Traveller-digest     Saturday, August 28 1999     Volume 1999 : Number 1032



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Orion Drive Modules
Re: Streamlining
Re: Starship Materials
Re: Missing Fleets of the Imperial Navy.
Re: Missing Fleets of the Imperial Navy.
Re: List Civility (was Re: Insulting Leonard) 
Re: Re Emulate CT...
Re: Re Emulate CT...
Re: Metric Madness
Re: Chew toys for Corsairs.... (Was: Missing Fleets...)
Re: [www] Freelance Traveller Announcement
Re: what to order?
Re: what to order?
Re: [www] Freelance Traveller Announcement
Re: PBEM games 
Re: Terraforming
Re: Metric Madness
Re: Contragrav and GURPS Combat
Re: Metric Madness
Re: Orion Drive Modules

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 18:54:28 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Orion Drive Modules

In mail you write:

> Possible spoilers below for King David's Space Ship
>
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
> =
>
> Seems to me that theis space craft was designed based on Jules Verns
> From the Earth to the Moon, which was found in the Imperial library
> archive that was the target of the first part of the book. A giant
> cannon launced the capsule which depended on the Imperial's kindness to
> recover. The heroes had recovered a number of other alternative but they
> couldn't be implemented in time with local tech (roughly 18th - 19th
> century). 'Course it's been several years since I reread it, so I could
> be wrong.

No, it definitely wasn't the "launch from a cannon" bit. Though they
*may* have used a "small" cannon" type arrangement to give some extra
initial velocity. 

I definitely remember the continuall pounding as the guns/explosive
charges fired. The shaking was bad enough to give the pilot (a woman,
because they are generally "tougher" than men) internal injuries. 

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

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 18:58:03 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Streamlining

In mail you write:

> Leonard Erickson writes:
>>  
>> It's nowhere *near* that simple, as a few studies on trying to "fly" to
>> orbit have shown. The way temp, pressure *and* density fluctuate on the
>> way up, you'd wind up crossing the sound barrier at some point unless
>> you keep your speed *really* low. 
>
> So?  50 MPH up to 50 miles will do the job, at 50 miles you can safely go 
> transsonic.

It's *never* safe to go transonic in something not built for it.
 
>> And there's *no* way you are going to get an USL ship to make it
>> throught the trans-sonic region in one piece. 
>
> Sure you will, if you're in a trace atmosphere (50 miles)

>> Basicly, what Reynolds numbers let you do is compare the flow
>> characteristics in different situations. If two different situations
>> have similar Reynold's numbers, then the way the fluids involved flow
>> around the object involved will be similar. 
>
> Yes, but do we care?  The point is that starships are sufficiently 
> overpowered that flow characteristics aren't terribly important.

Sorry, but the flow characteristics *do* matter. If flow goes
turbulent, the buffeting could be *really* bad news.

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

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 20:55:59 -0500 (CDT)
From: Cynthia Higginbotham <cyhiggin@pipeline.com>
Subject: Re: Starship Materials

> John Buston raised a good point: there's a contradiction between the GT
> rulebook sidebar that says you can use different materials from GURPS
> Vehicles when designing ships, and the fact that all GT ships published to
> date have just used the standard 'expensive metal' option.

[snip] 
> I can see three choices here:
> 
> 1) Errata the GT sidebar that allows advanced materials (ie. prohibit them).

Well, you should remember from the old days, I never liked
arbitrary rules that existed for no other reason than to preserve
some poorly thought-out background explanation intact. They tend 
to wreak havoc with the necessary "suspension of disbelief"...

> 2) Handwave a reason why they aren't used for starships.

It better be a real damn good reason. Please don't tell me it's
because they're all used in the transponders ;-) 
 
> 3) Redesign existing military ships to use advanced materials.

Which is the classic TML answer to half-baked published designs.
The huge flood of MT designs in the archives came about in response
to the poorly designed ships originally published in Megatraveller.
 
