Traveller-digest     Friday, September 10 1999     Volume 1999 : Number 1084



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Zhodani Core Expeditions Maps
RE Dustbin
Re: Vacuum tube computers
RE: Technology Demographics [Palm V]
Re: Hasbro buying WOTC
Re: WoTC
RE: WoTC
Re: The WOTC purchase
Re: Photographing starship miniatures
Re: Grand Tour
Re: Hasbro buying WOTC
Re: WoTC 
Hasbro & WotC (Humor)
RE: Hasbro buying WOTC
RE: Starship miniatures
Project Orion Updates
Re: Traveller-digest V1999 #1082
Re: Question regarding software for Traveller gaming
Re: 5FW: 1st Fleet?
Re: Technology Demographics
GURPS Design: Missile (redesign)

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:08:26 +0100
From: David Scott <d.scott@ic.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Zhodani Core Expeditions Maps

>	Does anyone know if ANY maps were made for the Zhodani Core
>Expeditions?

In the Original Zhodani Alien Module you had to randomly generate your 
own. There was a little description about different areas but not much.

David

David Scott
Interactive Media, National Museum of Science & Industry.
Direct Line 020-7942-4867
d.scott@nmsi.ac.uk

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:13:18 +0100
From: "Peter  Scarrott" <peter@myhelliconia.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: RE Dustbin

Smart, David J (David)" <dasmart@lucent.com>  said
>Rule #1 in my campaigns: Use the rules to get out of situations
>they get you into.
>Rule #2: There is _always_ a way out if you think hard enough.
>(I try to make sure of it)

Sometimes the players hate the solution, e.g. captured by a TED (sorry I
play TNE)

Like most refs I have modified the rules IMTU, this combined with the fact
that any mention of a rule mechanism that isn't absolutely necessary makes
the difficulty 1 step harder, helps keep any tendency to debate my decisions
to a minimum.  However I tend to emphasise ROLEplaying.

The mechanism I use is that the players tell me what they want to do (with
no mention of rules) and I tell them what skills/attributes to roll against,
unless they have tried to work out in advance how difficult the task was
they only learn the result of their attempt, not the die roll necessary.

This can be fun!! especially in combat in 1 session the players spent about
half an hour pinned down by an unconscious sniper who had been knocked out
by an incredibly lucky ricochet mid way through the combat.

Peter
http://www.myhelliconia.freeserve.co.uk
peter@myhelliconia.freeserve.co.uk

IMTU: tc+ tm tn++ ru+ !3i+ c+ jt- au- ls ta- hi++ ith++ va+ as- so  zh+ vi-
      And life is harsh and rarely fair.

If 'everyone knows' X, then it ain't so, by at least 10 0000 to 1
  Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love (By Robert.Heinlan)

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:17:48 +0100
From: Mark Watson <markw@antares.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Vacuum tube computers

On Fri, 10 Sep 1999, Eris Reddoch wrote:
>
>Hey, UK'ers...what was that "general purpose 4 letter word" the BBS
>invented for use on British TV?  I want to tell my boss, ex-Navy
>CPO, all about it...he's always looking to expand his vocabulary.
><g>

The writers of the (superb) BBC sitcom "Porridge" invented the word naff for
this purpose, with a range of variations (eg naffing hell!) and it subsequently
entered the language as an adjective, basically as an alternative to crap.
Though Princess Anne once got into trouble for telling a bunch of reporters to
naff off, assuming it was reported correctly.

- --
Mark Watson, markw@antares.demon.co.uk

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 04:24:57 -0500
From: "Slack, Andy" <andy.slack@gb.unisys.com>
Subject: RE: Technology Demographics [Palm V]

Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella wrote:
> > 5) Palm-V [snip]

Chris Olson replied:
>There is zero, nada, none, traveller software available for it.  I am
working to
>correct this terrible oversight :-)

Chris, I would be _very_ interested in any Traveller software for Palm.

I am a long-time Psion user who has just gone over to the Dark Side
(as my Psion-using friends put it) and I'm currently running the portable
version of my Trav campaign off a Palm IIIx, with charsheets held as memos,
campaign files held in RichReader [text] or ImageViewer [maps and
deckplans], and
the RollEm dice roller for, errm, well, you know.

This works fine, and I ran several whole games this summer with just the
Palm
and the character sheets [until my players get with the program I can't beam
them
their charsheets, have to print paper ones].

Andy
Fast forward into the future!

