General How often does mail arrive at the local Starport?

[aramis]

That's a more ... permissive stance ... than the one that I took, but an equally valid interpretation.

My current run, I'm going to tweak Bk2, Bk5, T20, & some TNE to make things sensible for me. I keep waffling... can't commit. But since next Wed I give them a ship...
I'll note that the biggest issue is that Bk2 JD is MCr2 per Td, and 2.5% of hull (to about drive G), this cripples the financial stability. The Bk5 PP adding on top makes a Bk5 freighter pretty much non-competitive, hence why the MT designs were all TL 15...

 

[Spinward Flow]

The Bk5 PP adding on top makes a Bk5 freighter pretty much non-competitive, hence why the MT designs were all TL 15...

Being able to cut the size AND PRICE of a power plant @ TL=15 to 1/3 that of TL=12 makes such an outsized difference in commercial economics as to be pretty much impossible to ignore.

 

[mike wightman]

Which is why many of us have called for PP cost to be pegged to EP production

 

[Spinward Flow]

Which is why many of us have called for PP cost to be pegged to EP production

A far superior option.
That way lower tech only costs extra tonnage ... not extra tonnage AND extra megacredits!

 

[Grav_Moped]

Which is why many of us have called for PP cost to be pegged to EP production

Oddly, that's how it is in LBB2 for all the drives. Cost is proportional to nominal output except where the table's rating values deviate from what one would expect from the underlying formulae (drives W-Z, and J in 2000Td).

 

[Spinward Flow]

except where the table's rating values deviate from what one would expect from the underlying formulae (drives W-Z, and J in 2000Td).

I view that as being a fundamental flaw of the "here's a table" format for the information, rather than using a formula for the job.

 

[Enoki]

My view on X-boats are these:

1. The routes as presented on the Traveller map often don't make sense. They don't go to the economic power houses of the sector and sometimes don't go to the sector capital. The most economically viable systems along with the most politically powerful should ALWAYS be on the X-boat routes.

2. To these critical systems, several boats per day (or other short time period) should arrive. These include:
-- A government secure one. Think a boat with diplomatic pouches and classified stuff aboard. It gets handled by a special government tender.
-- A corporate secure one. The civilian counterpart that the larger and mega corps use to send stuff they don't want getting out. This too goes to a special corporate tender.
-- A 1st class / registered / certified mail boat. It is separate because the above two are run by their respective users and they don't want other stuff mixed in that could create a leak.

3. Everything else goes once per week, or space available and is cheaper to send than the above.

Now, since occasionally a boat will mis-jump there are some of these government / corporate ones floating around who-knows-where full of really, really, damning stuff that could cause huge problems for the government / corporation (think a certain laptop x like 100). The players 'find' such a boat drifting in space... Much hilarity ensues...

 

[Condottiere]

Unless it's mandated, megacorporations could define their own communications routes.

 

[mike wightman]

They do, see the Traveller Adventure.

 

[Enoki]

Unless it's mandated, megacorporations could define their own communications routes.

That's certainly true, but they would also have regular service to the biggest economies in each sector they have a corporate presence in. That would make sense, since their local operations and headquarters would likely be on one of those worlds.

 

[Hairy Jim DeGriz]

How often does mail arrive at the local Starport?

How often do Boats run?

I just wrote this for another project I am working on:

Interplanetary Communication Network: (ICN) are commercial for-profit information services that supply data (entertainment, news, business, civil records and other information) to individual “backwater” systems off the main routes on a subscription basis. They also carry data from those systems back to a Primary Information Network (PIN) such as the X-Boat network.

The information is encrypted, and as long as the invoice has been paid, it can be unencrypted by the receiving government, corporation or individual subscriber.

In 21st century Terran terms, think of the ICNs as cross between an ISP provider, an Entertainment Streaming service and a News Network, which connects “infrequently”, but delivers entire seasons of entertainment in a single INterplanetary Data Exchange (INDEX).

There are several ICN’s competing with each other, but all operate on a similar business model. We Deliver Last Week’s News Next Week! The frequency of visits and INDEXing would be dependent on how much the subscriber(s) are willing to pay, and the availability of independent contractors to carry the information to the farther reaches.

