Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
How important is the art in Traveller to you?
For me, I've found that I am more attracted to Traveller editions when I like the art. Or, I should say, when I think the art "fits" my mind's eye of what Traveller should be.
The reason that I bought my first set of Traveller rules, Starter Traveller, back in 1982, is because I saw that cover art and said to myself, "Man! That's cool! Look at that..what is it? An autoshotgun? An autorifle with a flash suppressor or sliencer?"
It didn't hurt that the more silhouetted pics at the bottom, with the lens-flare flashes, reminded me of the blasters used in Battlestar Galactica--a show that I loved back in 1982 (even though it had been off the air for a couple of years).
Then, opening the box and flipping through the books....I just love that B&W art.
This last pic is one of my favorites of the interior art. I remember getting the boxed set, seeing that pic, and then trying to figure out what equipment the character was wearing.
After some self reflection, I realize now that art has something--not everything--to do with why I never got crazy about too many other editions of Traveller.
The box cover for MegaTraveller, I love, but I never felt the art in MT was as consistent as it was with CT.
TNE? I really didn't like that art at all. It's a completely different style. It looks...i don't know...less realistic, I guess. This was just one of many things that turned me off to TNE. Although, today, I'm a bit intrigued by the rule system--that's the reason I never sold my TNE stuff (and I have a lot of it--never played a single game).
Marc Miller's Traveller? I adopted it. I played it. I played a long campaign of it. I liked a lot of what I read inside the pages, but, man, I never liked that art. None of it was ever as cool as CT.
Traveller 20? Haven't seen a lot of that art. Did like the line drawing of the updated scout vessel quite a bit. But, the cover? Naw.
Mongoose Traveller. Never really gave it a fair shake, to be honest. But, man, don't like the art. Not at all. I don't think it fits Traveller at all.
I still like the art in CT to this day. I'll be flipping through a CT adventure or supplement, see something, and my creative juices start flowing.
The art picked for CT (at least for me) really described a lot of the universe for me, complementing the rules.
What about you?
How important is art to you when it comes to Traveller?
For me, I've found that I am more attracted to Traveller editions when I like the art. Or, I should say, when I think the art "fits" my mind's eye of what Traveller should be.
The reason that I bought my first set of Traveller rules, Starter Traveller, back in 1982, is because I saw that cover art and said to myself, "Man! That's cool! Look at that..what is it? An autoshotgun? An autorifle with a flash suppressor or sliencer?"
It didn't hurt that the more silhouetted pics at the bottom, with the lens-flare flashes, reminded me of the blasters used in Battlestar Galactica--a show that I loved back in 1982 (even though it had been off the air for a couple of years).
![31879616d323dca10570326addd41212.jpg](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F31%2F87%2F96%2F31879616d323dca10570326addd41212.jpg&hash=b92df2d66945375d28c804f60e3a5604)
Then, opening the box and flipping through the books....I just love that B&W art.
![tumblr_n9hqaduh2C1ro2bqto1_400.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2F68.media.tumblr.com%2F9ea5ddf9d69839849f2e652cd81dce49%2Ftumblr_n9hqaduh2C1ro2bqto1_400.jpg&hash=3817729b5024aaaad19ceb2481b375af)
![tumblr_o5u8ojOIEJ1sndzdgo1_500.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2F66.media.tumblr.com%2F86a200e3e75ee9d59fb420eb275fba8a%2Ftumblr_o5u8ojOIEJ1sndzdgo1_500.jpg&hash=ad878dde7c3690139f186910b3c4ee04)
This last pic is one of my favorites of the interior art. I remember getting the boxed set, seeing that pic, and then trying to figure out what equipment the character was wearing.
After some self reflection, I realize now that art has something--not everything--to do with why I never got crazy about too many other editions of Traveller.
The box cover for MegaTraveller, I love, but I never felt the art in MT was as consistent as it was with CT.
TNE? I really didn't like that art at all. It's a completely different style. It looks...i don't know...less realistic, I guess. This was just one of many things that turned me off to TNE. Although, today, I'm a bit intrigued by the rule system--that's the reason I never sold my TNE stuff (and I have a lot of it--never played a single game).
Marc Miller's Traveller? I adopted it. I played it. I played a long campaign of it. I liked a lot of what I read inside the pages, but, man, I never liked that art. None of it was ever as cool as CT.
Traveller 20? Haven't seen a lot of that art. Did like the line drawing of the updated scout vessel quite a bit. But, the cover? Naw.
Mongoose Traveller. Never really gave it a fair shake, to be honest. But, man, don't like the art. Not at all. I don't think it fits Traveller at all.
I still like the art in CT to this day. I'll be flipping through a CT adventure or supplement, see something, and my creative juices start flowing.
The art picked for CT (at least for me) really described a lot of the universe for me, complementing the rules.
What about you?
How important is art to you when it comes to Traveller?