Classic Traveller getting stale?

[warwizard]

I loved the fact CT made you work math… hence my parents loved it. I actually learned some science from it.

I give credit to Traveller for giving me all the physics and travel formulas to get familliar with. For when I went to college physics 101 and got the only A and there were no B's, in a 500+ student letecture hall.

One of the ideas I have had for a campaign is take the Solomani back when They just have Earth and the solar system and the first generation sublight ships just reached Alpha Centauri a few years previously and the first jump drive experiments produced results and governments started building J-1 scouts. Enter the PC's, Hand the players the T4FF&S rules and say "You guys are the wunderkind, you will be designing your scout ship. Here is a list of the available technologies. It is up to you to design the ship you will be doing your exploration of worlds in. You can expect to need to do 4 J-1 jumps without refuelling, You may plan on just doing system fly by. Once the planetary conditions are determined, a second mission can be sent with landers designed to investigate the planet like the mars rovers of two centuries ago. And so on, each mission they undertake, when they return and design the next ship there is a list of technologies that the referee rolls on to see what if any new capabilities have advanced to the prototype stage, and if any prototypes are included in their next ship, debrief on performance, and problems encountered with the prototype. The campaign has other groups also doing scouting, as Earth is still balkanized at this point. and then it moves into the colonization stages as ships are designed to move would be colonists and all the materials they should need to survive on these untouched worlds.

 

[Commander Truestar]

I give credit to Traveller for giving me all the physics and travel formulas to get familliar with. For when I went to college physics 101 and got the only A and there were no B's, in a 500+ student letecture hall.

One of the ideas I have had for a campaign is take the Solomani back when They just have Earth and the solar system and the first generation sublight ships just reached Alpha Centauri a few years previously and the first jump drive experiments produced results and governments started building J-1 scouts. Enter the PC's, Hand the players the T4FF&S rules and say "You guys are the wunderkind, you will be designing your scout ship. Here is a list of the available technologies. It is up to you to design the ship you will be doing your exploration of worlds in. You can expect to need to do 4 J-1 jumps without refuelling, You may plan on just doing system fly by. Once the planetary conditions are determined, a second mission can be sent with landers designed to investigate the planet like the mars rovers of two centuries ago. And so on, each mission they undertake, when they return and design the next ship there is a list of technologies that the referee rolls on to see what if any new capabilities have advanced to the prototype stage, and if any prototypes are included in their next ship, debrief on performance, and problems encountered with the prototype. The campaign has other groups also doing scouting, as Earth is still balkanized at this point. and then it moves into the colonization stages as ships are designed to move would be colonists and all the materials they should need to survive on these untouched worlds.

A very long time ago, I was into Traveller and wanted to know how to create better worlds and solar systems.
This was when Usenet was king and there was no WWW. And, when network security was undreamed of yet.

I was doing searches of forums, looking for places where I could learn and soon hit a quasi-military/university forum talking about "exactly" what I wanted.
I lurked there for a long enough time that I forgot I was lurking and pointed out an error in one of the posts...

The world fell on me, electronically speaking...

For three days, all electronic hell came down...where are your credentials...who are you....where did you graduate.....what are your degrees?

Then it ended with a single email which read "He's Right".......signed by Doctor Hawking

Not long after that, I spent three years as a remote, volunteer worker for Dr Sagan.

I owe ALL that to Traveller.

 

[warwizard]

I wonder just how many of us travellers are north of 160 IQ? Steven Hawking telling them that you are right trumped all demands for credentials. I have corrected many designs created by degreed Electrical Engineers. I did not have the paperwork, but I did have the understanding and insight needed to fix their errors.

 

[MongooseMatt]

I owe ALL that to Traveller.

Well, that is a hell of a tale!

 

[Marcatlas]

For three days, all electronic hell came down...where are your credentials...who are you....where did you graduate.....what are your degrees?

That is a variation of the logical fallacy argumentum ad verecundiam. In this case demanding you argue from authority. Actual scientists don't do that.

 

[Commander Truestar]

One of my "current hobbies" is pushing the late Dr Jordin Kare's "Sail Beam" project to

That is a variation of the logical fallacy argumentum ad verecundiam. In this case demanding you argue from authority. Actual scientists don't do that.

Thank you for suggesting I am liar.
Good luck

 

[Marcatlas]

One of my "current hobbies" is pushing the late Dr Jordin Kare's "Sail Beam" project to

Thank you for suggesting I am liar.
Good luck

What are you talking about?

 

[kilemall]

I will offer my internet translation services if desired.

 

[Commander Truestar]

I will offer my internet translation services if desired.

@kilemall
No need, I understand his comments, both here and in another thread.
To paraphrase, He's not in my circus...