Stellar Entertainment and News (STEN), Information and Entertainment (INFENT) and Best Services Transmissions (BEST), are a few of the larger ICNs. Worlds with larger populations or more available resources may subscribe to several services.

 

[Condottiere]

I tend to think interstellar entertainment is going to end up as either bingeing or cliffhangers.

 

[aramis]

Oddly, that's how it is in LBB2 for all the drives. Cost is proportional to nominal output except where the table's rating values deviate from what one would expect from the underlying formulae (drives W-Z, and J in 2000Td).

Bk 2 has a different "nasty unrealism" - higher tech level allows larger drives, and some of those improve in efficiency over lower sizes, but there's no improvement in the smaller drives as tech level progresses.

Honestly, Bk5 size changes are more realistic, but that realism comes at the cost of needing all the merchants to buy TL15 drives. Unless, of course, one pegs the price by some outside recourse. To wit, if the prices are set by law rather than the market.

 

[BackworldTraveller]

Honestly, Bk5 size changes are more realistic, but that realism comes at the cost of needing all the merchants to buy TL15 drives. Unless, of course, one pegs the price by some outside recourse. To wit, if the prices are set by law rather than the market.

Isn't that how technology advances work...each advance pushes the previous one out of the market and concentrates power in the hands of those who can manufacture it.

High-Tech is ubiquitously available because it displaces locally produced stuff. Those TL-15 industrial worlds sell everywhere. and the lower-tech guys take the niches - or use cheap labour to make the high-tech stuff using tools imported from elsewhere and maintained with parts from elsewhere. One of the oddities of Traveller economics is the existence of imperial goods from TLs other than 15!

 

[aramis]

One of the oddities of Traveller economics is the existence of imperial goods from TLs other than 15!

Hardly, given that many subsectors lack a TL 15 world. Local TL 12+, sure, but a great many things currently don't qualify as TL 8 goods... T-shirts are introduced in TL5, and mature in TL6 - the only change of note is the use of poly blends - and that's TL 6. The TL 9 US and Europe mostly just buy ones mass produced in the TL 6 and 7 second world nations.

Likewise, the AR-15 and AK-47 are both TL 6 weapons; the vast majority of those still being made are being made to TL-6 standards.... but the Afghanis were making AK-47's with TL3 tools from TL4-quality sheet stock and wood. Not as good a performance, due to poor tolerances, but serviceable. And they're arguably the two most used rifles in the world.

Most people are still using TL2 products on a daily basis... paper, pencils, forks, spoons, knives, glassware.

So, no, it's not an oddity. When the lower tech version is good enough, the higher tech never takes over, at least until the methods of production make it cheaper to automate than pay craftspersons.

And yes, while most paper is made in first world nations, on TL 6 or 7 machines, the paper being made is of comparable quality to that used in China some 1600+ years ago... a starchy pulp slurry collected on a fabric screen and drained, then allowed to dry. The automated system merely produces much more consistent result at much higher rate, but fine writing paper is still made the traditional ways in the US, UK, & Japan. The paper itself is, usually, not dissimilar to hand made fine papers with the correct skilled craftsperson.

 

[Spinward Flow]

To wit, if the prices are set by law rather than the market.

At that point you're talking about a Planned Economy.

 

[Condottiere]

Since firearms are low hanging fruit.

Advanced combat rifle takes advantage of improved manufacturing processes, which allows greater performance; why that requires technological level ten is somewhat mysterious.

 

[kilemall]

At that point you're talking about a Planned Economy.

Hmm more managed economy for benefit of interstellar powers.

Right in the wheelhouse of a Trade Imperium Rule of Sophont, eh?

 

[kilemall]

Since firearms are low hanging fruit.

Advanced combat rifle takes advantage of improved manufacturing processes, which allows greater performance; why that requires technological level ten is somewhat mysterious.

Material technology allowing for more punch in a normative rifle form factor.

The Striker ACR is firing rifle bullets that have the punch of .50 Cal that are relatively tiny while maintaining normal controllability- presumably due to the cited recoil compensation and gyroscopic stabilizer. The latter was sadly missing from the latest MgT2 Field Catalogue design process, a pity in an otherwise engaging subsystem.

That’s a lot of energy in those little caseless rounds, with associated pressure handling in the metallurgy.

 

[Condottiere]

I think that's the heavy variant, with four damage dice.