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:29:32 +0100
From: Mark Watson <markw@antares.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Hasbro buying WOTC

On Thu, 09 Sep 1999, SD Mooney wrote:
>Sethkimmel@aol.com writes:
>>Great; so not only will we NEVER see Avalon Hill games reprinted, now we will
>>NEVER see SPI games reprinted either... Hasbro sits on aquired material that
>>they don't use in a manner that makes Mr. Sanger look like a saint... :-(
>
>Hmm. Interestingly, Hasbro have just made the Atari Jaguar an open system
>after their aquisition of Atari over two (?) years ago - this means anyone
>can make software for it. There may be hope yet...
>
Also, Acquire at least is being reprinted, since there's a picture of it
(describing it in terms of being a new game) in the latest issue of Wired.

Mark
- --
Mark Watson, markw@antares.demon.co.uk

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:36:47 +0100
From: Mark Watson <markw@antares.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: WoTC

On Fri, 10 Sep 1999, Chris Seamans wrote:
>Computer games don't get made
>overnight, and the type of retooling that Hasbro will require to be a player
>in the computer game market is immense.
>
They also bought Microprose. I think a similar strategy informs the purchase of
WOTC. The best thing to come out of this is if there is an update to the MTG
computer game, in my opinion.
- --
Mark Watson, markw@antares.demon.co.uk

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 04:56:47 -0500
From: "Slack, Andy" <andy.slack@gb.unisys.com>
Subject: RE: WoTC

shudson@lightspeed.bc.ca (Steven Hudson) wrote...
>Perhaps more importantly, you don't mention the real possibility that 
the collapse of AD&D/TSR might see the return of the anti-christ^h^h, urm,
that is GW*, to the RPG field.<

Hmm, maybe I went over to the Dark Side earlier than I thought.
Of course, I quit about the time they started doing demonic miniatures
with their intestines hanging out...

>*aka "Pudding Workshop"<

We used to get people calling up asking for "Mr James Workshop".

Andy :-)

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 03:19:22
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <gridlore@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: The WOTC purchase

At 07:51 PM 9/9/1999 -0500, you wrote:

>I'm telling you, the only way out of this morass we're getting into is 
>LARPing, something the Man can't get at.

LARPing doesn't work for the gamers out there like myself, who are
chronically ill or physically handicapped.  No way would I play a
hard-of-hearing character with an End of about 1.
- -- 

Douglas E. Berry       gridlore@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html

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

Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 22:53:48 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Photographing starship miniatures

In mail you write:

>>Yes, but not for the reason you think. I seem to recall that most
>>"autofocus" cameras use *ultrasonic* ranging. Given the small size of
>>the minauture, it never even registered, the camera probably focused on
>>the *maps*.
>
> Most autocameras I've used use either IR ranging or a focus-split type
> arrangement. Ultrasound seems like a slightly unreliable system. Wouldn't
> the registered range vary with heat and humidity? And would that really work
> beyond a few yards?

I was going by what I'd noticed on cheap cameras a few years back. I've
got an ultrasonic tape measure, and it's good to at least 30 feet. It
uses a multi-frequency "chirp" as a ranging pulse, so it can compensate
for temp & humdity within reasonable ranges. 

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

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 08:16:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Houghton <herveus@Radix.Net>
Subject: Re: Grand Tour

Howdy!

> In a message dated 9/10/99 2:30:11 AM !!!First Boot!!!, j_pete@bellsouth.net 
> writes:
> 
> << I hope Tukera Lines doesn't claim this ship to be *unsinkable*. ;-)
>  There's a story there somewheres methinks.
>   >>
> 
> Gee, would that involve an uncharted planetoid and not having enough shuttles 
> for all of the sentients onboard...:-) ?
> 
"...a three jump tour; a three jump tour..."

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: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 08:21:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Houghton <herveus@Radix.Net>
Subject: Re: Hasbro buying WOTC

Howdy!

> In a message dated 9/10/99 1:09:49 AM !!!First Boot!!!, rtwilson@rollanet.org 
> writes:
> 
> << Like I pointed out to a guy I know, it's a plot. They are going to buy out
>  the entire RPG and CCG industries and kill them to rise the sell of board
>  games. :( >>
> 
> Well, I wouldn't shed a tear about CCG's disappearing, but I'd miss the 
> RPG's... :-) Seriously, I too wonder about D+D III. I bet that if it's in 
> final production, it'll go. I bet though otherwise it'll be put on hold while 
> marketing (who I bet hasn't one gamer in the whole staff...) decides if there 
> is enough of a market for it. I bet they say no... :-( I personally detest 
> D+D but I pray for its' re-release since it DOES have name recognition and it 
> would hopefully bring fresh blood in to the hobby. Said fresh blood could 
> hopefully be induced to try Traveller...
> 
It is reported that Hasbro intends to keep the existing WotC management in
place. If WotC produces a satisfactory bottom line for Hasbro, they probably
won't mess with it too much. 

