Subj:	Traveller-digest V1999 #910
Date:	8/1/99 11:42:58 AM Pacific Daylight Time
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Traveller-digest       Sunday, August 1 1999       Volume 1999 : Number 910



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Version 5.0 of my World Builder Deluxe
Icelandic Babelfish?
Mark's Traveller Utilities (was Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0)
World Builder Deluxe V5.0
Re: Using Traveller Rules in Other Games.
MT Ship Building Program
Re: Damn ! Busted !
RE: Damn ! Busted !
Re: MT Ship Building Program
Re: Ground To Space Laser Fire....
Re: Move in GT
Re: MT Ship Building Program
Back.....crasser than ever!
Re: RL:There's Oil in them thar Saturnian satellites...
RL:  Fuel Cell Story
Re: Average Density of Cargo?
Test

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 09:31:20 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: Version 5.0 of my World Builder Deluxe

>>c) The choice between using MT 'World Builder Handbook' rules or GURPS
>>'First In' Rules.

What are the critical difference between these two, I am (was) planning on
ordering "First In" even though I don't do GURPs. Are there still copies of
WBH? Is it more along CT lines? Should I seek that out instead?
BZA
////////////////////////////////////////
Akella 0609 C654474-6 S kk+ hi++ as+ va+ dr+ da+ so@ zh- vi+  A523
IMTU tc++ ?t4 ru@ 3i+(-) c+ jt au@ st- ls+ pi+ ta@ he+

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 10:16:41
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Subject: Icelandic Babelfish?

Somebody recently mention an alta-vista like page that di English-Icelandic
translations.  Could someone send me that URL?  I seem to have deleted the
original message.

Thanks!
- -- 

Douglas E. Berry  dberry@hooked.net
Sjolidsforingi, Njosnadeild
Geimdeild sambandshersins 
Gram, Sverdaheimssambandid
http://www.hooked.net/~dberry/gateway.html

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 13:06:23 -0500
From: Mark A Nordstrand <markn@visi.com>
Subject: Mark's Traveller Utilities (was Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0)

> I haven't yet installed someone's suite of Traveller tools based
> on wxGTK, but it looks interesting, and it runs on Linux.

That somebody would be me, and it's Mark's Traveller Utillities
(available at http://www.visi.com/~markn/index.html ).  Yes, even
I think it's a pain to install and build, and yes, it still has 
bugs (the list of known ones is included in the tarball).  

Although it will handle a lot of the issues you raised about wbh
and trtools, things like 3d sector mapping and GT isn't in there.
I won't say they won't ever be in there, since the modular nature
of the application allows for replacing the Book 6 method for
system generation (for example).  And, it is Open Source (L-GPL),
so your suggestions are encouraged (although some of the code is
not real pretty to look at).

If you already have it, take the time to try and install it.  If
you have problems, email me, I can't address unknown bugs.

I'm not pushing this thing because, well, I'm a software geek by
trade not a marketroid.  So, my time is better spent writing code
;)

Mark

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 14:24:36 -0400
From: "Terry Carlino" <carlino@home.com>
Subject: World Builder Deluxe V5.0

Stuart Ferris <stuart.ferris@virgin.net> wrote:

>Version 5.0 of my World Builder Deluxe software has been released. The new
>version has a significant number of improvements:-

>....
>The software is compatible with Windows 95/98 & NT. It may be downloaded
>from the following location:-
>
>http://www.cozmos-cosmos.com/~sferris/Traveller_World_Builder_Deluxe.zip

>....

>stuart.ferris@virgin.net
>http://freespace.virgin.net/stuart.ferris/index.htm

It's terrific. I'm about to send a group of PC's (IISS External Mapping
Branch) into Aslan space to do an extensive survey. Their mission will
require that I have detail system stats, as well as an interesting series of
plot lines to tie it down.  I can see that WB will allow me to spend more
time preparing my plot lines and less generating system stats.


Terry C

All that is Gold does not glitter
Not all who travel are lost

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 11:47:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jetrock <jetrock@emrl.com>
Subject: Re: Using Traveller Rules in Other Games.

On Fri, 30 Jul 1999, Legate Legion wrote:

>     Do you use rules from Traveller in other games?  For example, I also
> enjoy playing Rifts - Phase World & Macross II, both from Palladium & I have
> turn Rifts - Phase World into a quasi-Traveller game.  I.e. I have used the
> General Background from Phase World, but use many of the ships, Mega-Corps,
> Trade & Commerce Rules, World Building Rules & Mappers (World , Sector
> Mappers (Galactic 2.4), etc to fill in the gaps in what they have presented.
> Has anyone else done this?

Well, prior to the release of GURPS Vehicles, I used to use the
STRIKER/MegaTraveller vehicle design sequence to create vehicles for my
GURPS Cyberpunk campaign.  I suppose I could have used the design rules
from GURPS Autoduel, but they weren't quite right for what I had in
mind--and would have had to fudge too heavily to design my favorite
vehicle from my homebrew GURPS Cyberpunk campaign: the 2019
Mikoyan-Gruevich Roadster (the front two-thirds is a surplus
attack-helicopter turbine engine and a substantial front bumper, the back
third is a cramped crew compartment. It's considered the high point of
Russian muscle-car engineering.)

