The Traveller "family tree"

[Finarvyn]

I didn't want this to get lost in a particular edition thread, so I thought "Lone Star" might be the best place for it. Apologies if it's been discussed elsewhere and I just can't find it.

1. I think I saw somewhere a "family tree" of Traveller editions that showed which versions of the game were most like others, and what the "natural evolution" would be from one to another. (For example, it's clear that GURPS Traveller and T20 Traveller are not directly tied to CT since they were written for totally different game systems.) Does anyone know where to find it, or could anyone summorize?

2. I'm getting e-mails about the T5 kickstart and would like more info before I decide if I'm all in or not. Relating to question #1 above, how does T5 fit into the family? If I mostly play CT, will I find T5 to be a reboot of the same basic system or is it a new game entirely?

 

[aramis]

As far as I've been able to piece together... (From Designers Notes, design similarities, and publishing history)...

Imperium . EnGarde
.......\ ./ . \
....... CT ... \
......./| \ ...S1889
..... | | .\ . /
..... | | . T2K1
..... | | .../ . \
..... | | .T2300 .\
..... | | / . | …T2K2E
..... | MT .2300AD / | .\
..... | |\ . \ .../ DC - C&D
..... | | \ . \ ./
..... | | .\ . \/
..... | | . \ ./
...../|\\ . TNE
(*) / | \\ ./
.| / .| .T4
.† . / \ .|
.. MGT . T5

* D20, GURPS or HERO
† T20, GT, or T4H aka HT

Note that TNE and T4 are major breaks from compatibility.

For these purposes, Striker is part of CT.

CT and MT, and to a lesser extent, MT, have roughly the same scale for skill levels, and characters are readily compatible.

TNE is slightly different scaling, and gives about 1.5x the skills of MT; it gives fewer skills than T2K, but is otherwise T2K compatible.
T4 gives roughly 3x the skills of CT. T5 is a direct ancestor of T4 for character purposes; They are not exactly compatible, but a character from one will have skills in numbers and levels comparable to T4.

MT hybridizes Striker and HG for it's tech architecture, winding up compatible only with Striker, but using ratings that mean HG ships can be used as is, even tho they can't be built to match.
TNE derives its tech from MT, but with several changes, and more reference to Bk5, and a lot more "real world emulation" from the T2K side of things.
T5 is a unique technical architecture, but derives ships from CT-Bk2... but with much more detail.
MGT is another unique technical architecture, and like T5, derives ships fro CT Bk2 with some HG references.

So, mostly, you'll find a different game, but one that uses the same attributes and concepts. LOADS more detail available for almost everything.

 

[far-trader]

Can you fill in some blanks for me? What are "DC" and "C&D" short for? Best my mind can conjure up is "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" for the one and a blank for the other

My thanks in advance

 

[Hyphen]

Can you fill in some blanks for me? What are "DC" and "C&D" short for? Best my mind can conjure up is "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" for the one and a blank for the other

My thanks in advance

My guess is "Dark Conspiracy".

Thanks for the cladogram, Wil. It's just for ruleset, right?

 

[dean]

Interesting, but hard to follow. Any chance you can picturify it?

 

[mike wightman]

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.

 

[mike wightman]

Also the family trees wrong - sort of

1977 CT
1981 CT revised
The Traveller Book
Starter Edition

MT

TNE

T4 (GT T20 HT MgT)

T5

 

[aramis]

Also the family trees wrong - sort of

1977 CT
1981 CT revised
The Traveller Book
Starter Edition

The differences in CT are, compared to the rest, trivialities. The Task system in MT originates in a 3rd party supplement series, through 2300, and into MT.

Further, it's NOT a timeline. So your criticism of it, obviously based in being a timeline, is based in ignorance of what it is - a relationship and inheritance map, not a timeline.

DC is Dark Conspiracy, C&D is Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.