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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon $14.99
Average Rating:4.8 / 5
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Christopher J. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/18/2017 10:19:49

I have a love/hate relationship with these books. On the one hand, they are insanely comprehesive and well written, and the setting is fantastic and unique (even where it borrows from other novels, games, etc, it does so in such a way that it's with love and not a blatant ripoff). On the other hand, science aside (which is always plausible and well thought out) the authors exhibit careless, lazy thinking when it comes to extrapolation of future culture, economics, politics, and social structure. Basically anything the hard sciences don't address.

At first, I had attributed this to the in-character voices of the narrators, but after purchasing a ton of their PDFs and hardbacks I've come to realize that this is not the case. It's the writers' own wishful thinking and biases seeping through. This is not good sci-fi. This has nothing do with whether I agree or disagree with said biases, that's irrelevant. If you want to use sci fi to comment on the human condition or as a fanciful reflection of the real world, fine. There's a long tradition of that. The problem is that it's so poorly executed and ham fisted.

I've left out specific examples because this isn't a review of any one's politics or beliefs (I may very well agree with a lot of them). I'm merely looking at the craft behind this book (which as yet is the most egregious example of this).

Regarding the expansion of the EP universe: I love it, despite my above reservations. These guys are passionate world builders and it shows. The mechanics, as always, are relegated to later in the book. A person who doesn't run EP could buy these books for the setting alone and they would work fantistically.

I've spent entirely too much money on this game and don't regret it.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Idle R. H. P. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 02/11/2012 04:11:52

Panopticon is a great supplement for Eclipse Phase that discusses three separate areas of the game setting.

Part one explains how the transparent society of EP came about, how it functions, and how people function in it. There are sections about how identification works when individuals can change bodies at will, the ethics of a transparent society, and surveillance/counter-surveillance technology. Part two details the different kinds of habitats, the various systems contained therein, and a general discussion of the difficulties of life in space. The last part is a great discussion on uplifts, including more information on the various types (including several new ones) and the social issues surrounding them.

As with other Eclipse Phase books, this one starts out with a short story and puts all the game related information in the back. This title is a great resource for GMs and players alike, as each section sheds a lot of light on how various parts of the EP setting work. Anyone interested in playing as an uplift would do well to read the relevant section of this book, as would anyone interested in playing as a hacker.

Panopticon is a great read, even if you don't intend on running or playing in an Eclipse Phase game. It is well worth the $10.00 price tag.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Bertil H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/13/2012 04:21:03

Panopticon was something worth waiting for. This book gives much more "meat to the bones" when it comes to security, habitats and uplifts for the Eclipse Phase universe. When I bought this product there was no hesitation if it would be worth it. Eclipse phase over all is a high quality product with writers who knows what their customers appreciate. The layout is great. The writing is informative and catching. The chapter about Uplifts was particular good since one gets the explanation WHY the uplifts where brought to sentient status.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Mike B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/25/2011 15:15:15

In relation to past Eclipse Phase products, I'd place it somewhere below Sunward and above Gatecrashing. In relation to any other RPG product, I'd place it in my cart to buy immediately. :) If you're looking at this review, you've presumably already read the core book and fallen in love with the setting. This book is more of the same in the best way possible, brilliantly researched "fluff" to bring colour and life to new corners of the setting, and a wee bit of new "crunch" to go along with it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Jason P. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/26/2011 15:45:10

This is a great product; I love the 'fluff' is much more of a way people thing and how things operate rather than most other fluff, it is quite a bit of information that players can incorporate and utilize in playing the game rather than just background information. It's well written interesting and useful



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Gerald S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/26/2011 13:19:46

Excellent book, with well written articles and a lot of information to use in game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Erathoniel W. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 08/26/2011 10:19:57

Panopticon is a must-have Eclipse Phase supplement.

I feel that Posthuman Studios could have given it another once-over check for errors, though the errors present are simple typos rather than major errors. That said, if you won't be totally nit-picking with the typos and you'll actually read the whole book, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The art and writing, as always, is top notch (sans typos). The book offers in-depth analysis of social issues through a science-fiction proxy, though that's to be expected from Posthuman Studios, they really hit home with Panopticon. Add in a ton of new rules for all sorts of awesome (surveillance and uplifts, as well as habitat stuff), and everyone will be happy.

The nice little intro story kicks off the rest of the book nicely by providing a quick glimpse at some of the deeper discussion of concepts later on, and also is plain awesome (to use an academic term). Then in true Eclipse Phase manner, the book launches in to well over a hundred pages of setting and background, combined with little fiction or explanatory blurbs. While I like setting more than the average guy, I feel that even fans of mechanics that normally disdain setting exposition would enjoy the more cerebral standard set by Posthuman Studios.

The book wraps up with mechanics for everything discussed throughout the book, including lots of new morphs and gear/services. As always, the mechanics are solid, and Panopticon delivers on providing a solid science-fiction experience without feeling cheesy.

I'd recommend Panopticon for any fan of Eclipse Phase. The high standard of quality set by Posthuman Studios really shows in this product, even if there are some lapses in grammar and spelling that are aggravating.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Erathoniel, Thanks for the review. We have a thread on our message boards where fans can point out mistakes they've caught or otherwise suggest corrections. Please jump in and let us know any specific problems you saw, the thread is here: http://www.eclipsephase.com/eclipse-phase-panopticon-errata cheers, Posthuman Studios (Rob, Brian, and Adam)
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Christoph S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/26/2011 02:22:49

I've now through the last sections of the book, only surveillance is missing but still... this book is awesome and would make a great bundle with the corebook.

The Habitat-part alone is worth reading for every player since you get a glimpse on how living in zero-g habitats is like, what dangers are posed and what to do if sh*t hits the fan hard and your section decompresses. Add to that some information about the things people do and voila. Its a good read from an in-game perspective that makes your neurons work about how you can create your own character.

Now, the cherry to me was the uplift part. Heck. They are featured on the cover in an awesome monkey-octopus cagefight (with Laserwhips!). And the narrator was a quite suave neo-dolphin and the chapter features many in-character sidebars about other uplifts too (for example, the first to actually be recognized as an uplift).

The book ends with game information, lots and lots of uplift-morphs, and a warm and fuzzy feeling, wanting more.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Jason B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/25/2011 00:39:32

This is THE book to get, if you want info on exactly how having advanced sensor and computer technology will have an affect on the cultures, persons, and PCs that will have access to them.

Also, it has a extremely well-done "Uplift" section. Uplifts being the "Sentients created from animal stock" seen in EP and many other sci-fi games. Although written specifically for EP's setting, the political and corporate groups could be used in other settings, with little change.

Finally, there is a Habitat section, detailing everything from construction, how to infiltrate, and even how to "sleeve" an entire Habitat as one's body ("Morph" in EP slang).

Even if you aren't playing/buying EP specifically, this is a good book for general sci-fi info on the 'how does (x) work' for just about any 'sufficiently advanced' setting.

Buy this, now!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase: Panopticon
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by William W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/20/2011 16:29:55

Panopticon covers three subjects.

Uplifts, Habitats and Surveillance/Sousveillance each subject justifies the cost of the book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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