At first, I figured that I would just sit quietly and watch the
debate on the proposed new Traveller revision rage back and forth.
There didn't seem to be any reason for me to add to it, since I figured
that everything I might want to say would be said by someone else.
Mostly, this is what happened, due in large part to Metlay's comments.
No surprise, since I agree with most of what Metlay says.
However, there's at least one point that I haven't seen anyone
raise, and a comment that I want to make (maybe two).
As everyone knows, there has been a great deal of controversy over
the upcoming new version of Traveller. Like a great many net debates
I've seen (in nearly ten years), there has been a great deal of heat
generated. Unlike many, there has been a fair amount of light, too.
(On a tangent, I'm sure that GDW and DGP are happy to see that so many
people care so much about the game.)
I have a question, though: Do people realize that you don't have
to play by the new rules? I bought MegaTraveller when it came out, and
have kept up with it (I'm something of a collector; I have a copy of
almost everything published for (Mega)Traveller). I like MegaTraveller
quite a bit, and *really* enjoy the fine products from DGP, but I've
never played using those rules. I still use Classic Traveller. I can
use the MegaTraveller publications as a rich supply of source material,
so I've never seen the need to update. My players don't seem to mind,
either (I mostly GM). Whether or not I particularly like the new
edition, I can probably use it, with suitable adaptation. Unless, of
course, it departs too far from what has gone before.
A few years ago, I bought a copy of Twilight: 2000 (the first
edition), since I had some friends who wanted to play it. I was, ah,
unimpressed with it. Sufficiently underwhelmed that I didn't bother
to get the second edition. Dark Conspiracy sounds interesting, but I
haven't purchased a copy yet (no excuse for not reading it--my roommate
has a copy). Personally, I don't like the idea that Traveller is going
to be shoehorned into the Twilight system, but I can probably tolerate
it. However...
I have to echo several other people--*definitely* keep the current
task system (though you might want to include a more detailed
explanation with more examples). Admittedly, I don't have second
edition Twilight: 2000, but what I remember from the first edition
doesn't encourage me.
If Rob and/or Carl would be kind enough to transfer this to GEnie,
I'd be much obliged. For that matter, how does one get an account on
GEnie? I have an information packet from GEnie, but the 800 number in
it (1-[phone removed]) only gets a recording saying that the call can't
be completed as dialed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- --
Brent Woods
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