That "ooomph" comes at the expense of basically every other element of the system. With lower volume economies, each element can do what it is intended to do without interference. With high volume economies, Aspects override everything else, since as long as you've got FPs to burn, you can throw them at anything. Having a Skill at Great (+4) is meaningless if you can just find two relevant Aspects (character, scene, Theme, whatever) to pump a Skill you don't even have on your sheet for the single task that matters.
Aspects are not the entirety, or even bulk of FATE, frankly a game where they are sounds rather dull to me.
FATE Points are not a central important aspect of the FATE-System?
About skills using importants:
Let's J.B. knows she will have to spend some time in the wilderness alone but she doesn't have any survival. She spends a day reading the PAthfinder outdoor guidebook and puts a "read up on the topic" aspect on her and later tags that and invokes her choosen of the ghaleb duwr aspect to reach her obstalce of 4. That shows you exactly how she does it. You have an in-game reason why she made the roll. Someone with a 4 in survival would have been able to just save those FPs. I don't see the problem there. The imersion is not broken and everyone is happy. Spend FPs generate more story. It's cooler to remember that one time when the red court killed your wife to fuel your strike with anger. To use his limb leg to trick him into your feint and then hit him with The Blade of Love for a loooot of damage rather say, i attack him with my sword.
The rulebook says. Aspects are the most important attribues of your character. It says who your character IS. If you don't base your story around them you are robbing the players of a valueable ressource and of cool.
The ghosts attacked J.B. because someone send them to get her BECAUSE she is the chosen of the earth spirit. This is a compel. Her live got harder because of WHO she is. If she doesn't get a FP for that you are cheating her of a ressource. There are only so much slots for aspect and then to not get rewared for them is bad.
The trouble aspects aren't there for fun, there are there to create trouble for the PCs. If they are not involved in the story then why have them? The story should be about the characters right? Aspects are about characters so use them, they are an excelent tool.
A game without a lot of Fate-points is a more gritty game, at the same time it has a lot less conflict (compels generate conflict and drama and suspense). When you compel a lot you have more drama and the PCs have the ability to shine, to be heros and defend opponents that are bigger than they are. The whole bookseries is about harry getting kicked around a lot so that he can succeed in the end. the game should emulate that and it does perfectly if you use it.
It also takes a lot of work from the GM because he doesn't have to have the whole plot ready. just a startscene and a good idea on how to compel the shit out of the players.
But that is just me coming from a Burning Wheel high and applying a lot of the ideas to this system - mainly to use it as it is written and the tools it gives me to the fullest. I still really enjoy your podcast and in some part i feel terrible for telling you "how you should run your game" - i don't want to do that. I just saw that one of your players had problems and that you generally have a low ammount of fate points and wanted to help with this problem.
