So i finally started to read into the MegaTraveller bundle i got from dt-rpg recently, and i noticed some things about it that made me wonder a bit.
(To be honest, i only read into standard chargen and some other things like how task resolution is handled.)

1st: The task resolution system seems to be easy to grasp and all, but why are there sooooooo many skills in the system?

2nd: Chargen is not that difficult once i got the basics, and it's absolutely random, ok, i can deal with that. But why do i have to generate the character's homeworld at random or chose a published planet?
The only bennie one might get by picking choices is a broader list of available careers, or do i miss something?

3rd: The character i generated got a truckload of creds (I rolled up an Army general with 7(!) terms of service, and about 60-90k in crds.) but... what are those worth? Did i miss the equipment price tables?

4rd: How and in which points has the rules system changed from MegaTraveller to Mongoose Traveller?


Thx a lot!

MegaTraveller is an utter child of the eighties. It´s of no use today. You better play the most advanced form: Mongoose Traveller. It´s better in all regards.

While I utterly dig the setting of MT, the errata was...a bit much.

Stick with the Mongoose and rape MT for ideas.

Of all the versions of Traveller, IMHO Megatraveller was the worst. Just use the fluff from it.

Quote from: jeff37923;373720Of all the versions of Traveller, IMHO Megatraveller was the worst. Just use the fluff from it.

I got to say that Traveller4 beats MegaTraveller hands down in the worse traveller department.

Quote from: Settembrini;373691MegaTraveller is an utter child of the eighties. It´s of no use today. You better play the most advanced form: Mongoose Traveller. It´s better in all regards.

That was extremely helpful, Sett!

-clash

Quote from: jeff37923;373720Of all the versions of Traveller, IMHO Megatraveller was the worst. Just use the fluff from it.

I think that Megtraveller is the best of the GDW versions conceptually and in material available. Classic was sparse and harder to use. And TNE... But Mega did have quite a few copy editing and layout issues. I haven't seen Mongoose Traveller but it wouldn't be hard to produce a cleaner version.
 
Classic, Mega, (and I assume Mongoose) are similar enough that adopting stuff from one to the other isn't hard.
 
I just downloaded the Mongoose Developer's pack (which is the SRD) and it looks pretty good. You can get it from here:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=51

Quote from: flyingmice;373725That was extremely helpful, Sett!

-clash

An utterly error-ridden edition, with cold-war galore, and it´s not even Marc Miller´s child! So to hell with MT. MongoTrav is so much better, and caters to current gamer´s sensitivities. I mean, these old versions are jsut for nostalgics. If you want to stay relevant, you must go with the Mongo.

Quote from: estar;373721I got to say that Traveller4 beats MegaTraveller hands down in the worse traveller department.

Quote from: Nicephorus;373726I think that Megtraveller is the best of the GDW versions conceptually and in material available. Classic was sparse and harder to use. And TNE... But Mega did have quite a few copy editing and layout issues. I haven't seen Mongoose Traveller but it wouldn't be hard to produce a cleaner version.

Traveller 4 had a lot of problems admittedly, but I have found it much easier to use and introduce Players to than Megatraveller.

There were several problems with continuity from Classic Traveller to Megatraveller. Particularly with the design sequences which had so many errors and lacked examples that it beacme an absolute chore to try to work with. Combat was another horrible mashup of three differing wargame systems and a roleplaying system into an almost impossible to use mess.

The best part of Megatraveller to me is the cinematic nugget system of adventure design.

Quote from: Phantom Black;373676So i finally started to read into the MegaTraveller bundle i got from dt-rpg recently, and i noticed some things about it that made me wonder a bit.
(To be honest, i only read into standard chargen and some other things like how task resolution is handled.)

1st: The task resolution system seems to be easy to grasp and all, but why are there sooooooo many skills in the system?

Because MT is in large part a compilation of 10 years of Traveller development, so pretty much every new skill that was introduced in every Book, Supplement, Adventure, and JTAS article in all of those 10 years was included -- someone writes a JTAS article about animal handling and introduces an Animal Handling skill -- it's in there! Someone writes a book about robots and includes a bunch of robot-related skills -- they're in there! Note also, if you've just looked at the char-gen chapter and haven't read the skills section, that some of those "skills" are actually groupings -- "Space Tech" isn't a skill, it means "pick one from this group: astrogation, navigation, engineering, etc." so the list of actual skills perhaps isn't as long as it appears (plus it's not like BRP where you have to track every character's value in every skill -- sure there are 100+ skills in the rules, but any given character isn't going to have values in more than about 10 tops). All that said, if you still find there are too many different skills the canon-police won't take your books away if you delete or combine some of them.

Quote2nd: Chargen is not that difficult once i got the basics, and it's absolutely random, ok, i can deal with that. But why do i have to generate the character's homeworld at random or chose a published planet?
The only bennie one might get by picking choices is a broader list of available careers, or do i miss something?

It's not totally random -- you get to at least try to choose your career (and are only subjected to the draft if you fail your enlistment roll), you get to choose which table to roll on for your skills, and in the case of the aforementioned skill-clusters you get to choose the specific skill from that group.

Homeworld determines what careers you can enter (as you noted) plus your default 0-level skills (characters from vacuum worlds get vacc-suit-0, homeworld TL determines whether you get Equestrian-0, ground vehicle-0, or grav vehicle-0, etc.), and it's also a flavor-building/roleplaying hook.

Quote3rd: The character i generated got a truckload of creds (I rolled up an Army general with 7(!) terms of service, and about 60-90k in crds.) but... what are those worth? Did i miss the equipment price tables?

They're in the Imperial Encyclopedia.

Quote4rd: How and in which points has the rules system changed from MegaTraveller to Mongoose Traveller?

No idea.

Thank you, T. Foster! 10 posts into the thread and someone finally answers the OP's questions!

-clash

Yeah, the cinematic nugget system was hands-down the only thing modern and salvageable about MT.

Quote from: Settembrini;373772Yeah, the cinematic nugget system was hands-down the only thing modern and salvageable about MT.

Is this a test?

Quote from: Phantom Black;3736761st: The task resolution system seems to be easy to grasp and all, but why are there sooooooo many skills in the system?

I have no idea regarding your questions, but that actually prompts me to say: I think the last thing I could take in my gaming today is yet another system with a truckload of skills and rules minutiae. Smooth resolution system, relatively narrow number of wide-ranging skills, I can take. Mechanical hair-splitting, not so much.

I'm very happy with Mongoose Traveller, I must say. You guys here sold me on it, and I don't regret jumping onboard a single bit.

Quote from: Benoist;373776I have no idea regarding your questions, but that actually prompts me to say: I think the last thing I could take in my gaming today is yet another system with a truckload of skills and rules minutiae. Smooth resolution system, relatively narrow number of wide-ranging skills, I can take. Mechanical hair-splitting, not so much.

AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mechanical hairsplitting is an artifact of the definition, not the number of skills!

Read this!

Center-defined skills lead to overlap, which reduces hairsplitting, no matter how many skills there are. Hairsplitting means there is only one solution, and you probably don't have it.

Now, since I have never read MT, I can't comment on it directly, but number of skills =/= hair splitting.

-clash