Hobby for the rich

[rancke]

Suppose there were a hobby in the Classic Era that involved visiting different worlds. What would be a plausible record number of worlds visited?

(Also, assuming you don't want to count endless numbers of tiny asteroids, how would you decide what counted and what didn't count as a world?)


Hans

 

[MCEvans]

Two thoughts come to mind
One a "passport" to get a world stamp in - The US Park Service does this as a means to get people to visit more National Parks and Monuments. In Idaho the tourism board does something similar for the State sites.
Two - when I was growing up people collected patches and/or stickers to the places they have been.

I can just imagine a collection of stickers by the main air lock door of a ship of all the places it has been. Or a crewman having a vest or jacket with patches on the back maybe even one per subsector.

 

[CosmicGamer]

I've been to all but 6 of the US states but there may be one or two where I never even left the highway and stopped the car. There are definitely a few where I only stopped for gas, food, and rest area. Should switching planes and spending a couple hours in an airport qualify?

Does docking at a high port count? Do you need to stay for a certain amount of time? Patches, passport stamps, somehow a "visit" needs to be defined.

 

[McPerth]

Suppose there were a hobby in the Classic Era that involved visiting different worlds. What would be a plausible record number of worlds visited?

(Also, assuming you don't want to count endless numbers of tiny asteroids, how would you decide what counted and what didn't count as a world?)


Hans

I guess that depends on what do you mean with the word visiting. If you mean just being there (as Phineas Fog in his world tour in 80 days), I guess about 1 each 2 weeks. If you mean to know them in detail, I wonder if one life will be enough for a single world.

 

[Spinward Scout]

If they are only stopping at the starport long enough to fuel and take a holopic or two and maybe buy a spoon or patch with the world's name on it - say stopping for 1 day only, then it's about 45 worlds a year.

If they are stopping at each world for a whole week for sightseeing, etc... then it's about 26 worlds a year.

 

[aramis]

Suppose there were a hobby in the Classic Era that involved visiting different worlds. What would be a plausible record number of worlds visited?

(Also, assuming you don't want to count endless numbers of tiny asteroids, how would you decide what counted and what didn't count as a world?)


Hans

If you put visited as "spent two consecutive sleep periods outside the starport with as much time spent between also outside the starport"...

you could get a person arriving, sleeping, touristing, sleeping leaving... and a median 9 day trip, for a 12 day cycle. If they spend no down time, that's 30 per year, plus just shy of half another.

If it's just "get the entry/exit visa stamps", it's 9 day cycles... 40 a year.

And I like the pre-NCTyson definition of a planet - "Any body rounded by its own gravity."

 

[rancke]

I meant plausible as in, 'if you read about it in a Traveller adventure/setting writeup and it mentioned a number, what would you think was plausible?

Part of the question is, "How many years did the record-holder spend visiting new worlds?"


Hans

 

[DaveChase]

Here is my thought since you say it's a rich man's hobby.

They have to visit a world and have a meeting/dinner with someone of great power or influence. Governor, a famous individual, etc.

There has to be evidence that they met that individual.

By adding this as the how many points for that person (driving game), now which world you visit is just as important as to whom you met.

There could be parties where these 'who have you met' hobbies would die to attend.

Extra points for getting invited to travel or spend more than a day with said individual (or proving that you slept, hunted, brokered a major deal, etc).

Dave Chase

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

I must disagree.

Here is my thought since you say it's a rich man's hobby.

They have to visit a world and have a meeting/dinner with someone of great power or influence. Governor, a famous individual, etc.

There has to be evidence that they met that individual.

By adding this as the how many points for that person (driving game), now which world you visit is just as important as to whom you met.

There could be parties where these 'who have you met' hobbies would die to attend.

Extra points for getting invited to travel or spend more than a day with said individual (or proving that you slept, hunted, brokered a major deal, etc).

Dave Chase

My dear David,

What you have described here is not a hobby, that is work. Visiting the local tourist traps is a hobby. Meeting other wealthy and well connected people is merely what you do for a living.

Yours,
Mags.

PS: Hans I would go with the System Mainworld and the stay must be out of the starport for three days and two nights for what ever that works out to per year.

As for how many worlds could a person do? How many X-Boat stops between say Deneb and Terra. Do that stretch and you might have some sort of record. Especially if you make it to Capital on the route as opposed to skirting the Rift.

 

[samuelvss]

An analogous link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444273704577635410254717408.html

I imagine that there would be many different ways of "visiting," be they starports, dirtside, in your own ship (lots of Yachts out there if the original COTI is to be believed), or just jumping into the system.

I imagine it would be BIG with TAS members, though they would not be setting speed records.

 

[DaveChase]

My dear David,

What you have described here is not a hobby, that is work. Visiting the local tourist traps is a hobby. Meeting other wealthy and well connected people is merely what you do for a living.

Yours,
Mags.

...

LOL

For some, yes, for others, it is just pure play time.

Dave Chase

 

[Icosahedron]

Worlds, or starsystems?

@Aramis - Rounded by their own gravity, that would include our moon?

A visit is long enough to plant a flag, isn't it? That's how long it takes to claim a world - should be the same to claim a visit.

1 system per 2 week Jump, 2 systems per month, 24 systems per year, 240 systems per decade, say Traveller's chargen age 18 to start, anagathic-free age 88 to finish (gotta love 57th century life expectancy), that's 7 decades, I make that 1680. You're not going to make 2k, and I wouldn't believe anything in 4 figures - nobody would waste ALL of their life on such a hobby, it'd be too boring. Some nutter might do 700-800, say a universal record of 850?

Or not - YMMV.

