This is your grandfather's Traveller game.

[beowulf2044]

There's been pleanty of discussion in regard to Traveller's age since it's creation in 1977. For my new personal Traveller universe, I'm postulating what the game may have been like if it was created twenty years earlier. So I'm putting together Space Patrol Ranger Cadets! Science fiction adventure in the far off year of 2010!

By the way, Mithras; I'm stealing your very excellent S.T.L. Worldbook to help me. It's wonderful.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Isaac Asimov did a Lone Ranger in space series set in the solar system. Might be an inspirational read for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Starr,_Space_Ranger

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Rocky Jones, Space Ranger

A Travelleresque series from the early 1950's (1954) was "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." It had the brave hero, the cute and resourceful heroine, the scientist, the precocious kid, and the recurring cackling villains. They also had something called 'Cold Light' that rendered any ship equipped with it invisible -- not just to radar, but to the naked eye as well.

IMDB Entry

Wikipedia Entry

 

[beowulf2044]

I'm going solar system only (akin to Asimov's Lucky Starr books, among others). One of the problems with Traveller is the dearth of deckplans that have proper orientation (I've no artificial gravity or ineritial compensation). Lab ships, Broadsword class cruisers, X-Boats and Tenders are the only ones I come up with so far. Any suggestions?

 

[Blue Ghost]

A Travelleresque series from the early 1950's (1954) was "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." It had the brave hero, the cute and resourceful heroine, the scientist, the precocious kid, and the recurring cackling villains. They also had something called 'Cold Light' that rendered any ship equipped with it invisible -- not just to radar, but to the naked eye as well.

IMDB Entry

Wikipedia Entry

Rocky Jones cute heroine is the spitting image of a young lady I fell for many years back. Hubba hubba.

 

[jappel]

One of the problems with Traveller is the dearth of deckplans that have proper orientation (I've no artificial gravity or ineritial compensation). Lab ships, Broadsword class cruisers, X-Boats and Tenders are the only ones I come up with so far. Any suggestions?

Azhanti High Lightning class cruisers.

 

[Tellon]

I'm going solar system only (akin to Asimov's Lucky Starr books, among others). One of the problems with Traveller is the dearth of deckplans that have proper orientation (I've no artificial gravity or ineritial compensation). Lab ships, Broadsword class cruisers, X-Boats and Tenders are the only ones I come up with so far. Any suggestions?

Vargyr Corsairs ..

And THEY say that a dog is mans best friend ..

 

[beowulf2044]

Looking for somethings more along the lines of this, courtesey of the Atomic Rockets website:

 

[kafka47]

1977, Traveller is getting up there to being a Grandfather's game. I am looking forward to teaching my son Traveller but as he is only 5 in 2010...gotta give a few more years and exposure to things like Lucky Starr. What other recomendations do people have for an emergent reader.

 

[BlackBat242]

Well, my mother read authors like Andre Norton & Bob Heinlein (and a simplified Asimov's Foundation series), etc to me & my brother when we were 5-7-ish, so how about that?

Just make sure to "translate" to match his capacity (an occasional new word is fine, helps him learn & he'll enjoy the "grown-up" feel, but he needs most of the words to be ones he already knows), and he'll do fine.

 

[sabredog]

Little Fuzzy
Space Viking both by H Beam Piper (and both are public domain now here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20728 ...and here..... http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18137

Any of the Hokas books by Poul Anderson (they may look like teddy bears but they sure ain't Ewoks)

 

[leo knight]

A few designs for Star Frontiers, that you might be able to convert:

http://starfrontiers.us/node/3452

The main menu is to the right, be sure to scroll down or click on the extra links for actual deck plans.

More here:

http://www.albinjohnson.com/starfrontiers/starships/sfships.html

and here:

http://starfrontiers.20m.com/photo5.html

Hope they help!

 

[beowulf2044]

Thank you, Leo Knight. Some of those deckplans are perfect.

 

[aramis]

I'm working on a Type-S vertical. Still a pyramid... Once I get the Fresher and bridge in, I'll take some snaps of it. (It's a 3d in Sketchup).

 

[beowulf2044]

Thank you, Aramis. Please take your time. Freshers are important, especially on long voyages.

 

[ShapeShifter]

There's been pleanty of discussion in regard to Traveller's age since it's creation in 1977. For my new personal Traveller universe, I'm postulating what the game may have been like if it was created twenty years earlier. So I'm putting together Space Patrol Ranger Cadets! Science fiction adventure in the far off year of 2010!

By the way, Mithras; I'm stealing your very excellent S.T.L. Worldbook to help me. It's wonderful.

I really love this idea! Over the past year I've been listening to SciFi Old Time Radio shows from the 50's like Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Planet Man, Space Patrol and X Minus One, and am currently trying to adapt CT to model that era of the genre.

The big speedbump I've encountered is trying to rewrite the ship design rules to reflect a) the tail-sitters and b) the earlier (Flash Gordon era) belly landers.

Is there a bigger pic of the "Polaris" out there?

BTW, What is STL?

 

[BlackBat242]

STL = Slower Than Light (the counterpart to FTL).

 

[beowulf2044]

Winchell Chung does the best Polaris artwork, as seen on his Atomic Rockets website. Also, there's other examples and works in progress on Flickr under the name Nyrath's photostream.

 

[ShapeShifter]

I've read Mr. Chung's site, and it is a beauty to behold with many thought-provoking ideas. Easily one of the best websites on the Net.

 

[Khan Trav]

Don't forget the Dragon Class SDB and the Gazelle Class CE.