> Now, personally I like the idea of military ships being intrinsically
> different from civilian ships (in more than just the amount of armour).

Ditto.

> OTOH, I don't want GURPS Traveller to drift too far from the Traveller
> background, and I certainly don't want GT to be a system where all the
> official ships are intentionally suboptimal.

Unlike MegaTraveller? ;-) I still have a copy of Shattered Ships
on a back shelf somewhere...

				--Cynthia

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 22:26:46 EDT
From: Clifford N Linehan <cnl.rubicon@juno.com>
Subject: Re: Missing Fleets of the Imperial Navy.

Date: 27 Aug 1999 07:23:05 -0700 From: draper@uswestmail.net
>I remember reading that squadrons would sometimes be permanently
deactivated for performing miserably or for being on the wrong side in
the >civil war or a palace coup.  Was that in Spinward Marches Campaign? 
Maybe these missing fleets had the same fate befall them.

IMHO Performing miserably would receive a poor rating for that fleet and
"on the wrong side" would have the crew imprisoned and the ships
repainted and redeployed to needy fleets.

>Historically, many states have disbanded units for participating in
coups.  However, when a unit performs miserably in battle I can remember
>more instances where a unit is shamed and then given a chance to redeem
itself.  Perhaps in a suicide mission.  But even units that are
>completely anhialated are usually reconstituted (like Germany's 6th Army
and its components).

That sounds about right.


Clifford Linehan
cnl.rubicon@juno.com
One man's magic is another man's engineering.
IMTU tc+ tm+ ?tn- ?t4- tg++ ?tt to ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt au st+ ls pi+ ta he+
kk hi as va dr so zh+ vi da sy

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 22:26:46 EDT
From: Clifford N Linehan <cnl.rubicon@juno.com>
Subject: Re: Missing Fleets of the Imperial Navy.

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 09:47:25 -0500 (CDT) From: Steven Bonneville
<bonnevil@ima.umn.edu>
>> It had crossed my mind that the fleet numbers might have been
"retired"
>> because all ships of that fleet sacrificed themselves for the Imperium
by
>> "Holding the Line".
>Or that they were defeated soundly enough in, say, the Solomani Rim War,
>that the number was retired until memories fade or the defeat is erased.
>To trot out the Romans again, during the reign of Augustus, three entire
>legions were wiped out in a surprise attack while on an expedition in 
>Germany.  (Prompting the famous quote from Augustus, "Quintilius Varus,
>give me back my legions!"  Considering that Varus had been decapitated
>and partially burned by the Germans, he really couldn't respond.)  I
>don't think the Romans reconstituted legions with those designations.

Yes, a tragic defeat, like being caught off guard, would be one reason.
Or if the fleet suddenly switched sides and had to be wiped out.

>> >One item I noted is that the 208th Fleet is not in imperial space
>> >(Spinward Marches/SS M) but an imperial ally. In fact, the imperium
is
>> >separated by nearly a parsec.
>> I noted that also; I would mark it up to being an area of "interest"
to
>> the Imperium.
>Should be; isn't that Five Sisters subsector?  That's the furthest 
>extension of the Imperium to spinward, cut off from the main body of
>the Imperium by the Sword Worlds and District 268 (vaguely under 
>Imperial protection but unincorporated).

Yes, Spinward Marches/SS M.  AKA: Five Sisters.


Clifford Linehan
cnl.rubicon@juno.com
One man's magic is another man's engineering.
IMTU tc+ tm+ ?tn- ?t4- tg++ ?tt to ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt au st+ ls pi+ ta he+
kk hi as va dr so zh+ vi da sy

___________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 23:41:15 -0300
From: Michel Vaillancourt <misha@empire.atlantic-online.ns.ca>
Subject: Re: List Civility (was Re: Insulting Leonard) 

At 07:16 AM 8/27/1999 -0700, you wrote:
>> Ever think of running a PBEM?
>
>I've never done so, how are such things handled?

