<HTML><FONT  SIZE=3 PTSIZE=10>Subj:	<B> Traveller-digest V1999 #1434</FONT><FONT  SIZE=3 PTSIZE=10></B><BR>
Date:	12/3/99 1:19:34 AM Pacific Standard Time<BR>
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Traveller-digest      Friday, December 3 1999      Volume 1999 : Number 1434<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.<BR>
All rights reserved.<BR>
<BR>
The following topics are covered in this digest:<BR>
<BR>
SEC : UNCLASSIFIED - We Work the Black Seam<BR>
Re: 50ton Heavy Fighter<BR>
RE: 102 Vehicles<BR>
RE: 50ton Heavy Fighter<BR>
Re: Pacer Failure (was : Police Career (actually the Bomb Squad))<BR>
Re : Professional Stereotyping (was : The perils of television)<BR>
Re: Naval rank question<BR>
Re : G:T Solomani Rim<BR>
Anti-matter<BR>
Re: Brilliant Lances (was Re: Hello and TNE question)<BR>
Re: One of our worlds is missing!<BR>
Re: Stopping the world...<BR>
Re: "Aslan" name debate again<BR>
Re: One of our worlds is missing!<BR>
Re: Medicine in the 3I (longish)<BR>
Re: "Aslan" name debate again<BR>
Re: Roger Sanger . . BAD, BAD, BAD???<BR>
Re: Roger Sanger . . BAD, BAD, BAD???<BR>
Re: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Machinery<BR>
Re: Hello and TNE question<BR>
3D Star Maps<BR>
<BR>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 14:10:47 +1100<BR>
From: "David Healey" <David.Healey@dcb.defence.gov.au><BR>
Subject: SEC : UNCLASSIFIED - We Work the Black Seam<BR>
<BR>
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com><BR>
<BR>
> >Originally, the plan was to use coal from local sources, but<BR>
> >it was realised that the natural radiation levels of the coal would<BR>
> >set off all the site external alarms if any dust blew around.<BR>
><BR>
>Not dust, but combustion gases.<BR>
<BR>
<Dom><BR>
ISTR that coal itself is naturally mildly radioactive, and typically <BR>
piled in big heaps at power stations, in which case dust would be an <BR>
issue. But it's a while since I did it so my memory may be fading.<BR>
</Dom><BR>
<BR>
Radon gas.  Gets into the lungs real easy and decays from there.  Also found, from memory, in granites (which contain lots of other stuff) and given of by some basalts (can't remember which ones).<BR>
<BR>
Dave<BR>
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             !<BR>
                                                                                                                                                                                                           <BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 22:15:30 -0600<BR>
From: "shadowcat" <meow@advancenet.net><BR>
Subject: Re: 50ton Heavy Fighter<BR>
<BR>
Fighting Ships of the Shattered Imperium<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Shadowcat AKA Kevin Walsh<BR>
Captain of the Free Trader Beowulf<BR>
ADD/ADHD Advocate<BR>
http://www.advancenet.net/~meow<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 19:59:33 -0800<BR>
From: Jesse DeGraff <jdegraff@pacbell.net><BR>
Subject: RE: 102 Vehicles<BR>
<BR>
Take it from me, use artistic license =)  Shift numbers so that you end up<BR>
with the same displacement, but arrive at something that's a little more<BR>
esthetically pleasing that shoebox.<BR>
<BR>
BTW, it'd love to see what you're doing with it.  I've always wanted to<BR>
start illustrating 101 Starships, but so far I just haven't had the time.<BR>
<BR>
Best,<BR>
Jesse<BR>
jdegraff@pacbell.net<BR>
http://www.vision-forge-graphics.com/jesse/traveller/trav_welcome.htm<BR>
"Striving to Produce a Better (Illustrated) Traveller Universe"  (tm)<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
- -----Original Message-----<BR>
From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com<BR>
[mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com]On Behalf Of Joseph R.<BR>
Dietrich<BR>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 7:45 PM<BR>
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com<BR>
Subject: 102 Vehicles<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
I have finally been able to get some time to do some drawings for 102<BR>
Vehicles, and I've noticed something: They're all stubby.<BR>
<BR>
Forex: Many of the buses are 6 m x 3 m x 3 m, or thereabouts. Try drawing<BR>
these out on a piece of graph paper -- heck, just block it out roughly, as a<BR>
