The State of Traveller

[Bravesteel]

First off I would like to say hello. I tend to be more of a lurker on forums even though I read them quite a bit. I wanted to bring up something that has been bothering me as of late, and possibly facilitate some discussion.

I will be attending Gen Con 2015 which will be my first convention ever. I'm very excited to get some gaming in and to mingle with fellow RPG/Gaming enthusiasts. However, to my dismay, there are hardly any Traveller events on the docket (two at last count and Classic Traveller) and there doesn't seem to be any presence in the form of Traveller publishing companies such as FFE and Mongoose. Am I alone here in thinking there is something wrong with this picture when there are loads of new companies and events just this year alone (according to repeat attendees)? Will Traveller always be that game that's there whilst other SF games, although not hard Science Fiction, get tons of exposure and push?

 

[DonM]

I believe that the premiere of Spinward Traveller will be at GenCon 2015, and Marc will be there...

 

[Hemdian]

I believe that the premier of the Traveller TV pilot is going to be shown at this year's Gencon US. It remains to be seen if this will become an actual series but there should be a few Traveller names there. (I really wanted to go this year but couldn't due to a scheduling conflict with a family commitment. )

But, yeah, Traveller does seem to fly under the radar a lot. In the UK, ever since T4, there's been an organisation called BITS that always tried to field some sort of presence at Gencon UK and various local cons. Maybe we need a North American equivalent?

 

[Timerover51]

First off I would like to say hello. I tend to be more of a lurker on forums even though I read them quite a bit. I wanted to bring up something that has been bothering me as of late, and possibly facilitate some discussion.

I will be attending Gen Con 2015 which will be my first convention ever. I'm very excited to get some gaming in and to mingle with fellow RPG/Gaming enthusiasts. However, to my dismay, there are hardly any Traveller events on the docket (two at last count and Classic Traveller) and there doesn't seem to be any presence in the form of Traveller publishing companies such as FFE and Mongoose. Am I alone here in thinking there is something wrong with this picture when there are loads of new companies and events just this year alone (according to repeat attendees)? Will Traveller always be that game that's there whilst other SF games, although not hard Science Fiction, get tons of exposure and push?

Having worked at GenCon a lot in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Milwaukee, I do not recall seeing a Traveller game being run at all. That does not mean that there might not have been a couple, but I do not remember seeing any on the program as scheduled games. Space: 1889 was run a fair bit at Little Wars, but not Traveller.

 

[GypsyComet]

Having worked at GenCon a lot in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Milwaukee, I do not recall seeing a Traveller game being run at all. That does not mean that there might not have been a couple, but I do not remember seeing any on the program as scheduled games. Space: 1889 was run a fair bit at Little Wars, but not Traveller.

That was the period when Clay Bush was making a point of running at least one Traveller game each year at GenCon. I met him there in '95 (which was also the year of the launch event for T4), which was near the end of his run as he didn't follow GenCon to its new home.

 

[DonM]

That was right about the time of Clay Bush's falling ill and then death.

The fact that Jeff and I could not recover Clay Bush's materials despite having the right contacts I still consider my major personal Traveller failure. No one has replaced Clay. Perhaps no one could or ever will.

 

[maksimsmelchak]

That was right about the time of Clay Bush's falling ill and then death.

The fact that Jeff and I could not recover Clay Bush's materials despite having the right contacts I still consider my major personal Traveller failure. No one has replaced Clay. Perhaps no one could or ever will.

What did Clay Bush do? What vacuum did he leave?

I spent time in the military and overseas and missed much of the Traveller community news... The name rings a bell...

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[robject]

What did Clay Bush do? What vacuum did he leave?

I spent time in the military and overseas and missed much of the Traveller community news... The name rings a bell...

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Clayton_R._Bush

Founding member of HIWG, prolific, quality Traveller author, and so on.

 

[DonM]

Sadly, Clay apparently gave his IP rights to Marc, but Marc didn't get very many of those materials.

 

[maksimsmelchak]

Sadly, Clay apparently gave his IP rights to Marc, but Marc didn't get very many of those materials.

Bummer.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.