Where'd Everybody go?
- Thread starter Blue Ghost
- Start date
Well, a few years back when I was finishing off my BA, this place was an island of sanity. Now it's just an island with a population of maybe two dozen people sitting around the proverbial lone pine tree on said desert island.
That's too bad, and it's irritating. I wonder if the people I mentioned migrated to what seems to be an "explosion" of sci-fi RPGs. If that's the case, then what is it about this place that's laid it dormant?
Is it me? Something else?
Anyway, I am mildly bothered by it. I don't post here a great deal, but when I do I generally have a good time interacting with the old members of this BBS.
I want them back.
That's too bad, and it's irritating. I wonder if the people I mentioned migrated to what seems to be an "explosion" of sci-fi RPGs. If that's the case, then what is it about this place that's laid it dormant?
Is it me? Something else?
Anyway, I am mildly bothered by it. I don't post here a great deal, but when I do I generally have a good time interacting with the old members of this BBS.
I want them back.
beowulf2044
SOC-12
Now I'm starting to question why I keep coming back? Traveller version #5 has been co-opted by the gearheads into a game where you can spend endless hours designing guns, armor and ships, as opposed to actually playing a role playing game.
The Mongoose version provides everything I need to run games, and I can get their news on their boards.
I've all the Classic stuff, and they're not going to make any more.
So. . . what the heck. I'll check back later.
The Mongoose version provides everything I need to run games, and I can get their news on their boards.
I've all the Classic stuff, and they're not going to make any more.
So. . . what the heck. I'll check back later.
Seriously, where the heck is everyone? Where are all the old regulars?
I thought that was the whole point of having a Mongoose version and a T5 version. Mongoose was supposed to be the basic game and T5 the advanced version.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
That would only work if the basic game led into the advanced game.
Apparently, they will have very different rules & systems, and thus are two different games (more scatter of the Traveller playing base, Just what we needed).
Apparently, they will have very different rules & systems, and thus are two different games (more scatter of the Traveller playing base, Just what we needed).
Newly-met gamer said:
long-time gamer said:
Newly-met gamer said:
long-time gamer said:
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BeRKA
SOC-13
That would only work if the basic game led into the advanced game.
Apparently, they will have very different rules & systems, and thus are two different games (more scatter of the Traveller playing base, Just what we needed).
Mongoose was warned that would not be unifying the player base, even tho' that was their stated goal. Their system isn't bad, but it's not good enough to displace people's favorites, especially when those favorites are all (except HT) still available in PDF.
saundby
SOC-14 1K
I've been busy with work that piled up during the time I was wrapping up my classes for the school year. I put more time into my high school computer class this year than usual, not only teaching programming but project management as well.
Then I've got an electronics project I'm posting on the web I originally wanted finished in January. But I took on an extra A&D consulting job about the same time I decided I could do more for an especially promising group of high school students. Since posting progress on the web doubles or triples the time required to progress, I've been working without posting much, so the website's a bit stale, though the actual work is nearly complete:
http://saundby.com/electronics/8085/
I was going to finish that project this week and next, but I got invited to a star party/campout. So I've been getting ready for that, instead. The good news is that _that_ has made me wrap up some loose ends on other things, like some amenities on our home-made scopes we're taking and some car work. I also took time out to move one of my project computers out of the living room and on to my new desk. Which took all my free time last week to get into the computer room. But it's there and it had room for my VT-102 terminal, which I did some tweaks on last night, so now my Ampro Little Board Plus CP/M system is not in my wife's living room any more and I can program it (when time allows) without my eyes going buggy.
What, Traveller?
My wife is taking professional development classes on our old play night. One daughter got behind in Trig/Algebra II and the other was overloaded at college then thought she'd have time to play but she unexpectedly got a full time summer job right away (at a telescope company--Stellarvue.com, good stuff, check them out.) Another player left for a mission overseas, another got married and hubby is only interested in Pathfinder right now. Another has gone incommunicado, an abrupt attack of Life is thought to be the cause, I'm going to check his workplace tomorrow between shopping stops. Final player calls and asks whether a game is likely again this fall, and wonders whether there'll be time between other commitments.
If I get time maybe I'll build a new campaign and try regularizing my stuff on the Doc Smith style ships enough for distribution. In the meanwhile, we're playing board games about one night every 2 weeks with whoever shows up. Some of them are SF games (Cosmic Encounter, Quirks, Fleets, Stellar Conquest.)
