10 questions to ask Joe Fugate

[jfugatesr]

Kaladorn:

If I recall correctly, Ref's companion was GDW and our attempt to right some of the wrongs caused by the MegaTraveller rules edition rush.

Ref's Companion had a more lenient schedule, and a lot of it was done in-house by GDW. I also believe the switch to Macs had started by the time Ref's Companion was underway.

 

[kaladorn]

I think that'd be Cymew's question about RC, but no big deal

People have talked about <i>Shattered Ships of the Fighting Imperium</i> as having terrible errata. However, I think this sells short what I think is one of most erratic (having lots of errata?) works - COACC. I loved the idea, and I would *still* love to see what the corrected chargen would look like, so that it actually WORKED. *wink*

At any rate, the works that were done vastly excuse (to me) the errata. Yes, cleaned up versions would be lovely. But mostly I can live well with what I recieved. WBH, SOM, 101 Vehicles, and a number of other books... all great stuff.

I myself wish I had the art talent of whoever did all the equipment sheets and brought to life so much of Traveller for me... far better than whomever (personal opinion!) did the pictures of equipment for T4 (gag, hack, spit)....

 

[jfugatesr]

Kaladorn and Cymew ... sorry for the mixup! You both look so much alike! <wink and grin>

As to equipment sheets illustrations, many of them were done by Rob Caswell. And I agree with you -- Rob has a real eye for making hardware look *right*.

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by JoeFugate:
We bought first North American publication rights to the art. Ownership of the art stayed with the artist and he could resell his work if he wanted.

Can you tell me anything about the copyright to the map of Regina in WBH? I've done quite a bit of work on the early history of Regina (what group of colonists arrived when, where they settled, and how they subsequently interacted). It would be nice to know if I could add maps when (if) I ever submit any of it for publication, without having to create a completely new map.


Hans

 

[jfugatesr]

Copyright protects the expression of the idea but not the idea itself. In other words, as long as you don't copy the map exactly, you should be fine.

Use a different font, a different size (larger or smaller) of map form, different symbols for terrain, more details, etc.

But the basic idea of how Regina looks and what is where is the idea part and you should be free to reuse it in your own material. Just don't copy the map exactly.

Make sense?

 

[Cymew]

Originally posted by JoeFugate:
Kaladorn and Cymew ... sorry for the mixup! You both look so much alike! <wink and grin>

Well, I guess we do, and the light in here isn't that bright anyhow.

 

[kaladorn]

Here's another obscure one for Joe:

I read somewhere a quote from a DGP book I don't own that mentioned how the Solomani/Imperium border was quieting down, they'd sent some sort of fleet (17 big ships) off rimward, and all but 3 (including the biggest) had come back and one had went some ludicrous distance like 3000 parsecs and that the border with the Imps was quieting down as the Sollies focused their attention out onto the Rim.

Have any idea what the plan was here? We've heard from Mr. Nilsen about the EW and Primordials-at-the-Galactic-Core... was there some sort of plan for Rimward development? (As an inveterate Terran sympathizer (not Solomani Party though, more a Supplement 10 CT Terran flavour), I admit to being interested in anything that plays into the fate of the men and women of Earth

Thanks).

 

[Elliot]

I'd second Kaladorn's post - was an adventure planned to accompany Solomiani and Aslan? If so what was it going to be about? (Crikes - I can think of really cool deep mission stuff with those two...)

 

[mike wightman]

Those are the Solomani Rimward expeditions that have been mentioned.
There is a paragraph or two about them in the Solomani and Aslan book.
They began in 5588AD (~1050 Imp).

Would the story of the missing three ships have been part of any planned adventures...???

It's too good an adventure hook not to use somehow...

 

[alanb]

The Solomani/"Imperial" border is one of the key areas in the MT setting. The Sollies are very strong compared to the three Imperial factions present.

This becomes a real problem for all us wouldbe alternate history writers.

A good reason why the Solomani would have turned their attention elsewhere would be really handy.

Alan B

 

[kaladorn]

Thanks for the citation Sig. I'm waiting to win a copy of cats and rats on e-bay someday soon.