rectangle. These are incredibly short for their height and width (Or is the<BR>
Imperium just full of "short buses."<BR>
<BR>
I assume this is a an artifact of the T4 vehicle construction system.<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 20:25:05 -0800<BR>
From: Jesse DeGraff <jdegraff@pacbell.net><BR>
Subject: RE: 50ton Heavy Fighter<BR>
<BR>
Nope, try again =)  That's a 20DT Strike Fighter.<BR>
<BR>
COACC maybe?  Thought I had a copy of it, but I'll be damned if I can find<BR>
it.  Anyone?<BR>
<BR>
Jesse<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
- -----Original Message-----<BR>
From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com<BR>
[mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com]On Behalf Of shadowcat<BR>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 8:16 PM<BR>
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com<BR>
Subject: Re: 50ton Heavy Fighter<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Fighting Ships of the Shattered Imperium<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Shadowcat AKA Kevin Walsh<BR>
Captain of the Free Trader Beowulf<BR>
ADD/ADHD Advocate<BR>
http://www.advancenet.net/~meow<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 15:39:09 +1100<BR>
From: "Robert O'Connor" <robocon@idx.com.au><BR>
Subject: Re: Pacer Failure (was : Police Career (actually the Bomb Squad))<BR>
<BR>
I was not going to comment on this (but heck, worse wastes of bandwidth<BR>
have been posted to the list).<BR>
<BR>
Leonard Erickson wrote :-<BR>
> > Any significant installation would be damper screened to prevent 'fun<BR>
> > with nukes/nuke dampers' in any case - because nukes are so common.<BR>
> <BR>
> Which leads to fun when a VIP from a TL-9 world enters the building and<BR>
> suddenly keels over. Why? You neutralized the Pu in the powerpack for<BR>
> his heart pacemaker! (real technology, folks!)<BR>
<BR>
Some real world data, folks.<BR>
	RTG driven pacemakers were proposed in the late 1960s. An occasional<BR>
few examples were built in the following decade.<BR>
	Improvements in the energy density of chemical batteries, plus better<BR>
understanding of the electrical requirements for a pacemaker (only<BR>
microampere currents are required), have led to the situation today,<BR>
where said batteries get electively changed every 2-4 years.<BR>
	Clinical expertise has also developed over years of long use to the<BR>
point where pacing is a last resort treatment. Cardiac disease severe<BR>
enough to mandate pacemaker placement is nasty. It is equivalent to<BR>
heart failure, which has a long term outlook comparable to many<BR>
malignancies (e.g. 5 year survival rates of about 20%).<BR>
	Some improvement on this grim statistic is being made as our<BR>
understanding of ischaemic heart disease and the best ways to prevent<BR>
and treat it grows.<BR>
	So on risk-benefit grounds, having a chunk of plutonium in your chest<BR>
is unlikely to shorten your life expectancy from radiation-induced<BR>
malignancy. In any case, such a power source hasn't been necessary for<BR>
at least a decade for this application.<BR>
	Pacemakers can be interfered with by other things, which will probably<BR>
be even more common than nuke dampers in tomorrow's built environment.<BR>
Any sufficiently powerful source of EM interference will<BR>
cause pacer failure, either via induced currents or heating(!). MR<BR>
scanners, diathermy machines and multi-watt radio transmitters are <BR>
example troublemakers.<BR>
<BR>
	Our VIP should have medical backup (either imported or provided by the<BR>
host) in order to provide prompt, competent resuscitation in the event<BR>
of pacemaker failure (ranging from resetting the pacer with a magnet to<BR>
external pacing to circulatory assist<BR>
devices and low berthing, etc.). Anything less would be criminally<BR>
stupid, especially for such a simple and common emergency.<BR>
<BR>
Robert O'Connor<BR>
Medico, Gamer<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 15:39:24 +1100<BR>
From: "Robert O'Connor" <robocon@idx.com.au><BR>
Subject: Re : Professional Stereotyping (was : The perils of television)<BR>
<BR>
In reply to :-<BR>
> >Same thing happens in the legal and medical<BR>
> >professions.  Lots of people go to law school and<BR>