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: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:13:57 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Re: WoTC 

> >5 minutes to think up. A company like Hasbro doesn't spend $300+ dollars in
> >just 5 minutes. I'm sure they thought about this purchase for a long time
> 
> Whoops!
> 
> Actually, they probably spend $300+ every five seconds. I meant to say $300+
> million. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
> 
> Hell, if WotC were going for $325, I'd take out a loan ;)

<humour>

Ferget the loan.  Where's my .45?  Where's the nearest liquor store???
 
</humour>

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

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:21:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: William Prankard <cmdrx@magicnet.net>
Subject: Hasbro & WotC (Humor)

Here's what I think will happen as a result of Hasbro buying WotC:

Magic and Monopoly will be combined into a new CGG:  Monopoly: The
Aquiring
Collect property cards, trade and sell them with your friends.  Especialy
for the coveted Bordwalk and Park Place Cards.

An influx of new Pop-o-matics with polyhedral dice.

Other popular board games with a fantasy flair (all using the pop-o-hedral
dice system)

New action figures based on D&D and Alternity, with accompanying cartoon
shows!

These are only a few ideas. Any other (humerous) thoughts regarding this?  

\\  // Commander X
 \\//  CEO X-TEK Industries of Deneb, LIC
T E K  Starship Contractor & High Energy Weapons Research
 //\\  http://www.magicnet.net/~cmdrx/xtek/xtek.htm
//  \\ 0608 D557777-A kk- va+ so+ zh+ da+ A723

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:41:35 -0400
From: "Clark, William" <Clark@bessemer.com>
Subject: RE: Hasbro buying WOTC

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Watson [mailto:markw@antares.demon.co.uk]
> Sent: Friday, September 10, 1999 5:30 AM
> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> Subject: Re: Hasbro buying WOTC
> 
> 
> On Thu, 09 Sep 1999, SD Mooney wrote:
> >Sethkimmel@aol.com writes:
> >>Great; so not only will we NEVER see Avalon Hill games reprinted, now we
will
> >>NEVER see SPI games reprinted either... Hasbro sits on aquired material
that
> >>they don't use in a manner that makes Mr. Sanger look like a saint...
:-(
> >
> >Hmm. Interestingly, Hasbro have just made the Atari Jaguar an open system
> >after their aquisition of Atari over two (?) years ago - this means
anyone
> >can make software for it. There may be hope yet...
> >
> Also, Acquire at least is being reprinted, since there's a picture of it
> (describing it in terms of being a new game) in the latest issue of Wired.
> 
> Mark
> --
> Mark Watson, markw@antares.demon.co.uk

Actually a number of items are scheduled to be printed.  This message was
placed on The Miniatures Page website on Sept. 7th:

Hasbro to Publish Introductory Miniatures Game


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

We received the following announcement from Consumer Affairs
(consumer_support@hasbro.com) at Hasbro:

Hasbro is pleased to introduce its lineup of Avalon Hill strategy board
games.

The Diplomacy game is the classic game of skill and cunning negotiations
that is in the Games Magazine "Hall of Fame."

Ages: 12 & up 
Players: 4 to 8  
Approx. retail:  $44.99
Available:  November '99

The Acquire game, the classic Hall of Fame game, is all about acquisitions
and mergers.

Ages: 12 & up 
Players: 2 to 6 
Approx. retail: $39.99 
Available: December '99.

Axis & Allies - Europe is the new version of the best-selling, award-winning
World War II game focusing specifically on the European Theater.

Ages: 12 & up 
Players: 2 to 4  
Approx. Retail: $44.99 
Available: February '00

Stratego Legends(tm) is the latest collectible, customizable fantasy game
from Avalon Hill with over 200 characters and 24 Battleboards within its
universe.

Ages: 10 & up
Players: 2 (4,6,8 with add'l games)
SRP: $24.99  
Available: October '99.

Battle Cry is Avalon Hill's introductory tabletop miniatures battle game.

