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From: owner-traveller-digest@mpgn.com (Traveller-digest)
To: traveller-digest@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM
Subject: Traveller-digest V1996 #779
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Traveller-digest      Friday, December 20 1996      Volume 1996 : Number 779



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

RE: Uncle Cleon, the taxman...
Rudolph class Sleigh
Lanthanum background
Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #778
Re: Starship Deckplans and External Dimensions
Happy Christmas!
Re: Lanthanum background
Re: Rudolph class Sleigh
TNE Errata
Re: Jumpspace and Psionics
Re: Lanthanum background
Archivers needed
Re: Last TNE novel 
Re: TNE Errata
RE: Uncle Cleon, the taxman...
Present and Future T4 products
TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY!
Re: Bell End
Saskatchewan
Re: TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY!
Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #777
My own stupidity
TML FAQ Periodic Post (long)

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 13:10:41 -0600
From: "K.C. Komosky" <kc@mb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: RE: Uncle Cleon, the taxman...

>Seriously, though, I think a higher  tax percentage would be reasonable,
>plus that number also would include the taxes paid by corporations, plus
>other various and sundry taxes/fees/levies. Remember that the "per head"
>number is just an approximation, and isn't a quote from Uncle Cleon's
>Department of Revenue. Also, if the military budget goes up 
percentagewise,
>they've got more money to play with. A more optimistic version of the SWAG
>numbers above might be done with a 30%tax rate, an assumption that
>individual income taxes are only 2/3 of the government income, and that 
the
>military gets 15% of the budget. That would give 2025 Cr per head,
>significantly higher than the numbers listed in TCS.

Yes, but all of that money does NOT go 100% to new ship construction. 
Remember the other arms of military service get their fair share.

Not to mention I would bet that only a small percentage of military 
spending goes towards construction of new ships. Most would go towards 
maintenance of existing ships, and personnell costs.

K.C. Komosky
kc@mb.sympatico.ca
umkomosk@cc.umanitoba.ca

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:21:44 -0500
From: Doug Sinclair <diemos@io.org>
Subject: Rudolph class Sleigh

Using the beta rules for vehicle design:

Rudolph class Sleigh - 10
Displacement: 0.4 USP6
Volume:                                  5.6m3      -       -      -
Configuration: Wedge airframe             -         -     29.83m2  -
Dimensions: 5.5m long x 1.4m high x 7.4m wide (approximate)
Structural material: TL6 Fiber Laminate
Chassis: 1g rated                        0.144m3   0.144t   -    
5.13KCr
Armor:            0.12 cm TL 6 Fiber Laminate
Armor rating:     1 on all but open top  0.029m3   0.029t   -    
0.87KCr
Power Plant:      9 afterburning (x64) reindeer (rowers)
                                         1.800m3   1.800t  1.8m2   -
Fuel consumption: 28m3 per hour
Fuel carried:     none
Propulsion:       TL10+ Adv. Aircraft    0.576m3   0.576t   -   466.0
KCr
Crew:             1 Driver               1.000m3   0.100t   -      -
Options:          Cargo hold, 3.881m3    3.851m3   1.926t   -      -
Total:                                   7.400m3   4.575t  1.8m2 472KCr

Performance (loaded): acceleration 0.3g, top speed 985m/turn (593kph)
       (driver only): acceleration 0.4g, top speed 1706m/turn (1030kph)

Note that the reindeer are external to the vehicle armour.  Treat them
as being armoured as jack for melee combat.  Due to their voracious
fuel consumption, nearly continuous wilderness refueling must be
performed.  Luckily, the abundance of milk and cookies in the
operational
environment provides for an extended range.

The full sensor capabilities of this vehicle are still undisclosed.
Rumor has it that the powerplant incorporates an active near-infrared
and visible lidar system for poor weather flying.


Merry Christmas all!

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 13:27:39 -0600
From: "K.C. Komosky" <kc@mb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Lanthanum background

	Well, I was sitting around with very little to do at wok yesterday, so I 
decided to do a little research for Traveller. Since I work for a mining 
company, I got to wondering about how you'd mine Lanthanum...

