It's Finally Over.

[Trent]

Are you either tired of or unable to find players for traveller or are you burned out on or unable to find players for gaming altogether?

If you're still into gaming, especially RPG or think you could find players for other RPGs then by all means do so ASAP.

Maybe you just need a change of gaming scenery, so to speak. Maybe you just need a different game for a while to get different players into. After a while in that game maybe you can come back to traveller and bring some players with you that you got in the other game.

Heh, stay in another game universe for like 5 years and maybe when you come back T5 will almost be ready to be released.:rofl:

If you just need a change of pace there are other games to try. Mongoose makes one based on "Judge Dredd" that's still SF but pretty far from traveller in tone and such.

Maybe you'd enjoy a new one called "Eclipse phase" that I find fascinating and interesting, and I do like traveller as well. It's not perfect but it's radically different from traveller, and is high tech semi-hard SF.

You can legally get the Eclipse Phase pdf for free, the creators have released it under a license that allows it to be shared legally without time limits or such, you can just own it for free, but I'd recommend paying the 15$ to own it. Look for a review of it on rpggeek.com

But please don't stop gaming, get away from traveller if you must, but try to find other games and maybe interest other gamers in them.

Best wishes, Traveller.

PS. I figured I'd catch some plop over this post for endorsing a non traveller game, but no one gave me any. I'm glad people got that I was trying to help someone, not take business away from traveller, mongoose, etc. It was a good call not to give me slag over this, well done mods.

 

[Scott Martin]

Free Trader Beowulf looking for players...

Of course you could always look here:
http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=213934&TabID=1804610

For the Free Trader Beowulf game (archived chapters are viewable by everyone) since we're trying to replace a couple of our long-term players who have dropped out.

The game's been running for almost 2 years now, with a (fairly) regular MWF update schedule. There should be enough viewable on the boards for folks to get a good idea what the "flavour" of the game is. The players are currently marooned (after a pirate raid: or was it an inside job?) on a low tech world in the middle of a civil war trying to figure a way to get off-world.

And yes, I do have some pre-gen characters ready to go off the shelf, or you could PM me for guidelines if you're interested... or for a really low time commitment, I'm always looking for folks to play an NPC or two for a while

Scott Martin

 

[Frankymole]

Some people play online via Skype, don't they?

 

[aramis]

Some people play online via Skype, don't they?

Yes. A virtual tabletop is still useful, tho'.

Skype will do the chat and the audioconference (up to 4 people) for free. But it doesn't have dicerolling, nor maps, etc.

 

[BlackBat242]

I'm currently in two weekly AD&D games on OpenRPG with Ventrillo for voice conversations (Skype was screwing up my computer & Teamspeak had its own issues {kept disconnecting players randomly})... a 1E game and a mostly-2E (with a bit of 1E) hybrid game.

We have the ability for the DM to upload maps & pics, a chat window (with additional tabs for multiple group or one-on-one whisper conversations), dice roller, etc.

Its really fun... and the only issue is that our players are spread from New York State to California (and one in Canada), making start/stop times very important.

Of course, that very spread is what makes it work... if someone familiar with the program wanted to ref, we could assemble a great group right from this forum... and character sheets & ship designs can easily be e-mailed, right?

 

[Darkhstarr]

I can understand that. I went the same thing this year & almost chucked everything & closed my website. Admittedly, a lot was job related-surviving two rounds of layoffs as well game related. Fortunately, some good things happened, some it completely unexpected.

I can relate to bad experiences. My wife had her share & after 2 decades of gaming she no longer games.

Good luck. I hope you wander back to gaming.

 

[FreeTrav]

Scott, I took a brief look at Ch. 1... just the first half-page of posts. If you want to clean this up into a 'novelized' format, I'd be ecstatic to put them into Raconteurs' Rest at Freelance Traveller.

 

[Frankymole]

I'm currently in two weekly AD&D games on OpenRPG with Ventrillo for voice conversations (Skype was screwing up my computer & Teamspeak had its own issues {kept disconnecting players randomly})... a 1E game and a mostly-2E (with a bit of 1E) hybrid game.

We have the ability for the DM to upload maps & pics, a chat window (with additional tabs for multiple group or one-on-one whisper conversations), dice roller, etc.

Its really fun... and the only issue is that our players are spread from New York State to California (and one in Canada), making start/stop times very important.

Of course, that very spread is what makes it work... if someone familiar with the program wanted to ref, we could assemble a great group right from this forum... and character sheets & ship designs can easily be e-mailed, right?

Excellent advice - I've signed up to Open RPG, at least the forum and should get the software soonest. I used to play Medieval:Total War which is a real-time game (using Teamspeak for simultaneous conversations, which worked okay but wasn't great beacause of the random dropping out which you mention), so handling a paper RPG with virtual tabletop should be no problem as far as hardware goes.