I stop in a couple times a week here, and post a bit. But mostly in Random Static or the Lone Star. I've gotten sorta fried by game discussions where a battle seems to form, to be won by whoever can post most often and longest, so I don't discuss as much here as was once the case. As Aramis noted, there's elsewhere where I can be less self-censored. And still enjoy the flow of the conversation.
*shrug*
But I'm not gone, just less vocal. If my life changes, chances are that will, too.
Oh, did I mention yard work?
Then I've got an electronics project I'm posting on the web I originally wanted finished in January. But I took on an extra A&D consulting job about the same time I decided I could do more for an especially promising group of high school students. Since posting progress on the web doubles or triples the time required to progress, I've been working without posting much, so the website's a bit stale, though the actual work is nearly complete:
http://saundby.com/electronics/8085/
I was going to finish that project this week and next, but I got invited to a star party/campout. So I've been getting ready for that, instead. The good news is that _that_ has made me wrap up some loose ends on other things, like some amenities on our home-made scopes we're taking and some car work. I also took time out to move one of my project computers out of the living room and on to my new desk. Which took all my free time last week to get into the computer room. But it's there and it had room for my VT-102 terminal, which I did some tweaks on last night, so now my Ampro Little Board Plus CP/M system is not in my wife's living room any more and I can program it (when time allows) without my eyes going buggy.
What, Traveller?
My wife is taking professional development classes on our old play night. One daughter got behind in Trig/Algebra II and the other was overloaded at college then thought she'd have time to play but she unexpectedly got a full time summer job right away (at a telescope company--Stellarvue.com, good stuff, check them out.) Another player left for a mission overseas, another got married and hubby is only interested in Pathfinder right now. Another has gone incommunicado, an abrupt attack of Life is thought to be the cause, I'm going to check his workplace tomorrow between shopping stops. Final player calls and asks whether a game is likely again this fall, and wonders whether there'll be time between other commitments.
If I get time maybe I'll build a new campaign and try regularizing my stuff on the Doc Smith style ships enough for distribution. In the meanwhile, we're playing board games about one night every 2 weeks with whoever shows up. Some of them are SF games (Cosmic Encounter, Quirks, Fleets, Stellar Conquest.)
I stop in a couple times a week here, and post a bit. But mostly in Random Static or the Lone Star. I've gotten sorta fried by game discussions where a battle seems to form, to be won by whoever can post most often and longest, so I don't discuss as much here as was once the case. As Aramis noted, there's elsewhere where I can be less self-censored. And still enjoy the flow of the conversation.
*shrug*
But I'm not gone, just less vocal. If my life changes, chances are that will, too.
Oh, did I mention yard work?
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
Well, I'm still here. I usually log in daily (except this week) but FT's observation describes me right now. I'm currently involved with 6 PbP games, 4 of which are Traveller and 3 of which I'm GMing.
I post here when I have something to say (that the board rules allow me to say), so I just need something interesting to post about.
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
Did your YardBot break down again?
I thought YardBots had been replaced by MeterBots decades ago.
You're thinking of the mower-droid.
Non Sequiter here; call it my dyslexia, but everytime I see your name I read it as "Mister Bunkles". Don't ask me why... ever consider starting your own kids' show?
Hmm...check your "Sent Box" lately? You trying to make room for the missing eldars by going passive-aggressive on the new folks?
L
ThunderChilde
SOC-13
I've become hit or miss here, some weeks I check ever day or so, then I might skip a week or two. As to the olde timers you've mentioned, they are mostly before my time.
When I feel I have something to contribute beyond mere blather, I do so.
RL is crimping my time, never enough hours to sleep.
One the other sub-theme, My MGT campaign is still a going concern, every other Sunday for about 6-7 hours.
To confirm what others have observed, summer is slow everywhere on the fora I check up on.
I do believe I started a similar topic once.
When I feel I have something to contribute beyond mere blather, I do so.
RL is crimping my time, never enough hours to sleep.
One the other sub-theme, My MGT campaign is still a going concern, every other Sunday for about 6-7 hours.
To confirm what others have observed, summer is slow everywhere on the fora I check up on.
I do believe I started a similar topic once.
Keklas Rekobah
SOC-14 1K
Real life ... and the lack of real-life interest (e.g., players) in my immediate locale, rendering any Traveller discussion a theoretical one, at best.
I still stop by from time to time. The Traveller RPG fire has damped down a bit. Completed a starship combat game at the end of last summer and that was the last big SF push. HAve focused on our fantasy RPG and getting back into the post-apocalyptic RPG scene, own homebrew and Atomic Highway http://forums.radioactiveapedesigns.com/ for some quick play by forum fun. <always looking for more recruites>
That consumes my gaming time these days.