	So here is more info than you ever wanted to know about where lanthanum 
appears in the universe.

	The only mineral I cound find containing lanthanum (there are probably 
others, but very, very rare) is Monazite. Chemical formula is (Ce, La, Nd, 
Th)PO(4). Its a rare earth phosphate.

	Monazite appears in stubby to tabular prismatic crystal, and is yellow to 
brownish-red in colour. However, it is usually disemminated  in microscopic 
granules.

	It is a common accessory mineral in granites, syenites and gneisses. It is 
also somewhat resistant to weathering, so it can be concentrated in fluvial 
or marine placers (monazitic sands).



	WEll, I hope someone can use this info. If your players ever wind up 
visiting a lanthanum mine, or go looking for lanthanum, now you know what 
they might look like.

K.C. Komosky
Mineralogist, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada
kc@mb.sympatico.ca
umkomosk@cc.umanitoba.ca

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 19:40:27 +0000
From: "S.T.M.Newman" <S.T.Newman@sheffield.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #778

> From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pill.pharm.Arizona.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Jump Drive query

> > Now, the players reckoned that as the ship had plenty of fuel, it 
> > could still make 2 Jump1 jumps and reach another star.

> 	Nope, the players are right...this is the commonest reason to put
> oversize fuel capacity in low jump number ships.

Thanks - I guess I was misled by the old "Imperium" boardgame, which 
I bought many years back. where 22nd century Terra faces off against 
the Vilani First Imperium with Jump2 drive ships only. In it, any travel 
between worlds further than 2 parsecs apart must be done at sublight 
speed, taking several years!
 
> > Was I right? If jumps to and from interstellar space are possible, 
> > what's to stop any Jump1 ship doing this? Even if it couldn't carry 
> > enough fuel, presumably it could use an interstellar depot, and these 
> > would be standard between inhabited systems (though  in TNE they'd be 
> > mostly stripped bare).
> 
> 	Now we get to the heart of the matter, and one that's been done to
> stomped flat death over and over again...over there...next to that other
> two dimensional 0.1C rock that looks vaguely like a horse ;-)

I feared as much, but it had been bugging me for the past two years!

> 	Economically, however, fuel depots in deep space are really,
> really expensive, and are likely used only by people for whom cost is no
> matter, like the military or intelligence services...

Hmm - I'm not sure why this should be so, since presumably they wouldn't need
that much maintenance or crew, just frequent resupply.  The prevalence of 
Jump1 ships in TNE would also seem to make depots between the main worlds 
of pocket empires a good commercial idea, particularly those that 
could only build Jump1 drives.
- -Simon.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 12:36:11 -0800
From: Glenn Hoppe <starcity@eagle.wbm.ca>
Subject: Re: Starship Deckplans and External Dimensions

Jeff Kazmierski wrote:

> 4.  Wedge Hulls:  A wedge is basically a pyramid, but it can also be
> thought of as a cone.  
>         Pyramid:  V = 1/3 * B * h.  B = L * W.
>         Cone:  V = 1/3 * pi * r^2 * h.

NOPE. AFAIK, a wedge is an irregular cylinder. A triangle in profle, a
rectangle for top and bottom views. Like a door stop. Or a cheeze wedge.

formula for area would be: V = 1/2 * B * h

Where the base is the area of the "rear", h is the length of the ship.

===== Glenn Hoppe =====\ /--- MailTo:jumpspace@geocities.com ----
\ . . Enter Jumpspace --X-> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8275 \
 ----------------------/ \========== Eschew Obfuscation ==========
     Examine what is said, not him who speaks. - Arab Proverb

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 13:24:05 -0800
From: Glenn Hoppe <starcity@eagle.wbm.ca>
Subject: Happy Christmas!

I'm off to Nipawin (there's another one for strange placename
collectors) for Christmas, so Merry Christmas to all! See you in a week.

PS. I won't be auto-replying this message over and over and over . . .
like a _certain_ list member did ;-)

PPS. Nipawin is a cree word meaning "Place where one stands (and waits)"
the mighty Saskatchewan river bends, and Nipawin was a good place to
watch for approaching canoes...

