What are the books about, and worth having?

[Granpafishy]

Originally posted by hirch duckfinder:
Actually , i totally disagree . i REALLY like Milieu 0 . though i play in the classic 1100-1115 timeframe its good to know what happened back then . to me , it conveys the feel and events of the new imperium very well . i like the stuff about what scouts do , and most of the rest of it really . its quite well written , too . unlike the UTTER UTTER RUBBISH that is aliens archive . don't think anyone has mentioned this monstrosity . i collect rpg boks and THIS IS THE WORST .

The only thing I really disliked about alien archive is that it didn't have any thing about certain races (Aslan, Varger, Hiver, Kree, ...), you know, the standard races of Traveller. There were brief mention of them in the main book, but other than that nothing. When T4 is your first version, it can be disconcerting to hear other people talk about these races, and not know any thing about them.

 

[Granpafishy]

Originally posted by hirch duckfinder:
Actually , i totally disagree . i REALLY like Milieu 0 . though i play in the classic 1100-1115 timeframe its good to know what happened back then . to me , it conveys the feel and events of the new imperium very well . i like the stuff about what scouts do , and most of the rest of it really . its quite well written , too . unlike the UTTER UTTER RUBBISH that is aliens archive . don't think anyone has mentioned this monstrosity . i collect rpg boks and THIS IS THE WORST .

The only thing I really disliked about alien archive is that it didn't have any thing about certain races (Aslan, Varger, Hiver, Kree, ...), you know, the standard races of Traveller. There were brief mention of them in the main book, but other than that nothing. When T4 is your first version, it can be disconcerting to hear other people talk about these races, and not know any thing about them.

 

[hirch duckfinder]

[/qb][/QUOTE]The only thing I really disliked about alien archive is that it didn't have any thing about certain races (Aslan, Varger, Hiver, Kree, ...), you know, the standard races of Traveller. There were brief mention of them in the main book, but other than that nothing. When T4 is your first version, it can be disconcerting to hear other people talk about these races, and not know any thing about them. [/QB][/QUOTE]


--- i just found this book to be very obviously rushed together . the aliens seemed shallow compared to the usual trav aliens you mention , and quite unconvincing to me . they seemed like they were born from the need to invent ten aliens to fill a book , rather than out of someone having a good idea for an alien to add to the canon like the classic era aliens , most of which are central to the trav. background . if you still want to catch up on the classics you could try the jtas reprints . i only have the alien module for the vargr which is pretty good , i can't vouch for the other ones . all the best and DONT trust the zhos , no matter what anyone says .

 

[hirch duckfinder]

[/qb][/QUOTE]The only thing I really disliked about alien archive is that it didn't have any thing about certain races (Aslan, Varger, Hiver, Kree, ...), you know, the standard races of Traveller. There were brief mention of them in the main book, but other than that nothing. When T4 is your first version, it can be disconcerting to hear other people talk about these races, and not know any thing about them. [/QB][/QUOTE]


--- i just found this book to be very obviously rushed together . the aliens seemed shallow compared to the usual trav aliens you mention , and quite unconvincing to me . they seemed like they were born from the need to invent ten aliens to fill a book , rather than out of someone having a good idea for an alien to add to the canon like the classic era aliens , most of which are central to the trav. background . if you still want to catch up on the classics you could try the jtas reprints . i only have the alien module for the vargr which is pretty good , i can't vouch for the other ones . all the best and DONT trust the zhos , no matter what anyone says .

 

[mtgeiger]

T4 has a unique perspective in Traveller Adventuring. It take's place at the very birth of the Third Imperium and have several first contact opportunities for the newly formed Imperial Navy. I found it pretty refreshing when involving the Chirpers', a minor alien race that is a sub-class of the Droyne. The website http://maps.travellercentral.com/ has maps of the T4 genre as well as other milieus of the Traveller Universe.

 

[mtgeiger]

T4 has a unique perspective in Traveller Adventuring. It take's place at the very birth of the Third Imperium and have several first contact opportunities for the newly formed Imperial Navy. I found it pretty refreshing when involving the Chirpers', a minor alien race that is a sub-class of the Droyne. The website http://maps.travellercentral.com/ has maps of the T4 genre as well as other milieus of the Traveller Universe.

 

[kafka47]

Actually, I found the reverse of most of the posters above. All of the minor races are fully flushed out in T4. It has the Vargr being long time residents of the Core! The K'kree running vegetarian resturants, a little further out. And the Aslan pressing the borders just waiting for the Peace of Fthair.

So I would have liked a more mysterious background in which the worlds around in Capital.

 

[kafka47]

Actually, I found the reverse of most of the posters above. All of the minor races are fully flushed out in T4. It has the Vargr being long time residents of the Core! The K'kree running vegetarian resturants, a little further out. And the Aslan pressing the borders just waiting for the Peace of Fthair.

So I would have liked a more mysterious background in which the worlds around in Capital.

 

[snrdg082102]

Hello T. Foster,

I've just taken a look at T4's Naval Architect's Manual (NAM) and I have to disagree that the book is totally worthless. For those who are not very handy at drawing floor/deck plans or have access to a decent CAD program, photocopying these for use in a gaming session is an alternative. Another benefit is that the NAM can provide ideas for deck plan design. Or the book can be a good/bad example of how to do a deck plan drawing.

Originally posted by T. Foster:
CSC gets a bad rap because of 1) its bland and uninspired layout/design -- from the title I was expecting something like the Cyberpunk Chrome Books (lots of in-milieu flavor text, lots of nice illustrations), not just a really big equipment list, 2) the Vehicle Design system in the back, which, while probably perfectly fine on its own, is utterly incompatible with every Traveller craft design system both before and since. That said, if you can forgive 1 and ignore 2, it's probably worth the $8 or so it'll probably cost on ebay (as opposed to the totally worthless T4 books: Starships, First Survey, Anomalies, Emperor's Vehicles, Naval Architect's Manual, Missions of State, and The Annililik Run).

 

[snrdg082102]

Hello T. Foster,

I've just taken a look at T4's Naval Architect's Manual (NAM) and I have to disagree that the book is totally worthless. For those who are not very handy at drawing floor/deck plans or have access to a decent CAD program, photocopying these for use in a gaming session is an alternative. Another benefit is that the NAM can provide ideas for deck plan design. Or the book can be a good/bad example of how to do a deck plan drawing.

Originally posted by T. Foster:
CSC gets a bad rap because of 1) its bland and uninspired layout/design -- from the title I was expecting something like the Cyberpunk Chrome Books (lots of in-milieu flavor text, lots of nice illustrations), not just a really big equipment list, 2) the Vehicle Design system in the back, which, while probably perfectly fine on its own, is utterly incompatible with every Traveller craft design system both before and since. That said, if you can forgive 1 and ignore 2, it's probably worth the $8 or so it'll probably cost on ebay (as opposed to the totally worthless T4 books: Starships, First Survey, Anomalies, Emperor's Vehicles, Naval Architect's Manual, Missions of State, and The Annililik Run).