I am pleased to present the first part of the first release of Sol: Beyond Earth. It is a project that for you who follow my newsletter is by no means new.

If you recall, I had previously announced the suspension of the project. I still hadn’t been able to come up with a basic system that really convinced me to get the game moving after discarding Charge and completely writing the game for GIST!!!

This attempt is a bit of a return to Origins. In fact Sol: Beyond Earth was originally a game called 2084 Lunaerg, based on 24XX.

Lunaerg in turn was a kind of adaptation or reduction of GURPS Terradyne.

I don’t even know why I’ve gone all this way to get back to where I started, but the gist is this: SBE is here!

Think of a future that never existed. That of space exploration as envisioned by NASA in the 1970s: orbital and lunar bases, space citadels, mining colonies on Luna and the Belt.

Imagine being a crew with utterly ordinary means making ends meet in this colonized Solar System, carrying out risky missions in retro-futuristic designed spacecraft.

Here is the essence of this adventure game. A love letter to the hopeful science fiction of fifty years ago, without the darkness of Alien or Outland. If you are thinking about Planetes, you are on the right track!

This is the bifold version of the game. It means you have the essentials to play the game, but the setting is only hinted at in a few lines. The core of the game is all there already, but the rules are tight, in the tradition of the 24XX games on which it is based.

But S:BE does not end there. The full version, with setting, in-depth rules and inspirational materials will come in the near future. It will be a more substantial and illustrated volume thanks to the wealth of illustrations in the public domain provided by NASA that will add to its retro-futuristic feel.

Stay tuned!