I'm always up to play in a game (especially at weekends), either real-time or Play-By-(e)Mail; so long as the comms issues can be surmounted!

 

[Scott Martin]

Hi Freetrav

I think that the game needs to finish the current arc before even the first "novel" of a novelization could be done - we're two years into the game, and about 2 weeks into "game time" - I'm hoping that once the assault on the enclave wraps up (probably a week or so of game time) that the players will have some "downtime" to do things like healing without major medical / technological intervention.

On the plus side, our "ace scout pilot" is now back up and active

The Play By Post style has some definite pluses and minuses - the largest downside is that it can take soooo loooong for things to happen (even posting 3x a week) but there are some advantages because everything is recorded, so the evil GM can go back and say "remember on the 3rd of August 2008 when your character did this? Well, that guy you thought was a minion really wasn't..." It also means that you can post a map and EVERYONE can see it...

 

[Gadrin]

but there are some advantages because everything is recorded, so the evil GM can go back and say "remember on the 3rd of August 2008 when your character did this? Well, that guy you thought was a minion really wasn't..." It also means that you can post a map and EVERYONE can see it...

We used aMSN (msn messenger clone that works on Linux and a few
others) and it has a logging feature so that you can save the Chat
and review it later.

You can't post maps (maybe now you can) but you can send files
which you can download thru the tool and everyone can be on
the same page quickly.

I also used my free Photobucket account and simply uploaded a map
or picture there, then pasted the URL to it, then asked if everyone
could see it.

The toughest part is getting people to commit...seriously commit.

>

 

[BlackBat242]

Open RPG also has the ability for any or all of the participants to save the chat log of the session... our DMs have those from all the sessions so far.

As I mentioned, maps are shown in a large window in the OpenRPG screen (along with the chat window, the player list, etc)... each player can enlarge or reduce the map size on their screen... recently we were in the City of Grayhawk, and the DM put up the TSR printed map of the entire city... we could zoom way down to see details or out to see the whole thing.

You should check it out... its great.

 

[Scott Martin]

<SNIP>
The toughest part is getting people to commit...seriously commit.

Yeah, that's certainly an issue - I've lost long-term players to the financial melt-down (having to choose between internet and rent is always a bad one - especially if you're in tech) and finding folks who will commit *AND* have consistently good contributions is challenging.

Any hints, or are you struggling with the same issue?

Scott Martin

 

[FreeTrav]

I think that the game needs to finish the current arc before even the first "novel" of a novelization could be done - ...

By all means - your discretion and your convenience. But also, think about the possibility of the novelization being 'serialized' - whenever a "scene" runs to completion, that becomes a 'chapter' for posting to RacRest. An example might be Joel Benford's Kursis Charter - this was based on the QLI T20 adventure of the same name. Freelance Traveller got it in one swell foop after Joel was done with it, but Joel originally constructed it - and we posted it - in discrete chunks, based on the scenes as they were developed.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Okay, to re-iterate:

1. Due to lack of outside interest, I've put away my Traveller materials. I have not sold them yet, and I hope that some future generation will benefit.

2. PbM/PbP is at least as frustrating as tabletop. Vague referee posts are a major problem. Couple that with players that try to control the actions of other PCs, get legalistic about the rules, and start flame wars, and it simple stops being fun. One or two isolated incidents might be okay, but every one of over a dozen tries on both sides of the virtual referee screen? You needn't be tarred and feathered too many times before it dawns on you that the best thing to do is just stay outta Dodge City.

3. Local gaming club members are more interested in AD&D or their stupid card games. Introducing Traveller at such venues means that the players will participate only as long as another FRPG doesn't start up, if they show any interest at all.

4. Local gaming stores are either full of squeaky fanboys of the anime genre, or they seem to have a permanent population of FRPG and Warhammer players. Travellers need not apply.

Okay, end of rant. All of your suggestions, while interesting, have already been tried. Thank you.

 

[Gadrin]

Yeah, that's certainly an issue - I've lost
long-term players to the financial melt-down (having to choose between
internet and rent is always a bad one - especially if you're in tech) and
finding folks who will commit *AND* have consistently good contributions is
challenging.

Any hints, or are you struggling with the same issue?

Scott Martin

I've been in a few online games:

Rifts -- between 10 to 15 players online at once is ludicrous. I lasted about
4 sessions before I realized it was a waste of time. The GM was so
busy getting bombarded that they don't answer questions or things
fragment too easily.

