New Traveller Preview

[Agemegos]

Mongoose Traveller and T5 are the two new ones. Neither is released yet. Both are supposed to be on the near horizon.

THero is in print, and so is T20.

And, CT is in print via the CD-ROM and Long Black Books (the reprints).

I believe MT is in print through a CD-ROM.

Also, GURPS Traveller is in print as Interstellar Wars, and the original GURPS Traveller is still available as are many of its supplements.

 

[tbeard1999]

So...recopy it at the scale you like. Don't fret about x/y sqrt -just mash the copier button you like.

If I were an RPG manufacturer, I'd make my starship deckplans available in electronic form to facilitate this activity. (Some of the online deckplans I've bought have separate full size deckplan pages that you can print out and use with 28mm miniatures). It would also help to provide the deckplans with and without grids (so that they can be rescaled with whatever grid the referee wants to use).

 

[tbeard1999]

Actually F-T, I've been pretty sure for the entire length of the thread that he (and myself, for all the reasons that tbeard has already listed) disliked the plans because they are simply wrong. If they are supposed to be 1dtn squares, then they are not easily compatible with the combat system they're intended to be used with. If they are supposed to be 1.5m as indicated in the legend, then the entire scout as shown has several tons of empty space unaccounted for (again, tbeard's math, which is better than my own but checks out, is pretty conclusive).

All he is really asking for, and I think it isn't unreasonable, is that it be corrected. Preferably before it sees the light of day off of the printing press, though I hold no such illusions with regards to Mongoose and their history of proofing their products (hate their editing, but love their stuff).

That's my position in a nutshell.

And heck, I don't even demand that Mongoose fix it before printing (I suspect that they are way too deep in the pipeline to do so without it costing a mint). I'd be happy with revising the plans and making them available on the website. What I'm worried about is that they will retcon the scale to 2m squares, just to avoid having to redraw the plans.

 

[aramis]

Even the 2m retcon doesn't work well, as its then gone over by about 30%.

 

[tbeard1999]

Even the 2m retcon doesn't work well, as its then gone over by about 30%.

I guess the defense could be "we're just following GDW's lead in 'value sizing' our deckplans..."

 

[DaddyDragon]

I guess the defense could be "we're just following GDW's lead in 'value sizing' our deckplans..."

"Would you like Vilani Fries or a Zho Cone with that?"

Sorry, it begged to be done and as an extra bonus, I celebrate 6 full months of being out of work. So I guess I should start practicing lines like that, those may be the only job opportunities left for me.

 

[Chronus]

What happened to Kharum1?

 

[casquilho]

I celebrate 6 full months of being out of work. So I guess I should start practicing lines like that, those may be the only job opportunities left for me.

I am so sorry to hear this. Wish I had a job to give. I can not imagine what I would do if I were out of work for six months. The changes that would have to take place in my home.

I hope you find something good soon.

Daniel

 

[captainjack]

What happened to Kharum1?

pulled the eject lever........and who can blame him ?

 

[Supplement Four]

pulled the eject lever........and who can blame him ?

You make it sound as if he didn't screw up when he designed the deck plans.

 

[Gallowglacht]

A screw up I don't mind. It's the agressive defence, then ignore thing that Mongoose do that is irritating.

The next person I meet or hear who says "oops, my bad" about a mistake, I will Saint. Say oops, fix or explain, move on, end of discussion and recrimination.

 

[atpollard]

What happened to Kharum1?

He's too busy revising the plan to waste time arguing here.
(That's what I would be doing if it were my plan)

...And if we accept the 2m square argument, then just the grid size needs to be changed to match the game combat system. (Which is not what I would do.)

 

[Echo]

A screw up I don't mind. It's the agressive defence, then ignore thing that Mongoose do that is irritating.

The next person I meet or hear who says "oops, my bad" about a mistake, I will Saint. Say oops, fix or explain, move on, end of discussion and recrimination.

....until the next preview pops up....

 

[atpollard]

....until the next preview pops up....

Given the 'reaction' to the current preview, you seem amazingly optimistic.