Ages: 12 & up
Players: 2 
Approx retail: $44.99
Available: March '00
 
In addition, there is another post on the status of Avalon Hill games at the
same website.  Check out the following:
http://members.xoom.com/minipage/new/harSep99v0.html

Bill C.
- -----------------------
clark@bessemer.com 

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:59:00 -0400
From: Glenn Myers <glenn.myers@ansys.com>
Subject: RE: Starship miniatures

I'm using the Silent Seath Prowler for my higher tech scout. I've
mounted different fixtures from Battlemech miniatures under the nose
with epoxy for a varied sensor array. I will likely paint this batch
soon, once I decide on colors.

- -----Original Message-----
From: Antony Farrell [mailto:Skaran@bigpond.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 1999 2:12 AM
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
Subject: FW: Starship miniatures


I love starship miniatures, but as the Traveller ones are so hard to
get, I
managed to obtain the SDB and Far Trader before the stockist ran out
never
to see any more, that I mainly use Silent Death and Full Thrust
miniatures
in MTU. For example my Outreach class armoured scout is based on the
Silent
Death Blackwidow class fighter. I even did a set of deck plans based on
the
configuration.
Anybody else doing things like this?

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 04:24:25 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Project Orion Updates

[re-mailed to you from rec.arts.sf.science]
[the original seemed to come from lexcorp@ix.netcom.com]

For the first time in many years, New Stuff is being released regarding
the Orion Project (Nuclear Pulse propulsion). And strangely, there are
multiple projects... all began separately, but have, of course, had some
cross talk between them.

1) A book about Orion, very heavily researched, is in the works. Being
written by George Dyson (name sound familiar? Try thinking of his
father, Freeman), it is to be released in 2001 or so. Focusses on the
people and story.

2) A one-hour documentary is scheduled to be aired on the History
Channel on October 31. Expect to see previously unseen testing footage
(I've seen some... quite impressive, even in slo-mo!)

3) And, of course, Aerospace projects Review is doing an extensive
series of articles on Orion. The first major article, describing the
10-meter NASA design in considerable technical detail is NOW AVAILABLE.
This has 20 pages and many illustrations (far better than any I've seen
published elsewhere). This can be found at:
http://www.webcreations.com/ptm/apr/apr.htm

All of these projects are worthwhile for those interested in Orion (I
should know, I'm responsible for #3). Considerable efforts have been
made on the parts of all involved to obtain and declassifiy previously
classified data/drawings/films. So, finally, everyone with an interest
in Orion or advanced space propulsion can finally get good data with
which to debate and argue over, rather than arguing using the extremely
vague data that has been available previously.
- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:01:19 -0400
From: Ethan Henry <egh@klg.com>
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1999 #1082

I've been meaning to post this... (maybe someone beat me to it in the unread
digest I still haven't looked at yet...)

> 2.) As of the last report I've seen, a relatively large budget Hollywood
> movie based on the AD&D property is currently in filming on location in the
> Czech Republic. Whatever studio has it may kill it at some point before it
> hits theaters, but even an idiot marketing director knows that the words
> "Dungeons & Dragons" together are known by the vast majority of people in
> the United States. Don't expect Armageddon or Independence day, but do
> expect that it will help to create a new market for RPGs. Personally,
> there's one scene I really, really want to see, but I don't want to be a
> spoiler.

Said movie is being directed by none other than Toronto-born "Corey Solomon".
From the August 2nd Toronto Star... Yes boiys and girls, the man who single
handedly cut off one of Traveller's legs (it's only a flesh wound!)as the man
behind Imperium Games is actually directing the D&D movie. And apparently it
really is staring Jeremy Irons and some other semi-famous B-list type people.
- --
Ethan Henry                                            egh@klg.com

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 07:27:29 -0700
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: Question regarding software for Traveller gaming

Well, there are problems with this. Character descriptions, foex. Which
version of Traveller? More so, ditto for vehicle and starship designs: High
Guard, Striker MT, Gurps, FFS or FFS2?

The closest to a standard format is the de-facto Genie sector data format,
since that's what the available online sectors have been in. Even that's not
in universal use, though Galactic and (IIRC, World Builder Deluxe) can import
them. I had to kludge a program together to massage the Genie sectors into
usable format for the ancient subsector mapper I have. 

IMO, there's too much variation in what people do and want to do with this
kind of data for a uniform data descriptor. Even completely OOP'sed, you still
end up with a Player object overridden for each of seventeen different
formats. We just had a similar discussion regarding sectore and subsector data
formats a while back.

There are basic ones like the UWP and UPP, but even those vary with the
addition of Gurps...

Of course, if someone wnats to go define a bunch of XML tags for Traveller
data, _when_ we get usable XML browsers and such toys, things could be
different, but you still end up with with a player character definition being
50k long to cover all the variants...