- --Rev. Jetrock, founder of UBERKUNST, Freelance Digital Appliance Healer
http://emrl.com/~jetrock for UBERKUNST and MONSTER ATTACK information!

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 11:58:48 -0700
From: "Legate Legion" <legate@futureone.com>
Subject: MT Ship Building Program

    Does anyone know of a good MT Ship Building Program?

Legate Legion
ICQ # 8973001
legate@futureone.com

"A man may fight for many things; his country, his principles, his friends,
the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd
mudwrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock, and a stack of
French porn." - Edmund Blackadder

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:33:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Houghton <herveus@Radix.Net>
Subject: Re: Damn ! Busted !

Howdy! (*gasp* *gasp*)
> 
> **** News Flash ***
> 
> FS is in turmoil as Ditzie's private hash oil supply has been identified by
> an elite team of combat astronomers at Livermore.
> 
> *** Flash Ends ***
> 
No fair! I can't LOL properly with this *$%@# bronchitis (and its getting
better).

Jesse:

Did you note the latest deductions of Titan's surface features? 
"Oceans of organic stuff" (I take liberties in my paraphrase, yes...)

yours,
Michael
- -- 
Michael and MJ Houghton   | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
herveus@radix.net         | White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA            | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
                          | http://www.radix.net/~herveus/

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 16:29:43 -0700
From: "Jesse DeGraff" <fenris@slip.net>
Subject: RE: Damn ! Busted !

Nope, hadn't seen it.  A case of the joke going way over my head :)

Jesse



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> [mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com]On Behalf Of Michael
> Houghton
> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 1999 3:33 PM
> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> Subject: Re: Damn ! Busted !
> 
> 
> Howdy! (*gasp* *gasp*)
> > 
> > **** News Flash ***
> > 
> > FS is in turmoil as Ditzie's private hash oil supply has been 
> identified by
> > an elite team of combat astronomers at Livermore.
> > 
> > *** Flash Ends ***
> > 
> No fair! I can't LOL properly with this *$%@# bronchitis (and its getting
> better).
> 
> Jesse:
> 
> Did you note the latest deductions of Titan's surface features? 
> "Oceans of organic stuff" (I take liberties in my paraphrase, yes...)
> 
> yours,
> Michael
> -- 
> Michael and MJ Houghton   | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
> herveus@radix.net         | White Wolf and the Phoenix
> Bowie, MD, USA            | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
>                           | http://www.radix.net/~herveus/
> 

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:32:58 -0500
From: Sam Thomas <sinbad@hex.net>
Subject: Re: MT Ship Building Program

At 11:58 AM 07/31/1999 -0700, you wrote:
>     Does anyone know of a good MT Ship Building Program?

Does a Excel spreadsheet count?<G>

Sinbad Sam
sinbad@hex.net

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 08:55:34 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Ground To Space Laser Fire....

In mail you write:

>         
>         Question...  would a 100Mw chemically-pumped laser, if fired from
> the ground be sufficient to incinerate something the size of the Hubble?
> Say firing time is in the 3 to 6 second range.  Or would the energy level
> have to be higher?  Doing a reality-check on a game situation and was
> wondering.  Thanks.

Well, for starters, energy delivered is:
	 (power * time) * atmospheric absorption

Where the absorption is a number from 0 to 1. 

So assuming *no* absoroption, you've delivered 3-6 Mj. For reference, a
"kilo of TNT" is 4.2 Mj. 

So you'd severly damage it. But it'd be mostly in one piece. And it
*definitely* wouldn't be "incinerated".

To *incinerate* something (actually "vaporize") you need to figure the
mass and "average" composition. Then look up the specific heat of the
material. That's the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram (or is
it kilo?) one degree C. So figure what it takes to heat it from the
starting temp to the melting temp. Now you need to look up the "heat of
liquefaction". That's how much energy it takes to change one unit of the
solid at melting temp to one unit of *liquid* at melting temp. Then you
use the specific heat again to figure out how much energy it takes to
raise the liquid to boiling. The you use the heat of vaporization to
see how much energy it takes to change a unit of liquid at boiling to a
unit of vapor at boiling. 

In general it takes *hideous* amounts of power to vaporize anything.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:55:31 -0700
From: "David P. Summers" <summers@alum.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: Move in GT

>Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 09:17:26 -0400
>From: "Dan Eveland" <develand@mindspring.com>
>Subject: Move in GT
>
>Question: does the enhanced move for Vargr and Aslan multiply the move
>before the encumbrance penalty, or after. I think after.

Odd, I never throught about it before.  My guess is after (it
doubles your move score, not your basic speed) based on the
wording of the rules.  However, I might go ahead an allow it to
be applied before if I was a GM.
______________________________
summers@alum.mit.edu
(This is the net.  My e-mail address may be in Boston, but I'm in California.)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 02:32:04 -0700
From: "Legate Legion" <legate@futureone.com>
Subject: Re: MT Ship Building Program

From: Sam Thomas <sinbad@hex.net>
Subject: Re: MT Ship Building Program

>Does a Excel spreadsheet count?<G>


    No, what I am looking for is something that stands alone.

