Anyways the point being that if Karmagen comes out more balanced I will use it. But for now I like Xzylvador's idea of giving them the stuff straight up rather then giving them the stuff to buy it with.
Balance really depends on what you look for as "balance". If it's high dice pools cost considerably more than low dice pools, then Karma generation definitely comes out ahead in the balance area. However, many people look for balance in the sense that they think an average Troll strength (7) should be just as easy for the troll to attain as a human's average strength (3) is for the human to attain, in karmagen they aren't anywhere close (65 karma vs. 25 karma). Of course the later only holds up during character creation, because no matter which way you go, after creation a weakling troll will have to pay 65 karma to raise strength to a 7 and a weakling human will still only have to pay 25 karma to get to a 3. It is really noticeable in Trolls because their attributes are usually so high. (For quick reference, each BP attribute raise is worth roughly 20 karma (what it takes to raise a 3 to a 4). In karma gen, raising stats from 1-3 are cheaper than they would be in BP system and to four is the same. 5 is a 25% more, 6 is 50% more, 7 is 75% more, 8 is 100% more, 9 is 125% more and 10 is 150% more. Of course this adds up rather fast, so buying an attribute at 6 is four times the cost of a 3 (rather than 2.5 times the cost in BP). For a troll, buying an 9 body costs almost 3 times what a human getting a 3 would cost.)
Where Karmagen really shines is for characters that like to pick up side skills at low levels just to provide synergy for teamwork. A character that wants to pick up a couple points of demolitions in BP pays 4BP for each point (8 BP to get it at a 2, equivalent of 16 karma), but in karmagen it only costs 4 karma for the first point and 4 karma for the second point (literally half the cost). This is the biggest issue I guess, because in karma gen, a player knows that what he is paying for a skill/specialty/ability is what it will always cost him. There is no difference between creation and advancement costs. (Small List of things that change costs between BP and advancement: Attributes (especially high levels or hard caps), Foci Bonding, Skills, and Specialties)
Low level skills often fit into an area where most people building with BP say it's just not worth it, but having them helps flesh out a character and can add a very easy source of bonus dice (through teamwork rolls) to another character more devoted to the skill.
Starting characters with Karmagen (at the 750 level) generally aren't quite as powerful as BP characters. Most of the time, this is because they branch out more rather than worrying about karma efficiency (for instance, under the BP system I don't really see a point in buying skills unless they're at a 4 or higher because it's just not efficient and I never pick up specialties. The three point difference between having a 1 or 2 and defaulting is only one hit on average, and I'll just raise edge for those situations.)
If you do decide on Karma Gen, I recommend the German printed version that was updated for SR4A (the runner companion version uses the old SR4 costs). I also strongly recommend handing out knowledge skills like the BP system does rather than making players buy them (you tend to see far less frivolous knowledge skills if the players have to buy them).
You don't need to constantly throw it out into people's faces like it's the best thing in the world since sliced bread.
I didn't throw it in anyone's face. I merely recommended it for what he's doing. Likewise, I never said it's the best thing, merely that it's better than the BP system and leaps and bounds better than mixing the BP system with karma for creation purposes. You can like what you want, but I still haven't seen anyone show anything that can't be built in karmagen at all. You've got roughly the same amount of resources to work with in both systems.