B. Mallory wrote:
> 
> Sword Worlder wrote:
> > snip
> > It is the Collector Edition of classic Traveller that is being published
> > beginning this November, not T5.
> > snip
> 
> Thank you for pointing out my error. I was thinking of classic
> Traveller.
> Any comment on the idea of open formats for Traveller data?
> 
> Thanks
> bmallory@earthlink.net

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 16:34:50 +0200 (METDST)
From: Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
Subject: Re: 5FW: 1st Fleet?

Clifford N Linehan writes:

>Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 03:35:48 +0200 (METDST) From: Hans Rancke-Madsen
><rancke@diku.dk>
>>There was a reorganisation of the regular fleets following the 5th Frontier
>>War, so the location of a fleet in 1116 does not say much about where it
>>was in 1107.
> 
>True, but there is no information on the reorganization that I am aware
>of.

There's very little information, but there is some. It comes from _Spinward
Marches Campaign_.

Fleet		Location in 1107

1st		Lanth.
23rd		Vilis.
100th		Inactive.
125th		Jewell.
193rd		Efate (ie. Regina Subsector)
212th		Rhylanor.
213th		Lunion.
214th		Glisten.
 
>>>Sector: Spinward Marches
>>>Sub-Sector: G: Lanth
>>>Fleet: 018th
>>>Reserve Fleet: 1018th
>>
>>Because the regular fleets gets shuffled around once in a while while the
>>subsector fleets stays put, it is quite unlikely that any subsector fleet
>>should have a number that corresponds to the regular fleet stationed in its
>>subsector. It's not impossible, of course, just quite a coincidence. What
>>evidence do you have that the Lanth subsector fleet is #1018?
> 
>The 1018th is the reserve fleet for Lanth.

Not according to any canonical information that I know of. AFAIK there is
no canonical information about the numbers of specific subsector fleets.
And unless the Imperium changes the number of a subsector fleet when the
subsector gets a new regular fleet assigned, the odds that the two fleet
numbers would correspond are not good.

>All of the information for the fleet locations come from the two
>following locations, but both locations have the exact same information.
> 
>The Missouri Traveller Archive
>http://www.mu.org/~joe/traveller/archive/General/Imperial_Fleets.txt
> 
>Imperial Navy Archives
>http://traveller.webjump.com/

John Banagan is not a recognized canonical source. (Though he seems to
have done a fairly good job of extrapolation). I must admit that the other
site looks awe-inspiringly official. But is it? Is it Marc Miller's own
official website? If so, I must bow to his greater authority (while still
maintaining that he may have failed to think all the implications fully
through).


>>Qnd Erwin Fritz writes:
>>>Thanks. I wonder why the author didn't just put '18' there.
>> 
>>Propably because the 18th was stationed somewhere else at the time.
> 
>Or the author did not have access to the information.

No, because the 18th was stationed elsewhere at the time, since the 1st was
stationed in Lanth.
 



      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     rancke@diku.dk
- ------------
"Facts are stubborn things, but not half so stubborn as fallacies."
                - Stella Maynard in "Anne of the Island"

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 07:48:20 -0700
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: Technology Demographics

Leonard Erickson wrote:
> 
> In mail you write:
>
> I needed it to avoid trashing the graphics I was viewing. And I don't
> know about Win 95/98, but under OS/2 I can select "large fonts". That
> gets rid of just about all of the "too small" problems.

That's also available under Win95/98/NT. That, imo, is the best possible
monitor tweak available: crank up the resolution, and make the fonts larger.
For instance, at 800x600 Large Fonts you have about the same amount of screen
real estate as 640x480 when using it, because windows and suchlike increase in
size with the increased font size, but every letters made up of more pixels.
More Pixels = better legibility.

I have a 19" monitor at work (nya nya!) running at 1600x1200 (or whatever it
is) with large fonts enabled at 85 hz refresh, millions of colors. Very sharp!
I can (and do) stare at theat puppy all day long, never a headache. Takes a
good video card though (I have an ATI Rage somethingorother) with a pile of
memory on it.

Also, for some reason, even with 'optimal refresh rate' selected, Windows
tends to run monitors at 60 hz. Most modern monitors and graphics cards can
support 75,85, or even 95 hz refresh rates. The higher the refresh rate the
steadier the image. This is happens in particular when Win95 decided your
monitor is a 'Plug and Play' one. I've always gotten better results by getting
the actual .inf files from the manufacturers to tell Windows exactly what kind
of monitor it is.

