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Who's doing this?

Another very interested potential customer.

My first question is regarding the randomness of the cards. Will it be totally random like Magic or fixed sets like FFG's Lord of the Rings?
 
The sets will be fixed. Cards will be available in three basic formats, inspired by FFG's Living Card Games and Star Realms:

Two-Player Starter Set: This boxed set will come with two 81 card ship decks, the Type S Scout and the Free Trader, along with rules of play and counters.

Individual Ship Deck: Most likely packaged in individual tuck boxes, though possibly plastic blisters, these fixed sets will contain a single 81 card ship deck. The Type S and Free Trader ship decks will be identical to those provided in the starter set.

Supplements: Also most likely coming in tuck boxes. Supplements are fixed sets similar to FFG's Game of Thrones Chapter Packs, each one dedicated to a particular theme, like Piracy or The Sword Worlds.

Adventures: Fixed 15 card booster pack expansions similar to Star Realms' Crisis expansions. Adventures will initially focus on iconic LBB modules.

Another very interested potential customer.

My first question is regarding the randomness of the cards. Will it be totally random like Magic or fixed sets like FFG's Lord of the Rings?
 
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Sounds like a good start. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this. I especially like the possibility of solitaire play.
 
Sounds like a good start. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this. I especially like the possibility of solitaire play.

The ability to play solitaire was one of our initial design goals. But that being said, the game is being made with a primary focus on multi-player.
 
At the moment, I am particularly intrigued by the possibility of the card game increasing visibility of the RPG, and how the two might work in symbiosis from a brand point of view.

Not so much that you could use the cards/game in your RPG; I like the idea of keeping them separate. That isn't to say that there isn't opportunity to do decks that directly support the RPG. I'm thinking of how Pathfinder and DnD have utilized this technique. But I digress.

I'm thinking more along the lines of how Legend of the Five Rings CCG tended to feed people into the RPG, and vice-versa. I know the histories and starting points for that system and Traveller are different, but I definitely believe there are points where a well-done card game can help drive interest//adoption/fandom/purchases for an RPG, as well as the other way around.

Finally, a question - has this interplay been discussed, is it part of the overall plan?

If so I'd love to hear a bit more about that. I definitely understand if the goals for the card game are mostly along the lines of "we want to make a really good card game that's 'true' to Traveller" first and foremost, and maybe all that "brand interplay" stuff between card game and RPG is developed later. But yea, definitely curious about that.
 
The sets will be fixed. Cards will be available in three basic formats, inspired by FFG's Living Card Games and Star Realms:

Two-Player Starter Set: This boxed set will come with two 81 card ship decks, the Type S Scout and the Free Trader, along with rules of play and counters.

Individual Ship Deck: Most likely packaged in individual tuck boxes, though possibly plastic blisters, these fixed sets will contain a single 81 card ship deck. The Type S and Free Trader ship decks will be identical to those provided in the starter set.

Supplements: Also most likely coming in tuck boxes. Supplements are fixed sets similar to FFG's Game of Thrones Chapter Packs, each one dedicated to a particular theme, like Piracy or The Sword Worlds.

Adventures: Fixed 15 card booster pack expansions similar to Star Realms' Crisis expansions. Adventures will initially focus on iconic LBB modules.


Ooooh! I love Star Realms! And have invested heavily into AGoT, so this is right in my wheelhouse!
 
Finally, a question - has this interplay been discussed, is it part of the overall plan?

If so I'd love to hear a bit more about that. I definitely understand if the goals for the card game are mostly along the lines of "we want to make a really good card game that's 'true' to Traveller" first and foremost, and maybe all that "brand interplay" stuff between card game and RPG is developed later. But yea, definitely curious about that.

We have been in constant communication with Marc regarding various ways to strengthen the Traveller feel of the game and also ways to tie the CCG and the RPG, but at the end of the day, we have to forge our own path.

As you suspect, our first goal is to make a good card game. A game that can stand, in its own right, as an enjoyable play experience. However, our entire funding strategy is predicated on significant support from the Traveller player base.

Traveller elements and a Traveller "feel" are very much central to our design goals and philosophy. But the card game is ultimately an adaptation of Traveller, rather than a reproduction. CCGs based on existing IPs are almost always forced to a certain level of abstraction, and ours is no exception.

We consider it a greater mark of success if a player comes away from a game having had fun and felt a Traveller "experience," as opposed to producing a game with T5 UWPs and the correct power cycling rate of a TL 13 laser rifle.

Ooooh! I love Star Realms! And have invested heavily into AGoT, so this is right in my wheelhouse!

GoT players will recognize some similarity in certain elements with our game. As will V:tES players and, to a much lesser extent, Babylon 5.
 
We consider it a greater mark of success if a player comes away from a game having had fun and felt a Traveller "experience," as opposed to producing a game with T5 UWPs and the correct power cycling rate of a TL 13 laser rifle.

This makes me smile, muchly. And just the answers I was hoping to hear.
 
This makes me smile, muchly. And just the answers I was hoping to hear.

At the same time, I don't mean to be flippant. The depth and level of detail in the Traveller universe, and the serious discussions found here and in other places about OTU implications from rules and setting descriptions are part of what drew me to the RPG.

We believe the Traveller details are important. That guy who hates the WWII movie because the German uniforms had the wrong buttons? We aren't writing that guy off. We're trying to find the buttons! But if it's a choice between buttons or a good product, we're going with the product every time.

I should also say, Marc Miller has "final cut" on all our materials. So any fears that we'll introduce Jedi or the Borg can be dispelled right away.
 
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