Yes, I am very curious about what may lie out beyond the Rim... since presumably the DGP folks didn't have the visibility into the Empress Wave and the Primordials-at-the-core resolution ahead of time, does this suggest mere synchronicity of having a far expidition with interesting results drawing off the attention of the polity that launched the exploration? (Zho -> Core, Solomani -> Rim)

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by alanb:
The Solomani/"Imperial" border is one of the key areas in the MT setting. The Sollies are very strong compared to the three Imperial factions present.

This becomes a real problem for all us wouldbe alternate history writers.

A good reason why the Solomani would have turned their attention elsewhere would be really handy.

Alan B

Well, the Solomani have their doves as well as their hawks. And, of course, it's not just either/or; there will be a whole spectrum of aggressiveness. Now, originally the Solomani Autonomous Sphere was precisely that, a sphere with a diameter of 50 parsecs centered on Terra (Well, part of the sphere overlapped the independent buffer zone between the Imperium and the Aslan Hierate in Magyar sector and even a bit of the Hierate itself, i.e. it was territory that wasn't the Imperium's to give away, but why quibble?).

I suggest that a lot of Solomani who were willing to support the reconquest of the original sphere would be unwilling to support further expansion. So beyond the 50 parsec line, the Solomani would be a lot weaker.


Hans

 

[jfugatesr]

I don't recall any plans to do anything with the Solomani rimward explorations. But we liked to throw fun things into our products to suggest adventures.

Our focus was mainly on the Imperium and it's interior, and of course, spinward where GDW started. As I've mentioned, the bulk of background was getting pretty extensive, and anything that added significantly to the background would have only increased the burden.

But if one of our tidbits fascinates anyone, then great! Take it and run with it.

 

[TheDS]

Rancke, while you're probably right, that the Sollies wouldn't want to expand their borders further - and indeed, the conquered might very much not want to be conquered - I doubt that would stop the military from wanting to at least establish buffer states. Stalin spared no effort to protect the SU from further European conflicts by creating a bunch of states that hadn't existed for some time and giving them communist-style governments.

True, many of these peoples probably wanted a country of their own, but the Imperium was also an empire which conquered smaller states, and it should be possible to find cultures that still long for the old days when they were independent, and would like to be again.

 

[Elliot]

If you read Solomani and Aslan and the TNS of the era closly enough, I think you can also detect that the Solomani Imperium was tearing itself apart (if you want chapter and verse I can provide it

).

As to deep space missions to the Rim, the Solomani Confederation in its MT guise (i.e. Solomani and Aslan) is so dispersed that you can see someone taking that stick up...

 

[aramis]

I'd read it as "Barely is holding itself together, with the war and all," myself. But, yes, it was definitely not a happy-stable place.

 

[daibaka]

Is that a reference to the Joshua Dahvin stuff and the Pan-Sophontists or something? You'll have to excuse me, I don't have my MT stuff to hand but I remember a gradually brewing political struggle growing in the Confedation around the time that Hard Times/TNE was first mentioned. I was quite looking forward to seeing what would happen to the Solomani as a result. Is there anything in Survival Margin that goes in to further detail?

Hmmm, I suppose in return for veering so far OT I'll have to come up with a question for Joe now. Watch this space while I read up on the thread (and I wanted to be up early for work tomorrow...<sigh>)

 

[Elliot]

Yes it is! It first appeared in S&A and then found its way into Challenge TAS bulletins. I always thought it was a great plot line.

Its my explanation for the emergence of the Terran Commonwealth in TNE - until something official comes out I cant be proved wrong imtu!!!

 

[kaladorn]

Another question for Joe:
In Cats and Rats (Solomani and Aslan, and your name of course appears in some part of the credits), they detail the Terra system post 3I control. They mention that the Imperium had slapped some sort of quarantine or interdict on Pluto. They mention the Solomani have continued it. No one ever says why. What is up with Pluto? Or was this just a plot hook that GMs could develop on their own?
Thanks!

 

[RandyT0001]

I thought that there was an Ancient's site on Pluto hence the interdiction. I think I read that somewhere, maybe in Rim of Fire.