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Topic 29 Mon Nov 18, 1991
DIGEST.GROUP [Staff] at 00:43 EST
Sub: The WISH List
You know that the new Traveller is coming soon to a game store near you - but
is you had your way, what would you want to see in it?
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Category 11, Topic 29
Message 22 Wed Nov 20, 1991
S.OLSON4 at 23:06 EST
OK, OK, I'm back after prolonged silence do to computer system troubles
(my hard drive went out on me). Sheesh, I vanish, and they started trying to
change the Universe on me.
Wish List:
1: Either keep the stats/skills the same, or provide conversions so
players/refs can convert old and favoured characters to the new system.
Personnally, I don't see any particular need to change the stats and skills
(except adding more of the latter, maybe).
2: The cries for increasing character generation flexibility have some merit,
although once you're into a career there are often limitations on what things
you will have a chance to learn. The way you could choose which table you
rolled on, but not the exact skill, simulated this rather well, I feel.
However, perhaps 1 skill per term could be chosen by the player directly.
3: Convert the current MT personal combat system to Striker, but with the
damage and damage system as they are (perhaps modified a little to conform to
T2K, but not too much. Ranges in T2K v1 were WAY too low for most weapons).
The range bands have GOT to go!!! (They result in the vast disparity between
the ACR, with a range of 500m, and the gauss rifle, with a range of 5km).
4: Throw out the artificial-seeming restrictions like the 6G limit for
spacecraft, the Agility-6 limitation, no thrusters on craft smaller than 20
tons (although you can use them on vacc suits....), etc. The power
requirements will keep the agility and manuever in line, anyway.
5: Make Agility related to manuever again. This separation makes no sense
(as I explained to Joe at length a few years ago).
6: I'd like to see (or maybe write, if necessary) a set of design rules like
Striker, that would allow the production of everything from bicycles to tanks
to starfreighters to dreadnoughts. Weapons design (missiles, lasers, PAWs,
meson guns, mass drivers, cannon, rockets, etc) should also be included, up to
and including weapons for starships. Example, if I want to mount 1500 Mw
lasers on my destroyer, I should be able to, and the system should handle it.
Small arms would be nice, but not really needed as long as enough types are
included, and possible variants noted (example, 6.75mm ACR's, instead of the
standard 7mm).
These rules can wait a little while, but any items included in the initial
book MUST be compatible with them, and they must also be reasonable designs. A
problem with the designs in MT has always been that they were conversions
(except the Gazelles) from Book-2 designs and they did not convert well.
These would probably be closely based on the current MT system, which is
actually very good, but it needs some additions (like armor facings), and some
corrections.
7: The task system should be retained, in some form, anyway. Another system
to look at for a well-done task system is Albedo. That has a sliding
difficulty scale, with simple tasks at 5 and nearly impossible ones at 25, and
several standard levels in between (refs can also make up their own, as
required). You add your roll of 2d6 to any applicable skill or stat, and if
you beat the number needed, you made it.
2D6 is preferable in many ways to a 1D10 roll, but mostly because it
generates a bell-curve, rather than straight-line probabilities. On a 1D10, a
1 is just as likely as a 10, but on a 2D6 roll, a 5 is much more likely than a
12.
8: I'll disagree (what's new here, right Dave?) with Dave Cheever on his
request for a 3-D combat system. As long as we're not dealing with fleets, 2D
works just fine as the ships involved define the plane and you fight on it. If
a supplement comes out governing fleet ops, then 3D operation may become
important and can be inserted there, but we don't need it in the initial
release.
9: Combat interfaces between personal/ground combat and starship combat. If
I want to shoot at a starship with my grav tank, what happens? This isn't
covered in MT, or in Traveller, and isn't well covered even in Striker. The
capability to handle it _is_ in MT, though, with all those damage points that
we calculate and never use....
I had hoped Star Viking would give us this, but maybe not.
Yeah, I know, my designer/wargamer habits are showing again, but this is a
wish list, right?
Scott
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Category 11, Topic 29
Message 23 Thu Nov 21, 1991
GDW.SUPPORT [Loren W.] at 00:02 EST
Carl: I'll try for an abstract of our plans this weekend or early next week.
We are not renaming Traveller Star Viking. Star Viking will be a separate
game, using miniatures as playing pieces, set in the post-rebellion world
(about 80 years +). The new Traveller will be called Traveller (or some
variant thereof. We are considering several physical formats, etc.
As for the RTC where we explain all this, evenings are best for us too.
Weeknights? Weekend? ANy particular time best?
Loren Wiseman
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Category 11, Topic 29
Message 24 Thu Nov 21, 1991
DIGEST.GROUP [Staff] at 02:02 EST
Loren,
~~~If you schedule it, they will come~~~
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- Jay
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