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Terran Trade Authority is to be resurrected

Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
It’s not a Model T.

It does look like one but I am sure it is really a depressurized payload transport. Very sophisticated fuel cell technology, with remote guidance. Its open frame design does make it look like a Model T at this range with the heat distortion I will admit that. ;)
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Yeah! That's the ticket!
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Originally posted by ElHombre:
a question: can you give us a hint as to how you're going to fill in the history of the proxima wars? i've always wondered how a group of star systems about 4.3 ly apart can have a war lasting 20 years. :D
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Unfortunately, I can't divulge any details of that yet.
I can see that "they moved very slowly" isn't going to satisfy, however. :D
 
Originally posted by Hatrax:
The Alphans and Proximans, for instance, are not described anywhere (besides a reference to one being larger than the other)... kind of a big gap there.
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They are both briefly described in Aliens in Space (in the Galactic Encounters series), which provides a whole 2 pages of text on each.

(Aside: when I saw the Peter Elson illustration on page 5 - and another on 14/15, my immediate thought was: "Vilani!")

I suppose this now starts a "what is TTA canon?" discussion.
 
We know the Alphans and Proximans are humanoids - the City Ships of Alpha description refers to the known races as 'humanoid races', and Object #1 implies that the Alphans and Proximans are 'lifeforms closely allied ours' implying they're not far off human. Also the O#1 description says that 'all the evidence we have now indicates that [the known alien races] are physiologically quite similar to us'.

When are you actually setting the TTA RPG though? the Spacewreck book seems to include events that happened long after the Alpha/Proxima wars. And it also mentioned the "Laguna Wars" which happened in the 21st Century - is that the Alpha/Proxima war? Or some thing else?
 
So, Morrigan Folks: are the Galactic Encounters books part of the Canon?

Do we have those peep/teep cats and vampire rocks???

BTW, what's on the site looks really good...
 
Speaking personal, only the first four books can be regards as 'canon'.

Stewart Cowley himself says "I'm afraid I must also own up to the Galactic Encounters series by Steven Caldwell. I'm not proud of those six books. I was approached by another publisher to write for them, and they offered me enough money for me to quit my job as a designer and become a full-time writer. I confess that I just did it for the dough and all I had to work with were the images that I had rejected for my earlier books. It wasn't only for contractual reasons that I used the pseudonym of Steven Caldwell."

I think that's pretty clear.

Thanks for the comments on the site - I presume you're referring to the one at bisbos.com?
 
Originally posted by Joshua Bell:
They are both briefly described in Aliens in Space (in the Galactic Encounters series), which provides a whole 2 pages of text on each.

(Aside: when I saw the Peter Elson illustration on page 5 - and another on 14/15, my immediate thought was: "Vilani!")

I suppose this now starts a "what is TTA canon?" discussion.
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Yes, as Adrian says, the Galactic Encounters books are non-canonical. They are interesting... a strange shadow of the TTA stuff, but not nearly as polished or coherent. The official canon is the four books published under the TTA banner.
 
Originally posted by Aramis:
So, Morrigan Folks: are the Galactic Encounters books part of the Canon?

Do we have those peep/teep cats and vampire rocks???

BTW, what's on the site looks really good...
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Sorry, no Vampire Rocks for now, but we DO have mysteriously appearing and disappearing Model T Fords. :D
 
Originally posted by TempMal:
We know the Alphans and Proximans are humanoids - the City Ships of Alpha description refers to the known races as 'humanoid races', and Object #1 implies that the Alphans and Proximans are 'lifeforms closely allied ours' implying they're not far off human. Also the O#1 description says that 'all the evidence we have now indicates that [the known alien races] are physiologically quite similar to us'.

When are you actually setting the TTA RPG though? the Spacewreck book seems to include events that happened long after the Alpha/Proxima wars. And it also mentioned the "Laguna Wars" which happened in the 21st Century - is that the Alpha/Proxima war? Or some thing else?
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TempMal, I can't say too much right now, but I can say that I agree 100% with your assessment, and I used exactly the same lines of thought in designing them.

The TTA RPG is set about five years after the end of the Proxima War, when the challenge of rebuilding is in full swing. That puts us at about 2173, (all dates have been moved up 100 years) the same year the Railbus enters service!
 
Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Aren't the Laguna wars the main conflict detailed in the second book, Great Space Battles?
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Yes. The TTA RPG, as it will be released, is tied only into the Spacecraft era. The events in the next three books are mostly set later, when humans are moving further afield in the galaxy. We will continue to expand the background as time goes on. The Laguna War is set over 100 years after the end of the Proxima War.
 
Anyone remember the Thomas Cook "Galactic Tours" book? (Yes, Thomas Cook did a travel book for the future. Had ski-ing on Europa among other things).

That wasn't part of the TTA series was it?
 
Originally posted by Hatrax:
[QBThe best way to put it is that the focus is on the individual, not the "race". Unlike certain TV series, the aliens here are individuals, with distinct "races" (as we talk about race here and now), distinct thought patterns, political affiliations, etc. In other words, Alphans and Proximans are not "predictable", any more than people you meet on the street are predictable, except in a general sense. In other words, "good guy" and "bad guy" depends on what your point of view is... and from there, as in real life, the conflict... and adventure... will spring. [/QB]
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hooray! one of the biggest gripes i've had with most 'alien' races is when all the aliens seem to act as one giant unified block.
 
Originally posted by TempMal:
Anyone remember the Thomas Cook "Galactic Tours" book? (Yes, Thomas Cook did a travel book for the future. Had ski-ing on Europa among other things).

That wasn't part of the TTA series was it?
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Nope, not part of the TTA series. I just picked up a copy of this about a week ago- I'm collecting all of the late 70s space art books I can find in order to really steep myself in the genre. "Galactic Tours" is one of the better ones I've found lately.

There were only four TTA books:
Spacecraft: 2000-2100 AD
Great Space Battles
Spacewreck
Starliners

There was also "Spacebase 2000", which was a softcover reprint of all of the material in Spacecraft and GSB, with a new cover.
 
hooray! one of the biggest gripes i've had with most 'alien' races is when all the aliens seem to act as one giant unified block. [/QB]
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Me too... I call it the "Trek phenomenon" (no offense to Trekkies out there). Trek did a lot of cool stuff, but I always disliked how humans seemed to be the only ones who weren't essentially a hive mind. It's not just Trek's fault... look at a lot of SF book covers from the 50s and 60s. What do you see? Big green dudes, all dressed in identical yellow jumpsuits with lightning bolts, for example... the message was clear. I'm aiming to break that mold.
Just like humans can be discussed in general psychological terms, Alphans and Proximans will be, too. However, it will also be abundantly clear that individuals are just that, and that there really is no such thing as "Joe Average".
 
BTW, do you actually have your own forums to discuss this on? Or should I just keep bumping this thread? ;)
 
Originally posted by TempMal:
BTW, do you actually have your own forums to discuss this on? Or should I just keep bumping this thread? ;)
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For now, just keep bumping, thanks! No forum on Morrigan's site...
Our studio site ( Vulne Pro ), which consists of Mike Majestic (who will be doing some illos for various TTA projects) and me, dumped the forums at the beginning of the year because they were so spam-ridden. Bad move, in retrospect...
Meanwhile... anyone got any more questions?
 
The Spacecraft 2100 to 2200 AD book will be available through regular bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. and is priced at $24.99. The RPG pricing has not yet be determined.

Cheers,
Scott Agnew
Morrigan Press Inc.
 
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