- -- 
===== Glenn Hoppe =====\ /--- MailTo:jumpspace@geocities.com ----
\ . . Enter Jumpspace --X-> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8275 \
 ----------------------/ \========== Eschew Obfuscation ==========
     Examine what is said, not him who speaks. - Arab Proverb

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 13:48:57 +0000
From: "Kenneth Bearden" <dreamer@brokersys.com>
Subject: Re: Lanthanum background

On 20 Dec 96 at 13:27, K.C. Komosky wrote:

> 	Well, I was sitting around with very little to do at wok yesterday, so I 
> decided to do a little research for Traveller. Since I work for a mining 
> company, I got to wondering about how you'd mine Lanthanum...

Actually, KC, I find this info extremely useful.  I'm printing your 
post for distribution to my players.

Kenneth.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 12:14:39 -0800
From: Rich Ostorero <stormhvn@inreach.com>
Subject: Re: Rudolph class Sleigh

Doug Sinclair wrote:
> <<deleted stats for this vehicle -- ROFL>>
> 
> Note that the reindeer are external to the vehicle armour.  Treat them
> as being armoured as jack for melee combat.  Due to their voracious
> fuel consumption, nearly continuous wilderness refueling must be
> performed.  Luckily, the abundance of milk and cookies in the
> operational
> environment provides for an extended range.

<<severe Pain as my sides start splitting . . .>>

> 
> The full sensor capabilities of this vehicle are still undisclosed.
> Rumor has it that the powerplant incorporates an active near-infrared
> and visible lidar system for poor weather flying.


ROLMAO!! You are one SICK man . . . or you have entirely too much time on your hands:)

This looks like a candidate for Traveller: The Silly Era. What sez Mr. Berry??
> 
> Merry Christmas all!

You, too:)

- --Rich
stormhvn@inreach.com

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:33:04 -0500
From: Kevin Combs <KCOMBS@mdems.ab.umd.edu>
Subject: TNE Errata

I was wondering if anybody has or knows where (web page) I can get
errata information for TNE and FF&S.  I seem to have misplaced both of
mine.

Thanks in advance.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 20:23:37 +0000
From: Garry Ward <Garry.E.Ward@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Jumpspace and Psionics

At 02:23 AM 12/20/96 +0000, you wrote:
>
>>  Has anyone given any thought to using Psionics for Intersteller travel?
>>Or even using telepathy to communicate from star system to star system?
>
>I believe it's been stated several times, both in background material and
>the rules themselves that interstellar psionics is impossible.
>
>
>
>+----------------------------------------------+
>| Douglas E. Berry          dberry@hooked.net  |
>|     Professional Driver - Traveller Guru     |
>|        http://www.hooked.net/~dberry/        |
>|**********************************************|
>


Check out Fusion, Fire & Steel page 42: Psionic Transfer Drives. Max range
in parsecs is square root of Psi strength plus Teleportation skill level +
1d10. Psion in question must have the Teleport skill and Clairvoyance skill.

It is one of the alternate drive technologies that TNE introduced. I do not
recall any CT usage of teleportation based drives.  

Garry

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 13:45:55 -0700 (MST)
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pill.pharm.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: Re: Lanthanum background

On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, K.C. Komosky wrote:

> 	Well, I was sitting around with very little to do at wok yesterday, so I 
> decided to do a little research for Traveller. Since I work for a mining 
> company, I got to wondering about how you'd mine Lanthanum...

 
> 	It is a common accessory mineral in granites, syenites and gneisses. It is 
> also somewhat resistant to weathering, so it can be concentrated in fluvial 
> or marine placers (monazitic sands).

Now come the questions...

	This seems good only for planetary deposits of lanthanum, since
IIRC all of the above are metamorphic rocks, implying tectonic processes,
no? Also, fluvial anything isn't going to happen without water, right?

