Announcing: The Open Playtest!

[E.D.Quibell]

Any injuries suffered in the course of a "military career" should have all costs covered.

If they are still in character creation then Army/Navy/Marines/Agent/Scout should have 100% of their medical bills paid for.

Outside their career is another matter.

Best Regards

Ewan

 

[dmccoy1693]

Putting the Aliens in the rule book links the rules to the Official Traveller Universe.

Mongoose wants 3rd party companies to come up with Non-OTU Traveller Sectors as well as adventures that can be used the Traveller universe (even if they don't officially take place there).

 

[JavaApp]

First off, I want to applaud the decision to have an open playtest. Mongoose gets a lot of shit for the way they have developed other games (particularly RQ). Having an open playtest will go a long way toward alleviating that, as well as the obvious benefits that playtests provide to a designer.

Well done.

Second, I want to encourage everyone who wants to participate to read some suggestions offered by Robin Laws for more effective playtesting. I am only providing the one-sentence version because I don’t want to violate copyright, but please do check out the entire article using the link below.

What Makes a Great Playtester by R. Laws

Here are the hallmarks of a great playtester:

1. Willingness to engage with the premise

2. Actually playing the game.

3. Ability to assemble a likeminded group.

4. Detailed, specific feedback.

5. Emotional detachment.

6. Playing the rules as written.

http://robin-d-laws.livejournal.com/148910.html

Third: feedback based on a read-through is valuable, specifically to gauge reaction to some aspect of the rules by the playtest community. But actual, active play is still more valuable. If you intend to offer suggestions, I think that’s great. But also try to play through the rules as written, and provide specific feedback.

4th: I haven’t tried this myself in other playtests I have been involved in, but you might want to set up a standard situation, like combat, using completely average stats for all participants. This allows you to provide feedback on the ‘baseline’ rules. You can then play through the situation multiple times to gauge the effect of changes with specific rule modifications. That’s probably beyond the call of duty for some of you, but I thought I would mention it.

5th: it can be very valuable to the designers and developers to set up a running thread that summarizes specific feedback and suggestions in a concise, standard format, similar to a trouble ticket thread. I can start such a thread, but it’s up to you whether you wish to participate in such a process.

Good playtesting, everyone!

Doyle Tavener

 

[E.D.Quibell]

Well, this is the *playtest* document, so it's okay to have them in there for that purpose...we might need a few when we...you know...playtest.

Eris ... your a hieratic!!

 

[E.D.Quibell]

Mongoose wants 3rd party companies to come up with Non-OTU Traveller Sectors as well as adventures that can be used the Traveller universe (even if they don't officially take place there).

But they also want the rules detached from the OTU so they can go OGL with them.

Traveller Aliens are Traveller Intellectual Property.

Best Regards

Ewan

 

[rkhigdon]

Well, this is the *playtest* document, so it's okay to have them in there for that purpose...we might need a few when we...you know...playtest.

Eris ... your a hieratic!!

He's a writing system used in pharaonic Egypt?

Yes, I know you meant Heretic, but it was just such a cool typo.

 

[E.D.Quibell]

Well, this is the *playtest* document, so it's okay to have them in there for that purpose...we might need a few when we...you know...playtest.

Eris ... your a hieratic!!

He's a writing system used in pharaonic Egypt?

Yes, I know you meant Heretic, but it was just such a cool typo.

Best Regards

Ewan ;-)

My spelling is entirerly due to dyslexia, typos, and poetic license

 

[Cowboy]

Third: feedback based on a read-through is valuable, specifically to gauge reaction to some aspect of the rules by the playtest community. But actual, active play is still more valuable. If you intend to offer suggestions, I think that’s great. But also try to play through the rules as written, and provide specific feedback.

As long as no stats are given for any weapons nor any information even on what scale such stats are going to be on (is it 0 for a very low-powered attack to 3 for an extremely devastating one or 2 for a low-powered attack to 18+ for an obscenely powerful one?), there can't really be any playtesting that involves combat.

 

[Eris]

Well, this is the *playtest* document, so it's okay to have them in there for that purpose...we might need a few when we...you know...playtest.

Eris ... your a hieratic!!

Yep! Eris is my name and Eris is my nature.

Eris,
The Heretic!

 

[Allensh]

Mongoose wants 3rd party companies to come up with Non-OTU Traveller Sectors as well as adventures that can be used the Traveller universe (even if they don't officially take place there).

But they also want the rules detached from the OTU so they can go OGL with them.

Traveller Aliens are Traveller Intellectual Property.

Best Regards

Ewan

Could rename them..

"Cat-aliens"

"Dog-aliens"

"Centaur-like aliens"

"weird starfish-looking aliens"



Allen

 

[rkhigdon]

As long as no stats are given for any weapons nor any information even on what scale such stats are going to be on (is it 0 for a very low-powered attack to 3 for an extremely devastating one or 2 for a low-powered attack to 18+ for an obscenely powerful one?), there can't really be any playtesting that involves combat.

There's some sample earlier in this thread.

