RE: Tech Advances & others

A thread of 4 messages, 27 July 1993 to 29 July 1993, in the order they were sent.

#5815 RE: Tech Advances & others

[unnamed sender] · 27 July 1993

>Didn't GDW have a game called "Dinosaurs and Cadillacs", or something similar?
>If so, it is probably about to get re-launched in the wake of "Jurassic Park".
>:-)

Yes and I wish they would hurry up and release the movie out here in OZ
before they run "The Making of Jurasic Park"; it really ruins the movie
when it finally arrives 8^{.

I've heard we won't be getting it until September !!!   Ahhhhhhhhh !!!

So nobody dare tell me about it before I see it !!

>What I had originally envisioned was the categories would be exhaustive
>for tech-as-we-know-it.  Then extrapolated technology (fusion power,
>anti-grav, etc.) could be represented as consisting of the various
>constituent categories.  For example, fusion power would require a
>certain level of PHYSICS and a certain level of ENGINEERING.  Societies
>that had the requisite levels could have fusion, and societies with
>greater levels could have fusion plants which were cheaper, smaller,
>and more efficient.

Hmmm.  How about organic computers.  What about a society totally geared
to a biological technology.  Trees grown to be living houses.  Cold fusion.

I read a book a long time ago (oh no I hear you say ... suffer!) where
technology took a different path.  There was a simple law of physics that
if seen would lead on to anti-grav and space flight but precluded all
electrical type technology as we know it today.  If you took the path to
electricity then the other path disappers as "not cost effective" etc.
eventually you reach the "electricity" dead end and everyone's forgotten about
the other technology path.

>Well actually, wouldn't it be useful for Traveller to have some sort of
>rule-of-thumb for how an increase in TL affects price, size, and
>efficiency/effectiveness?  For example, how a Rhylanor-produced gauss
>rifle (TL15) is "better" than one produced on Regina (TL12).

Yes. Yes. Yes.  What's missing in Traveller (and most) RPGs are the various
manufacturer ratings.  Why is a 9mm revolver bought from planet A better
than one bought from planet B.  Tech level?  Cost?  Reliability doesn't
appear to be a factor in Traveller.  How many times has your gun jammed
in a fire fight?  When did a mate of yours suddenly discover that a generic
brand grav-belt has a lower MTBF.  Can you get amunition for that 10.5mm
revolver you bought back on planet K.


Bruce...        [email removed]

#5824 Re: Tech Advances & others

[unnamed sender] · 28 July 1993 · reply to #5815

[Forwarded to TML broadcast, with subject line fix, by James Perkins]

>From: [email removed]
Subject: RE: Tech Advances & others

Re:
 >I read a book a long time ago (oh no I hear you say ... suffer!) where
 >technology took a different path.  There was a simple law of physics that
 >if seen would lead on to anti-grav and space flight but precluded all
 >electrical type technology as we know it today.  If you took the path to
 >electricity then the other path disappers as "not cost effective" etc.
 >eventually you reach the "electricity" dead end and everyone's forgotten
 >about the other technology path.

I think this one may have been by Poul Anderson.  As I recall, one of the
side effects of taking the antigrav path is that you never get the really
neato weapons, flight tech, etc.

I think the story starts with a group of conquistador type ETs landing their
spaceship on a current tech Earth, and opening up on the natives with their
super high tech weapons (muskets).  Things progress as might be expected
from this point.

Joe
"Backwards compatibility means never getting to fix your mistakes." - me

#5832 Re: Tech Advances & others

Robert S. Dean · 29 July 1993 · reply to #5830

[email removed] writes:
> >From: [email removed]
>
>  >I read a book a long time ago (oh no I hear you say ... suffer!) where
>  >technology took a different path.  There was a simple law of physics that
>  >if seen would lead on to anti-grav and space flight but precluded all
>  >electrical type technology as we know it today.
>
> I think this one may have been by Poul Anderson.  As I recall, one of the
> side effects of taking the antigrav path is that you never get the really
> neato weapons, flight tech, etc.
>
> I think the story starts with a group of conquistador type ETs landing their
> spaceship on a current tech Earth, and opening up on the natives with their
> super high tech weapons (muskets).  Things progress as might be expected
> from this point.

The stories you are discussing are "Herbig-Haro" and "The Road Not Taken",
both by Harry Turtledove.  I think both of them are in his short story
collections someplace, but he's a prolific short story writer, and his
stuff is everywhere.  "Herbig-HAro" was one of the first stories he published
in Analog, and takes place sometime after the humans built an empire using the
easy drive technology left to them by the aliens and their own surperior
weapons.  This empire, like all human foundations, eventually collapsed, and
the story is about the first contact with another race which also has gone
the road to electricity and so forth.

"THe Road Not Taken" expands on a small sequence from "Herbig-Haro", in which
the arrival of the 17th century style aliens on Earth is shown.

Rob Dean
(Occasional SF trivia consultant)

#5830 Re: Tech Advances & others

Dana Carson · 29 July 1993 · reply to #5824

   The story about low-tech FTL is _The Road Less Travelled_ by
   Turtledove.  There is also a sequal whost title I can't remember.  I
have thought about setting a campaign in that universe, it would have
some interesting happenings.  If you used the low tech setting.  The
part that comes just after the story with Earth taking over a large part
of the galaxy would be boring.  Automatic weapons and nukes against
muskets and blackpowder bombs dropped from spaceship hatches is not an
interesting contest.

- --
Dana Carson
Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group  Mail Stop 1615
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