 

[far-trader]

You make it sound as if he didn't screw up when he designed the deck plans.

Not everyone thinks he did screw up in fact. Myself for one, and some here know how picky I am when it comes to counting squares. Go check my post a few pages back, nobody seems to have given it the read I have those who found fault with the plans.

Are they perfect? Not to any of us, because that is an impossible task. Even I find some small issues, but overall nowhere near the gross incompetence level some seem to suggest.

And yeah, Kharum seems to have stepped away, which is probably the wisest move. It's not an argument he can win. I hope he's not feverishly trying to "fix" the plans to satisfy all the critics here (myself included) since it's impossible and a waste of time.

As for someone who mentioned that the plans don't match the pictured hull or design I believe Kharum explained that. He didn't do the design (and who would be surprised if it didn't change between him getting a version to work from and the preview) and his picture (from his 3D model I imagine) of the hull wasn't used either, instead they took one of the standard old wedge hull pictures.

 

[Gallowglacht]

AHHH tbeard1999,

The scale of the deckplan is 1.5m by 1.5m by 3m per grid square. I believe that those dimensions equals 1 dton, correct? If that holds true than that would be 100 squares, correct? Not rocket science here. I hope you didn't think that one square was only 1.5m cubed. That would make for a lot of short people flying around the galaxy. (This is not meant to upset or discrimminate against any vertically challenged people) So 80 squares would not equal 40 tons.

There is the mistake right there. It is fixable, but it's a mistake. He doesn't deserve to be shouted at, ridiculed or anything, but there was a mistake. Under all the mud slinging and factionalisation and people going to one extreme or another, there still remains one little typo level mistake, that we haven't heard a solution for, or even if one is being looked at.

One sentence is all it would take from Mongoose. Instead I'm worried that all the noise of charge and counter-charge will drown out the reasonable concern that a mistake has been spotted, and the question of what the fix is/will be.

 

[far-trader]

The scale of the deckplan is 1.5m by 1.5m by 3m per grid square. I believe that those dimensions equals 1 dton...

There is the mistake right there...

I suppose I didn't take that at face value as I should have since it makes things worse in my mind. But it does mean each stateroom is the "correct" 4tons, it does mean the whole of engineering is the "correct" 16tons, and it does mean the air/raft bay is the "correct" 4tons, and no doubt the rest works too with the design Kharum was working from.

...It is fixable, but it's a mistake. He doesn't deserve to be shouted at, ridiculed or anything, but there was a mistake. Under all the mud slinging and factionalisation and people going to one extreme or another, there still remains one little typo level mistake, that we haven't heard a solution for, or even if one is being looked at.

One sentence is all it would take from Mongoose. Instead I'm worried that all the noise of charge and counter-charge will drown out the reasonable concern that a mistake has been spotted, and the question of what the fix is/will be.

I agree entirely, except for it being fixable. With time perhaps, but not easily and not in time for printing, especially if this is already in the printer's hands. And I'm not sure deckplans are a good thing to "correct" via free download later. It's not like it's a bit of text that is only of value to the original purchaser in context of the whole, they are a valuable commodity all by themselves. Giving it away free is nice but not smart.

 

[Gallowglacht]

Ah yeah, I agree it might be a bit to late as it has been sent to the printers. They could fix it in a second printing. I think they should have downloadable corrections though. Sure it means giving away this batch, but I assume they will do decplans for later releases aswell. Then the "free" batch now might serve as advertising for the other books...

 

[far-trader]

True, it could work that way, as a inducement to future sales, and to show that they do fix errors.

Of course, not only is there no official word here, not even a quick "we're checking it out" despite 12 pages of chatter, but there's not even an official peep on the Mongoose Traveller forum. Where the same topic has about the same theme and has been hovering near the top of the page with 5 pages of chatter of their own. That's not encouraging.

 

[Gallowglacht]

Yeah, I know. I'm trying the old "voice of reason" act over there...
Mongoose Acolyte was on and posted on the other active threads, but not the quick question in that thread. Ah well.

I guess MGT will have to wait until after I have absorbed D&D4.