Originally posted by Daemonhunter:
IYTU, how do you handle current day conveniences which are uncommonly seen in most sci-fi I've read or seen in the future? Stuff like:
- cell phones (how far does the server work, just the planet, the system? can you make calls to and from a cell phone in space?)
- the Internet (can you access a site from the Solomani Rim from a computer in the Spinward Marches? how long does it download a song or a video? how dangerous are hackers?)
- music (discs or downloadable files? discmans or MP3 players? is there an Imperial agency that oversees the "decency" in music and its artists?)
- games (how are games played and how real are they? are they like Star Trek's holodecks? are violent games disallowed, as not to provoke crime or rebellion?)
- computers (are Personal Computers cheap or expensive? how portable are computers? does the Imperium censor or monitor personal computers?)
Prolly, not very important or critical to most campaigns as ships and guns are, but they do add a sense of realism in the future universe.
Everyone has a communicator of some sort and everyone walks around in a daze like zombies in the "Night of the Living Dead" blindly talking on the things. Mothers Against Grav Cars Carnage MAGCC have a campaign going to ban the use of such things by every sophont with an ear.
Games are much more in depth and complex. They are not quite holodeck quality. They are more like the Virtual Reality of the "Snow Crash" multi-verse of Neal Stephenson. Virtual combat training for pistol adn small arm use is common.
Games are kind of more in the virtual reality realm than in any kind of holographic thing for that total immersion feel. Virtual ⌧ is a messy but highly profitable industry for the loner spacer who does not want to risk having put together the words "flesh-eating" and "genitals" in a single sentence describing themselves.
Music is held on data crystals and the widespread piracy is not so rampant considering the fact most 'nets are bound by the limits of system-wide or planet-wide nets because nothing moves faster than a jump ship. Decency laws range widely from system to system to equal out to truly local standards of decency. Limited "AI" or virtual stars are very common. They are not usually true holographic AI but they can simulate enough interaction to please most tween children of various systems. It does not take much for the younger crowd.
Here is my speil on computers in the Trav universe from Tech notes --
On the cyberspace front since there is no FTL communication all nets are system-wide updated for information by x-boat transmission. These are 3-D virtual spaces. There are two methods of travelling the web.
Dataware (cybernetic jacks) are unneeded because of comm dot-like nueral links (TL-12) that the person would put on each side of the temple of their head. If they wanted to go wired in the local system 'net as a 3-D avatar, the links would take over sensory perception to the brain and it would be as good as hard dataware jack.
Because of this, there are two ways of commonly interfacing computers. One through a small 3-D holovid interface that they can interface with by moving things around with their finger like a pointing device (ala Minority Report). The other way would be going in Wired in using a avatar like I described above. Most of the time you want to be aware of your real surroundings.
Computers come in many varietes IMTU (In My Traveller Universe). The most common are listed below.
Hand computers have small holovid screens and comm dots for going wired are available at an additional cost.
Homecomps are common computers that are used for home server use. They are hooked up to every function of the house and can be voice controlled. They have auditory interfaces and prompts as well as typical holovid and wired interfaces. Hand computers are commonly hooked into the homecomp for an access terminal point.
Cyberdecks are odd because they have a special interface of their own. In addition to holovid and Wired interfaces, they have a keyboard interface, because as many old-school hackers can tell you, hackers can type faster than they think. These are bulkier than the common hand computers because of this about as large as a computer keyboard.
Shipboard computers are large internal/redundant server arrays that are radiation proofed on uninterruptable power. Like a home computer they can be interfaced through a voice system, holovid interface or wired interfaces. They can also be interfaced through a hand computer or cyberdeck as terminal points.
