I agree that the DC scaling, especially for starships, is too fast. I can't speak personally on this, since my group is still at level 1, but looking at them it does seem that they scale much faster than the PCs' skill bonuses. But, there are temporary fixes on the interwebs until it gets errata'd.
About the binding, it isn't all of the CRBs. And if you do get one with faulty binding, then you can send in a picture and get it replaced.
Well to be honest, I love what I have seen. The classes, the races, the gear, wow!
But here is where I am getting nervous. The talk about horrible scaling in skill dcs and the starship dc scaling for actions at higher tier. Alot of folks have been saying that it is no big deal and most games don't last until level 20. Well I do play until level 20 and even after regardless of advancement. I don't switch characters often so really I am at a loss.
I have also heard the binding has severe issues. I don't want to pay 60 dollars for something I will be replacing constantly. I also don't feel I should have to buy glues and other such fixer upper products.
So please. I'm really wanting to get into it but are there any plans to fix these problems if they do indeed exist or am I missing something?
There is a second printing in the works, although that's going to take some time to wash through the system so it's probably going to be a long while before you can be confident you won't need to replace your book. The PDF is very cheap if you don't mind doing without a hardcopy in the meantime.
The DC scaling thing is also going to be fixed at some point, but I would estimate that at even longer term.
Having said that - it's only a few of the maneuvers that are truly problematic, even at high tiers. Many are usable (even if many find them to be a little nonsensical) - it's only some of them that truly become impossible at the higher tiers. Personally, I think it's usable as is or extremely easy to houserule a temporary fix (just adjust the tier multiplier until you get something that feels right to your group).
Well to be honest, I love what I have seen. The classes, the races, the gear, wow!
But here is where I am getting nervous. The talk about horrible scaling in skill dcs and the starship dc scaling for actions at higher tier. Alot of folks have been saying that it is no big deal and most games don't last until level 20. Well I do play until level 20 and even after regardless of advancement. I don't switch characters often so really I am at a loss.
I would guess that the scaling skill DC problem should be fixed before anyone reaches very high levels. Owen KC Stephens has mentioned being aware of the issue as far back as Gencon.
I have also heard the binding has severe issues. I don't want to pay 60 dollars for something I will be replacing constantly. I also don't feel I should have to buy glues and other such fixer upper products.
So please. I'm really wanting to get into it but are there any plans to fix these problems if they do indeed exist or am I missing something?
For the binding issue, I would recommend waiting until the second printing comes out and just pick up the PDF in the meantime.
If the scaling DCs for certain starship maneuvers at high level are your main concern then they are very easily house ruled while waiting for an FAQ, as other commenters have noted. Starfinder is a really fun system, I really recommend you check it out!
DC's in general don't seem to be a problem. The issues seem more or less specific to the space ship stuff and they developers seem aware of the concern. I half think they intend some gear/upgrades to mitigate them that may not have made the final cut in the book or something along those lines.
Overall that is only an issue at high levels for the most typical adventuring levels it should not be much of an issue.
Overall I am really liking it I picked up the alien archive as well and both that and the main core book are really nice.
I am not sure why i am being recommended the pdf. The binding is only part of my concerns regarding getting the system. Everyone is basically confirming the problems with the dcs (both skill and starship) so that is a bummer. I don't use pdf really. I like physical copies of books. I suppose i will wait until they fix the system before i buy it. It really is a shame to. I am getting so sick of fantasy rpgs. I needed me some sci fi.
I don’t think there’s a problem with skill DCs.
I doubt there’s going to be any great change to the system. If someone thinks the system needs “fixing” then I suspect they’ll still think that after Paizo adjust the starship DCs, personally (which I also suspect is a long way off).
In terms of the PDF, I recommended it as a stopgap measure if you wanted to wait for the second printing. I wouldn’t worry about it personally, since most of the books don’t have a binding issue and the ones that do you can get replaced. I’d just buy the hardcover. I definitely wouldn’t hold off expecting some major revision of the rules.
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I recommended the pdf because it's only $10 for the pdf, instead of $60 for the hardcover, so it's a cheap way to check out the system and decide if you like it before investing more money. Also, the next printing will have corrections for the starship problems, and probably a lot of other little things, so it's probably worth waiting for that, even if you're not worried about the binding issues.
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The DC "problem" is only such if you think the game should be easy and you roflstomp everything at high levels like pathfinder. If you think the game should be challenging, then there is no problem. The percentage success rates are much lower than compared to pathfinder. I see this as a design difference (and a good one, pathfinder is way too easy), not a problem. The complaints at this point are pretty much all theory crafting anyway, and many I have seen are based off the strange assumption that you will always be fighting boss CR opponents (and thinking that fighting a boss CR shouldn't be hard).
Bottom line is, it's still very early in its life. They (paizo) didn't give us a public playtest so the community experience with it is very limited right now. If you are really unsure, then you can wait a while for things to calm down and more experienced opinions to be shared.
But hey, at $10 for the pdf, it's not much of an investment to pick it up and play around yourself. It's cheaper than going to a movie.
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Just ask yourself, "Do I want to have fun?" If so, get the game, dude. The game is awesome. If you are the RPG equivalent of the princess and the pea, then no game system will ever satisfy you. Do yourself and your group a favor and get it. I've run/played a dozen sessions or more and at no point did any of the supposed "system flaws" arise, solarion, starship DCs, or otherwise. Don't let internet bellyachers get in the way of a good game and a good time with good friends.
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Just ask yourself, "Do I want to have fun?" If so, get the game, dude. The game is awesome. If you are the RPG equivalent of the princess and the pea, then no game system will ever satisfy you. Do yourself and your group a favor and get it. I've run/played a dozen sessions or more and at no point did any of the supposed "system flaws" arise, solarion, starship DCs, or otherwise. Don't let internet bellyachers get in the way of a good game and a good time with good friends.
seconded. It's a lot of fun. The mechanics are great, and after 6 sessions or so, my group is having a great time.
Regarding the DCs for high-level ship combat, if you take a look at the sample ships and their crews in the core rulebook, the crews’ skill bonuses include “aid another” bonuses because the officers are getting help from their subordinates. At 15th level, I would hope that the adventuring party isn’t still operating a starship with no one but the 4 or 5 of them aboard. Certainly they should have some other engineers, science officers, and gunners around.
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Something I want to add that I found after I got my book and started planning to run games and such, is that the community over on these here forums is also a major boon to the game itself. They're active, generally friendly, and if you have a question, chances are someone'll be willing to help you out with it. Not something inherent to the system per se, but it definately helps.