[Traveller Renaissance] Update your Traveller webpage

[robject]

For those of us who have Traveller-related content on the web, what sort of landing page do we need to be newbie-friendly?

I figure I need a clean page with a clear, simple explanation of Traveller.

Taveller is a role-playing game set against a background drawn from adventure oriented science fiction.

In the distant future, interstellar travel is as common as international travel is today. The tremendous distances involved in travel between the stars dictate that such voyages take weeks, months, and even years. A situation similar to Earth in the eighteenth century is created, where communication is limited to the speed of travel, and the stage is set for adventure in a grand fashion, with all the trappings of classic science fiction: giant, star-spanning empires (good, evil, or both), huge starfleets, wily interstellar merchants (or pirates, depending on your point of view), complex diplomatic maneuvers, larger-than-life heroes, heroines, and villains.

Then, I need links to, say, five key library data to further clarify things.

The key to the universe is the jump drive.
The Imperium.
Starports, bases, and trade.
Stellar cartography, including The Xboat network and embedded link to the marches on Travellermap.
The major races.

Finally, a Learn More section with links.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

Don't forget my favorite:

There is no Prime Directive.

 

[robject]

Here's a format I wrote some years ago. It can be better... and there are better formats... but this is a good first stab. I tried to give some information without going into painful detail. The idea is that the newbie will have a handle on Traveller after browsing, and has resources if he wants to know more.

http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/Traveller/

 

[thalassogen]

Never thought about this - just assumed that only people in the know would visit my pages. But its a good idea to incorporate basic information for interested/newbies. Shall we create a common baseline for such a landing page?

 

[robject]

Never thought about this - just assumed that only people in the know would visit my pages. But its a good idea to incorporate basic information for interested/newbies. Shall we create a common baseline for such a landing page?

In particular I thought your page was a good one for an intro.

You can solicit suggestions, but I suggest not waiting for a consensus!

 

[Space Hamster]

I don’t think every site should dedicate their main page to new people. I think the little blurb noted in the OP would be ok and a link right below it that said “For more information check here.” The link could then go to a page that can have a layout intended for a potential new player. You are only new for so long.

 

[thalassogen]

You can solicit suggestions.

May I steal some of your introductory content instead (you will get attribution of course)? I would than rework that and all here may than post their suggestions.

Or do you have any concrete ideas of how to upgrade the site for newbies?

 

[whulorigan]

Here's a format I wrote some years ago. It can be better... and there are better formats... but this is a good first stab. I tried to give some information without going into painful detail. The idea is that the newbie will have a handle on Traveller after browsing, and has resources if he wants to know more.

http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/Traveller/

Minor nit-picky thing, but I would perhaps liken it more to the 19th century than the 18th. As someone mentioned in another thread, the trans-oceanic travel times (and speed-of-travel based communication) in both centuries are about the same, but the 19th Century had telegraph for "local" (near-instantaneous) communications, meaning that there is a parallel for in-system high-tech/high-speed communication, while still isolating interstellar worlds (equivalent to 19th Century continents) from each other.

The 19th Century also has more of an "industrial" or "technologically progressive" flavor, while still being a colonial/imperial "frontier" period.

 

[Marchand]

Don't forget my favorite:

There is no Prime Directive.

..."if you think you're smarter than the natives, trade with them".

Can't remember where I read that now.

 

[rancke]

Don't forget my favorite:

There is no Prime Directive.

The Scouts do interdict some low-tech worlds to protect the populations from the effects of contact.


Hans

 

[robject]

May I steal some of your introductory content instead (you will get attribution of course)? I would than rework that and all here may than post their suggestions.

Don't attribute me; most of it comes from The Traveller Book, with some minor editing and stitching.

It might go beyond Fair Use. If Marc thinks so, I'll do more editing.

 

[robject]

First, I'll stress that it's just your landing page that needs the introductory material. Just enough so that someone relatively unfamiliar with Traveller can adapt.

Now, something my page is MISSING and desperately NEEDS is a hook. A way to engage the reader, draw them into Traveller.

Probably, that something could start with the Beowulf's Mayday.

 

[MichaelSTee]

Rob, this might be beyond what you're trying to do, but since a lot of people make their own universes to play in, you might mention how Traveller can be used as a toolkit to make your own background. I also like that bit Marc wrote about casual players, detailed role-players, and systems engineers (page 21 of T5).

 

[robject]

Rob, this might be beyond what you're trying to do, but since a lot of people make their own universes to play in, you might mention how Traveller can be used as a toolkit to make your own background. I also like that bit Marc wrote about casual players, detailed role-players, and systems engineers (page 21 of T5).

Yep, that's reasonable. I can work that in to my pages - I have to do a rewrite anyhow.

 

[thalassogen]

I added a new page to explain the game and link to detailed info: http://heldenhaufen.de/T5/

Is it obvious enough how to get to the new page?
What do you think of the content?

 

[robject]

So my landing page and intro pages need punch. They're text out of a book right now. Time for a rewrite -- time to stop plagiarizing GDW and start injecting some of the player character's POV.

 

[thalassogen]

Not sure if your statement is of general nature or somehow linked to my landing page.

I would be really thankful for feedback as I am not a native speaker of English. I kept the page short for a reason: to provide a very rough overview and give some links to more detailed content. I wanted the text to arouse interest, but am not sure how successful I have been. For sure, there needs to be at least another paragraph about adventure possibilities. But then again, Traveller offers so many possibilities...

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

The landing pages need to be linked to the Wikipedia entry on Traveller. If people hear about Traveller and are curious, Wikipedia may very well be the first place they look.

 

[robject]

Updated the title to sync up with its sister topics.

 

[Carlobrand]

Here's a question from one who's internet skills are about what you'd expect from someone born and raised before there was anything resembling a desktop computer: how do you get a webpage? I have a vague idea that it involves some sort of programming and editing since there are folk called web designers who do that kind of thing for money, but how does one get it out there for others to see and access?