       TRAVELLER Digest 20

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Hi-G thrust on Lo-G ship by Ted7@world.std.com
  2) Re: TRAVELLER digest 19 by MSAMUELS@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU
  3)  by gdw.support@genie.geis.com
  4) Rumor- GDW in trouble? by Jeff Scott Franzmann <umfranzm@CC.UManitoba.CA>
  5) TNE shirts by BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
  6) Battledress destruction   by Roger Myhre <myhre@oslonett.no>
  7) RAFM Figures by Steve Charlton/Avalon Software Inc
  8) Battle Rider Result Frequencies by "Les Howie"  <lhowie@cpx.Prograph.Com>
  9) STRIKER II? by John V Banagan <jbanagan@uclink2.berkeley.edu>

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

Date: Thu, 25 Aug 1994 16:06:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ted7@world.std.com
To: traveller@MPGN.COM (Traveller:TNE mailing list)
Subject: Hi-G thrust on Lo-G ship
Message-ID: <199408252006.AA24373@world.std.com>

Alvin Plummer writes:
>How would a 1 G ship take 2 G's ... at a typical, straight-line course?

If it were my game, she'd lose hull integrity (ie cracks and atmosphere 
leakage. These would grow toward major hull fractures if she didn't slow
down. Then the major hull members would break up into large pieces headed
on her final vector. This process might take five minutes. 

>                                ... at a nice, easy turn?
Same as above, but in more like 1 minute. You're shifting stress away from
vector orientations of strength.

>                                ... at evasive maneuvers?
Go right to the major break up part.

Double designed
G is kinda tough on a ship - note: that's double DESIGNED, not rated G.
Rating is probably lower.  I tend to design in a margin of error so ships
aren't casually destroyed by careless pilots...

I'd suppose that if you were a kindly GM, you could offer this:

    Straight Easy Turn Evasive

Minor hull integrity loss 20% /30 sec 50%/30 sec Auto

Major hull integrity probs  20%/30 sec 50%/30 sec 85%/30 sec
and critical hit equivalents

Full Breakup   20%/30 sec 50%/30 sec 85%/30 sec

Each 30 seconds, roll a percentile die. If the roll is over the percent, 
fine. If not, take the damage. Next 30 secs, same damage is auto and roll 
for next level. Stopping accelleration stops further damage. (That's 
stopping accelleration, not cutting it back down to normal levels, until 
some damage control is done). You could even allow pilot SKILL (not 
attribute, SKILL) act as a negative mod (experience letting you know what 
will hurt the ship...)

On the whole, not a good idea. Intelligent engineers will install a throttle
governor limiting thrust to safe levels.

     Ted7


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

Date: Thu, 25 Aug 1994 19:30:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: MSAMUELS@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: TRAVELLER digest 19
Message-ID: <01HGC5MQ9M6Q9YDRER@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU>


[to kill battledress]

I came upon the same idea yesterday. But I'm using a 4cm TL-10 grenade
with a TL-10 ARL. This gives a HEAP penetration of 41C. Easily
penetrating a heavy battledress with 30 armorpoints }B)

[and]

We've had a design for a backpack RAM grenade launcher for years. Computer
controlled, you can designate one target a round (which it then tracks) and then
launch up to 10 grenades simultaneously. Capacity varies by TL, from about 10 to
25 and so does computer augmentation and tracking ability. We find this nobbles
battledress real nice...

>>>>> Ok, you guys have come up with a great warheads to kill off 
 battledress, but who/what is going to deliver the warhead without
 being detected and killed first?  This is the "who gets to bell the 
 cat" paradox.  What is the guidance system for these weapons?  How do
 you intend to defeat the countermeasures of the suit?  What is the
 range of this weapon compared to battlesuit weaponry that could be
 used against you?

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

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 94 02:17:00 UTC
From: gdw.support@genie.geis.com
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Message-ID: <199408260331.AA220141861@relay2.geis.com>

 traveller@mpgn.com
 
 Hello TML!
 
 Sorry we took so long to get hooked up, but the shift to the
 new TML took place during our annual convention season craziness,
 and I have only recently recovered.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Joe (Re RAFM figs and battledress):
 > Just out of curiosity, what does the battledress look like?
 
 The RAFM figures depict the Coalition light battledress from
 the RCEG.
 
 BTW, I'll happily forward any consumer feedback regarding the
 RAFM figs to the manufacturer. Their next releases will be more
 starships (including an Aurora-class clipper) and the batch after
 that will be grunts for Striker II.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Tariq:
 > Has anyone else noticed that 0.04*(Pi)*r/`2 gives
 > exceptionally light masses for Gauss Rounds.
 
 Yes. That's why we changed it to 0.02*(Pi)*r/`3. However, go
 ahead and use your formula if you like the results better.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Ewan
 > I was wondering if anyone has the Email address for Planet III software
 
 I think it is
 
 PLANETIII@AOL.COM
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Alvin Plummer:
 > The FF&S rules are very specific. a ship can only go as fast
 > as it is designed to withstand. But what if my favourate
 > band of stellar bandits put's the petal to the metal?
 