        I have seen a few different approaches.  I personally run a
non-canon CT PBEM.  I have all the users post thier characters actions set
in chronological order to me.  I then take that information and synthsize a
narrative out of it and mail it back to the players.  That starts the cycle
again.  See my TNEC website for how it looks as finished product.

        Another popular approach is using a mailing list server and playing
essentially as though sitting around the table in terms of dialog flow.
This approach is *mucho* easier on the ref than the way I do it...  which
means the rate of play tends to be higher.

        Last variant is using chat systems like IRC and ICQ to play a
session in 'real time', again as though sitting around the gaming table.
Biggest issue is getting everyone to be available at the same time.

> Is there a PBEM FAQ?

        I've never seen one.

> I have
>begun to consider this as an option due to my three mile driveway. I would
>rather play however. I've been the main arbiter for my group for around a
>decade, and I want a break!
>BZA

        Snoop my TNEC PBEM log and if an opening comes up, feel free to
offer to dive in.

        I am also toying with starting a "Merchant Prince" PBEM using a
list-serv approach in mid-Sept, again set in my TNEC millieu.

        --Michel
	-+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+-
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				ICQ # 31172292
	"Reality Error in Progress....
			....Do Not Adjust Your Penguin"	
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 21:33:13 -0500 (CDT)
From: Cynthia Higginbotham <cyhiggin@pipeline.com>
Subject: Re: Re Emulate CT...

> >>Remember that we're trying to model CT here, not min-max GURPS Vehicles.
> >
> >We?
> >
> definitely. Reread your GT Book... it clearly states that GT is an
> emulation of traveller, not mainstream GURPS. It expressely includes some
> tech limits, and others should be extrapolated from them.

An emulation of WHICH Traveller?  CT books 1-3, CT + all the supplements,
CT+Striker, MT, TNE, T4, TDR? Even with the same ruleset, MTU and YTU can
look radically different. I personally am delighted that the various GT
authors have taken the opportunity to clean up a lot of the vagaries and
inconsistancies in the CT, 3I background that used to drive GMs nuts
trying to explain away and prompted incessant arguments on the TML.
(Seems like rock-throwing and piracy are still with us, though...)

I like the differentiation I see these days on the TML between MTU
(My Traveller Universe) and OTU (Official Traveller Universe) and maybe
YTU (Your Traveller Universe).  It's a distinction that used to be
forgotten in the endless discussions of what was "sacred" Canon and
what wasn't.

> >I thought this was a forum for discussing all aspects of all versions of
> >traveller. I personally have no interest in the detailed mechanics of CT
> >or maintaining its "purity".
> 
> Definitely not all aspects... MWM has set some limits, and Rob set a few
> others... common courtesy says a few others should be avoided (Like
> kvetching about your GM's nosepicking, etc)...

They have?  When? Where?  The only FAQ I have seen is so ancient,
it is identical to the one I got the first time I joined the TML,
back in the early MT days. I heed common courtesy, but dadgumit!
This is the TRAVELLER Mailing List, therefore fit for all things 
Traveller.
 
> And while I speak only for myself here, I don't really consider GT to even
> be Traveller...

Sounds like a personal problem. OTOH, I consider TNE an aberration 
best forgotten, though I like FF&S1.  I consider GT the first *real*
Traveller since the earliest days of MT. The background is right,
the rules support the background rather than creating inconsistancies
with it, and there's some really good work being done with it.

> >Are you saying that Gurps gearheads are not welcome on the list?
> >
> Min-maxers have not been welcomed on this list in the 4 years I've been on
> it... they tend to get obnoxious and asked to leave. Gearheads are not of
> necessity min-maxers. Min-maxing gearheads create such "un-travelleresque"
> things as the BD in GT:SM; things which have no buisiness in Traveller, but
> are doable with GURPS.

When the hell did that happen?  Gearheads *were* the heart & soul
of the TML 8-10 years ago. Traveller is a Science Fiction game with
advanced technology--take out the engineering and science and what's
left? Politics & religion? 