 

[Marcatlas]

I will offer my internet translation services if desired.

What can ya say?

 

[kilemall]

What can ya say?

That I think you are each misunderstanding each other’s comments.

Unless you really did intend to throw shade on his forum story.

 

[Marcatlas]

That I think you are each misunderstanding each other’s comments.

Unless you really did intend to throw shade on his forum story.

No, he said I called him a liar. I understood that perfectly. I didn't throw shade on his anything. I accused those who attacked him of committing a logical fallacy and not being scientists because of their attack against him.

 

[Commander Truestar]

No, he said I called him a liar. I understood that perfectly. I didn't throw shade on his anything. I accused those who attacked him of committing a logical fallacy and not being scientists because of their attack against him.

Then, I owe you an apology
I read what you wrote as if it were directed at me

So, I am sorry

 

[Marcatlas]

Then, I owe you an apology
I read what you wrote as if it were directed at me

So, I am sorry

No prob. I thought it was a great story. Reminds me of what happened to the scientist that discovered extra-galactic CRBs and announced the discovery.

 

[kilemall]

Another successful liaison roll!

 

[Commander Truestar]

So,
Dr. Jordin Kare sadly passed away during a heart valve operation
That was a sad and painful loss.

He was, as people at his level are, involved in many things.
He and Dr. Hawking differed on approaches to get to Alpha Centauri "in our life times"

Dr. Hawking came up with Program "Star Shot", assumed you could use a laser built on the Earth's crust to light-sail propel several hundred cell-phone sized micro-sats to Alpha Centauri and get that horde of sats there together, where each relied on 80% arriving(due to duplication of key items)

Dr. Kare proposed using solar power catching sats in Earth orbit, to use a system he had proved for the US Navy while working for DARPA to microwave that captured power to other uses.
Use 1) build downlink power stations on Earth and microwave that power for use and sale on Earth....giving vastly reduced costs for clean energy

Use 2: Build an orbital arcology supporting an orbital laser (yes, I did say orbital laser for you rolling on the floor given some political postilions) and avoid all the "Not in my back yard", "Resource use", "Save our earth" protests and lawsuits...
Then, using the power from that laser, use light sails to propel a single 170 kg sat to .4 C

The details are available here: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=41350.0

 

[Commander Truestar]

I had a sit down with Jeff Bezos, however his "space flight" service is a fourth best to what SpaceX has already

I had an email conversation with Sir Richard(Virgin G) and told him "I felt" his Virgin Galactic was the perfect spring board for a sub-orbital airline and he should give up the space access "for now" and build a reliable system whereby travelers can get from NYC/US to Sydney/Aus in 45 min to an hour. I told him that, having bought out the Rutans (Scaled Composites) , he had the basis for such a firm already and he'd never make any profits at his price point when similar tickets were already being sold for less.

I'd been working to get Mr. Musk to connect me with Gwynne Shotwell(SpaceX's COO) because, by contract, he has no authority over the company's tech decisions at all. Not long ago, Ms. Shotwell contacted me directly and those talks are on-going

 

[Marcatlas]

I had a sit down with Jeff Bezos, however his "space flight" service is a fourth best to what SpaceX has already

I had an email conversation with Sir Richard(Virgin G) and told him "I felt" his Virgin Galactic was the perfect spring board for a sub-orbital airline and he should give up the space access "for now" and build a reliable system whereby travelers can get from NYC/US to Sydney/Aus in 45 min to an hour. I told him that, having bought out the Rutans (Scaled Composites) , he had the basis for such a firm already and he'd never make any profits at his price point when similar tickets were already being sold for less.

I'd been working to get Mr. Musk to connect me with Gwynne Shotwell(SpaceX's COO) because, by contract, he has no authority over the company's tech decisions at all. Not long ago, Ms. Shotwell contacted me directly and those talks are on-going

VERY cool.

 

[Commander Truestar]

VERY cool.

Thank you, but I am not hoping for anything more than selling Jordin's idea.
I came to know him through Filk music. He was an amazing song writer and I still perform his music....Especially his song "Darkness"
It was painful we lost him to something so stupid, and then his wife less than two years later.

The world he would have helped create for us would, in my opinion, been amazing.

 

[Marcatlas]

Thank you, but I am not hoping for anything more than selling Jordin's idea.
I came to know him through Filk music. He was an amazing song writer and I still perform his music....Especially his song "Darkness"
It was painful we lost him to something so stupid, and then his wife less than two years later.

The world he would have helped create for us would, in my opinion, been amazing.

Well, you're in swinging to make a better world. That is what counts. Sucks that fate is so fickle. Too often those who can do so much good go far too soon. And the other way 'round too.