Under LBB 2, only 'military drives' were designed to use unrefined fuel, with no real guidelines for 'upgrading drives'. This was (IMHO) a feature of the rules and not particularly a problem.
AT,
Agreed.
With LBB5, the fuel purifier is quantified ... and it is dirt cheap!
LBB:5 is part of the problem, as I'll explain below.
The 'problem' with a prevalance of unrefined fuel is not fundamentaly a game issue (as you say, the risk is minimal - less than a pirate attack). It is, rather, a strain on the metagame fabric of credibility. If one views the Imperium as a vast and active trade network, dominated by large commercial lines with the humble Free Trader trying to squeeze out a living ('Firefly' style), then the lack of refined fuel for the big guys (when the refinery is so cheap) strains credibility.
It all depends on just what "imperium" of "Imperium" you're viewing. You see,
CT is schizoid on a fundamental level and
LBB:5 is the "facial tick" that announces this.
Before
LBB:5 a "small" setting assumed, small ships, small trade volume, small government(s), and the rules were written accordingly. Our description of a Class C port and unrefined fuel rules date from that "small" period. Then
LBB:5 comes along, "big" is now the assumption, and the old stuff was never retconned.
We have a big ship, big trade volume, big government(s) setting now with small ships, small trade volume, small government(s) port descriptions and fuel rules. You're "No Diesel At Truck Stops?" analogy for the Third Imperium is excellent but the rules were written for something entirely different. (This is yet another reason why I laugh aloud when people claim that
Traveller was originally setting free.)
In the setting of the
First Three LBBs, the lack of refined fuel at Class C ports isn't a strain on the fabric of credulity because there isn't that much trade passing through Class C ports and the trade that does will be primarily handled by shipping assets that have their own
private refined fuel available.
That last part is important. Starport codes only refer to those facilities and services that are available to everyone. We know that the military and lines like Al Morai provide for their own services where none are otherwise available and we know that corporations even have their own private ports. In the "small",
First Three LBB Traveller setting, that was enough. It was only after
LBB:5 inflated the setting that Class C ports and unrefined fuel became a problem.
I think that repairs are an official class C capability in every version of Traveller that I am familiar with, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on why it should be removed.
My error. I conflated Hans' addition to annual maintenance capabilities to Class C ports with your post and objected accordingly.
A large part of my career has involved following relatively technologically sophisticated equipment to it's new home in what should kindly be called the "less developed" portions of our world. Let's just say that this experience has given me a unique appreciation for the awesome differences between being able to own something and being able to operate something. I view techniques, skills, and culture as far more important than tools and parts and thus are loathe to allow the maintenance of items such as jump drives to be on a wide scale.
Regards,
Bill
) is what to do about the OTU in the light of 30 years worth of development. To me, there's no question that the Imperium I'm discussing is the one that's been 'growing up' for 30 years, not the one LBB1-3 started out with.