 Then you're SOL. : )
 
 If you insist on bending the rules, you must make up your own
 improvisations on the spot, so there is no official answer to the
 question. However, If _I_ were doing it for a personal campaign:
 
 > How would a 1 G ship take 2 G's ...at a typical, straight-
 > line course?
 
 I'd say implement a minor damage result per G of excess at a
 random location (Engineering, Hold, Electrical, Quarters, etc.),
 each turn.
 
 > ... at a nice, easy turn?
 
 Two minors per G (or a major).
 
 > ... at evasive maneuvers?
 
 two majors per G
 
 This way you can firewall it and watch as various ship's
 systems start to smoke and spit sparks in true Hollywood fashion,
 culminating in the shutdown of your drive just as your powerplant
 explodes and the legend "To Be Continued..." appears on the
 bottom of the screen. : )
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 To Those Looking for Battledress Killers:
 
 Several hand-carried weapons in the RCEG will do quite a number
 on Coalition heavy battledress. Check out page 99 of the RCEG for
 a weapon with a HEAP round very similar to the one described by
 T.Eldritch, albeit without the guidance features he suggested,
 and a pump action rather then automatic. HEAP RAM grenades, TL 6
 RIfle grenades, and the plasma bazooka will also do the job. I
 don't think its possible to design a man-portable laser that will
 drill battledress, but I haven't explored TL-16+ yet.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Regarding Conventions
 
 On behalf of GDW, I'd like to thank everybody from the TML who
 came up and introduced themselves, especially the lurkers, who I
 don't ordinarily hear from. It is good to meet in the flesh for
 once.
 
 A couple of things came up in the various seminars:
 
 -- A great number of people asked for our Email address, and
 one guy said (when he saw it): "People told me that mail to this
 address is ignored." Here's what I told him:
 
 I don't ignore Email. Sometimes I don't answer immediately
 because the answer is not always quick and easy. Sometimes I try
 to answer and the mail bounces (and I give up after three or four
 tries...I check to make sure that I typed the address right, but
 sometimes people's addresses change and they don't bother to tell
 me...this happens a lot around the end of the school year).
 Sometimes the node I work out of seems to eat messages (both
 incoming and outgoing) and I have no way of knowing whether the
 mail got through. Sometimes I lose the message. Occasionally, I
 will not answer because I don't think a reply is necessary
 (although the sender might). If you or anyone you know has sent
 GDW EMail and think you didn't get the answer you deserve, Email
 me again at
 
 GDW.SUPPORT@GENIE.GEIS.COM
 
 -- People were asking questions about various rumors they'd
 heard (through the infobahn, at the hobby shop, and so on).
 
 I want to start using TML as a "Rumor Control Central" to get
 out the truth as quickly as possible. If you have heard a rumor
 about GDW or Traveller, please post it to the TML, and I'll tell
 you if there is any shred of truth to it. If you don't want to
 spam it to everyone on the TML, just Email it to me, and I'll get
 back to you privately. I am not interested in punishing anyone
 who said bad things about us, and I am not interested in starting
 any _flammposten_, I just want to get the truth out to as many
 people as possible. Rumors always seem to get mutated in the
 worst possible way, and they get crazier with each re-telling.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 Another Favor: could someone extract all the New MPGN TML
 digests (I need everything before Digest #17) and Email them to
 us? I'd like to catch up on what's been going on, and answer any
 questions that may have come up.
 
 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
 
 And, finally: I will not be subscribing to the X-boat version
 of TML (I have too much to read as it is, and only a limited
 about of time and memory), so I will not see anything posted
 there unless someone sends it to both lists. As one of the
 designers of the classic three black books system, and a major
 contributor to the background, I have a soft spot in my heart for
 the old game, and I always will, but I am also one of the main
 contributors to the New Era, and I have to devote all my energies
 to it. If anyone sees anything on the X-boat TML that they think
 I need to see, I'd appreciate getting a copy. Likewise, if anyone
 thinks any of my material here will be of interest to them also,
 feel free to re-post it to the X-boat.
 
 Loren K. WIseman
       for GDW,Inc.
 
------------------------------

Date: Thu, 25 Aug 1994 22:47:46 -0500 (CDT)
From: Jeff Scott Franzmann <umfranzm@CC.UManitoba.CA>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Rumor- GDW in trouble?
Message-ID: <Pine.3.05.9408252244.A14313-a100000@mira.cc.umanitoba.ca>

 Hey there! :)
 Well, since what I heard has a lot to do with Traveller, I figured
I would post here to see if anyone else can confirm or deep six this
particular bit of gossip.

A friend of mine who just got back from GenCon informed me that
GDW was in serious financial difficulties. Considering the tone of the
Editorial of Challenge 74, I took this a little more seriously than I
would any other sort of rumour one might here. The fact that this friend
was a retailer who had spoken to several gaming insider also got me a
little worried. Could anyone comment on this?