And who decrees what is "un-Travelleresque"?  You? The Traveller
Game police? With 11,000 worlds of varying tech levels, you can justify
damn near anything within the range of those tech levels.  Just because
it hasn't been seen in published Traveller material doesn't mean
a thing/place/race can't exist--maybe we just haven't visited that
world yet, or looked at that aspect of society.

> >Anyone else want to move over to the Gurps traveller mailing list?
> 
> No one is likely to stop you from so doing, but keep in mind that this list
> focuses on Traveller first, Rules Second, and minmaxing is lost somewhere
> way down the list (At least since Phil, Cliff, and Leroy left), and
> minmaxing G:V is something the non-GT'ers like myself would rather not see.

Okay, then don't read those letters. Simple.  But don't bother trying
to tell me (or anyone else) what I can and cannot post, unless you
have replaced Rob Prior as moderator in recent years.

The ruleset used defines the game: it does not work to say
in your background that everyone emfozzes A if your rules make
emfozzing a rare, impossible-to-learn skill and A's are too
expensive for anyone but the most wealthy to afford. (The 
classic game rule example is AD&D rules for creating magic items,
and the vast numbers of trivial magic items littering most AD&D
games. There have been similiar glitches in Traveller rulesets.). 

Therefore, Rules are as important as Background (I assume that
Background is what you mean by "Traveller first"). I do not
understand your disdain for "min-maxing", as any rules should
be pushed to see what their limits are--you need to know where
the ruleset falls apart, so it can be fixed or taken into consideration.
Some extremes of design have given me new ideas and new insights
into the game universe. OTOH, I have no idea who Cliff and Leroy
were, they seem to have been after my time.  Must have been
bad, as the names seem to frighten people when mentioned. Anyone
want to clue me in?

I am puzzled by your obvious hostility to GURPS:Traveller,
a system I find so elegant and delightfully well-supported that
I have decided to convert my campaign-in-search-of-a-ruleset
over to it. GT seems a worthy heir to CT, at least as good
as MT (without that be-damned Rebellion), and much better than
the atrocity TNE made of the OTU.

				--Cynthia

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 19:52:23 -0700
From: "Shawn Campbell" <shawn@electricstitchcom>
Subject: Re: Re Emulate CT...

> An emulation of WHICH Traveller?  CT books 1-3, CT + all the supplements,
> CT+Striker, MT, TNE, T4, TDR? Even with the same ruleset, MTU and YTU can

What's TDR?

Thanks,
Shawn Campbell
shawn@electricstitch.com
IMTU tc+ tm+(++) !tn t4 ru+ ge>+ !3i+ c+ jt au+ st+ ls(+) pi+ ta he+(++)  

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 19:19:11 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Metric Madness

In mail you write:

> The fundamental quantities, for those curious, are: length, mass, time,
> electric current, therodynamic temperature, amount of substance & luminous
> intensity. A free peanut for the first person to name all the units.
> (Hint: http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/dir-019/_2826.htm)

Meter, Kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, candela.

I'm not sure about that last one. Also, I'm one of the "heretics" who
considers radian and steradian as fundametal. Which means I consider
torque to have "radian" in the units. (newton-meter/radian?)

> Ah-ha. (Sorry for the train of thought post here). The definition of a 
> second, from encyclopedia.com:
>
>    "Since 1967 [the second] has been calculated by atomic standards to be
>     9,192,631,770 periods of vibration of the radiation emitted at a 
>     specific wavelength by a cesium-133 atom."

From the CRC Handbook:

Second - The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the
radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine
levels of the ground state of the cesium-133(13th CGPM, 1967).

Meter - the meter is the length of path travelled by light in vacuum
during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second(17th CGPM, 1983).

Kilogram - The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of
the international prototype of the kilogram (3rd CGPM, 1901).