	 OTOH since I live in a valley whose floor is composed of just
such kind of rock...maybe I should start looking ;-)

	Now for the fun part...what would this look like in an asteroid
deposit? Unfortunately, my 'knowledge' of where asteroids come from is
still in the old Willy Ley era of a shattered Planet X...anyone have a
source for a bit more up-to-date theory on the formation of asteroids?

Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:11:59 -0500
From: 34zbtxq@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu (Susan M. Shock)
Subject: Archivers needed

Can anyone direct me to or supply me with programs that can uncompress files
with the extensions .z, .tar, .lha, or .gz? I have some archived Traveller
materials that I can't access because I lost all this stuff in the big hard
drive crash awhile back. Thanks!
                                Allen

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:09:35 -0500
From: Earl Wajenberg <earl@chrysalis.com>
Subject: Re: Last TNE novel 

I'm reasonably sure the novel under discussion is not mine, but if 
anyone out there is interested in SF novels in the New Era setting, 
you might like to know that my co-author, Clayton Emery, and I 
wrote one just it time for GDW to go under.  I gather the complete 
draft is still in publishing limbo somewhere.  Emery tells me that 
interested parties might inquire of Cory Solomon at Imperium Games (the
California branch) about it.

The story is set on an aging cluster of O'Neil pods.  Here is the blurb 
that was going to go on the back:

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

  Hunted hackers fight to keep an alien world from exploding...

  One minute Sam and Hannah are engineers on a Coalition spaceship, the next
  they're plunged into a creaking, crumbling station in the Wilds, filled
  with rabid wolf-folk and xenophobic colonists.

  Lost, abandoned, they explore dark reaches of fragmenting technology while
  battling rogue robots and killer viruses.  Soon they discover they're on a
  relic of the Collapse, a pod-world turned inside out, spinning through
  space -- in danger of spinning apart.

  Earthquakes worsen, fires rage, radiation and ozone leak as battle erupts
  between Coalition Marines and locals, and three warring populations hunt
  them like rats.

  Plying antique weapons, hacking forgotten software, cobbling cutting-edge
  technology, racing from asteroids to eerie dead worlds, Sam and Hannah
  fight to stay alive and stabilize the station.

  They've got mere hours to prevent the construct from flying to pieces.  And
  to do it, they must trust the  deadliest killer in the known galaxy --
  Virus.

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

Clayton Emery has written several fantasy novels in game settings, 
including the "Whispering Woods" trilogy for the "Magic: The Gathering"
series, as well as several historical mystery stories featuring Robin Hood
as a detective.  I've written a couple of RPG books -- "Mythic Egypt" 
and "Time Riders," for Iron Crown.

Earl Wajenberg

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:53:22 -0700
From: "David J. Golden" <goldendj@usa.net>
Subject: Re: TNE Errata

At 02:33 pm 12/20/96 -0500, you wrote:
>I was wondering if anybody has or knows where (web page) I can get
>errata information for TNE and FF&S.  I seem to have misplaced both of
>mine.

	My web site (see below) has both; FF&S errata are for Mark 1 Mod 1--if
anybody has the first printing errata in electronic format, I really need them.
- --________________________________________________________________
   Dave Golden                           PGP Public Key available 
   goldendj@usa.net     http://www.usa.net/~goldendj/default.html

 "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his
  enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes
  a precedent that will reach to himself" -- Thomas Paine

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

Date: 20 Dec 1996 21:49:12 -0000
From: "Paul Zumstein" <pzum@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Uncle Cleon, the taxman...

>>Seriously, though, I think a higher  tax percentage would be reasonable,
>>plus that number also would include the taxes paid by corporations, plus
>>other various and sundry taxes/fees/levies. Remember that the "per head"
>>number is just an approximation, and isn't a quote from Uncle Cleon's
>>Department of Revenue. Also, if the military budget goes up 
>percentagewise,
>>they've got more money to play with. A more optimistic version of the SWAG
>>numbers above might be done with a 30%tax rate, an assumption that
>>individual income taxes are only 2/3 of the government income, and that 
>the
>>military gets 15% of the budget. That would give 2025 Cr per head,
>>significantly higher than the numbers listed in TCS.
>
>Yes, but all of that money does NOT go 100% to new ship construction. 
>Remember the other arms of military service get their fair share.
>
>Not to mention I would bet that only a small percentage of military 
>spending goes towards construction of new ships. Most would go towards 
>maintenance of existing ships, and personnell costs.
>
>K.C. Komosky
>kc@mb.sympatico.ca
>umkomosk@cc.umanitoba.ca
>
>
>