A worried Traveller fan,
Jeff Franzmann

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

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 01:12:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: TNE shirts
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9408260130.B22992-9100000@blue>

Is anyone going or already did buy the Traveller: The NEw Era Shirts
offered in the recent Challenege 74?

Also, did anyone attend GenCon?  If so, what was GDW's section like?  What
was offered there and who, from GDW was there?

 -Shalom Zaidfeld

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

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 07:15:34 +0200
From: Roger Myhre <myhre@oslonett.no>
To: TRAVELLER@MPGN.COM
Subject: Battledress destruction  
Message-ID: <199408260515.AA25285@oslonett.no>

MSAMUELS@VAXC.STEVENS-TECH.EDU writes:

[snip]

>Now I know what you are thinking, "...but this is using HEDP ammo,
>that should do the trick."  Just remember that battle suit designers
>don't want schmuckie light infantry to be able to take out their multi
>million credit battlesuit with anthing less than a crewed support
>weapon.  All kinds of ECM/early warning gear and countermeasures are
>going to be mounted on the suit as well as composite layered armor part
> of which is going to be reactive armor that will blow a low yield
>shaped charge shot.  Like this pesky shot gun cum. grenade launcher.
But how do a battledress equiped soldier kill another battledress
equiped soldier without a crew operated weapon? The Plasma and Fusion
weapons got less firepower than a TL-10 4cm RAM grenade.

If you want something out of a PGMP or a FGMP it will weight something
like 80 to 90 kilos depending on pulse power, TL, and magazine capacity.

Roger "StarWolf" Myhre

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

Date: 24 Aug 94 15:55:53 MS
From: Steve Charlton/Avalon Software Inc
To: traveller <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: RAFM Figures
Message-ID: <9408260127.AA22629@khan.avalon.COM>

Joseph Heck asks

>Just out of curiosity, what does the battledress look like? Is the from the
>pictures from MegaTrav & the DGP illustrations or the new stuff that's in
>the RCES equipment guide?

Well, they really don't look much like the RCES battledress, and they don't look like
the Imperial armor from older GDW and DGP stuff.  It also does not look like the armor 
in the DGP Solomani and Aslan book (which I really like).  Of all those listed, 
it probably most resembles the  RCES light battledress, but that is like saying
a daschund resembles a terrier.  It really does not seem to have any good
direct comparisons.  Sorry for the wishy-washy answer.

BTW - There is another miniature in the series; a grav bike and rider.  The Grav Bike 
looks about like you would expect.  One of my players thinks it look vaguely 
shark-like.  I did find the rider needed to be heavily trimmed and bent to
fit properly in the seat; in its original form it hovered above the seat in a peculiar 
fashion.  Other than that, the figure is unexciting but fairly good.  It uses the same base as the
RAFM starships.

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

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 94 10:49:13 ADT
From: "Les Howie"  <lhowie@cpx.Prograph.Com>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Battle Rider Result Frequencies
Message-ID: <9408261349.AA00544@Prograph.Com>

For your amusement, I have counted the numbers in the Battle Rider cards, and
produced the following table for Green, Normal and Crack crews.  N is the raw
number of that result, % is the raw % of that result, and cum % is the 
probablity of getting that result or higher (that is, of success).

Interestingly, the bulk of the advantage enjoyed by crack crews seems to be 
concentrated around the difficulty 2-3 tasks.  What impact this will have on
a game will have to wait for come more experience.  I plan to record test 
difficulties for a couple of games, and see how they distribute in practice. 

Result  -----Green----- -----Normal---- -----Crack----- 
         n     %  cum %  n     %  cum %  n     %  cum % 
Miss    14 14.74 100.00  5  5.26 100.00  5  5.26 100.00 
 1      28 29.47  85.26 28 29.47  94.74 19 20.00  94.74 
 2      24 25.26  55.79 28 29.47  65.26 28 29.47  74.74 
 3      12 12.63  30.53 14 14.74  35.79 18 18.95  45.26 
 4      10 10.53  17.89 10 10.53  21.05 12 12.63  26.32 
 5       2  2.11   7.37  5  5.26  10.53  5  5.26  13.68 
 B       5  5.26   5.26  5  5.26   5.26  8  8.42   8.42 


Les Howie
Prograph International

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

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 08:30:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: John V Banagan <jbanagan@uclink2.berkeley.edu>
To: TML Submissions <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: STRIKER II?
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9408260834.A9285-0100000@uclink2.berkeley.edu>


Hi all,

I've been lurking for awhile and I saw a posting from Loren K. Wiseman of 
GDW, Inc. and I couldn't fail to notice that he mentioned a STRIKER II 
for the RAFM miniatures. Is GDW going to reprint or re-produce STRIKER 
rules for use with TNE? Or is this just a rumor? Thanks in advance.

BTW, being relatively new to TNE, I was wondering if some kind soul could 
post the gaming supplements for TNE or if too long, maybe just mail me 
the list. Thanks in advance.

John Banagan [jbanagan@uclink2.berkeley.edu]

When there's a whip, there's a way... unknown orcish captain

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

End of TRAVELLER Digest 20
**************************
