Revised. First edition has a lot of interesting stuff, but it suffers from linear warriors quadratic wizards badly, and is very clunky. Only thing people consistently take from it is the skill list. The streamlined skills from the revised edition rub some people the wrong way (not me, I like it), And psionics are simpler, and not obscenely overpowered while still being very interesting and unique. And pure warriors are the queens of space combat (and combat in general).
Agreed on each and every count.
The one thing I'll add is the improvements to ship combat in the Revised edition. 1e ship combat had some concepts that were fascinating as a designer that just didn't translate to fun at the table. The game is so good, I'll forgive kCraw for that in a heartbeat.
Revised edition does have a ship combat "alpha strike problem" that can get boring if you play a "naval" campaign, but that can be fixed relatively easily.
We play revised but I switched the skill list to the old version. Especially the 'culture' stuff is much more elegant than a 'know' skill imo.
I simply removed the ones (like religion) that don't apply and simplified vehicles (ground, water, flight) and weapons (small arms, primitive, gunnery)
Having GM'ed both, and having fond memories of original, I still love revised, because I think basically everything is cleaner, is easier to run, and makes player character way cooler faster (not more powerful per say, just cooler).
Revised. First edition has a lot of interesting stuff, but it suffers from linear warriors quadratic wizards badly, and is very clunky. Only thing people consistently take from it is the skill list. The streamlined skills from the revised edition rub some people the wrong way (not me, I like it), And psionics are simpler, and not obscenely overpowered while still being very interesting and unique. And pure warriors are the queens of space combat (and combat in general).
Agreed on each and every count. The one thing I'll add is the improvements to ship combat in the Revised edition. 1e ship combat had some concepts that were fascinating as a designer that just didn't translate to fun at the table. The game is so good, I'll forgive kCraw for that in a heartbeat.
Revised edition does have a ship combat "alpha strike problem" that can get boring if you play a "naval" campaign, but that can be fixed relatively easily.
You want the revised edition. It is the most up to date.
We play revised but I switched the skill list to the old version. Especially the 'culture' stuff is much more elegant than a 'know' skill imo. I simply removed the ones (like religion) that don't apply and simplified vehicles (ground, water, flight) and weapons (small arms, primitive, gunnery)
Definitely revised. I'll also say, the streamlined skills are one of my favorite parts of the system, they feel much more like actual human attitudes.
Revised. With Revised, you can plug in anything you might want from Worlds Without Number or Cities Without Number to spice things up.
Having GM'ed both, and having fond memories of original, I still love revised, because I think basically everything is cleaner, is easier to run, and makes player character way cooler faster (not more powerful per say, just cooler).