If you take an annual naval ship and maintenance budget and expand it over 40
years, using a maintenance cost of 10% of the price of the ships, you end up
with a fleet that costs about 990% of the annual budget.  This leaves you with
maintenance costs of 99% and new ship purchases of 1%.  This may not be far
from the norm.  This would also support your thought of new ship construction
being only a small percentage of the total ship budget.

The maintenance cost of 10% I saw floating around the digest somewhere, but I
can't recall where.

PZ

- ---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:15:51 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: Present and Future T4 products

Now that four T4 products are out (Starships, Central Supply Catalog, 
Aliens Archive, and T4 itself), let's take a look at how they've done so  
far:


Marc Miller's Traveller
=======================
Editing:  Poor.  A few dozen errata items, many typographical and 
grammatical errors.
Rules:  Solid.  Get rid of the editing errors, and it'll be near-perfect.
Overall Score:  85%


Starships
=========
Editing:  Poor.  A few errata items, a few typographical errors, and a 
very poor use of language.
Ships:  Very poor.  Extremely short ship descriptions.  Useless deckplans.
Rules:  Excellent.  A few minor typographical errors, but near-perfect.
Overall Score: 50%


Central Supply Catalog
======================
Editing: Excellent.
Item Descriptions:  Excellent.  Very useful.  Retains the Traveller feel.
Rules:  Excellent.  Well-thought-out, and very useful.  Greg Porter has 
done for vehicles what SSDS did for starships.
Miscellaneous:  Add a couple dozen weapons, and it would be perfect.
Overall Score: 95%


Aliens Archive
==============
Editing:  Excellent.
Alien Descriptions:  Excellent.  Enough detail without being burdensome.
Rules:  Very good.  Again, enough to provide a solid platform for play.
Miscellaneous:  The font size and the inclusion of the "concept" 
sketches shows that Tim Brown
had to work to make this into a 96-page supplement.  It would have been 
nice if, instead, Timhad included 3 or 4 more aliens, or a bit more 
detail on each alien. 
Overall Score: 95%


Marc Miller's Traveller Overall Score (all four books):  81.25%


What's next??
=============

JTAS #25 will be back from the printer next week.  With the holidays and 
all, expect it in stores in early January.  Subscribers can expect it 
around the same time, I think.

Milieu 0: The Third Imperium and First Survey will be released together 
(as Aliens and CSC were).  Expect to see them in stores around January 
23.  If you ordered them direct, expect them within a week of that, I 
believe.

Further into the future, we can expect Emperor's Arsenal (sometime in 
February, most likely), and JTAS #26 (late February, early March).  

Even further into the future (and here we get into products that are 
still in the early stages of design - not much written, just some 
concepts and such tossed around) we can expect Pocket Empires and a few 
other projects to round out the first half of the year.


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)
       .....Official Reporter of Imperium Games Product Info.....

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:28:14 -0500
From: whitman@pensys.com (Ken Whitman)
Subject: TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY!

TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY! Oh my Gauddd.  Traveller still going strong.

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:15:45 -0800
From: "Glenn M. Goffin, Esq." <sudet@well.com>
Subject: Re: Bell End

>From: BrianMays@aol.com

>Porno Traveller?  I love it!

>Aslan - "You know what they say, 'The bigger the dewclaw . . .'"

I often portray Imperial cultural revulsion to psionics as sexual, like revulsion to 
various sexual acts -- the person feels both fear and fascination.  I think that the 
only way to make the psionics suppressions so effective was to make such a link -- 
i.e., that it's inexpressibly dirty to have your mind read, or to read another's 
(telepathy is the most common and most important psionic ability, so the one that got 
most of the focus during the suppressions).

