Robert S. Dean · 14 October 1992 · reply to #4731
Steve Higginbotham writes:
>
> Rob Dean:
>
> >WHAT IS TECH LEVEL?
>
> "Tech Level" as specified in the UPP represents the economic strength of
> the world in question. TL3 would represent very low industrialization, high
> dependence on imports to maintain standard of living, large numbers of poor
> people, and comparatively few wealthy ones.
>
> I use the expanded TL description from WBH to generate two other "Tech
> Levels":
>
> One represents the local ability to produce things. This is normally based
> on the standard WBH roll-up, with my own mods thrown in.
>
> The other represents "standard of living", and is based on "novelty TL", and
> the nature of nearby industrial worlds. This one I have to free-hand in for
> every world. I can't think of a good way to automate it.
>
>
> ---Steve
This is a reasonable way of thinking about things, in my opinion, and one which
is more or less consistent with what we've actually seen from GDW on the sub-
ject. The only really detailed world description they published, the Tarsus
boxed module, shows the inhabitants of Tarsus with ready access to higher
tech imported goods, at an increased cost, of course.
As this applies to the Gamba subsector, how do you view the "standard of
living" tech levels on most of the planets? I'd suppose that the Madrigalans
import high tech production machinery from the small high tech planets (and/or
Weelkes) and export lower tech machinery to the TL3 and TL4 planets, as well
as cheap semi-bulk goods back to the high tech worlds. If you take the Mega-
Traveller (or Merchant Prince) trade goods system as providing a general
indication of the potential traffic flows, I think that you'll find that
Madrigal goods can be sold at a profit on places like Lassus and Forqueray.
I haven't actually checked it, but the situation looks much the same as the
situation in the Spinward Marches, where TL9 industrial Aki can sell at a
profit on TL15 industrial Glisten, which would probably make Aki (or Madrigal)
a sort of Korea to Glisten's (or Lassus') Japan.
How do shipping costs in Traveller affect the trade situation? It has always
looked to me like interstellar shipping in Traveller is somewhat less expensive
than international air freight currently, but more expensive than international
sea transport. Is that in accordance with other people's views?
Rob Dean