T5 Book 2 and SOM

[robject]

(SOM: DGP's Starship Operators Manual (Volume 1))

T5 developed from Marc Miller's brain, but he used two sources to do this. First of course was T4.1, a modified version of T4, which soon changed beyond recognition. In parallel with this was a set of concepts on how things worked in Traveller. Marc wanted to decide how some things worked. He could then use this, as a reference, to help build the rules up systematically.

Here I list the contents of SOM (second edition), and comparable articles in T5 Book2.

SOM	T5B2
2, Maneuver Drive	101, How Maneuver Works
5, Flight Controls
10, Jump Drive	111, How Jump Works
15, Power Plant and Fuel	131, How Power Systems Work 188, How Fuel Works
18, Sensors, Communicators and Transponders	136, How Sensors Work
23, Main Computer and Security	245, Computers, Consoles, and Controllers
27, Hull and Environment
35, Ship Tour
44, Hull and Environment, continued
45, Cargo and Passengers
50, Weapons and Screens	154, How Weapons Work 175, How Defenses Work
55, Crew Duties

 

[mike wightman]

It is my contention that the way ships were handled in MT was due to the lack of familiarity the folks at DGP had with extant ship canon at that time.

Fore example they based the jump drive and jump fuel use on LBB2 77 rather than HG/LBB2 81, their attempt to adapt Striker design sequences to starships was so poorly done that jump fuel had to be reduced and standard ships built at TL15 just so they could be powered.

They broke more than they fixed, and the handwavium used for a lot of their explanations is nonsense.

FF&S does a much better job of being a technical manual than SOM.

 

[robject]

Yeah that sounds about right. My feeling is that MT was an attempt to go the right way, but for me it missed as many things as it hit. There's a lot of good stuff in there; they improved a lot of CT text for example. Beyond that, SOM as a game resource is a lot of fun. The charts in the back I tend to ignore with a passion.

 

[Garnfellow]

I'm feeling a bit thick, but what is SOM?

 

[Silverhawk]

I'm feeling a bit thick, but what is SOM?

Your not thick. SOM is the MT Starship Operator's Manual (Volume 1) by Digest Group Publications (DGP). Had to go looking on my shelf to make sure though. Never realized that there was a second edition though.

Was a how things work, procedures, crew duties, and deck plans for the Type A 200 Free Trader. I thought at the time that it was a good idea for a supplement.

 

[mike wightman]

There is no second edition. One was probably planned hence the vol 1 in the title.

 

[Silverhawk]

There is no second edition. One was probably planned hence the vol 1 in the title.

As I recall from the time they planned a series of these hence the Volume 1 which is separate from a revised or second edition.

 

[robject]

There is no second edition. One was probably planned hence the vol 1 in the title.

True, there is no volume 2.

I refer to "Second Edition", which has some additional (small) text under the title. The changes are minimal -- I think one upside-down image was righted.

 

[robject]

There is no second edition. One was probably planned hence the vol 1 in the title.

P.S. Vol 2 was intended to profile the Scout/Courier.

 

[Condottiere]

Probably the correct direction, with possible optional features.

 

[Silverhawk]

P.S. Vol 2 was intended to profile the Scout/Courier.

that would have been extremely useful