> >medical school thinking they'll soon have lots of<BR>
> >money, nice cars, fascinating professional problems<BR>
> >that get solved in an hour or two, and lots of<BR>
> >attractive sex partners. ...now that I write the list<BR>
> >down, my experience of one out of four still ain't<BR>
> >bad.<BR>
<BR>
So far in my medical career, I've managed four of four, though 'lots'<BR>
ought to be replaced by 'sufficient' for two of them. Not bad for a kid<BR>
from a disadvantaged background.<BR>
;-)<BR>
<BR>
My apologies to the lawyers on the list, but :-<BR>
Generally the problems laywers are asked to solve are not immediately<BR>
life-threatening, but are sufficiently complex to require many hours in<BR>
their solution (human nature being what it is).<BR>
<BR>
Medicine, especially in my current area of employment, has lots of<BR>
problems that need fixing within an hour or two. In fact, most of them<BR>
need solution within five to ten minutes.<BR>
<BR>
"Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round. What more could one<BR>
ask from this life?"<BR>
- - one of the more interesting consultants with whom I have worked.<BR>
<BR>
Robert O'Connor<BR>
Medico, Gamer<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 23:45:11 -0500<BR>
From: "Swordy (Colin MIchael)" <swordworlder@clinic.net><BR>
Subject: Re: Naval rank question<BR>
<BR>
Bloody Coast Guard, that's what they are.  They deserve no Naval rank at<BR>
all.  A JG could handle a silly PT boat like an SDB and a light commander<BR>
would be wasted running the whole canoe club!  If you really must give the<BR>
sorry sot a title then Bathtub Commodore should cover it.  Harrumph.<BR>
<BR>
- -Sea Crusty the ex-Swabby<BR>
<BR>
- ----- Original Message -----<BR>
From: <igor@truserve.com><BR>
> What would expect the rank of a SDB Fleet Commander to be? I'm talking<BR>
about the dude<BR>
> (or dude-ete) who's in chage of all the SDBs in a system. Not a squadron<BR>
commander.<BR>
> Would this rate an Admiral? Commodore? Commander? Captain? Bueler? Bueler?<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 00:03:15 EST<BR>
From: JFZeigler@aol.com<BR>
Subject: Re : G:T Solomani Rim<BR>
<BR>
In a message dated 12/2/99 6:03:38 PM Eastern Standard Time, <BR>
robocon@idx.com.au writes:<BR>
<BR>
> Jon, have you a copy of two documents from the Missouri Archives which<BR>
>  may partly offset this effect? Namely, Harold Hale's discussion post<BR>
>  from 1995 which attempts to assign Real Universe(TM) nearby stars to the<BR>
>  sector map, and the algorithm for correcting dodgy canonical stellar<BR>
>  data?<BR>
<BR>
Interesting.  I was already familiar with Harold's "real stars list," and for<BR>
local color I intend to point out some of the more famous stars in the<BR>
capsule writeups I'm doing.<BR>
<BR>
I wasn't familiar with his algorithm for correcting the stellar types, but in<BR>
fact I have done something similar "on the fly."  I've converted all Type IV<BR>
and Type VI stars to V, for example, and I've turned some of the white<BR>
dwarf stars into main sequence members (mostly M-class).  I also turned<BR>
M9 V stars into M8 Vs.  None of this was done particularly systematically,<BR>
but as a first approximation the results don't look too bad.  If any of the<BR>
playtesters howl in protest I can always go back and hand-tweak a<BR>
couple dozen stars to fit a more reasonable distribution.<BR>
<BR>
On the other hand, I don't have as much trouble with having Earthlike<BR>
worlds around the tinier M-class dwarfs.  What I've been doing is deciding<BR>
on a planetary climate and then computing the orbital radius from that.<BR>
I'm not limiting myself to the old Book 6 method of having the orbits fall<BR>
into the fixed Bode sequence.  Those Earthlike worlds near M8 V stars<BR>
just orbit *very close in*.<BR>
<BR>
(Of course, I'm glossing over the fact that tide-locking causes its own set<BR>
of problems, but this is Traveller, after all. . .)<BR>
<BR>
There's one world in the sector circling a D-class primary, but that world<BR>
isn't particularly Earthlike anyway -- I plan on writing it up as a "cryo-<BR>
world" with an ambient temperature not far above absolute zero.  And<BR>
a population in the tens of millions, of course :-).<BR>
<BR>
- ----------<BR>
Jon F. Zeigler: Mathematician, computer geek, amateur historian, freelance<BR>