Phase World -- had one G-R-E-A-T player and the rest were okay. One guy
thought he was GM so I tried to be nice then had to tell him to leave. Game
disintegrated after that. I think the other players thought I'd turn on
them next

Reavers Deep Traveller -- ran that a few months ago, started off okay but
people started missing off an on, then off, off off so that it was just one
guy and me. I shoulda stuck with head to head. One of the other players
couldn't wrap his mind around that NPCs don't feel the exact same way his PC
does and that they should do all sorts of things for him. I relinquished
GMing duties to the other guy (good player) but I think they only had a few
sessions before it became a weekly no-show. My mom went into the hospital
about that time and I stopped following their emails. I offered to GM just to
kick things off, hoping we could start a decent online group.

I wouldn't mind starting again, especially a Traveller game, but I'm looking
for people that have a grip on reality -- meaning when they say "I can game
on Wed or Sunday" they actually mean it, versus "Well, what I really meant
was if I'm around I'll play."

>

 

[Scott Martin]

Well, the PBP (Play By Post) format means that folks don't have to be online at the same time, and I can kick "threads" off so that active players are doing things while less active players characters are working "in the background" at a slower pace - periodic resync's are required, but it's worked well thus far. Our "official" post schedule is that the GM (me) posts MWF (although in "action" periods it can be multiple times a day) so the time commitment is pretty low, and there's no requirement to post during "prime time"

I tend to do most of my posting when I have 5 minutes at work sandwiched between meetings

I do find that It does seem that the optimal number of players for such a game is between 4 and 8... same as a face to face game.

If you're interested in joining the Beowulf crew, Drop me a PM or hit the Beowulf website
http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=213934&TabID=1804610

The main page has some nice "Splash" artwork from Andrew Boulton - used with permission so you may want to look there as well

Scott Martin

 

[Icosahedron]

Scott, I took a brief look at Ch. 1... just the first half-page of posts. If you want to clean this up into a 'novelized' format, I'd be ecstatic to put them into Raconteurs' Rest at Freelance Traveller.

How does a story from a game stand regarding copyright? Does a GM need to get permission from all the players who contributed to the storyline before it can be posted up anywhere? Who is the 'author' in such cases?

The semi-novellised transcript from my 4-year game is currently running at upwards of 60,000 words, but several players have come and gone in that time.

 

[Blue Ghost]

For whatever reason, local player interest in a Traveller campaign, and my own interest in maintaining a Traveller campaign, have all but evaporated. I've put my books away, filed the character sheets, dice, deckplans, and charts in a box somewhere in the garage. Maybe someday all of that stuff will be of interest to somebody. Maybe my as-yet-unborn grandkids will dig it all out and ask grampy to play. But for the present ... well, I should have seen this day coming.

Thanks for the ride, Mr. Miller!

Keklas, I've been trying to find a group for a number of years. A recent group I joined turned out to be something entirely different, and had an agenda.

In the meantime, in addition to trying to find a regular full time job, finishing off Roger's story, finishing off an old screenplay (which I finally did), and writing up two adventures that have been gnawing at me, I've been trying my damndest to FIND another honest to goodness gaming group to get me out of the house, but in an activity where I don't have to spend money.

People get married, go off to school, move away, and so forth. But gaming is not strictly a teenager/college-student affair. For me, once a month would be great. But, sadly, my loving family probably thinks that even this is too much. Se la vie.

I like Traveller. I liked it when I was younger, hope to get back into a decent gaming group in my spare time, and am pretty frustrated that this very popular game in one of the bigger gaming hubs on the west coast, doesn't have room for this potential player/GM.

It gets a man riled up.

 

[JAFARR]

As a one of the bridge players puts it, "Times change". Most of us here in these forums are from a transition generation with respect to how we game and what kind of games we play. For a long time, most games were some type of card (bridge, poker, etc) or dice (yatzee, craps) based or jigsaw puzzles. Then along came board games like Monopoly and Parcheesi. Rpg are the new kids on the block. However, they have quickly moved to electronic media via computers and/or game consoles like playstation or their smaller handheld versions like the DS.

I am afraid that lack of interest in a lot of our favorites is because they are not computer (including gaming systems) based. Bridge is making the transition to computers. While I may not be able to find a game locally, I can find multiple websites that operate 24/7/365 with hundreds of players on line at any given time.

Has anyone tried to use web cams and voice over IP to set up a face to face game via computer? I realize there is still the commitment problem.

 

[Merxiless]

Sorry for your luck. We have one Traveller game in Pittsburgh, and one forming, founded via Meetup.

I have been there where all the players nearby want to play 3.5 D&D, and now, recently 4e D&D.

Decades ago in 1994, I sat in a room at the local college, on game night, with a sign on the door that said. TRAVELLER PLAYED HERE. I sat, alone, rolled planets, designed ships, designed NPCs, and was happy.

Of course all the 20 somethings (I was near 30) laughed at me, and played 2e AD&D.

Mongoose is here, and people are playing, and all that stuff I designed 15 years ago is getting used.

Long Live Traveller.