Re- Bill White's comments on The Virus
A round of applause from this corner, I think you put your finger on
another reason the virus felt wrong. I also liked the Rebellion (but then
again, plenty of old Traveller players didn't, and said they would never
use the new background and rules- history tends to repeat itself :) )
and stopping it dead (and a half) with the virus was a bit of a anti-
climax, especially since the virus only came along *because the Rebellion
failed to sell* - rather like those big disasters that come along in soap
operas when the viewers start disapearing (Traveller 90210?)
Anyway, here is a question for all those sad people who remember MT and
maybe joined HIWG when it's brief was to detail the course of the Rebellion.
The question is- What would have been the course of the Rebellion if the
virus had never been created? (discuss)
This is not something that was ever decided (to my knowledge)- for example
the original post-rebellion map indicated the destruction of Margarets(sp)
faction, but their HIWG supporters persuaded GDW that they were in too
good a position for this to occur. Another reason for the virus?- with no
plan for the Rebellion it was just getting too big to handle.
So do people think that- 1) does Lucan roll over the Third Imperium
2) do the Solomani land on Capital?
3) do the K'Kree take over the Universe?arrghh
....any suggestions?
--------------------------------
Oh, and just to prove I'm not an old stick-in-the-mud, yes I have got FF&S,
and it looks quite good. (not Traveller though- Fusion Gun Ammo?)
Just a few notes for people making the consumer choice- HEPlaR or Thruster?
1. take a 1 ton vehicle, with a HEPlaR drive and 1MW power source (note that
FFS says that Fusion ISN'T needed- we'll use TL15 Ever-Ready.)
2 Run the drive for one second
3. The power plant has produced 1 MJ of energy. The vehicle, however, is
now moving at 200 m/s, and has energy of about 20 MJ. And then they dare
to explain why Thruster Plates are against the laws of physics.
ie. Thruster plates require no more suspension of disbelief than HEPlaR
(OK- this only proves that HEPlaR is a Fusion drive, but I find both
means of propulsion equally improbable)
And if you DO use thruster plates, remember that HEPlaR is 10 TIMES more
efficient per ton of drive, at 2/1000th the cost, with power being cheaper
than thrusters at high TL, it is actually more weight and price efficient
to use HEPlaR for short (a day or two) duration vehicles.
I might use HEPlaR after all...
One minor quibble (pedantic, moi?)- on page 64 it says that Fusion has only
been achieved in H-Bombs... not exactly right. That whole Fusion section
was useless- it didn't help illustrate how *Traveller* fusion reactors
might work.(Not that anyone knows)
And finally- I like the TNE jump fuel rules; the only part of Classic Trav
I could never accept was that ships automatically emptied their fuel tanks
every jump. The new rules also make large jump drives more efficient,
an interesting change.
Off to see the Magistrate...
Anthony K.
(someone has been telling lies about
[email removed] me)
.sig? We dont need no steenkeeng .sig