writer, occasional scribbler of bad poetry<BR>
"For any statement, no matter how innocuous, there exists a nonempty<BR>
set of people who will take offense at it."<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 21:17:42 -0800 (PST)<BR>
From: Kyle Schuant <kyle3054@yahoo.com><BR>
Subject: Anti-matter<BR>
<BR>
Steven Hudson writes:<BR>
>>explain why SF games almost always assume that<BR>
anti-matter is a<BR>
> power supply system that doesn't need an ultimate<BR>
source of fuel?>><BR>
Well, they do need fuel, but the real bulk is the<BR>
containment, not the fuel. One gram of anti-matter<BR>
contacting one gram of matter will give 1.8 x 10^17<BR>
joules of energy, a lot! Antimatter is produced all<BR>
the time by natural decay, as in uranium ore deposits<BR>
(or thorium, radium, etc), just very very little, and<BR>
it doesn't last long, soon bumps into matter and zaps<BR>
it and the matter into a burst of gamma rays. Small<BR>
amounts (a few atoms) of antimatter have been stored<BR>
in our time, but they require huge magnetic fields. <BR>
<BR>
Anyhow, the point is that a very small amount of<BR>
antimatter will keep you going a long time; the<BR>
aforementioned one gram of antimatter would keep a 100<BR>
MW reactor going for 57 years! (assuming 100%<BR>
efficiency, even at 5% efficiency you still get a<BR>
whole year)<BR>
Who wants to worry about refuelling with a gram?<BR>
<BR>
However, I do wonder about those containment fields,<BR>
what if they fail? This suggests either unimagined<BR>
technology or another reactor giving power for those<BR>
fields. Suposing that fails... I guess this is why<BR>
anti/matter reactors aren't yet on ships until very<BR>
high TLs?:)<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
=====<BR>
KA Schuant<BR>
member: Chef's Guild International, Sporting Shooter's Assoc, Amnesty Int, Carlton Soccer Club<BR>
Melbourne<BR>
Australia<BR>
<BR>
"Duct tape is like the Force: it has a light side, a dark side, and it binds the universe together"<BR>
__________________________________________________<BR>
Do You Yahoo!?<BR>
Thousands of Stores.  Millions of Products.  All in one place.<BR>
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 22:12:19 -0800<BR>
From: Kristian Miller <travellerne@3rd-imperium.com><BR>
Subject: Re: Brilliant Lances (was Re: Hello and TNE question)<BR>
<BR>
Luther Martin wrote:<BR>
> <BR>
> Has anyone out there played Brilliant Lances or Battle Rider? If so, what<BR>
> did you think of them? Good? Bad?<BR>
> <BR>
<BR>
Hi Luther,<BR>
<BR>
Brilliant Lances is pretty good.  My only little complaint is that the<BR>
movement record keeping is a little hard to pick up quickly.  We can set<BR>
up a game when you and Glenn are done pulverizing the planet Mongo in<BR>
the 5FW.<BR>
<BR>
Kristian<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 22:15:36 -0800<BR>
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com><BR>
Subject: Re: One of our worlds is missing!<BR>
<BR>
Via electronic medium on 12/2/99 10:05 AM, bonnevil@ima.umn.edu wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Question for the list, particularly someone with access to _Atlas of the<BR>
> Imperium_:<BR>
<BR>
I've not heard of this product, who published it, when, and where could I<BR>
get a copy? Or is it one of those hard to acquire Traveller treasures?<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 17:37:24 +1000<BR>
From: david.d.jaques-watson@centrelink.gov.au<BR>
Subject: Re: Stopping the world...<BR>
<BR>
Dear Folks -<BR>
<BR>
Terry replied to Jason thus:<BR>
>> an incredible rate.  (My best friend quoted something around 900<BR>
>> miles per second, but I don't have the figures to back it up.<BR>
>> That's one hell of a skinned knee.)<BR>
><BR>
>My rough calculations indicate a more "sedate" rate. On the equator,<BR>
>the circumference of the Earth is 24854.848 miles, give or take. The<BR>
>Earth rotates once in about 23.933333333 hours. So I figure the<BR>
>speed at close to 1038.503398 miles an hour.<BR>
<BR>
Sounds closer...<BR>
<BR>
"Just remember that you're standing<BR>
On a planet that's evolving,<BR>
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour.<BR>
It's orbiting at ninety miles a second,<BR>
So it's reckoned,<BR>
About a Sun that is the source of all our power.<BR>