Legate Legion, Militant Jewish Terrorist & Old Gaming Fart
Cult 'O Gabe's Holy Avenger in charge of Military Afairs
ICQ # 8973001
legate@futureone.com
http://www.futureone.com/~legate/index.htm

"A man may fight for many things; his country, his principles, his friends,
the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd
mudwrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock, and a stack of
French porn." - Edmund Blackadder

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 20:32:27 +0800
From: "Mick Bailey" <mickb@iinet.net.au>
Subject: Back.....crasser than ever!

>Mick was going to be working on a SVGALIB version after porting it to FPK,
>but he kinda dissappeared over the Australian summer there...  If you
*DON'T*
>have FPK yet, *GET IT*!!!  It's a TP workalike for Linux & Windoze.  It's
at:

I just tuned back in and...sniff...it's good to be missed...sniff....

Aaaah...those long hot summer days...

Seriously though, work commitments have _really_ cut into my available time,
but now that I'm off shift work, I'll be paying a lot more attention to the
list than I have over the past six months.  I'm also writing freelance, and
studying part time, so I guess thwe amazing thing is that I have any free
time at all.  Except for the Pub...I've _always_ got time for the pub.

I'm still chucking the Linux conversion around Kev...I kinda got sidetracked
learning Java.  The GTK+ toolkit for FPK will help get me back on track
though.

Slainte,


Mick

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 09:47:56 EDT
From: RnLschaefr@aol.com
Subject: Re: RL:There's Oil in them thar Saturnian satellites...

In a message dated 7/30/99 4:34:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu writes:

<< 
 I am now desperately trying to find useful rhymes for Titan, and come up
 with a "Beverly Hillbillies" parody.. >>
"Let me teel you a story 'bout a man named Jed ,a poor "Titaneer" barely kept 
his family fed...."

Well, it's a start...
BobS

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 09:05:35 -0500
From: Black ICE <wombat@premier.net>
Subject: RL:  Fuel Cell Story

I just read the following article in the Baton Rouge Advocate:

http://www.theadvocate.com/business/technobabble.asp

It discusses the prospects of Toyota's fuel cell automobile project.

- -- 
AuricTech Shipyards Journeyman Gearhead
"Gold-Plated [tm] solutions for copper-plated problems!" (r)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/9776

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 08:07:04 -0600
From: "Christopher B. Thrash" <thrash@io.com>
Subject: Re: Average Density of Cargo?

I'm visiting my folks in Maryland, where I have a much easier time finding
nautical books than in Colorado. I picked up a copy of
_Modern_Ship_Stowage_, US Dept of Commerce, 1942. 

Broken stowage is "the waste and loss of space caused by irregularity in
the size and shape of packages or the incidence of hold pillars, frames,
deck beams, and other obstructions."

Broken stowage for various types of cargo (not allowing for filling the
space with smaller goods):

Miscellaneous package freight	10-25%
(average probably 15%)
Standard package freight
	Bales				3-20%
	Sacks				0-12%
	Barrels			10-50%
	Cases				4-20%
	Drums				8-25%
	Rolls				10-25%
	Coils				10-25%
Bulk freight
	Grain				2-10%
	Lumber				5-50%
	Stone				5-10%
	Pig iron; ore			0-20%
	Car material			15-35%
	Locomotive material		10-25%

"It will be noted that broken stowage of 15 percent means that 15 percent
of the hold capacity remains unused because there is lost space between
units of cargo. It is assumed that the space is not filled with goods....
Some of these percentages are unnecessarily high, but are given because
they were provided by the stevedores."

These figures are pre-containerization, but there will be some broken
stowage with containers as well: either the cargo hold is designed for
general cargo and there are corners where containers won't fit, or the
cargo hold is designed for containers and there is some waste space where
the shape of the hold doesn't quite match the shape of the hull.

There are extensive lists of stowage factors in this book, but the only
generic figure I could find was an estimate of 40 cubic feet per long ton
(2,240 lbs). This works out to 1.11 m3 per metric ton, or 12.6 metric tons
per dton. Clothing packed for shipping in wooden crates is as close as I
could find to general baggage, at 2.90 m3/mton or 4.83 mton/dton. Both
figures do not account for broken stowage.

If someone has specific questions, I'd be happy to look them up.

Side issue: has anyone (former Air Force loadmasters, maybe?) considered
weight and balance in the design of starships and the stowage of freight?
Specifically: can the use of artificial gravity and/or contragravity
compensate for unbalanced loads -- both design loads and cargo -- and if
so, how? 

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 14:38:24 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Test

Been getting some weirdness in my system here.  Just testing to see if I got 
rid of it...

Keven

- -- 
tc++ tm+ tn t4- to ru++ ge+ 3i c+ jt au st- ls pi+ ta+ he+ so- vi zh sy
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In Reavers' Deep

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #910
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