Finally, as I tell all the people who come into our office with "What kind of
computer should I buy?", spend more on your monitor than you think you should;
I even tell them to scrimp on hard drive space or processor speed to get the
best monitor they can afford. Best = lowest dot pitch, highest refresh rates,
flattest screen, highest resolutions supported. A $700 19" monitor is almost
always better than a $400 one. Most of the cheap monitors I've seen are nice
and sharp in the middle but horrible around the edges when run at anything
higher than about 800x600.

If the dealer offers two prices for a monitor of a given size buy the more
expensive one. That is, after all, the thing you stare at the whole time you
use the computer.

But people vary widely in their ability to deal with insane resolution on tiny
monitors. There's someone like Leonard in our office, only worse, he'll run
1280x1024 _small_ fonts on a 17" monitor. I can work for about 5 seconds on
his system before running away screaming and tearing my eyes out. I think
he'll be blind before he's 35. ;-)

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

Date: Fri, 10 Sep 99 15:28:55 +0000
From: igor@truserve.com
Subject: GURPS Design: Missile (redesign)

Your comments are welcome...

Here is a redesign of my GT space missle, mainly from comments from others (thank you 
very much). This missile is intended to be a autonomous weapon system, requiring little 
or no input (other than long range sensor data) from its parent.

One person mentioned that the Imperial Rules of War forbid nukes, and that these 
missiles don't fit into standard tubes. What I had negleted to mention is that these 
weapons (including the laser I designed earlier) are not from the Imperium - but 
another interstellar government in my campaign called the Taneis Covenant - which lies 
in the Leonidae sector between the Imperium and the Two Thousand Worlds. Thus, the 
Rules of War are irrelevant (unles the Covenant sends military vessels into the 
Imperium, which normally would not happen) and the missile size is largely irrelevant. 
For the record, in the Covenant missiles are military-only weapons - civilian ships 
cannot mount any missile (nuclear or otherwise).

Also, it should be noted that the Covenant is nominally TL 10 in its military sectors, 
except for technologies dealing with robotics, which are at TL 12. Robotic technologies 
include robot brains, power cells (but not power plants), manipulators, and sensors for 
robots. The only systems affected here are the brain and the power cells.

Your comments, as always, are encouraged...


NTW-17 Space Missile (TL 10 except for Brain and Power, which is TL 12 )

Propulsion: 11,300lbs vectored thruster (847lbs, 16.95cf, 
  Cr16,950, 565kW).
Armament: 30mm .1 kiloton micronuke (0.108lbs, .0022cf, Cr15,003).
Communications: Laser communicator, very long range, recieve-only
  (50lbs, 1cf, Cr625, .1kW, 1,000,000mi range).
Sensors and navigation: 1200 mile PESA ( 120lbs, 2.4cf, Cr480,000),
  Navigation sensors ( 20lbs, 0.4cf, Cr1,000).
Computer: TL 12 Hardened genius robot brain small computer (1.5 lbs, 
  .03cf, Cr25,000, complexity 7).
Power: TL 12 Rechargable power cell stores 10,753,046kWS (301.08lbs, 3.0cf, 
  Cr30,109),  good for four hours of operation.
Body: 24cf (including .20cf empty space). Area 50cf. Medium frame,
  very expensive materials, robotic (50lbs, Cr50,000, 75 Hit Points).
Armor: PD 4, DR 40 advanced metal (120lbs, Cr2,400).
Surface Features: Radical Stealth and Radical Emission Cloaking (100lbs, 
  Cr75,000).
Statistics: Volume 24cf, Weight 1,610.19lbs. Mass: 0.8 tons. Price:
  Cr696,087. HT: 12 (75 Hit Points). Size Modifier: +0. Space 
  Acceleration: 7 G (for four hours).

Differences between this missile and the standard imperial weapon
include speed (7G), endurance (4hrs), sensors (PESA and navigation),
smarter brain, streamlining (none) and warhead (micronuke). It is, 
obviously, larger as well.

The launcher's GT stats:

1 Space, 15.42 tons, MCr.03. Note that this launcher does not have
anti-blast ammo bin (for the 17 missiles carried) becuase the
warheads are not explosive (being laser triggered).

GT Ammo space:

1 Space, 16.1 tons, holds 20 missiles.

  Andy

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Andrew Akins                                                       |
| Home: igor@ames.net - http://www.ames.net/igor/                    |
| Work: andya@cms-ia.com - http://www.cms-ia.com/                    |
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------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1084
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