I've always loved Book 2. I've never been satisfied with Book 2. It has SO MUCH in SO LITTLE space. But it LACKS some things. I've pulled in stuff from MT and TNE and even T4, but the "impedance mismatch" is just too much for me.
But, I find I can pull in stuff from Traveller5 with very little pain. Enough to bring Book 2 into full flower. True, it's not really built for fighting ships, but with some imports from T5, for non-fighting ships 2000 tons and under it beats every other ship design system -- including T5.
The drive tables are the biggest enabler: T5 expands the hulls and drives, and lets me rationalize the W-X-Y-Z drives from Book 2. (The key to doing that is to re-label them by their rating-equivalent counterparts in T5.) I haven't replaced the DPT with one that includes the 300t, 500t, 700t etc hulls, but I want to get them in here somehow.
The next win is the power plant fuel usage from T5, which closely resembles the rational formulas used in HG and MGT. (Maybe it's not a win, but it makes more sense to me, regardless of its original intent)
The weapons list is larger than I need for Book 2, but I can bring in Particle Accelerators and Barbettes with no fuss.
I've pulled in some, not all, of the hull fittings -- landers, lifters, sweep wings (for the Serpent-class scout).
My copy of The Traveller Book is already marked up with penciled-in additions, and some price changes. I like the drive cost structure better in T5 -- it doesn't require a lookup, for one, further streamlining the process.
Importing these T5 features also makes smallcraft construction possible using Book 2 (and a judicious but short additional rule or two).
But, I find I can pull in stuff from Traveller5 with very little pain. Enough to bring Book 2 into full flower. True, it's not really built for fighting ships, but with some imports from T5, for non-fighting ships 2000 tons and under it beats every other ship design system -- including T5.
The drive tables are the biggest enabler: T5 expands the hulls and drives, and lets me rationalize the W-X-Y-Z drives from Book 2. (The key to doing that is to re-label them by their rating-equivalent counterparts in T5.) I haven't replaced the DPT with one that includes the 300t, 500t, 700t etc hulls, but I want to get them in here somehow.
The next win is the power plant fuel usage from T5, which closely resembles the rational formulas used in HG and MGT. (Maybe it's not a win, but it makes more sense to me, regardless of its original intent)
The weapons list is larger than I need for Book 2, but I can bring in Particle Accelerators and Barbettes with no fuss.
I've pulled in some, not all, of the hull fittings -- landers, lifters, sweep wings (for the Serpent-class scout).
My copy of The Traveller Book is already marked up with penciled-in additions, and some price changes. I like the drive cost structure better in T5 -- it doesn't require a lookup, for one, further streamlining the process.
Importing these T5 features also makes smallcraft construction possible using Book 2 (and a judicious but short additional rule or two).