If Gygax's new game is so great, why not release TNG as a DD supplement?
That way, the entire effort could be on background/etc., rather than on more
rules to wonder at.
Anyone ever consider what kind of effort it would take to make traveller 3D?
I know that 2D is so damn much simpler, but space isn't supposed to be simple.
What's the excitement of it's just a bunch of small islands on a real big
sea?
On the same topic, one thing that always bothered me was that population was
random, no matter how bad the conditions on the planet. 99 billion on a
size A with atmosphere F is kind of hard to believe (much less that many on
size 1, no water, no air)! Why not have modifiers to the population roll based
on the other rolls? Say, something like this:
UCP Size Atmos Water
- ------------------------------
0 -2 -3 -2
1 -1 -2 -1
2 -1 -2 -1
3 0 -1 0
4 0 -1 0
5 0 0 0
6 0 +1 0
7 0 -1 0
8 0 0 0
9 0 -1 -1
A +1 -2 -2
B+ -3
This way, you wouldn't have all those poor planets with billions next to
the perfect one that the GM can name every person on.
Also, TL 9-B should reduce the effects of tainted atmosphere to tolerable
(say, carginogenic, or perhaps a simple lung-wash is needed every month),
C-D should make it nothing but a faint odor, and E+ should eliminate tainting
altogether. Remove the requirement for atmospheric type (make it 0-9) for
industrial worlds.
Anyone want to reinterpret the TLs to make it more sane? I don't mean changing
any number, but making Earth 1992, say, 4, and making higher numbers just
more specific high-technology. Ship design is going to be re-done anyway,
and all the high-tech weapons are silly to begin with.
One last thing. Why wouldn't the laser be the premiere weapon in `Hard Times',
that pinnacle of hard science? You don't need to re-learn how to make
smokeless powder, no bullets to make or store or run out of, and no recoil.
Maybe an Ancient could explain that 200+ shots really aren't necessay, and
build a weapon with a Pen of ~15, 40 shots, and a 1-2 kg internal battery.
I know Traveller has this enormous fear of power (look at fission plants, etc.)
but this just seems (to me) just too logical. Get a rechargeable clip, and
when you run out of ammo, just plug 'er in the fusion plant. No other
energy-transfer technology needed (and lasers are what? TL 8? 7?!?).
-H