Some backlash, especially among expatriate Imperials in and beyond the Spinward Marches, 
occurs and takes a similarly sexual form.  For example, Zhodani lovers and spouses are 
much prized (at least aloud) for their abilities to (1) know everything you want and (2) 
be able to touch you in ways you thought impossible (by telekinesis).  On the other 
hand, with clairvoyance and teleportation, they can easily cheat on you and still know 
when you're on the way home and get there before you.

- --Glenn

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:23:55 -0800
From: "Glenn M. Goffin, Esq." <sudet@well.com>
Subject: Saskatchewan

>From: Glenn Hoppe <starcity@eagle.wbm.ca>

>You can pick out the 'mercans and easterners (like from Ontario) by the
>way they say "Saskatchewan". Out here on the bald prairie, the last
>syllable is pronounced "one" like the number.

When I was a kid, I pronounced it "sas ka TCHE wan", until my father 
corrected me, noting that my pronounciation was of a dirty word in 
Cantonese (the places he went in China as a sailor were places were those 
words were used).

- --Glenn

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:55:50 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph E. Walsh" <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Subject: Re: TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY!

On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, Ken Whitman wrote:

> TSR lays off 24 employees TODAY! Oh my Gauddd.  Traveller still going strong.

Geez.  This new custom of laying people off just before Christmas really 
stinks.  

My sympathy goes out to the TSR employees who were recently laid off.  I 
know very well that being suddenly without a steady stream of income is 
devastating.


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)
       .....Official Reporter of Imperium Games Product Info.....

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

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 09:54:44 +1100
From: "Phillip McGregor" <aspqrz@curie.dialix.com.au>
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #777

> Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 11:30:58 +0100
> From: Timothy.Collinson@solent.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: Tech and Starports
> 
> Phil McGregor
> 
> said:
> >Like I said, this makes my thesis 100% sure, there is *no* reason why
> local TL means >anything more than what they could (theoretically)
produce
> if they *had* to - it has >nothing to do with what they *actually* have
> available!
> 
>           But haven't we known this all along?  Or am I missing something
in
>           your thesis?  I thought the whole point of TL was what they
could
>           (theoretically) produce but that you would still be able to
find items
>            of higher tech kicking around.  Albeit it at greater cost.
> 
>           tc

Well, yes and no. No-one as ever stated this sort of thing out loud and
there has always been the assumption (in all the published Traveller
materials that I have read/seen) that local TL = maximum TL of whatever is
available. In any case, what I am saying is that the actual difference in
cost will be minimal in actual terms ... your TL15 computer costing (say)
1000 Cr on the world of proiduction might cost 1100 Cr on a TL5 world two
or three jumps away (the real killer will be in the parts and servicing).
However, the *locals* will not be earning the same average income of a TL15
world resident ... say, for example, the equivalent of 20-30k Cr pa ... but
will be earning a lesser *actual* amount, say 2-3k Cr pa. So the TL15
computer will be 10 times more expensive for them than it is for the TL15
resident.

Actually, this is sort of extreme as an example, but gets the point across.
What does it mean? It means that the local TL5 government and the wealthy
(and perhaps upper middle class) and probably major industries use TL15
components at key points. It means that *travellers* can buy what they need
at minimal markups. Perhaps there won't be the *range* of choice they're
used to - so there'll only be a General Products TL15 Computer rather than
fifteen assorted (identical for game purposes) brands - but the cost will
be *minimally* more.

Think the difference between somewhere like, say, Nigeria (or
Guinea-Bissau) in Africa and the US. The stuff is still available and
pretty widely. Local incomes are what restricts its actual ownership by the
bulk of the local populace.