That consumes my gaming time these days.
saundby
SOC-14 1K
Yeah, they put too much intelligence in the new one, I caught it using the wireless to run a racket in non-existent derivatives rather than trimming the weeds in the driveway. Didn't know how I was going to get the account codes out of it to return the several millions it had amassed to the rightful owners until I got it interested in pocket universes.Did your YardBot break down again?
Now it's returned all the money to the little old ladies it had bilked, built its own pocket universe, and left me trimming weeds with TL4/5 tools. As soon as I find the guy in the turban that sold it to me, I'm gonna demand my money back. :frankie:
Yes, worth trying again - please flag it with [FT IDEA] as part of the subject line; I've been getting inundated with spam lately, and there has been a glitch in the filters, so I'm having to wade through stuff the hard way.
If you're working on Athlete as a career, that'd be of interest as a Doing It My Way.
RL is beating the heck out of me, too, lately. I'm going through more medical procedures (cortisone injections, etc) for the injuries to my all but broken neck that I've neglected for too long and are catching up to me rapidly. The painkillers and muscle relaxants, while sort of fun, wipe me out and rob me of time to do other things. And my players are starting to fall into the black hole of T20 Star Wars, which I must admit I'm tempted somewhat to play in. Rolled up a scoundrel named Gyro Spanikopita and I'll play him in between my Traveller sessions.
I'm also diverted by developing a detailed ecosystem for one of the worlds IMTU by way of amusing myself during Trav downtime. My 10-yo daughter helps by drawing pictures of animals she thinks would be good contributions and we flesh them out together - me the technical science details, and she comes up with names and colors. I already have enough material to start a field guide to the world - something I've wanted to do for years - which has probably been my best use to date of my education in evolutionary biology and zoology. So far the most popular critters (other than the Harpooner and Devil Squirrel) are the Spiny Runner (and it's cousin the Black-Quilled Runner) and the Squibboon. Lord knows where she got that name, but it fits if you look at the picture. Kind of a praying mantisy thing with squid whips for snatching prey off the forest floor. Since all the flora and fauna are venomous in either a passive or active way it's an interesting place for pharmaceutical companies and xenologists to visit. And there is a lot of co-dependence in the predator-prey and venom production cycles so its fun for me to work out. Dunno how much most players will care, but 90% of my universe is about my interests and I just make whatever adaptations are needed during play to keep the players interested.
I think summer does it too, for me anyway. It's when I start painting the models I work on through the long Oregon winters, and in addition to the two commissions I'm working on right now I have two other kits I'm building for a model show in Sept at the Evergreen museum. And the girls are out of school and want more attention, softball games, bike rides, my wife is out of work till Fall terms starts so she needs more time with me. And nicer weather means more time at the range practicing for the summer comps in the 3-gun shoots at the office.
So many hobbies (not counting the wife and kids)....never enough time. I often yearn for the old days when the first leaf of Spring meant it was time for all night Traveller on Saturday and no serious complications in life.
I'm also diverted by developing a detailed ecosystem for one of the worlds IMTU by way of amusing myself during Trav downtime. My 10-yo daughter helps by drawing pictures of animals she thinks would be good contributions and we flesh them out together - me the technical science details, and she comes up with names and colors. I already have enough material to start a field guide to the world - something I've wanted to do for years - which has probably been my best use to date of my education in evolutionary biology and zoology. So far the most popular critters (other than the Harpooner and Devil Squirrel) are the Spiny Runner (and it's cousin the Black-Quilled Runner) and the Squibboon. Lord knows where she got that name, but it fits if you look at the picture. Kind of a praying mantisy thing with squid whips for snatching prey off the forest floor. Since all the flora and fauna are venomous in either a passive or active way it's an interesting place for pharmaceutical companies and xenologists to visit. And there is a lot of co-dependence in the predator-prey and venom production cycles so its fun for me to work out. Dunno how much most players will care, but 90% of my universe is about my interests and I just make whatever adaptations are needed during play to keep the players interested.
I think summer does it too, for me anyway. It's when I start painting the models I work on through the long Oregon winters, and in addition to the two commissions I'm working on right now I have two other kits I'm building for a model show in Sept at the Evergreen museum. And the girls are out of school and want more attention, softball games, bike rides, my wife is out of work till Fall terms starts so she needs more time with me. And nicer weather means more time at the range practicing for the summer comps in the 3-gun shoots at the office.
So many hobbies (not counting the wife and kids)....never enough time. I often yearn for the old days when the first leaf of Spring meant it was time for all night Traveller on Saturday and no serious complications in life.
