful. As a stand-alone product, the information within it is invaluable to any GM looking to create a realistic universe in which their cosmic adventures should take place. Good scientific reasoning provides a believable setting.

And this product is exceptional for the information it provides.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Web of Stars
Author: Keith Bailey, Gino Dykstra Category: game Company/Publisher: Web Games Line: Web Games Page count: 204 SKU: 0002BG Capsule Review by Jason W. Tice on 08/01/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Space	Web of Stars (A review by Jason W. Tice) "Web of Stars" was another purchase I made over ebay for a reasonably low price. Given the product was, again, sight-unseen, I had no idea what to expect. Of the three or four books I purchased in this batch, this is the only one I plan on keeping. First off, it is a sourcebook for use with the "Web Games" game system. I'm not at all familiar with the "Web Games" system, and don't much care to become so. However, this doesn't detract from the value of the book at all. But it needed to be said, in case I inadvertently slam something as irrelevant that is in actuality, an integral part of the Web Games universe. The book suffers a little bit in its' appearance. The cover artwork is quite nice, depicting a space ship leaving a star, a comet, or an explosion of some sort. The artwork within is for the most part well below the quality I've come to expect from most RPG books. That's not to say I could do better (I might), but rather that it might have benefited more if the company had out-sourced to other contractors. Now, thankfully, the actual use of graphics in the book is kept to a minimum. Not all the graphics are that bad. The corporate logos for various companies of the future are quite beautifully done. Now, for the meat of the book is in it's technology, and guidelines for the creation of various things, including: A Star-System, A Planet, A Space-Faring Race, A Space-ship, and A battle-mech. The level of research and hard science in this book is phenomenal. For instance, when talking about creating a star-system, there is information on abnormal stars & stellar oddballs, the spectral decimal classification, and more. The level of scientific detail available to you, as the creator is wonderful. I've looked at a number of books, for creating worlds, creating cultures, etc. I found "Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth" to be impressive, if extremely confusing. This, while it doesn't have nearly the breadth or depth that Aria had, does put down, in easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement section, the cultural considerations for creating races. It's not a be-all and end-all, of course, but it provides a real good foundation from which to develop such a race. SO, really, as a Sourcebook, I'm sure it's wonderful. As a stand-alone product, the information within it is invaluable to any GM looking to create a realistic universe in which their cosmic adventures should take place. Good scientific reasoning provides a believable setting. And this product is exceptional for the information it provides. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)