17 replies to this topic

[LtJG Richards]

I never, ever got why sci-fi fans are capable of punch ups over this debate. (And now, it is home to multiple Keyboard Warriors.)

I am of the opinion that both have their merits and their flaws. I happen to like both universes but I do my roleplaying in the Star Trek universe.

The only reason I made this choice is because Star Wars is a fantasy set a long time ago etc etc where as Trek is set in a possible human future (Much like Bab 5, another hue favorite of mine). I enjoy being able to add to the sense of the Late Roddenberry's final frontier with a great group of people.

I dislike the idea of playing in a Universe where the 'good guys' are actually the bad guys. (Mind control, judge/jury/executioner, our way or the high way sort of thing) who manipulate politics for their own gain.

Where do you stand? I only ask because reading both the linked article from the main site and the comments, no one has really put up a valid argument why one is, or has to be better than the other.

Add to that, an article that talks of Star Wars being the future really got in two people who missed the whole point of Star Wars..

[mjohnson]

I also like both universes myself having played Star Wars Galaxies since it came out till the awful NGE aka New game enhancement I was a master bounty hunter which was the profession that took the longest to master(yes I hunted down those pesky jedi players lol)but back to the point in reality you really can't compare the two because they are totally different moral stories and yes totally different timeframes. Star Wars was based on themes of chivalry and loosely influenced by the Samurai whereas Star Trek was based upon themes of cooperation during a tense period in America(the cold war)withs it's multiracial crew as well as exploring social commentary of the time. In this regard I would have to say that Star Trek would be considered the most groundbreaking. just my two cents worth

[Paetra Ramos]

I used to like both, but then, during arguments with my friends, if I let up on one subject of the Star Wars universe being terrible, they would assume I lost the argument. So I've gotten used to abdolutely despising Star Wars.

Jacob

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

I like both universes. Star Wars is a space opera/ fantasy in space with memorable people,tech that looks a bit beat up and folks doing what people do. Live life. Aliens seem to be more believable in many don't appear humanoid.

Star Trek,similar but in the UFP,tech isn't as beat up. Slick ships, memorable people,aliens included. All trying to find something fulfilling. On Earth no money,but elsewhere. You need it. Aliens in Star Trek tend to be a mostly human body with few differences in structure. At the time it was either difficult, expensive or impossible to make a truly alien person each week,let alone a crew of then. Like the USS Titan for instance. In the beginning it was for budget reasons. One show is a few movies, the other a TV show intended to be a little campy(TOS),but the biggest amount of fun. Both of these have memorable lines,peoples and stories.

I don't see SW being the past or future,maybe just another universe all together. However,to see it as the distance past would be wonderful writing fodder,when a UFP archeologist digs up something.

I can say this if the Yu'uzhen Vong show up, I'm outta' here. Sick the Borg or the Q on 'em. Nasty warlike,very,very mean frightening extra- galactic aliens. These guys would make an incredible mess before all the quadrants unite to kick them out.

[Arden_Cain]

Ok I'm going to say it however unoriginal at this point. I love Star Wars just as much as Star Trek in fact watching an old tape of Empire Strikes Back was probably what got me dreaming of SciFi when I was a boy. That said in recent days my faith in SW has been shaken a little. SW is as much an epic fantasy adventure as it is science fiction and I believe it comes down to the fact that technology isn't as important or explained sufficiently compared to ST. While the universe in SW is a rich/diverse universe and will endure for years more to come, because there are multiple concurrent time lines that can be explored, is that ultimately every Galactic War comes back to one set of binary opposites. Jedi of the Republic Vs Sith Empire. With the exception of the Vong in invasion which some consider a mistake every series centres on this rivalry. Thousands of years this war was being fought and even decades after the sixth film into the current Cannon fiction this war still exists.

I could give a reason why this cycle will continue as long as SW is being published but I think I have made my point. Star Trek is more complex in most regards. I believe that ST key point of difference is that it has a clear timeline. More or less starting at First Contact, anything after that well the skies are the limits. The amount of thought that has gone into making the Trek universe consistent, believable in the sense that one would be forgiven to think that it might be our future, and its pronounced continuity throughout all the different tv shows is insane. While both SW and ST have these things only ST deliveries a universe that we can really explore and throw ourselves into which is why we are here.

If there was an actual question I hoped I answered it. Truth is I have openly admitted that if I came across a SW pbem that was as active as SB118 before I stumbled onto SB118, I might not be here now. Star Wars is still that good and something that will hold my interest for quite some time though. I wouldn't abandon it on the faults listed above unlike other scifi movies. In fact I did find remainders of SW games but nothing that was still organised which shows just how much potential ST has. Willpower will only sustain a community based game like this for so long. If there is nothing to spark the imagination what is left? In that sense it seems pretty simple that Trek is much better.

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

Both universes have a lot of character, any flaws they have makes them better. SW universe feels lived in,comfortable like that favorite pate of Levi's. Jeans.:-) I enjoy them both, always have always will. :-)

[Arden_Cain]

Space battles are usually more entertaining in SW. I can't believe I forgot that point before.

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

:-) I'd like to see the New Jedi Order with the Yu'uzhaan Hong shown on the big screen. Those space battles would be epic.

[Hannibal Parker]

:-) I'd like to see the New Jedi Order with the Yu'uzhaan Hong shown on the big screen. Those space battles would be epic.

I'd get a bag of popcorn, a bottle of Jack Daniels, and a good steak to watch that play out!

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

At my house,hubby and I have an air Popper and a lot of popcorn. Bring gentleman Jack,we've the pop corn. Now we need a wicked cool space battle.

[Arden_Cain]

I would probably pay them to make the new jedi order saga into movies. Problem is that if they do that they won't stop making movies.

[Hannibal Parker]

At my house,hubby and I have an air Popper and a lot of popcorn. Bring gentleman Jack,we've the pop corn. Now we need a wicked cool space battle.

You are so on! I starteed a thread about one I would like to see...Galactica vs. the Enterprise....

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

Yeah. Bring it on! Heh,heh.:-) As long as I'm on the winning ship Kay? ;-)

[Vareth Kio]

I love both Star Wars and Star Trek equally but for very different reasons. Star Trek is much more person-centered. It's a very optimistic and enlightened view for humanity. That's why Star Trek makes for excellent RPGs... it's a future in which people can accomplish their dreams. Star Wars, on the other hand, is almost like watching a great movie about an interesting part of history. You don't get as swept up in the universe as a whole, as much as you get swept up with the people on screen. It's much more difficult to picture yourself in the Star Wars universe because the movies themselves are so narrow... mere glimpses of an entirely different galaxy. Star Trek gives viewers access to the most intimate parts of people's lives... and that's what makes it so personable.

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

I find it hard to Role play in the Star Wars universe because it is so Hugh. A fun 'Verse to play in. Like thr Trek universe there are many timeliness to choose from depending on what your RPG group is like.

[Arden_Cain]

I find it hard to Role play in the Star Wars universe because it is so Hugh. A fun 'Verse to play in. Like thr Trek universe there are many timeliness to choose from depending on what your RPG group is like.

Your right, with the exception of Enterprise everything in Trek has been progressive along a timeline. I can't really imagine what SB118 would have been like ten years ago so I completely understand how difficult it would be to pick a Star Wars era to RP in. To me the Star Wars universe is very similar to what earth is now so to me life wouldn't be all that different.

[Ensign James]

I do believe that this is both pertinent and hilarious!

Ahh Sulu, if you hadn't become a helmsman you would have been one hell of a ambassador

[T'Mihn Ah'mygahn]

::Sticks fingers in mouth and whistles:: Rock on George, I agree with you. :-)