<BR>
The Sun, and you and me,<BR>
And all the stars that we can see,<BR>
Are moving at a million miles a day,<BR>
In an outer spiral arm (at fourty thousand miles an hour),<BR>
Of the galaxy they call the Milky Way!"<BR>
<BR>
_The Galaxy Song_, Monty Python.<BR>
<BR>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson        Beowulf Down (Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520)<BR>
http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjw                       davidjw@pcug.org.au<BR>
"I file things in historical order, with a hashing algorithm of gravity"<BR>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
REQ'D DISCLAIMER - material & opinions contained within are solely those<BR>
of the author and do not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the<BR>
position of Centrelink or any other Commonwealth Government agency.<BR>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 01:45:46 -0500 (EST)<BR>
From: Kenji Schwarz <schwarz@fas.harvard.edu><BR>
Subject: Re: "Aslan" name debate again<BR>
<BR>
On Thu, 2 Dec 1999, Josh W. Spencer wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> So what DO the Aslan call **themselves**?? I looked throughout my MT<BR>
> material and the one issue of the Travellers' Digest I have on the<BR>
> Aslan. I didn't see anything in there.<BR>
<BR>
Fteirle.  I think it's only in DGP Solomani & Aslan, though, so it's not<BR>
"canon" for any current or forseeable-future official publications.<BR>
<BR>
Kenji<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 01:52:29 -0500<BR>
From: "Swordy (Colin Michael)" <swordworlder@clinic.net><BR>
Subject: Re: One of our worlds is missing!<BR>
<BR>
Hard to find, over priced and not a very good value for the money.  And no,<BR>
I will not part with mine :-)<BR>
<BR>
- -Crusty<BR>
<BR>
- ----- Original Message -----<BR>
From: Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella <xrp@sierratel.com><BR>
> > Question for the list, particularly someone with access to _Atlas of the<BR>
> > Imperium_:<BR>
><BR>
> I've not heard of this product, who published it, when, and where could I<BR>
> get a copy? Or is it one of those hard to acquire Traveller treasures?<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 22:55:00 -0800<BR>
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com><BR>
Subject: Re: Medicine in the 3I (longish)<BR>
<BR>
Via electronic medium on 12/2/99 2:08 PM, robocon@idx.com.au wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Sorry for wasting bandwidth ; just thinking 'out loud'.<BR>
<BR>
Waste? What waste? Flagged for future use, this coming winter should afford<BR>
me some down time to work on my webpage, and this is some great material. A<BR>
very good framework with room left for regional detailing. Loved it.<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 15:08:20 +0800<BR>
From: "Colin aka Arkham aka the God King" <astroboy@iinet.net.au><BR>
Subject: Re: "Aslan" name debate again<BR>
<BR>
The Gurps Traveller perspective on Aslan naming:<BR>
<BR>
"The Aslan (who call themselves Fteirle)..."<BR>
G:T Alien Races 2 p5 (and multiple mentions thereafter)<BR>
<BR>
"When the Solomani first made contact with the Fteirle they encountered a<BR>
minor vessle of the  Yerlyaruiwo clan.  The human crew, part of the wave of<BR>
Turkic speaking settlers then spreading spinward from Terra, immediately<BR>
tagged the new species 'Aslan' after the Turkic word for lion"<BR>
G:T Alien Races 2 p16 sidebar<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
********************************************************<BR>
Colin Clark<BR>
<BR>
For RPG stuff including:<BR>
Hong Kong 2028 Campaign and<BR>
HERO bits & pieces<BR>
see  http://www.iinet.net.au/~astroboy<BR>
********************************************************<BR>
- ----- Original Message -----<BR>
From: Kenji Schwarz <schwarz@fas.harvard.edu><BR>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com><BR>
Sent: Friday, 3 December 1999 2:45<BR>
Subject: Re: "Aslan" name debate again<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
><BR>
><BR>
> On Thu, 2 Dec 1999, Josh W. Spencer wrote:<BR>
><BR>
> > So what DO the Aslan call **themselves**?? I looked throughout my MT<BR>
> > material and the one issue of the Travellers' Digest I have on the<BR>