 

[far-trader]

A visit is long enough to plant a flag, isn't it? That's how long it takes to claim a world - should be the same to claim a visit.

Very good sir, if you'll just fill out forms 1072-117 through 3320-343, in quintiplicate. The filing fees come to Cr9,784 and there'll be the usual 6-8 week wait for processing. Have a nice visit

...the Imperium is nothing if not Bureaux :devil:

 

[aramis]

Worlds, or starsystems?

@Aramis - Rounded by their own gravity, that would include our moon?

A visit is long enough to plant a flag, isn't it? That's how long it takes to claim a world - should be the same to claim a visit.

1 system per 2 week Jump, 2 systems per month, 24 systems per year, 240 systems per decade, say Traveller's chargen age 18 to start, anagathic-free age 88 to finish (gotta love 57th century life expectancy), that's 7 decades, I make that 1680. You're not going to make 2k, and I wouldn't believe anything in 4 figures - nobody would waste ALL of their life on such a hobby, it'd be too boring. Some nutter might do 700-800, say a universal record of 850?

Or not - YMMV.

Yep. Our moon is functionally a small planet coorbiting with Earth.

Actually, the old definition also required that it not be orbiting a larger body in the same solar orbit, hence Charon and "Gabrielle" being moons of Pluto and "Xena" (now Eris).

We have over 20 planets by that definition. Including Ceres.

 

[Carlobrand]

Yep. Our moon is functionally a small planet coorbiting with Earth...

Is a binary!

 

[MCEvans]

Worlds, or starsystems?

@Aramis - Rounded by their own gravity, that would include our moon?

A visit is long enough to plant a flag, isn't it? That's how long it takes to claim a world - should be the same to claim a visit.

1 system per 2 week Jump, 2 systems per month, 24 systems per year, 240 systems per decade, say Traveller's chargen age 18 to start, anagathic-free age 88 to finish (gotta love 57th century life expectancy), that's 7 decades, I make that 1680. You're not going to make 2k, and I wouldn't believe anything in 4 figures - nobody would waste ALL of their life on such a hobby, it'd be too boring. Some nutter might do 700-800, say a universal record of 850?

Or not - YMMV.

I would say as a goal all main worlds in a sector or domain for the serious ones for those not so, subsector or sector.
Habited worlds beyond the main world would be a bonus location and in a hunt like this the uncommon one are the ones that you could base an adventure on :devil:

 

[CosmicGamer]

Question for y'all: How many worlds would be visited when a delegation from one race goes to another; say from the Hiver capital to the Imperial capital?

If the son of a Noble wished to visit as many worlds as possible in the sector he one day will inherit, how many worlds would that be?

I'm wondering if it isn't someone in government or business just going about their official capacity who holds "the record" and not someone rich and with no responsibilities doing it for bragging rights. Or maybe it's that guy skipping out on his ship mortgage trying to stay one jump ahead of the bounty hunters. But he isn't going to be advertising all the places he's been. A ten year religious pilgrimage to spread the one true message to as many worlds as possible.

 

[far-trader]

Just a thought here, sounds like the way to game it might be the old TAS Membership. Those are the types who would most likely be engaged in this pastime, while others would be too busy or poor to visit many unique worlds as a tourist.

With that you get a High Passage dividend every two months. Figure starting at the minimum retirement age of 38 (5 terms) then you just have to figure how long someone would keep it up. Maybe to age 74 just to use the CT age table.

That would give something like a ballpark figure of 6.5 trips (worlds/systems) per year (1 every 8 weeks) x36 years of travel (age 38 to 74) for a total of 234 trips (worlds/systems). Nice number

Of course then you start to get into the "How can I do better... "

Sell that High Pass for Cr9,000, buy a Mid Pass for Cr8,000, save Cr1,000 every 8 weeks and you earn an extra Mid Pass every 64 weeks for an additional 29 trips (worlds/systems) over the 36 years. Total 263 trips.

Or maybe you can spend more of your retirement fund on trips instead of TAS Hostel fees between trips.

Or maybe you have skills to add some working passages in there.

Or...
​

So, there are probably a lot of people who have visited hundreds of worlds but the record is probably going to be something short of a thousand.

In fact I propose that there is an open TAS contest/challenge along the lines of the old club bet of going around the world in 80 days.

aragraph: TAS:

A special recognition awaits the first member who visits 1000 different systems. Are you up for it? Many have tried, a few have gotten close, but no one has claimed it yet.

Systems visited while serving as a member of the Imperial Forces do not count.

 

[MCEvans]

Question for y'all:

If the son of a Noble wished to visit as many worlds as possible in the sector he one day will inherit, how many worlds would that be?

At least 16 each subsector Capital + all HiPop worlds in the sector.
In like the Spinward Marches this would include "goodwill" visits to the Zhodani Consulate, Sword Worlds and the Darrian Confederation, maybe even the Federation(?) of Arden. A visit to Client States might even make 'brownie points' with dad/mom and might bring that CS that much closer to wanting to join the Imperium.

 

[MCEvans]

Just a thought here, sounds like the way to game it might be the old TAS Membership. Those are the types who would most likely be engaged in this pastime, while others would be too busy or poor to visit many unique worlds as a tourist.


So, there are probably a lot of people who have visited hundreds of worlds but the record is probably going to be something short of a thousand.

In fact I propose that there is an open TAS contest/challenge along the lines of the old club bet of going around the world in 80 days.

aragraph: TAS:

A special recognition awaits the first member who visits 1000 different systems. Are you up for it? Many have tried, a few have gotten close, but no one has claimed it yet.

Systems visited while serving as a member of the Imperial Forces do not count.

What's the prize?