Mongoose 2300AD: MgT2300AD comments

[McPerth]

Having (at last) found and bought MgT 2300AD (soft cover, 2^nd edition, as the shopkeeper told me), I'm now begining to read it and I find several details I'd like to have also other's oppinions. Some may be errata, others are divergences with the clasic setting (I guess to adapt to MgT rules, though some might be involuntary or not realized).

As I cannot see any thread for such kind of comments, here go my first comment (in this case I guess errata):

In the UCP, France has a pop digit of 5 (hundreds of thousends of inhabitants), while its largest cities have 15 and 22 million inhabiants

Likewise, Germany has a pop digit of 4 (tenths of thousends) while its large city has 23 million.

In the case of Inca Republic, pop digit is 6 (millions), while its main city alone has 14 million.

Arabia's, Argentina's, Azania's and Brazil's UCPs lack one digit, further complicating it.

 

[SpaceBadger]

Hey, McPerth. I checked my CD-ROM copies of the older 2300AD books, and neither of them had this level of detail on national populations.

It seems like obvious errata, but I have no idea what the correct number should be.

Colin Dunn often participates on the 2300AD group on Facebook, so you might ask him there. If you are not on FB and don't wish to be, let me know and I will ask him for you.

 

[McPerth]

Hey, McPerth. I checked my CD-ROM copies of the older 2300AD books, and neither of them had this level of detail on national populations.

No, in clasic T2300/2300AD there was nothing like UWP or UCP. Colonies were described in full in Colonial Atlas, but nothing like those numerical data were in hte game, nor was there numerical TL.

It seems like obvious errata, but I have no idea what the correct number should be.

I agree with you. While being from MT, in WBH, unless most population in a planet is in the same city (unlikely at best in this case), the máximum pop for a city was Pop-1, so, in all quoted cases, pop will probably be 8, but this is just a guess.

In the cases were a digit is missing, things are a little more complicated...

Colin Dunn often participates on the 2300AD group on Facebook, so you might ask him there. If you are not on FB and don't wish to be, let me know and I will ask him for you.

In fact, as he is also member of this board, I hope he will be so kind (and have time enough) to join in this discussion and clarify some aspects, as I plan to post more questions as they arise.

For what I've read to now, I like the book, but, aside from some obvious errata, there are some facts that are incompatible with clasic T2300/2300AD.

I guess some will be needed to adapt the game to MgT, others correcting flawls of the clasic setting/rules, others might be just typos or errata, and others may be omission. Likewise, some are inconsequential, while others aler significatively the setting.

 

[pennshome723]

If that doesn't work, as the GM just make up your own pop sizes as you feel they need to be for your game!

 

[McPerth]

If that doesn't work, as the GM just make up your own pop sizes as you feel they need to be for your game!

Of course that's a solution in all case, either for errata or for rules one thinks that are errata or that one doesn't like or find logical. After all, as referee, it's Y2300U, but I'd like to know what is the intent behind the rules and offcial setting.

EDIT: and, of course, other's oppinions and comments will also be wellcome.

 

[pennshome723]

Wasn't there a Atlas of the 2300 worlds? wouldn't that data be there? I am at work and all that stuff is at home, or I would look for you!

 

[McPerth]

Wasn't there a Atlas of the 2300 worlds? wouldn't that data be there? I am at work and all that stuff is at home, or I would look for you!

I own Colonial Atlas, TY anyway, but nothing about Earth nations demographics is on it, just about the colonies. If there's any clasic 2300AD book where those data was available, I don't know about it.

 

[pennshome723]

I own it all myself and will have a look for you tonight. Now wasn't there a article in either the Dragon or Challenge Mags about this?

 

[McPerth]

There were some Challenge articles about specific countries or continents (ITTR having read one about north America, and maybe others), but not all were covered (I don't remember having read any one about any of the countries affected).

I don't know about Dragon, as I don't have any.

Of course, any information about that will be wellcome.

 

[pennshome723]

I have to think back if there were any in Traveller Digest as well, I will see what I can find.