Phil
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip McGregor | aspqrz@.curie.dialix.oz.au
Have Game Designer, Will Travel

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

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 18:24:04 -0500
From: Neveron@aol.com
Subject: My own stupidity

I display my age. "All the myriad ways" is the title of a now o.o.p.
collection including "Bridges " and several of M. Niven's essays. I thank you
for reminding me to be more specific. (senile you know...). Now if somebody
could invite Larry to a Traveller session...
To blather on-
101 cargos-Glimpsed it, looks good.
101 plots-From the gleam in my GM's eye and first-hand knowledge of Mr.
Grant's devious mind, I'd say this is a keeper. Grav Stabilized Stilletto
Heels, how do you live without them?
- -Pete, If we can't have a wave-motion gun,can we have Tank Girls Tank?- 

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

Date: Sat, 21 Dec 96 10:41:58 
From: jamesd@spirit.com.au (James Dempsey)
Subject: TML FAQ Periodic Post (long)

Hello,

  Attached below is the Frequently Asked Questions document for the mailing
list. I have only just uploaded this new version to mpgn's FTP server, so it
may be a few days before the files there are up to date.

Enjoy,
James Dempsey
- ---------------------------------------------
 email: jamesd@spirit.com.au
 homepage: http://www.spirit.com.au/~jamesd


                          TRAVELLER MAILING LIST FAQ

   Last Updated: 8 December, 1996
     _________________________________________________________________

   This document seeks to give the new subscriber information about the
   lists, how to use them, and also about what else the Internet holds
   for the avid Traveller fan. The contents and first three sections are
   posted to the list once every couple of months. The full document is
   available via FTP from ftp.mpgn.com in the file
   Gaming/Traveller/tmlfaq-html.zip or Gaming/Traveller/tmlfaq-text.zip,
   or via WWW from http://www.spirit.com.au/~jamesd/tml-faq.html. You can
   also send an email to me and I will send you out a text copy.

    1. What is Traveller?
    2. All About The Traveller Mailing Lists (Updated)
         1. How Do I Subscribe?
         2. How Do I Unsubscribe?
         3. How Do I use the List Processor?
         4. How Do I Post a message to the list?
    3. What are the etiquette rules for the lists? (Updated)
    4. What subjects have been 'Done To Death' already on the TML
         1. Effects of rocks on Planets
         2. Was this Virus thing such a good idea?
         3. SDBs and the Defence of Gas Giants
         4. What is a Feudal Technocracy?
         5. Jump Torpedoes - Canon or Otherwise?
         6. Crew Structure on TNE Starships (separate file)
    5. What is the answer to...?
         1. What's that acronym or nickname mean?
         2. How should starship minatures be painted?
         3. Is there a list of all star systems in the Imperium?
         4. What are the effects of spacing?
    6. What erratas are available?
    7. What other WWW, FTP and email Resources are there for Traveller?
       (Resources.html)
    8. What did other people think of product X? (reviews.html)
    9. What products were produced for TNE? (Products.html)
   10. What products were produced for CT? (Products-CT.html)


     _________________________________________________________________

1. What is Traveller?

   Traveller is a Science Fiction role-playing game now published by
   Imperium Games. Three previous editions were originally published by
   Game Designer's Workshop (GDW). These were the Classic Traveller,
   Mega-Traveller and Traveller-The New Era. For a description of the
   differences between these three earlier editions see the review.
   
   More information about Imperium Games is available from the Imperium
   Games FAQ and also from Imperium Games' Web Site.
   
   Top Of Document
     _________________________________________________________________
   
2. All About The Traveller Mailing Lists (Updated)

   The Traveller Mailing List (TML) is open to discussions on all aspects
   of Traveller. It exists as a means for the Traveller Player/GM to
   exchange ideas and discuss the various aspects of the Traveller
   System, and its universe. This includes discussions on Marc Miller's
   Traveller, Traveller: The New Era, Mega Traveller and Classic
   Traveller. This also includes the background.
   
   The old XBoat mailing list has now been closed. Discussions on Classic
   Traveller and Mega-Traveller can be made on the TML.
   