Ampere - The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in
two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible
circular cross-section, and placed one meter apart in vacuum, would
produce between these conductors a force equal to 2x10^-7 netwton per
meter of length (9th CGPM, 1948).

Kelvin - The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature is the fraction
1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water.
(13th CGPM, 1967).
 
I'll skip the mole and candela, unless folks are *really* interested. :-)

Note that the kg still refers to an actual physical object, rather than
a reproducible measurement of some sort. 

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

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 22:59:01 EDT
From: Clifford N Linehan <cnl.rubicon@juno.com>
Subject: Re: Chew toys for Corsairs.... (Was: Missing Fleets...)

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 21:35:25 -0300 From: Michel Vaillancourt
<misha@empire.atlantic-online.ns.ca>
>>How many chew toys for an Imperial fleet?  ;)
>>Clifford Linehan
>
>        <Translated Message from a Vargr named Goghueghz>
>        And what, pray tell, did you think we were using those fleets
for?
>        Chew toys for Corsairs....
>        You most likely don't want them back in thier current
condition...
><grin>
>        <end translation>

Yea, you are right, we don't want them back. Although there is no damage
to any of the ships, there is a mono-molecular layer of dog slobber that
smells of rotting Alpo, and all of the toilets are lacking water. ;P


Clifford Linehan
cnl.rubicon@juno.com
One man's magic is another man's engineering.
IMTU tc+ tm+ ?tn- ?t4- tg++ ?tt to ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt au st+ ls pi+ ta he+
kk hi as va dr so zh+ vi da sy

___________________________________________________________________
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Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 20:34:55 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: [www] Freelance Traveller Announcement

> So turn off JavaScript.  That'll keep the pop-ups away....

And screw any /good/ java thingies on that page too. But an option.
////////////////////////////////////////
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: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 20:44:55 -0700
From: "Justice Hypercleats" <eris@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: what to order?

> I'm told that it makes
> a tolerable emergency mouse pad.

Everyone says this about bad game books, but when I use 'em for mousepads, I
can't get any traction. Only book in my library that gives traction is
"Orations of Demosothenes"(sp?), because of the fabric cover. Like I would
use /that/ for a mousepad. The Hypercleats Terminal that I am on now has a
track ball though. :)
////////////////////////////////////////
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: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 20:48:15 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: what to order?

> Background for MO - get the _Milieu 0 Campaign_ version not the original
> _Milieu_ 0 Softcover as it has 32 pages of extra material and First Survey
> thrown in.

Oh, /now/ you tell me.
;)
////////////////////////////////////////
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: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 23:50:04 -0400
From: Juliean Galak <jg42@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: [www] Freelance Traveller Announcement

At 08:34 PM 8/27/99 -0700, you wrote:
> > So turn off JavaScript.  That'll keep the pop-ups away....
>
>And screw any /good/ java thingies on that page too. But an option.

Hey, there are always tradeoffs... There are too many cool sites on 
Geocities and Tripod for me to ignore them.  Anyway, as a rule, I keep 
JS  (and java) off, and only use it when necessary.

           -- Juliean Galak (a.k.a. Falcon)

- --
jg42@cornell.edu        "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will
                          defend to the death your right to say it."
                                              -- Francois Marie Voltaire
#include <disclaimer.h> "Imagination is more important than knowledge"
                          			     -- Albert Einstein
for PGP public-key and
more quotes, finger: jg42@gerfalcon.tzo.com
WWW Page: http://www.cadif.cornell.edu/~falcon/                

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 21:01:10 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: PBEM games 

> Snoop my TNEC PBEM log and if an opening comes up, feel free to
> offer to dive in.

