Wow, how did I miss this thread?
A couple of friends & I did our own modification a few years ago. Among the changes we made:
- Earth Orbital Burn roll is always made by the rocket.
- Earth Mission Burn (which should properly be called Trans-Lunar Injection (or Trans-Planetary Injection, for interplanetary probes) - this is one of many names we chose not to change) roll is made by the rocket, or in certain circumstances, by a kicker.
- We deleted the orbital steps on lunar returns. Returning spacecraft now have an In-Route Activities step, a Course Correction step (for which we made a new failure chart) and then straight to Re-Entry. We adjusted the map to show this.
- When using One-Person Lunar Modules, EVAs are required to go between the capsule and the one-person lander when testing a LM or making a lunar landing.
- 1-man landers no longer require a docking module.
- Lunar missions using a two-person capsule with a one-person module require two kickers: One for the LM, which makes the Lunar Orbital and Lunar De-orbital burns, and one for the capsule, which makes the Lunar Mission Burn and Course Correction. Earth Mission Burn is made by the rocket.
- We adjusted the map to tuck the Lunar Orbital Activities box into the flow.
- We changed the EVA safety R&D to resemble docking. You no longer roll dice to improve EVA safety - you must learn through experience. +15% for successful EVAs, +5% for non-fatal failed EVAs.
- Lunar Missions using a three-person capsule or a minishuttle must use a three-stage or “mega†stage rocket.
- Lunar missions using a minishuttle or a two-person capsule require a kicker for the Lunar Mission Burn and Course Correction. For MLP and MLO missions, the two-person capsule may also use the kicker for the Earth Mission Burn.
- Economics of mass production: After building 12 rockets (or 6 of anything else) of a given type, subsequent units cost 1/6 less.
There were several other minor changes, summarized on a 1-page MSWord document.
The new failure chart is on a revised Page 23 of the rulebook, which is also a 1-page MSWord document.
We completely rewrote Appendix C to specify exactly what hardware was needed for each mission type and what rolls were needed. This is a 3-page MSWord document.
The revised map is a 7.2MB jpg. I put it on CD and had a print-shop put it on 17x11 glossy paper for a few dollars.
We rewrote the R&D sheet (as an MSExcel file), incorporating rules changes, and some tweaks to the cost & weights. We could have gone hog-wild with this (I wanted to make 3-stage & mega-rockets much more expensive, separate upper stages into their own R&D tracks, and allow modular construction of EOR-direct spacecraft), but we restrained ourselves to keep it on one page, and to preserve simplicity. Simplicity is important - we wanted to be able to teach Liftoff! to new players as a beer & pretzels game without overwhelming them.
I also made new cards, but those are not in a standard format (they are .pdd).
If anyone wants to check these out, PM me with your e-mail address.
