How does 2300AD improve on Traveller:2300?

>Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 12:34:00
>From: [email removed] (Pedro A.C. Tavares)
>Subject: (3987) players of 2300AD; rules
>
>Is anybody out there playing 2300ad?  I just have the basic rules and would
>like to discuss some extra rules I came up with and to hear about other
>solutions...

Funny you should mention 2300... it's been sort of the thing I've been
fiddling with the most lately.  After finals are over, I should have time
to send in my collection of 2300 ship designs (and sc template), as well
as the "2301 Star Cruiser" supplement I've been working on.  Basically,
it consists of the following changes to 2300 Star Cruiser:

  1. The optional damage multiplier rule from _Invasion_ is *not*
     optional.  Actually, we've been playing it that way all along;
     I was surprised to see it presented as an optional rule.  I
     thought that they had just made an error in the original rules,
     since the Martel is supposed to have an armor factor of 10....

  2. The speed of light is enforced.  It takes 2 seconds for a signal to
     travel one hex, and another 2 seconds per hex for a reply.  Distant
     ships appear to be in the hexes they occupied at times in the past,
     this is enforced by a referee or with plotting.  Negative modifiers
     apply to "to hit" chances based on how old the information used in
     firing is.  The negative modifiers are reduced somewhat by remote
     operator skill, which now works somewhat differently.

  3. Optics, scanners, and fire control systems may be used as contigency
     search sensors.  They have an active or passive sensor value of 0,
     always require a roll to detect, may only attempt to detect targets
     already detected by some other friendly unit, and may only detect
     or maintain detection on one target each.  This was added to prevent
     remote objects with no sensors (i.e. the Ritage-2) from becoming
     worthless due to the speed of light rule.

  4. Remote objects may be programmed (by writing a plot), and can follow
     simple programs without tying up a communicator channel.  Remote
     objects with sensors may be programmed to do things relative to
     sensor contacts that they are maintaining (i.e. "close with target
     1").  Attacks made without a human operator suffer the usual penalty.
     When a remote object runs off the end of its plot, it goes to all stop.

  5. Computer hits on human ships are localized.  When a computer critical
     is rolled, roll on the damage table again, treating hull as critical,
     damage control as surface fixture, and continuing as power plant.  The
     resulting system becomes inoperable until the hit is repaired; if the
     second roll is computer, it acts like an old computer hit.  Kafer ships
     have centralized data processing facilities, and use the old rule.

  6. Speed is a function of local gravitation.  A formula is given for
     "tunnel length" as a function of the local gravitational field;
     The tunnel length factor varies from 1 in the maximum gravity in
     which stutterwarp operation is possible to (365*30) in interstellar
     space; it's generally about 2 or so in the life zones of main
     sequence stars.  Negative modifiers apply when shooting at ships
     moving at very high speeds.

  7. Long range detection is defined.  Rules are presented for determining
     when a ship is aware that *something* is out there, and maximum ranges
     are given for detecting ships that illuminate their active sensors.

  8. Rules for nuclear weapons are presented.  They are only useful against
     ships in orbit or at "all stop", or ships with low warp efficiencies
     in gravitational fields with low tunneling lengths.

>Also... could someone explain me what the TL's stand for. In particuraly
>what's Megatraveller TL and 2300ad TL (begining of star exploration, Stutter
>drive)

MT and 2300 are not the same universe.  This used to be somewhat more
confusing when the game was marketed as Traveller:2300....

>(are gravitics range sensitive????)

Yes, which is why there are thrusters.

Now, a question: I have the old Traveller:2300 rules.  What's different
(other than the fix to the way armor works presented in the Kafer modules)
about 2300AD?  Are there any substantive changes to the game, or did
they just clean up the *atrocious* way they organized the Traveller:2300
rulebooks?

- -- PTD --

[James: minor administrative note: I "live" at [email removed] now.
The "[email removed]" account that the list is presently going to
..forwards it here, and will be going away May 10.  Would you mind
changing my address?  Thanks....]

- --
                      ______    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a
Palmer T. Davis       \ \/ /     dead lion.  But it is better still to be a
[email removed]        \/\/      live lion.  And usually easier."  -- RAH