 

[SpaceBadger]

In fact, as he is also member of this board, I hope he will be so kind (and have time enough) to join in this discussion and clarify some aspects, as I plan to post more questions as they arise.

Yes, I know that Colin is a member here, but it is my understanding he rarely visits or reads these forums anymore, whereas he is on the Facebook 2300AD group almost daily. If it was me wanting to ask him a question, that is where I'd go; YMMV.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

In the UCP, France has a pop digit of 5 (hundreds of thousends of inhabitants), while its largest cities have 15 and 22 million inhabiants

Likewise, Germany has a pop digit of 4 (tenths of thousends) while its large city has 23 million.

In the case of Inca Republic, pop digit is 6 (millions), while its main city alone has 14 million.

Arabia's, Argentina's, Azania's and Brazil's UCPs lack one digit, further complicating it.

According to the Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook, the population of France is 106,902,000, Germany 105,238,000, and the Inca Republic 127,957,000.

Argentina 67,073,000
Brazil 373,000,000
Arabia 16,206,000
Azania (and its Satellites) 266,377,000

2320 lists France as 109 million, Germany 106 million, Arabia 18 million, Argentina 74 million, Azania 126 million,
Brazil 393 million, and the Inca Republic 144 million.

whereas he is on the Facebook 2300AD group almost daily

Some of us refuse to use FB.

 

[SpaceBadger]

Another possible error that I just noticed is on p.19, the table for Nation Area.

0 - City State
1 - 1-10 km²

Umm, any "City State" less than 1 km² is a pretty dang tiny city state! Is even Vatican City that small?

I guess they just wanted something to put in the 0 slot?

 

[SpaceBadger]

Some of us refuse to use FB.

And that is why I asked McPerth if he wanted me to post the question there for him.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

And that is why I asked McPerth if he wanted me to post the question there for him.

I saw that after I opened my big mouth.

 

[McPerth]

According to the Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook, the population of France is 106,902,000, Germany 105,238,000, and the Inca Republic 127,957,000.

Argentina 67,073,000
Brazil 373,000,000
Arabia 16,206,000
Azania (and its Satellites) 266,377,000

2320 lists France as 109 million, Germany 106 million, Arabia 18 million, Argentina 74 million, Azania 126 million,
Brazil 393 million, and the Inca Republic 144 million.

TY, that clears most of this errata.

So we can asume both France and Germany have pop digit 8 and multiplier 1 (in the case of Germany, the pop multiplier listed is 5...).

Argentina UCP would need a 7 added to the UCP in the pop position. Having a 7 pop multiolier makes this quite coherent (but see then that more than half its population is divided among the 3 major cities cited...)

Brazil could have also a 8 added in the pop position (unless what in fact it lacks is one of the infrastructure digits, as its 3^rd digit after interface is 8). In this case we asume its communications infrastructure is 8, and I also find that coherent.

Arabia should have a 7 added as population digit (assuming its communication infrastructure one is also 7, as in Brazil's case).

Azania shold have a pop digit of 8 (pop multiple is 1). As in Brazil case, this assumes its communications infrastructure is also 8.

Some of us refuse to use FB.

True, and that's my case.

 

[McPerth]

Another probable errata

Sttuterwarp drive table (pages 199-200):

The tonnage and Price for Old Commercial drives are lower than othres, while the New Military ones are the ones with higer tonnage and price. While in the case of price this is logical, I'm afraid the tonages should be reversed, NM being the one that needs lower tonage and OC the one needing higer.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

True, and that's my case.

There might be an errata thread on one of the Mongoose fora.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

Sttuterwarp drive table (pages 199-200):

The tonnage and Price for Old Commercial drives are lower tan otheres, while the New Military ones are the ones with higer tonnage and price. While in the case of price this is logical, I'm afraid the tonages should be reversed, NM being the one that needs lower tonage and OC the one needing higer.

That's the way it was in Star Cruiser as well.

 

[SpaceBadger]

OK, but if you non-FaceBookers want to ask Colin Dunn something where he will actually see it and answer, just let me know and I'll post it to the FB 2300AD group. I don't see that he has posted anything on CotI since January of this year.