> > Aslan. I didn't see anything in there.<BR>
><BR>
> Fteirle.  I think it's only in DGP Solomani & Aslan, though, so it's not<BR>
> "canon" for any current or forseeable-future official publications.<BR>
><BR>
> Kenji<BR>
><BR>
><BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 23:12:17 -0800<BR>
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com><BR>
Subject: Re: Roger Sanger . . BAD, BAD, BAD???<BR>
<BR>
Via electronic medium on 12/2/99 2:18 PM, gridlore@pop.mindspring.com wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Let me put it this way: for what<BR>
> Sanger (spit) wants for the DGP rights, you could probably buy the D&D<BR>
> franchise from WoTC.<BR>
<BR>
Is this hyperbole? Are you serious, or guessing, or jesting? I mean, I love<BR>
Traveller, but there's no way that the DGP Trav product line, no matter how<BR>
good the material, is anywhere near the "commercial value" of D&D. He Who Is<BR>
Spoken Of While Spitting sounds, not only greedy, but stupid. And as I've<BR>
heard other's say, the value of the material *depreciates* the longer it<BR>
remains unavailable.<BR>
<BR>
Besides, Information wants to be free.<BR>
<BR>
ObTrav: Same corporate history, in the Holo-sim program field. Eneri Zinger<BR>
holds copyright on a well developed line of .... awwww, you get it.<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 02:37:06 -0500<BR>
From: "Chris Seamans" <semo@pil.net><BR>
Subject: Re: Roger Sanger . . BAD, BAD, BAD???<BR>
<BR>
From: Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella <xrp@sierratel.com><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
> Is this hyperbole? Are you serious, or guessing, or jesting? I mean, I<BR>
>love Traveller, but there's no way that the DGP Trav product line, no<BR>
>matter how good the material, is anywhere near the "commercial<BR>
>value" of D&D. He Who Is Spoken Of While Spitting sounds, not only<BR>
>greedy, but stupid. And as I've heard other's say, the value of the<BR>
>material *depreciates* the longer it remains unavailable.<BR>
<BR>
I would hope that Doug was exaggerating just a little. After all, the D&D<BR>
franchise likely has a value in the tens of millions. As far as greed or<BR>
sheer stubborn pigheadedness goes, personally I'm not going to really pass<BR>
judgement because I don't know enough of what's going on. He did burn Robert<BR>
Prior, who seems to be a rather good egg, and that, in itself, is a heinous<BR>
crime.<BR>
<BR>
The value of the material has depreciated already because it's available to<BR>
so few people.<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 21:44:55 +1300<BR>
From: "Frank Pitt" <frankie@mundens.gen.nz><BR>
Subject: Re: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Machinery<BR>
<BR>
> > From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)<BR>
><BR>
> > Never. But I owned one of the *infamous* Seagate ST-251 40 meg drives<BR>
> > with "stiction" for many years. Since I rarely turned the system off,<BR>
> > it wasn't much of a problem. But if I *did* turn it off, I had to<BR>
> > unbolt the drive and give it a quick, *hard* tist to break the heads<BR>
> > free. then quickly rebolt the drive and apply power.<BR>
><BR>
> That sounds more like an old car than a disk drive.<BR>
<BR>
Nah,that's a disk drive alright, we had one just like it.<BR>
Heck, we left the cover unscrewed so we could just lift and give it a kick<BR>
during reboot.<BR>
Worked for years like that.<BR>
<BR>
 Frankie<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 11:17:54 +0200<BR>
From: Antti Lahtinen <lahtinen@ee.tut.fi><BR>
Subject: Re: Hello and TNE question<BR>
<BR>
> I give, what was the big deal about TNE that nobody liked it?  <BR>
<BR>
	As usual, the number of opinios about TNE equals or exceeds the <BR>
	number of people talking about it. IMHO, :<BR>
<BR>
	Bad things:<BR>
<BR>
	The rules used 1d6 as damage dice, which allowed characters to <BR>
	absorb huge amount of damage before dying.<BR>
<BR>
	Skill system... well... I just did not like it. We began to use<BR>
	CORPS system after first few TNE sessions.<BR>
<BR>
	Good things:<BR>
<BR>
	Damage rules include penetration value, which makes it possible <BR>
	to design various low-penetration and high-penetration <BR>
	ammunition. (shaped charges, "bean bags", etc.)<BR>
<BR>
