Just out of curiosity:
- how tight was the community of Star Trek when starting a PC?
- how big was the community of Star Trek when starting a PC?
- how many people participated in the PC?
- how many 'new' people are drawn to Star Trek due to the PC?
- how many old people are getting back in the game due to the PC?
- how much work is involved in the Star Trek PC?
It is not easy for me to answer all these questions accurately as I left Trek because Decipher lost the contract and I had some major life changes at the same time. I returned to the game 2 years later unaware that the PC has even been established. I will do my best with my responses and try and keep them unbiased.
1) How tight? I've said it before but I think the Star Trek community is more rabid and has more passion for all things Trek than LOTR fans. Hey - Trekkies have a reputation above LOTR fans. So I would say they were VERY tight and this is part of the problem to establishing a PC.
2) Star Trek community was definately bigger than LOTR when the PC was started.
3) The PC has 6-12 active members that run it at the top level, but this stems down into volunteers that organise play in each of the countries and then areas within the countries. There are more active memebrs involved in the PC than what LOTR currently has.
4) Star Trek has gained so many players as a result of the PC. There are around 20-30 active Trek players in my area. They come and go. Of this number no more than 10 played Star Trek before Decipher lost its contract. To be fair Trek is doing so well in my area because the tournament director is extremely likeable and has an amazing ability to draw new players into the game. One-in-a-million.
5) Old players have returned to the game. As I said around 10 of the current on-and-off play group are still playing and have either continued to play the game or have returned to the game.
6) Running the PC is a huge effort. Charlie Plaine, chairman of the PC, has said on these forums (he took an interest in what we were trying to achieve for a while and appeared to consider epxanding the Star Trek PC) that he spends on average 20 hours a week organising the operations of the PC. He then has many others that assist him, so yes there is a huge time commitment involved. If I didn't have a young family, and had more time, I would be willing to put this time in, but my life just doesn't allow for it at the moment. Plus I am kinda having fun getting back into Trek (perhaps because I don't have to put the hard work in).
I really do think that a well-run PC has the ability to attract new players to the game with all the advantages that come with it (as listed in my previous post). But, the key issue here is 'well-run' PC. Without the right people on board the discussion will just continue.
The way I see it, there is no harm debating the PC, preferably in a nice way. The members on this site change around a bit, and perhaps one day the right players will come on board.
The other thing to consider as you have pointed out GE is that comparing LOTR to ST is not necessarily valid. They are different games after all, the only common theme is that they are made by Decipher.
I realise there are issues and i am trying to point out both positives and negatives but the thing that makes me feel so strongly towards a PC is that Star Trek has gained players as a result of having a PC. If we band together once the right peeople come along and get it started I feel we will attract new players and all benefit in the long run.
I am not saying I am right, it is just my opinion based on experience.
Sorry if my post is all over the place - i have had a few wines.
Topic: Merits of a PC (Read 24316 times)
