Hacking TL

[EDG]

Roasting is just inside the habitable zone (like Venus) and Freezing is just outside the habitable zone (like Mars). Farther out is not really detailed yet in Mongoose Traveller.

Not necessarily. "Freezing" might have to be outside the Habitable Zone, but a world in the Habitable Zone can easily be "Roasting" if it has a thick greenhouse atmosphere like Venus.

Or you could have a planet on an eccentric orbit that swings between the two extremes.

And vacuum worlds will be alternately Roasting and Freezing on their day and night sides since they have no atmosphere. Our own Moon goes from a maximum of about 120°C on its dayside to -200°C on the nightside. I did suggest an "E" (for Extreme) temperature code to reflect this, but I guess that didn't make the final cut.

 

[Gee4orce]

What I don't really understand about world gen is that on the whole the TLs generated are very low - 7 or 8 seems about average, 3, 4, and 5 are common, but A+ are quite rare.

Personally I want a Sci-Fi setting to feel - well -Sci-Fi. Not Steampunk :/

I tweaked the tech level generation in my world generator application so that the average TL was about A. TL3- still occur, but they feel more interesting because they are rarer.

 

[Stattick]

I think that TL 5 would be able to create something like a stillsuit.

I think that's a little optimistic, since our TL7/8 hasn't managed it yet.

Nessessity is the mother of invention... and we can get by just fine without stillsuits. But on a world where it would be nessisary, then perhaps... Still, I should note down for that world's write up that the general tech level is 5, but that the stillsuits they wear and manufacture could be considered a bit higher. They don't really sell their suits off world in mass because of the considerable amount of time and expense that it takes to make them, and each is built by hand with indigenous natural materials. High tech equivalents from high tech worlds would of course be available, but may not perform as well (especially when the batteries start to fail, or it starts getting gummed up with sand).

 

[EDG]

What I don't really understand about world gen is that on the whole the TLs generated are very low - 7 or 8 seems about average, 3, 4, and 5 are common, but A+ are quite rare.

Personally I want a Sci-Fi setting to feel - well -Sci-Fi. Not Steampunk :/

You could just tweak it so that you roll 2d6 for TL instead of 1d6, and halve the starport ones and the high pop DMs? And then tweak from there? But that'd push the average unmodified TL up to 7 at least.

 

[Stattick]

Ok...


I've got a world w/ a TL of 1, on a world w/ a hydro of 0%. Population is 7, ie, tens of millions. It's a rather Earthlike world with the exception that there's no water.

What tech level would be required for such a colony to be self sufficient? They'd have to have excellent water and waste recycling skills. They'd need to be able to pull water out of the air. They might even need to live in sealed habitats so they don't just let their water evaporate into the atmosphere. Although I suppose that it might be good if they could actually create their own water by breaking down hydrocarbons and "stirring" the H with the O from their atmo, they could also be going out and, er, comet farming to bring water back home.

Maybe TL 8, minimum?

Hmm, perhaps I'll chart this out, for the different options. I'm a newb, so this might be off somewhat. I'm open for different suggestions. Remember, a lot of water brings it's own problems. Flooding, tropical storms get worse including the storm swells, the oceans tend to get wilder in terms of waves when there's more oceans, etc.

Hydro:
0 TL 8
1 TL 7
2 TL 6
3 TL 5
4
5
6
7
8 TL 6
9 TL 7
A TL 8



Also, who has minimal TL suggestions for the various "temp levels"?

I'm just a newb, but here's what I'm thinking:
Frozen: TL 6
Cold: TL 2
Temperate:
Hot: TL 7
Roasting: TL 8