	Armor and damage was based on one set of rules, so that the same <BR>
	amount of damage could be applied against a starship, vehicle or <BR>
	a living creature. It is possible to calculate the amount of <BR>
	damage inflicted by a falling rock, ramming ship, etc.<BR>
<BR>
	The reactionless thruster was replaced with fuel-consuming <BR>
	rocket engine. This change made it more difficult to accelerate <BR>
	ships into ridiculous speeds.<BR>
<BR>
	FF&S technology rules allows the design of a wide variety of <BR>
	equipment with some detail. (some portions of FF&S are still <BR>
	oversimplified)<BR>
<BR>
	Brilliant Lances has enough detail to make starship combat <BR>
	interesting. Since normal character skills are used in combat <BR>
	tasks, a high-skill PC can make difference in some situations.<BR>
<BR>
	Starship combat is done on long ranges. Since it is possible to 	<BR>
	hit a starship-sized target within 4 light seconds (40 hex), <BR>
	space combat resembles more submarine warfare than aircraft <BR>
	dogfights.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Luther Martin wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Has anyone out there played Brilliant Lances or Battle Rider?<BR>
> If so, what did you think of them? Good? Bad?<BR>
<BR>
	BL is very good, but requires much preparation. It is better <BR>
	suited for a small number of "small" or "medium" sized ships, <BR>
	and the game bogs down quickly is large number of ships are <BR>
	used.<BR>
<BR>
	BR is simplified version of BL, intended for large-scale <BR>
	battles. With some rule fixing, it was quite fun to play.<BR>
<BR>
- -- <BR>
      Antti Lahtinen                lahtinen@ee.tut.fi<BR>
      Researcher, MSc (Eng)         http://www.ee.tut.fi/~lahtinen<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 03:18:06 -0600<BR>
From: "Kurtis Rodgers" <kurtis@fastlane.net><BR>
Subject: 3D Star Maps<BR>
<BR>
I've been poking around with one of the "bad penny" Traveller issues, the<BR>
star mapping system.  Certainly not one of the hot button issues, but one<BR>
that pops up on the list occasionally in various forms (a 3D mapping thread<BR>
appeared recently).  Every Ref who questions the artifice of the rectangular<BR>
A4 subsector hex maps may wonder if there isn't a "better" way.  Of course,<BR>
"better" depends entirely on what you value in a system.  In my opinion,<BR>
anyone wanting to run a Spinward Marches campaign, for example, would be<BR>
more than amply rewarded for accepting the old hex maps due to the wealth of<BR>
available source material in that setting.  It certainly never bothered me<BR>
in high school when I first played the game.  In those days, the paperwork<BR>
required to use a three dimensional system, or even a simple non-hex<BR>
determinate grid, was simply not worth the trouble.<BR>
<BR>
In some ways, mapping is only an issue if you contemplate the Way of the<BR>
Heretic, and are starting with a relatively clean slate.  After looking at<BR>
the existing map data, I decided that for my own campaign, I would need to<BR>
redo most of a sector or two.  This opens the door to speculation about<BR>
other changes to the mapping scheme.  Also, the casual power of the software<BR>
at my fingertips today is quite a bit different than it was in 1980.<BR>
<BR>
I am familiar with the practical problems with attempting 3D star mapping<BR>
for Traveller.  (Anyone who isn't should refer to the sidebar on page 47 of<BR>
GT:First In for a good summary.)  Still, the idea holds some fascination,<BR>
and has a certain 'cool factor'.  Another way of thinking about this<BR>
problem, aside from geometric issues, is the degree to which real-world<BR>
astrography can be used.  When I create an Earth-like planetary setting<BR>
(i.e., a fantasy world), the first 'world builder's handbook' I reach for is<BR>
a World Atlas.  There's nothing like using the real thing, at least in bits<BR>
and pieces.  I am sure I'm not alone in this practice.  I wondered what the<BR>
results of applying Traveller jump travel to a 'real' star map would be.<BR>
<BR>
["Go for it!" says the little red guy with the fork on my shoulder.  "It'll<BR>
never work," says the bored cherub, opposite.  "A hopeless quagmire!"]<BR>
<BR>
So I decided to at least explore the possibilities of a 3D TU, roughly based<BR>