 

[Allensh]

I wil dissent. I like having the mods in there and really, how much different would a Vargr corsair be than a human one in terms of skill set and such? I think non-Traveller customers might expect there to be at least some aliens in the book from the get-go.

Allen

Not to mention that aliens not in the core book(s) will most likely mean that they won't be OGL. So instead of having Traveller, it'll be Serenity.

Or Asimov's Foundation universe which didn't have aliens either.

Allen

 

[dmccoy1693]

Traveller Aliens are Traveller Intellectual Property.

All depends on the contract between Miller and Mongoose is written. If Mongoose and Miller agreed to have the aliens released as OGL, then they belong in the Traveller core book.

EDIT: Without standardized aliens, it'll kind of be like making Dungeons and Dragons without releasing Dwarves and Elves as part of the OGL. Yes Elves and Dwarves are classical fantasy, but WotC owns the specific implementation of them and 3rd party companies won't be able to use them. They'd be able to come up with their own incompatable version of them, but then what good would a Goodman Games adventure be without them?

EDIT#2: Mongoose released RuneQuest and released the Ducks and Broo in the SRD. Granted, they are RuneQuest IP, but they are also part of what makes RuneQuest different then D&D. It's a careful balancing act. If Mongoose does similar with Traveller, it would make sense that the aliens be OGL even if their respective homeworlds/territories/etc are IP.

 

[Allensh]

Traveller Aliens are Traveller Intellectual Property.

All depends on the contract between Miller and Mongoose is written. If Mongoose and Miller agreed to have the aliens released as OGL, then they belong in the Traveller core book.

Not everything on the Core Book has to be open content. Some things can be designated as Product Identity, as long as the Open Content is clearly marked as such.

Allen

 

[dmccoy1693]

Not everything on the Core Book has to be open content. Some things can be designated as Product Identity, as long as the Open Content is clearly marked as such.

Allen

In Runequest's case, the SRD is designated OGC; the books are closed. Last I heard, Traveller was going to be similar.

 

[Allensh]

Not everything on the Core Book has to be open content. Some things can be designated as Product Identity, as long as the Open Content is clearly marked as such.

Allen

In Runequest's case, the SRD is designated OGC; the books are closed. Last I heard, Traveller was going to be similar.

Thanks.I am unfamiliar with the Runequest SRD so that is helpful information.

One problem with "generic" aliens is that dwarves, elves etc. are fairly common in a lot of fantasy works...but aliens tend to differ from author to author. But it could be done, I suppose.

And the material might not make the final cut anyway...which makes me glad I have it here

Allen

 

[dmccoy1693]

I started a seperate thread to allow more discussion of "generic" aliens and helping to keep the Playtest thread about playtesting.

 

[Cowboy]

As long as no stats are given for any weapons nor any information even on what scale such stats are going to be on (is it 0 for a very low-powered attack to 3 for an extremely devastating one or 2 for a low-powered attack to 18+ for an obscenely powerful one?), there can't really be any playtesting that involves combat.

There's some sample earlier in this thread.

Buh?

Man, thanks. I was sure I'd read through the entire thread but somehow I'd missed the last half of the first page and most of the second.

My bad there.

 

[vargr1]

Having played Traveller in all its forms since 1981, I'm putting aside all of that and actually reading these rules as if I've never seen Traveller. So, in my quick once over, these points popped up.

"Basic Training: For your first career only, you get all the skills listed in the Service Skills table at Level 0 as your basic
training."

Does this mean that I then go on to resolve that term and get the standard skill as well, or is my initial term taken up with learning all these skills?

"Survival"

Do I get to check for advancement in a term that I fail my survival roll? Do I get a skill in a term that I fail the survival roll?

I'd assume that you get the skill, but not anything else, although I could see a mishap also being accompanied by and advancement. "wounded in battle, discharged with honors and automatic advancement."

What order do the rolls/choices take place?
I'm assuming that they are in this order:

Term Resolution
-If first term,
Pick Specialty
Take skills for Basic training
-Roll for skill
-Roll For Survival
if Survival failed, roll for mishap, then end term
-Roll for Events
-Roll for Advancement
-Roll for Reenlistment

"Combat Implant"
Does this mean the addition of cybernetics to Traveller?

Mustering out:
"Scout Ship"

What do I get if I roll this benefit a second time? I'd assume Pilot(spacecraft).

Same question for TAS - maybe a couple more TAS High Passages for each subsequent roll?


"Retirement Pay"
"This pension is paid at the beginning of each year, effective upon
leaving the service"

Does this mean that I muster out with my first year's retirement pay paid to me, or do I have to wait one year to get any retirement pay?

Also, if I'm drawing retirement pay, does that affect the other careers I can go into?

"Skill Packages"
Are these skills in addition to those a group already has? That is, if I roll up a Scout with Pilot(spacecraft)-2, and we pick the Explorer Skill Package, can I choose Pilot-1 and wind up with Pilot(spacecraft)-3?

Is it correct that characters have to choose different items from the package?


So far, so good. I think I'm getting to like this.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I'm still waiting for official response to my comment about tech levels.