I'm just reseeding a torrent i got from demoniod. So none of the .txt files are from my perspective. Anyway I really like the setting and at least the first 3 radio dramas are pretty good. I wanted to keep this one alive. I'm really sorry but i have a really crappy up speed, but its at least is something. I'll keep seeding till I'm forced to do otherwise. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Audio dramas
 
The Steppes of Thoth CD CoverIn 2005, Noise Monster Productions, run by Big Finish stalwart John Ainsworth, started releasing a new series of full-cast audio adventures on CD. These are produced under exclusive license from Frank Chadwick. Each adventure is a self-contained story and is released on a single CD with a running time of approximately 70 minutes.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Everything Jules Verne could have written; everything H. G. Wells should have written; everything A. Conan Doyle thought of but never published -- because it was too fantastic.
So reads the text on the back of the rulebook for the roleplaying game Space: 1889. 

Given such extravagant claims, do the contents inside live up to their billing? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. The setting is fascinating and offers a wide variety of novel settings for adventure, and the wide variety of supplements published allow even the most inexperienced gamemaster to easily put together a campaign. This article is an overview of the Space: 1889 universe, with an evaluation of the various materials published for the game. 

Publishing History
Released in 1988 by GDW, Space:1889 was inspired by the classic science fiction of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first of a series of "steampunk" roleplaying games published in the late 1980s and early 1990s (a trend that owed much to the publication in 1991 of the novel The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling). Space: 1889 is the direct ancestor of such popular games as Castle Falkenstein and Deadlands, as well as a number of other less well known efforts. The game is notable for combining a historical setting with advanced technology, most significantly space flight. 

Space: 1889 differs from subsequent steampunk games in that it is fundamentally a science fiction game. Unlike later rpgs, which incorporate fantasy (Castle Falkenstein) or the supernatural (Deadlands), all of the elements of the Space: 1889 game universe are based on science and technology, albeit with physical laws somewhat different than our own (more on that later). 

Although Space: 1889 has been out of print since 1994, and its publisher GDW is now out of business, it is still possible to obtain copies of most game materials. A number of distributors still have copies, and several specialists in used games regularly stock it. Check with your local full service game store, or make use of the world wide web or the Usenet group rec.games.frp.marketplace. 

An annotated list of all of the material produced for Space: 1889 is included as an appendix to this article, so I will not bore you with a complete listing here. It is worth noting, however, that GDW attempted to produce materials that would appeal to various audiences. As a result, there are a variety of roleplaying adventures, a computer roleplaying game, rules for miniatures, and several board games, all in the Space: 1889 setting. Taken together, they provide a rich background for adventure -- the following descriptions of the game universe is drawn from these books and other materials. 

Setting
Space: 1889 is set in an alternate universe, similar to our own but with significantly different physics. The inspiration for the setting comes primarily from the science fiction of the late 19th century. 

The Space: 1889 timeline begins to diverge from our own in the late 1860s, with the proof of the existence of the ether. A theoretical construct first proposed by Rene Descartes in 1638, the ether was described by 19th century scientists as the medium through which light waves and other types of energy were transmitted as vibrations. In our own universe, the ether theory was discredited by experiments done in the late 19th century and was replaced by relativistic and quantum physics. 

In the Space: 1889 universe, however, the ether exists, and its existence makes travel between the planets possible. In 1868, Thomas Edison, inspired by the theories of the physicist Etiene Moreau, built and tested a device to manipulate the ether. When he found it would not work, he consulted with Moreau, who suggested that the atmosphere was interfering with the device, and that it would work if taken to a sufficiently high altitude. 

In 1870, attaching his invention to a balloon, he and the Scottish explorer and soldier-of-fortune Jack Armstrong became the first humans to leave the Earth\'s atmosphere, landing on Mars and returning unharmed. Edison and Armstrong brought back electrifying news -- Mars was inhabited! Within a year dozens of companies were building flyers based on Edison's design, and the race to explore the solar system was on. 

Mars was the focus of much of the earliest exploration, and while humans found a great deal there that was interesting (described in more detail later in this article), the most interesting was the second major difference between the Space: 1889 universe and our own: liftwood. Grown only on certain high-altitude groves on Mars, the wood of the liftwood tree has a unique quality -- it resists the force of gravity. Ships equipped with liftwood panels can fly, and so the Martian skies are filled with warships and trading vessels. 

Humans have been quick to take advantage of this new material, and European gunboats now sail the skies of Mars (and Earth as well). Liftwood is rare and expensive, however, and many of the colonial struggles on Mars have their roots in the liftwood plantations. Most liftwood is used now to build spacecraft, liftwood being safer and more easily controlled that balloons for lifting ether engines above the atmosphere. 

What humans have found in the decades since space travel became possible is a solar system that is teeming with life. So far, the limits of exploration are defined by the asteroid belt -- space ships are powered by solar boilers, and the Sun\'s rays are inadequate to go further out. All of the planets within the asteroid belt are inhabited by sentient life at various stages of cultural development, and there are a wide variety of adventure opportunities. 

Overall, Space: 1889 is an interesting and innovative setting, handicapped by a 
less than ideal game system. Several other factors worked against the game in its initial release, I think -- it requires some knowledge of history to play well and enjoy, and it does not allow for the creation of exotic and super-powerful player characters. As a result it never sold well to younger gamers who make up the bulk of the RPG marketplace. 

For the more mature roleplayer, however, Space: 1889 has great potential. The game's greatest strength is its firm grounding in history. Earth's history until 1876 is identical to our own, and changes after that date are relatively minor. As a result, background material is as close as the nearest library. Aside from ether flyers and liftwood, the equipment of the period is historical as well, so information is easy to come by. 

Space: 1889 is also a game that encourages roleplaying and inter-player interaction. All sorts of character types are appropriate for the game, and the varied and exotic cultures described in the source material means that games do not have to center exclusively around combat and dungeon crawling (though one can certainly include that easily enough). 

Overall, this is a system that is well worth tracking down. It truly is"Science Fiction Role Playing in a More Civilized Time." 
__________________________________________________________________________________