Thanks! I've perused your site quite thoroughly and think it's great.
////////////////////////////////////////
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, 28 Aug 1999 05:04:01 +0100
From: "Dr. Nik" <sharik@barrayar.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Terraforming

>> I guess I must have missed something. I thought B5's Mars was a habitat
>> environment.
>
>
>It is.  However, it is still partially terraformed, with a much thicker 
>atmosphere than mars has now.
>
And that's the problem - you _could_ make it that much thicker in the
timespan involved, but only if you plough most of your homeworld's
economic output into it. If you have something like a Dilgar War or (to
bring it back to Traveller) an Interstellar War or N (which are at about
the same time as B5 is set), then you won't have the money to do it
because you're too busy building warships.

Nik
- --------------------------------------------------------------
     Nik Whitehead C885587-B S zh++ as+ da+ kk-- A 224
sharik@barrayar.demon.co.uk    http://www.barrayar.demon.co.uk
           Having the moral high ground is good.
   Having the moral high ground and a meson gun is better.

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 21:05:43 -0700
From: "Justice Hypercleats" <eris@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: Metric Madness

> I'll skip the mole and candela, unless folks are *really* interested. :-)

Please! Tell us! Well, at least tell me. I love this list for the sci/tech
goodies thrown about. I catch 'em up and stash 'em like a chipmunk.
////////////////////////////////////////
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: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 17:11:27 -0400
From: "Thomas Schoene" <TomSchoene@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Contragrav and GURPS Combat

- ----------
> From: AB <ab@rossmack.com>
> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> Subject: Contragrav and GURPS Combat
> Date: Friday, 27 August, 1999 9:44 AM
> 
> A thought:
> 
> On pg170 of the GURPS Traveller rulebook it talks about gravity effects
on
> ship movement.
> 
> Why can't I just turn on my CG lifters and ignore this rule?
 
Because baseline GT designs don't have CG lifters.  They use vectored
thrust reactionless drives without contragrav.

Tom Schoene

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 99 23:31:26 -0500
From: "Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>
Subject: Re: Metric Madness

On 08/27/99 at 09:59 AM,  Ethan Henry <egh@klg.com> said:

>> > "Eight-be-four sheet of six mil ply"  (8' x 4' x 6mm)
>> 
>> Isn't that 8' x 4' x .006"?

>People who grew up on metric and are not particularly
>measuring-unit-picky have a tendancy to abbreviate millimeters as
>"mils", which, of course, is a really, really bad thing to do. 6 mils
>!= 6 millimeters.

That's quite true!

>I also read something where someone who used "clicks" for seconds,
>when __everybody__ knows that a click is a kilometer. ;)

No! No!  A  "klick" is a kilometer, a "tick" is a second, and a "click" is an empty gun chamber. ;-J

Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
"Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 99 23:43:09 -0500
From: "Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>
Subject: Re: Orion Drive Modules

On 08/27/99 at 12:43 PM,  Juliean Galak <jg42@cornell.edu> said:

>>Possible spoilers below for King David's Space Ship
>>
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>=
>>
>>Seems to me that theis space craft was designed based on Jules Verns
>> From the Earth to the Moon, which was found in the Imperial library
>>archive that was the target of the first part of the book. A giant
>>cannon launced the capsule which depended on the Imperial's kindness to
>>recover. The heroes had recovered a number of other alternative but they
>>couldn't be implemented in time with local tech (roughly 18th - 19th
>>century). 'Course it's been several years since I reread it, so I could
>>be wrong.

>Umm, not quite.  What actually happened was a cross between that and 
>Orion.  The ship had an Orion/style blast plate at the bottom, and a 
>_ground_ based VRF Cannon fired explosive shells at it.  The shells
>were  designed to go off just under the plate, and thus provide
>propulsion.

And they cheated, just a little too, IIRC.  The capsule didn't
actually make *orbit* it just went into space on a very high
tragetory.  This probably *shouldn't* have qualitied them as
"spacefaring", but again, IIRC, the local Imperial representative
was friendly and didn't tell the entire story back at Capitol just
that they *had* put a man in space.  ;->

Of course, I didn't read the *book*, I read the four part serial in
Analog Magazine, so things might have changed by the time it became
a book.


Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
"Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------

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

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1032
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