Quote from: RedFox

• It's some sort of space trading game.  So typical gameplay involves umm...  commodities speculation and dealing with ship errors...  or something.

You're right except for this. Free trader games (some of which involve surprisingly little trade) are just a campaign setup that's very popular because it allows the PCs a large amount of freedom within the setting. Other potential setups are: Mercenaries, criminals, politicos/diplomats, explorers, etc.

Quote from: RedFox

• It has a life path type character generation system (like CP2020?).

Incorrect, there Red.  CP2020 had a lifepath, but it had very little to do with character generation. CP2020's lifepath was nothing more than a hook generator with a few benies thrown in the mix for playing the lotto with.

Traveller's lifepath is actually used to generate randomly your stats and skills... more or less, and other than what you read into it has little or nothing do with hooks.

Quote from: SpikeIncorrect, there Red.  CP2020 had a lifepath, but it had very little to do with character generation. CP2020's lifepath was nothing more than a hook generator with a few benies thrown in the mix for playing the lotto with.

Traveller's lifepath is actually used to generate randomly your stats and skills... more or less, and other than what you read into it has little or nothing do with hooks.

So like Burning Wheel?

MegaTraveller is my favorite version. The task system cleaned things up and made it one of the easiest to run games in my gaming history.

D20 Traveller was also pretty good, though it clung to some outdated conventions and scientific innacuracies of CT

BUUUT...

TNE - wrecked the universe with a (IMO) hoaky virus subplot, and they switched to their house system which way over-emphasized stats. I had no interest in seeing the imperium scapped in that way, thanks.

T4 - In some ways the chargen was excellent; it was a cleaned up version of what had come before. But the task system was a weak jump on the dice pool bandwagon, and many authors either had not faith to or clue about the traveller canon, instituting plots that are more likely to occur in Star Trek.

GURPS Traveller - First off, I have a fundamental disdain for the GURPS system, not being especially fond of freeform point buy, disadvantages, and many other aspects of it. More damning still, when it comes down to it, Traveller simply isn't Traveller AFAIAC if it lacks lifepath chargen.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!and I think you die.

Survival roll: 11+

+2 DM if END 11+

For my part, I like the LBB, but my personal favourite is Traveller D20 ("T20").

RPGPundit

Quote from: RedFoxSo like Burning Wheel?

Possibly. I've only really read about BW online and seen the 'monster burner' on the shelves.  I certainly  don't need a monster burner before I have a character creation (burner?) and the rules of the game.

I was thinking more along the lines of Twilight 2000 and it's various kin. Apropos, as GDW also did a version of Traveller (the only one I've played, actually....)

Quote from: Caesar SlaadD20 Traveller was also pretty good, though it clung to some outdated conventions and scientific innacuracies of CT

Do you think I'd be better off running a Traveller game with d20 Traveller or Spycraft 2.0?

Or maybe the question should be "Could you run Traveller using Spycraft 2.0 without a ton of changes?"


Anyone?

Bueller?

You could easily run Traveller using Spycraft 2.0. In fact, it'd be nice and cinematic-y. They even have some "high tech" gear that fits in well with what 1979-era Traveller thought was "high-tech".

In fact, that's a damn good idea.

No starship rules, of course.

Quote from: rcsampleDo you think I'd be better off running a Traveller game with d20 Traveller or Spycraft 2.0?

Or maybe the question should be "Could you run Traveller using Spycraft 2.0 without a ton of changes?"


Anyone?

Bueller?

Well, if you want starship construction and combat you need to go with a system that has the rules for it. I don't know if t20 does but gurps traveller does.

Quote from: rcsampleDo you think I'd be better off running a Traveller game with d20 Traveller or Spycraft 2.0?

Or maybe the question should be "Could you run Traveller using Spycraft 2.0 without a ton of changes?"


Anyone?

Bueller?

Of course you could.  

Traveller is not a game, Traveller is a state of mind.  An approach.  And not even a universal one at that.  

The very term Traveller means so many different thigns to so many different people that it's not even specific enough to be used by itself anymore.

Quote from: Yamo1. It has tons and tons of notes reflecting back on the history of the game and explaining why the designers did what they did when designing it.

While I think the GURPS Traveller material has a lot going for it, one of the problem is that those "tons" are measured in pounds rather than being metric tons.  Traveller was a metric game and one of the things that drives me nuts about GURPS Traveller is the English system measurements.  While being an American more used to English system measurements than metric (I still don't have an intuitive sense of what temperatures in Celsius feel like without converting), I'm just used to thinking in metric for Traveller.

Quote from: John MorrowWhile I think the GURPS Traveller material has a lot going for it, one of the problem is that those "tons" are measured in pounds rather than being metric tons.  Traveller was a metric game and one of the things that drives me nuts about GURPS Traveller is the English system measurements.  While being an American more used to English system measurements than metric (I still don't have an intuitive sense of what temperatures in Celsius feel like without converting), I'm just used to thinking in metric for Traveller.

Honetly, I'm just stunned. People really can complain about anything.

Quote from: Dominus NoxTraveller is a setting,. not a system, so I don't follow the complaints re GT "just not being really traveller, knowudahmsayin?" No, I don't. It's traveller, period.

Actually, not quite, Traveller originally came without a setting and was a generic SF system.  The setting came soon after, but it was not wedded to it initially.

Quote from: BalbinusActually, not quite, Traveller originally came without a setting and was a generic SF system.  The setting came soon after, but it was not wedded to it initially.

Arguably, though, there was always an implied setting (rather like Burning Wheel again). Victorianesque speed of communication and transportation; an aristocracy; heavily militarised; the UPP etc.

Traveller was never generic, I'd say. That it defined a generation of Sf roleplaying is something of an accident of history. If Star Wars had come out just a bit earlier, things would have been different.