Having read through the podcast summary I am not sure I like the new Edge and that you can earn it by being a better shot than the enemy (or even because you are sitting in very good cover, earning edge when someone shoots you) and then being able to spend it on something completely different like healing damage.....
Edge seems too much of a magical "do it all" currency to me. And I am not even sure it will reduce tracking at all. Considering how important it is and that it can be gained in combat the GM now has to track a ever shifting edge number for all NPCs.
It can also create some weird situations were a character is better of not doing anything than try something desperate, like the Face shooting with his light pistol at an enemy, as that will give the enemy Edge while if the Face did nothing the enemy would not get more powerful. Not really immersive in my eyes. And I really hope people cant just Edge through everything.
Also, all gear available at character creation? Where is the sense of progression when you can have everything right from the start?
Yeah, I have the same questions about it. I didn't decide that I like it or not, so far and I won't until I've seen it in its entirety, but I'm a bit wary because of the same reasons.
Also, I'm not sure I understand how this whole "no modifiers, but gaining edge" thing will play out at the end? Like, okay, I'm in cover, the enemy shoots at me, I'm gaining edge. Does that mean that basicaly the difficulty of tasks never changes, regardless of circumstances (ie. it's equally hard to shoot at someone in the open as behind a cover), you will just get a currency for later use, if you have an advantage? That's... I think I wouldn't like that. Yeh, not immersive and too meta for me.
Now, if the edge gained from the advantage is usable right there at the moment ( I could spend the edge gained for cover instantly for a better defense roll, or whatnot), that's different, that could work out just fine.
Also, I'd agree, it doesn't really seem to be less work to use than modifiers, just different and maybe more "interesting" and "fun", because you'll get a currency you could spend on stunts and stuff, not just plain modifiers. I can see that, but I don't think it's easier to use, overall.
To be honest, I think it's a question with no answer, or, rather, a Quest for the Holy Grail for developers: "How to represent situational stuff in a game, without too much math and floating modifiers?" Some games, like D&D 5e went simplistic, which is fine, but not everyne likes that level of simplification. Others went like storygames, where it's about "narrative complications" and stuff which is also fine, but a totally different approach to gaming. Others made everything into conditions and such, which aren't really simpler, but you can give them out in neat cards, so, perhaps more concise. This new edge system is another attempt at replacing floating modifiers with somethig easier to use and more "fun" and it might work, but I'm not sure about it at this point.
