I mentioned GURPS Space previously in comparison to the SpaceMaster 2nd Edition Game Master book, and the GURPS line does a lot right when it comes to add-on books. They keep the fiddly character-building stuff out of the genre books and focus on the things the GM needs, random systems, worlds, aliens, cultures, and lots of imagination-expanding suggestions and discussions on how to build a sci-fi universe.
The book is great even for sci-fi writers not even interested in playing the game, you could just wander through this book and explore all the possibilities and come away inspired. There are discussions of theoretical space drives, fiction, theory, and all sorts of mind-blowing sci-fi goodness. They hit upon some recommended advantages by the end of the book and present some pregen characters, but you do not need this book to design sci-fi characters.
A lot of games make that mistake, where they come out with a source-book and then every player needs it to design characters because the genre-specific talents are in the book. Yes, it provides expand-ability for your base system, but the game suffers bloat and then there are twenty other supplements needed to design and build characters. With GURPS, you could get away with just owning the base book as a play and be set for any type of world or campaign.
I would dare say the rules for system, planet, and alien generation here are better than SpaceMaster's and a lot more useful. But...
GURPS is Cool
GURPS for me is a dangerous game, once I pick the books up I want to play it and nothing else. It is just the better set of tools to express an idea or explore a genre. I don't like picking it up when I am trying to learn other games, because the rules just work so well and everything is a clear and unified whole. Some people say "GURPS is the game we play if we don't have the licensed official game."
For me it is the opposite, GURPS is the patient monster in the room waiting for me to put other games on the shelf because of their flaws and limitations, and come back to something that works in a unified and comprehensive whole. It shall always be there, waiting for me to return. It doesn't have the crit tables...but with this much cool stuff and support, did you really need them?
GURPS sits there waiting for other games to falter, and finishes the contest strong through endurance and a solid selection of play options and character builds.
There is sort of a idol-like and pedantic fascination with the crit charts in Rolemaster, like you put up with the game's clunky parts just to get to the good parts. GURPS is likely to be every bit as real-feeling as Rolemaster, just a lot less clinical in the details. Then again, do I need a chart to tell me what happens when 30 points of crushing damage hits an arm in GURPS? I can pretty much well imagine it myself, rule what happens using logic, and let the shock and other realistic combat options in GURPS pick up the slack for the aftermath.
A lot of people use forced random hit locations in GURPS to amp the realism, along with some of the realistic combat options. I can see this working, since you are essentially saying, "unless you target a location, what you hit will be random." In a melee or gunfight, what you hit will be affected by the chaos and confusion of the moment. I have always thought the "default to torso unless called shot is made" targeting felt a bit too much like "the gentleman's rules to pistol dueling" and it eliminated the random factor of chaos and unpredictability to combat.
More on combat realism in GURPS later.
Back Into Space!
Just contrasting the SpaceMaster GM Book and GURPS Space is really no contest, and GURPS Space is 100% capable of replacing the SpaceMaster GM book for universe generation because 90% of the book's content is honestly system-neutral information about creating worlds, aliens, cultures, and discussions of space campaigns and future technologies. If you don't mind rolling d6's, then GURPS Space can do everything you need without even requiring another GURPS book in your library (that is a hard thing to do, trust me).
Then the question becomes, why not just play GURPS Space?
I like learning and playing games, so there is an educational aspect to tearing apart a game and understanding it. By doing that, you can appreciate other games, and the game you are analyzing, better as well. Plus people still play Rolemaster and Spacemaster, so all games are good. But if I can enhance my experience with the game by borrowing some top-notch material from other books, that is a good thing in my feeling. You can get the best of both games by mixing and picking what you want from each, and it isn't an all-or-nothing play this OR that affair.
Both games do certain things well, and GURPS has the advantage of a lot more research and many modern updates. Spacemaster is a retro product of its time and I fondly remember my games with the rules and charts. Both are cool and have their place.
The question for me really isn't a question. I am playing SpaceMaster. I am also playing GURPS Space. For different reasons, and for different games. I can enjoy both and have preferences for either given the game and feel I am shooting for.
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