on real astronomy data.  : P<BR>
<BR>
What would be the real practical problems, rather than merely the speculated<BR>
ones that get discussed?  How 'dense' would star travel be in this<BR>
environment?  Do stars naturally occur in J1-2 mains, and are there really<BR>
rifts or other distribution phenomena that might 'stretch' out travel and<BR>
political boundaries?<BR>
<BR>
Since I happen to have both tools and skills that can be applied toward<BR>
these questions, I am spending a little time on it.  Unless I get a Big Yawn<BR>
from the list, I'll share my results with the TML.  Anyone let me know if<BR>
I'm reinventing the wheel here.<BR>
_____<BR>
<BR>
Source Data<BR>
<BR>
I'm currently using the Hipparcos star catalog for my source data.  I have<BR>
only imported the data from hip_main.dat file, which contains 118,218<BR>
records.  A *very* few of these records lacked parallax data, and were<BR>
discarded.  The rest were plotted into a Cartesian coordinates table, with<BR>
Sol at 0,0,0.  A record was added for Sol at 0,0,0.  : )<BR>
<BR>
A destinations child table was compiled from the main Cartesian reference<BR>
table.  Due to the projected processing time required for finding J1-6<BR>
destinations for every star in the catalog (well over 30 hours on my P300<BR>
server), I decided to limit myself (for now) to a sample set of data: all<BR>
the catalog stars within 60 parsecs of Sol.  This comes to 9946 records, a<BR>
very reasonable sample data set (just under 10% of the total catalog).<BR>
_____<BR>
<BR>
Destination Counts<BR>
<BR>
In order to get a feel for Traveller-style interstellar travel in this<BR>
setting, I am running queries against this database that count the available<BR>
destinations from each star in the sample.  These destination counts can<BR>
then be compared to those in the OTU (for amusement only - please, no<BR>
wagering!)  : P<BR>
<BR>
For the purposes of this model, all stars are assumed to be useful refueling<BR>
points, and thus potential destinations for star travel.  (This is *not* an<BR>
assumtion I would make in an actual campaign.)<BR>
_____<BR>
<BR>
Total Destinations at J6 or Less<BR>
<BR>
Let's cut to the chase and see just how bad the destination-inflation is in<BR>
3D Traveller.  This result set is rather long, so I have snipped portions of<BR>
it for brevity.  There's enough here to get a feel for the data.  The first<BR>
result column is the count of destinations available to a star at Jump-6 or<BR>
less.  The second column is the number of stars to which the destination<BR>
count applies.  The third column is the percent of the total sample that the<BR>
star count makes up.<BR>
<BR>
Destinations Star Count  Percent<BR>
- ------------ ----------- -------<BR>
1            17           0.17<BR>
2            86           0.86<BR>
3            195          1.96<BR>
4            363          3.65<BR>
5            550          5.53<BR>
6            611          6.14<BR>
7            714          7.18<BR>
8            685          6.89<BR>
9            643          6.46<BR>
10           587          5.90<BR>
11           488          4.91<BR>
12           429          4.31<BR>
13           354          3.56<BR>
14           296          2.98<BR>
15           299          3.01<BR>
16           226          2.27<BR>
17           188          1.89<BR>
18           194          1.95<BR>
19           161          1.62<BR>
20           149          1.50<BR>
...<BR>
40           26           0.26<BR>
...<BR>
60           22           0.22<BR>
...<BR>
80           21           0.21<BR>
...<BR>
100          13           0.13<BR>
...<BR>
110          4            0.04<BR>
111          6            0.06<BR>
112          1            0.01<BR>
<BR>
These numbers are pretty bad, as expected.  Can you image fueling up your<BR>
J-6 Yacht and having 112 possible jump destinations to choose from?  Yikes!<BR>
<BR>
I've already used a lot of bandwidth for a single post, so I'll stop here.<BR>
Remember - these numbers are for Jump-6.  If we limit the jump capability,<BR>
the results get much more interesting (and encouraging, ...and shorter,<BR>
too).  So, anyone interested in seeing this same table at max Jump-3?<BR>
<BR>
Kurtis<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1434<BR>
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