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To: UNIXML::"[email removed]"
Subject: Weapon Designs in Traveller
Much as I dispise the authors of TNE for throwing away the
whole potential of CT/MT and restricting the game to a
not-very-interesting universe there is one bit they managed
to get just right. From the back of FF&S:
"Other games give you lists of weapons, we give you
the factory".
This is *exactly* what Traveller used to be about, but
not just for weapons, but the universe too. Now that the TNE
bitch is out of the way this opens up some interesting ideas
I have had...
I think the FF&S weapons & ammo design is a pretty cool
idea. It would be cute and easy enought to do to have the
simple ammo/pistol/rifle rules in a small application for
design. The problem is that as they exist they are useless
to me since I spit upon TNE combat.
However, the only really TNE specific bit is where they
translate the physical stats of the gun (muzzle velocity,
etc) into those stange numbers. If you just replaced this table
with one showing good old penetration, attenuation and damage
you would have nifty firearm design rules for MT. By a similar
mechanism you would have the same for CT.
Taking this idea to the logical extreme I thought that once
I had an application I could just get an expert at any particular
system to translate the physical outputs into the game mechanics
of *whatever* particular system. GURPS, Paranoia, etc, etc.
We don't need the application to start with. Just the tables.
Whose first? I'll happily coordinate the results.
Jo
BTW: my return address is [email removed]. It isn't that
I'm still in Japan it is just they changed the gateway in Boston
and it don't get the headers right anymore.