  2.1. How Do I Subscribe? (Updated)
  
   To subscribe to the TML, send a mail message to
   majordomo@lists.MPGN.COM and in the body, place the following line if
   you wish to receive each message separately (real time mode):

   subscribe traveller

   Or, if you wish to receive a couple of messages each day with all of
   the day's messages in them (digest mode), use the following line:

   subscribe traveller-digest

  2.2. How Do I Unsubscribe? (Updated)

   To leave the TML, send a message to majordomo@lists.MPGN.COM and in
   the body put the lines:

   unsubscribe traveller
   unsubscribe traveller-digest

   This will ensure that you are no longer subscribed to either real time
   or digest mode.
   
  2.3. How Do I use the List Processor? (Updated)
  
   The list processor is the program that manages the lists. Its address
   is majordomo@lists.mpgn.com.
   
   The digests generated by the lists are archived on ftp.MPGN.COM in the
   Gaming/Traveller/MailingListArchive/Traveller/ and
   Gaming/Traveller/MailingListArchive/Xboat/ directories which are
   available either by anonymous ftp, or using the list processor. To get
   a copy of an old TML digest, send a message to
   majordomo@lists.mpgn.com with the following in the body:

  get traveller digestname     e.g. get traveller v1996.n001

   For an old XTML digest, the body should contain:

  get xboat digestname         e.g. get xboat v1996.n001

   Please note that if you are subscribed to the traveller-digest, or
   xboat-digest lists, then you will need to those names instead of the
   traveller or xboat.So the commands would be

  get traveller-digest digestname   e.g. get traveller-digest v1996.n001
  get xboat-digest digestname       e.g. get xboat-digest v1996.n001

   The list processor can also do other things such as change the way in
   which you receive mail from the lists. For more information about
   majordomo, the list processor, send a message to
   majordomo@lists.MPGN.COM with the following in the body:

   help

   If you have difficulties with the mailing lists, send mail to
   majordomo-owner@lists.mpgn.com.
   
  2.4. How Do I Post a message to the list? (Updated)
  
   There is only one valid mailing address for each of the mailing lists.
   
   To post to the Traveller mailing list, send your message to
   traveller@MPGN.COM.

   Please note that if you reply to owner-traveller@mpgn.com your message
   will get through, but it will be treated as if it bounced, and your
   subscription will be put on hold for a week or so. All courtesy of the
   features of majordomo.

   The addresse traveller-digest@mpgn.com also exists. This address is
   only an alias for the main one mentioned above, so you really should
   use the main one.

   Top Of Document
     _________________________________________________________________

3. What are the etiquette rules for the lists? (Updated)

   Here are a few guidelines for posting your thoughts to the TML. Please
   note that they are only guidelines. They are intended to make
   everybody's life easier by keeping the noise level down and keeping
   the content high.
     * All messages should have a meaningful title. Please don't use "Re:
       Traveller-digest V1996 #2" or anything similar.
     * Any message which is over about 150 lines should be labelled as
       LONG in the title. This gives a warning to those running terminal
       sessions over slow links.
     * If you have a very long message that is not relevant to everybody,
       please consider making it available on an FTP or WWW site instead.
       Then announce it's existance on the list. A good example of
       material suitable for this is program listings and scripts.
     * Flame wars should be quickly extinguished or moved to personal
       email addresses.
     * When quoting, please follow these guidelines:
          + Please quote the minimum amount possible to show what you are
            responding to. Remember everybody has already read the
            original message, they just need to remember it! :-)
          + Please don't paste in 5 generations of replies on a
            particular topic, or an entire 150 line message. Excerpts
            work best.
          + Don't quote signatures.
          + Don't quote a message just to say "me too"
          + Remember that copyright applies on the net too. Get
            permission before extensively quoting a published work.
     * Signatures should be limited to around 4 lines please.
     * MIME types such as BASE64 aren't handled too well in digest
       format, so please avoid using them.
       
   Top Of Document
     _________________________________________________________________

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

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #779
**********************************

To unsubscribe to Traveller-Digest, send the command:

unsubscribe traveller-digest

in the body of a message to "traveller-request@MPGN.COM".  If you want
to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from,
such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the
"subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-traveller":

subscribe traveller-digest local-traveller@your.domain.net

A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to
subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "traveller-digest"
in the commands above with "traveller".
