The next version of Traveller

[simonh]

For me, roleplaying is primarily a social activity. As such, either software facilitates it's social aspects (Hangouts, Skype, shared online maps) or get in the way. Until recently I have always believed computers had no place on the gaming table as they always seemed a distraction to me.

The exception is my iPad which has become an indispensable tool. I use it to reference PDFs, access Google Maps for RPGs with a modern setting, show maps and images to my players or even play music. In my last Pendragon campaign, at the point where Uther settled a treaty with Duke Gorlois of Cornwall I played the scene from the movie Excalibur. During a session played at a monastery I played some Gregorian Chant. However none of that used any software specifically designed for roleplaying.

You'd think that being the developer of RPG software like StarBase I'd be for using RPG software at the gaming table, but actually I'm not. I am extremely conservative in terms of wanting to avoid distracting attention from the core activity of playing roles. The tools I use have to supplement or complement traditional roleplaying, not attempt to replace it. The uses I gave above are really just replacing printed materials or things like tape or video recordings in a more convenient and flexible form.

I have never intended StarBase to be used at the gaming table. It's a tool for GMs to prepare maps and campaign information they will use in gaming.

Having said all that I may at some point add a few functions that might be useful at the table, such as trade goods generation. But that's not automating or mediating an actual in-play activity (actually buying or trading the goods), but just speeding up a book keeping activity.

Simon Hibbs

 

[HG_B]

Not sure what you're talking about. .

Reread your own posts then.

 

[GrayPennell]

No to going all computerized.

Main reason is because if the details of the rules are hidden behind a gui then, as others have indicated, you have nothing to work with and are limited to only what the computer program allows you to do.

Go all computerized and I might as well just play an on line game with my friends.

As someone had suggested before, open things up so that just like 3rd parties can write supporting material, ATU's and such, allow them to obtain a license to write programs for Traveller too.

This is the best answer so far. I am just thinking how fast we have rushed to software. Traveller has always been allied with utility programs so why not the evolution.

 

[Blue Ghost]

So when Traveller 6 comes out do you think it should be all computerized. I dont mean just PDFs but a series of web aps for character generation, skill checks, world and ship building etc etc. It goes behind a subscription based website so instead of pdfs and cds floating around you have passwords etc. Plus with web 2.0 the universe would get interesting.

T5 just came out. Why talk about a 6th version of what are supposed to be the final rules?

 

[Shonner]

T5 just came out. Why talk about a 6th version of what are supposed to be the final rules?

It adds another level to the discussion. Or we can replace T6 with the T5 Player's Book (T5 with all the Makers and what not stripped out, and with more game mechanics stripped in).

 

[savage]

Traveller 6

It's like the Matrix. There is always an Anomaly to be analyzed and addressed.
:rofl:

 

[charvolant]

T5 just came out. Why talk about a 6th version of what are supposed to be the final rules?

While the rules might stay stable, I imagine that the way the rules are represented over time will change. So 'T6' might be T5 in a form different to the standard Big Book o' Words.

Having said that, I'm not convinced that a new form would improve the essentially social nature of RPGs.

 

[JFGarber]

I'd like to hear what other fellow Travellers find great about using computers in there games too.

I am currently running a game for my elder daughter, who is very visual. I've had some success in loading a folder on my laptop with images, some downloaded from this site, and naming them 1.jpg, 2.jpg etc to show her some visual anchors as we proceed. At her age, I'm running very linear adventures, and this works well with no thought on my part.

I love Travellermap.com, but find that spending any time at all with my attention on a computer loses the young ladies attention.

 

[simonh]

I love Travellermap.com, but find that spending any time at all with my attention on a computer loses the young ladies attention.

The way to use a resource like Travellermap.com is to bring it directly into the game, i.e. make it something the character is using, not just the player. If a character needs information about the homeworld of an NPC, or needs to plan out a route for their starship, or figure out a mystery such as which worlds a derelict starship might have visited recently, then Travellermap.com can be very useful.

Of course that might not be viable for young children, my girls are 8 and 9 and they're beginning to become quite adept with websites and some software.

Simon Hibbs

 

[BytePro]

My version of Traveller has been 'computerized' for 30 years.

With computers, I manage to keep my Players focused on roleplaying, entertained and engaged and avoid Players being distracted or sidelining a game.

The game is still played in our imaginations. Never found computers to be a distraction, quite the opposite. A screen (now touch tablet) with starmap, orbit plot, worldmap, local map, building layout, deckplan, mugshot, crime scene, artifact, message, video, etc. becomes quite the center of attention. Being able to generate NPCs, encounters and other random events, names, goods, star systems, etc. on demand, not to mention instantly reference notes and rules without rifling through papers, books and index cards avoids delays that can lead to bored Players.