Chapter Order is still off

[TrippyHippy]

It just makes no sense to have the Common Spacecraft Chapter listed after Spacecraft Operations and the Space Combat chapters. You need to know what data you are referring to before you can understand operational systems, surely? Moreover, Spacecraft are a type of vehicle and ought to follow the Vehicles chapter.

In the previous MGT1 edition, both the Starship Design and Common Spacecraft examples were listed first - so why the shift?

The other chapters in question are Psionics, which is really it's own thing so I'll leave that be for the moment, and the Encounters and Dangers chapter which is traditionally (as per Classic Traveller) associated with World Creation. Again, it makes little sense to squeeze it in between Combat and Equipment to me at least.

In the last round, I made these points, got some support and then some scepticism from Matt who wanted more debate. That's fine, but as I say the positioning of the Common Spacecraft chapter in particular actually makes the game more difficult to run in a logical sense.

 

[MongooseMatt]

It just makes no sense to have the Common Spacecraft Chapter listed after Spacecraft Operations and the Space Combat chapters. You need to know what data you are referring to before you can understand operational systems, surely? Moreover, Spacecraft are a type of vehicle and ought to follow the Vehicles chapter.

The thinking here is that the other way round we would be presenting stats without showing what they mean...

Not sure there is a right answer on this one

 

[TrippyHippy]

Well, OK. But note that in MGT1 that Chapter was, indeed, before the Operations and Combat Chapter. The difference was that it also came after the Starship creation rules.

Maybe a sidebar for clarification would be useful, but honestly, I don't think it needs that - the basic stats are defined at least within the chapter and can then be referred to later. If you are using a new tool, you need to know what the constituent parts are before you start using them, surely?

It also ought to follow the Vehicle Chapter so that both land-based and space-based vehicles are in the same location of the book - think of having all those full colour illustrations following on from each other - which also immediately follows on from the Equipment chapter. Seeing as Spaceships are both a commodity and a vehicle, it makes sense to have them follow on.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Either way, you will be fanning the book from the back cover or from the front cover to get to the info quicker.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Well, like I say, my model is the original three little books:

1) Character generation, Tasks and personal combat.
2) Equipment, Vehicles and Spaceships, including Space operations and combat.
3) World Design, Encounters and Trade.

To me, that is intuitive. Psionics is the odd one out of course.