OTU is 3000 years in the future

[Traveller76]

Until the media formats change like LaserDisc, Beta or VHS Cassette Tapes. Speaking of History:

Bluto: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.

 

[BwapTED]

TFW I'm so old I actually watched a Betamax tape as a kid!

 

[coliver988]

Artificial intelligence programmes will remaster them into three dee, as well as increase the resolution.

and then really screw things up as per the old saying: to really screw things up requires a computer!

I can see all sorts of interesting artifacts getting generated from various biases in the training sets, developers, and of course, several thousand years of cultural shift.

 

[BwapTED]

Then along comes Virus...

 

[BwapTED]

To answer the OP's core question:



I think life on many TL 5-7 worlds with Atmos of Thin, Standard, or Dense might well seem pretty familiar to us.
These are Industrial Revolution to 20th/early 21ist Century technological equivalents.
There are worlds on the map where use of robots is limited, people drive ground cars or ride trains to work, industry produces and uses computers no more advanced than something from the 1970s, the police carry night sticks and maybe revolvers, and so on.

But a lot of worlds have either low or advanced tech, and many lack shirtsleeve environments for baseline/common humans. Tech and natural environment may create all sorts of cultural differences. If going outside with a suit will kill you, this is a notable difference from our world.

If humans share the world with aliens, including some of the more unusual Minor Human Races, the familiarity factor may drop further.

In practical running-the-game terms, a certain degree of conservatism in future world-building is handy. If the 57th Century is all really weird, the game becomes quite tricky to referee. That kind of immersion in a strange new milieu can work great with a single world, as in some fantasy games. I think it is a tall order to create and run dozens of worlds as alien as Tekumel.

 

[aramis]

REMINDER
Real world religion and modern (1965 to near future) politics are forbidden outside the pit
this includes references to real world adoption of fantasy/SF religions.

 

[ady]

Holy smoke! I’d like to see the design of that one.

I have placed all my Striker weapon designs in a thread in the Wargames section. Here are all the ones I have made so far, TL9 lasers, TL13 lasers, Plasma weapons and fusion weapons, all sizes from body pistol to artillery. I think I got the math right.

 

[Traveller76]

I know there are discussions about fusion. Plasma and laser weapons but with not be cheaper to use mass drivers, gauss needlers or slug throwers? Sand or gasses would not reduce the ranges, reflecting armor would not help and ammo is cheap. You could use caseless ammo to reduce weapons exposure to dust and foreign particles.

 

[GypsyComet]

I know there are discussions about fusion. Plasma and laser weapons but with not be cheaper to use mass drivers, gauss needlers or slug throwers? Sand or gasses would not reduce the ranges, reflecting armor would not help and ammo is cheap. You could use caseless ammo to reduce weapons exposure to dust and foreign particles.

Slug thrower tech essentially peaks at TL12 or 13 with the Gauss weapons. The question of what TL15 troops use varies a bit over the editions, but at one time the gauss weapons remained the line troop weapon with Plasma or Fusion taking the heavy squad support spot.

 

[Condottiere]

Shuriken carbines.

 

[kilemall]

Slug thrower tech essentially peaks at TL12 or 13 with the Gauss weapons. The question of what TL15 troops use varies a bit over the editions, but at one time the gauss weapons remained the line troop weapon with Plasma or Fusion taking the heavy squad support spot.

The Striker tech tree has those X-ray lasers at TL13, plenty of inf firepower for BD or CA alike.

 

[mike wightman]

x ray lasers are useless in an atmosphere.

Despite what canon states the more likely wavelength for a high TL laser is likely to be in the blue green part of the spectrum.

 

[whulorigan]

x ray lasers are useless in an atmosphere.

Despite what canon states the more likely wavelength for a high TL laser is likely to be in the blue green part of the spectrum.

Alternatively, have them be tunable Free-Electron Lasers at that TL, and let the user choose the optimal frequency from X-Ray to Microwave based on environment.

 

[mike wightman]

In which case they select blue-green, it is the sweet spot.

 

[whulorigan]

In which case they select blue-green, it is the sweet spot.

And if they are operating in vacuum, they can use X-Ray. (Or whatever other wavelength is best for ProFors operating in Exotic Atmospheres).

 

[RossWinn]

My take, which may not line up with others' ideas:

WORLD RELIGIONS

I will tread lightly here, given forum rules. I expect most major world religions of today will still exist someplace in the time of the Third Imperium, but with changes in the organization and practice of some and with new religious movements, syncretism, alien philosophies, and so on all part of the picture.
I don't go as far as Herbert does in Dune because the timescale is shorter.

Generally, I think your takes are pretty much spot on. Although I have some slight differences in my Traveller universe.

The first is that religion is functionally meaningful for less than one percent of the population. The idea that religion would persist for another three thousand years with the amount of cultures and races that we have been posited to interact with is, in my opinion, untenable.

I do wonder if Terra is not a special case within the 3I, and the government is very much run by it on Earth. It is too much a hub of separatist fervor and political target to be left to self-govern. I see an occupation government with limited autonomy as the only option for the cradle of Humaniti.

 

[mike wightman]

I disagree for MTU, there is no reason to think secularism will become the dominant ethical and moral guide for humanity in the future.The issue for Traveller and Charted Space is not what happens to Earth's religions, but why there are no Vilani religions. Did the Vilani have a religion? Several competing religions? How about the many "minor" human races, did they have religion or religions?

What about the various alien races, do they have their own religions too?

Traveller has wisely steered well clear of these discussions, it is much more sensible for referees to do what they want at their table. Your secular TU is a good way to avoid issues at the table.

 

[Condottiere]

Humans are likely to continue to try and find an external source for meaning to their existence, and make sense of the universe they inhabit.

 

[RossWinn]

Obviously we all disagree, but isn't it awesome that we can all have our own opinions in our own Traveller universes.

 

[mike wightman]

It is, and our own personal universe is where these discussions must stay outside the pit.

Or take it to the Mongoose forums who allow much more leeway.

Probably best to let this side discussion drop and return to safer discussion points for the 3,000 years between now and then.