Preference: OTU or Original Setting?

[kristof65]

I don't think Corvus was trying to start anything pro/anti OTU. For me, at least, he did drive home a point which I hadn't really considered - that it is possible to have an original setting and still have it be usable within the OTU.

While no one in this thread said never said it couldn't be done, I'm sure I'm probably not the only one who never considered it could be done.

 

[EDG]

I don't think Corvus was trying to start anything pro/anti OTU. For me, at least, he did drive home a point which I hadn't really considered - that it is possible to have an original setting and still have it be usable within the OTU.

Sure, but you still can't mention the OTU. You could have an original post-apocalyptic setting based on a single world that just happens to be part of the OTU, but if it's released under the OGL you cannot mention anything from the OTU at all. And you can't name the planet as being a specific one in a specific OTU sector (unless it's Foreven).

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

MTU started out as a setting outside of Charted Space, but still somehow connected to the OTU. I had envisioned Solomani explorers coming into the Sector at some point.

I also use the Droyne as my "evil empire". They are more aggressive than in Chartered Space, but are still basically Droyne.

The location is one sector rimward of the Banners Sector, in the Pleiades Star Cluster (OK actually next to the cluster, but you get the idea).

Since MGT came out with the Space Opera and Hard Science rules, I have drifted away from the OTU connection and gone my own way, but there is nothing inherently different about my game than the OTU setting.

 

[BP]

... "lesser" megacorporations. While we can't use the official OTU megacorps outside the Foreven Sector, if someone would publish a book on generic megacorporations that were also OGL, it would be helpful for other authors needing/wanting to have common corporations to use for their own works.

Yep - just don't call them 'megacorporations' - as EDG pointed out this is against the rules of the OGL - unless you are planning to use the Foreven license.

And as Corvus pointed out - there is no reason to break the OTU to do any of this (there is plenty of room for competition in the 'megacorporation' pool)...

(One slight issue - avoiding the urge to use the species of the 3I - this is what I find myself stumbling over (wanting to use Vilani or Vargr - which is outside the OGL), or even the word Imperial. Of course, setting them in the Foreven Sector can avoid this!)

 

[EDG]

Yep - just don't call them 'megacorporations' - as EDG pointed out this is against the rules of the OGL - unless you are planning to use the Foreven license.

"Megacorporations" aren't a concept unique to Traveller, so they're perfectly usable as such. What you can't do is given megacorps the same names as the ones in the OTU.

 

[BP]

Megacorporations" aren't a concept unique to Traveller, so they're perfectly usable as such. What you can't do is given megacorps the same names as the ones in the OTU.

It's the 'usable as such' that could be a problem. As huge corporations - ok; as Traveller merchant lines - in the context of Traveller material - "Megacorporations" might be skirting a fine line - unless a unique definition was explicitly applied.

For instance, if I use Imperial Merchant Company - and my setting has an Imperial government - this would seem ok, but in the context of Traveller OGL where I did not setup my own Imperial setting (and make it unique), I think there would be an issue.

The webster dictionary online has definitions for all these terms - so they are not in and of themselves Traveller specific. If I google megacorporation most of my hits are Traveller related - the ones that aren't have alternate spellings (and Wikipedia has a comment about the article not citing any references or sources). So without an explicit reference in the SRDs, I would stay clear of using the term (in the context of an OGL work).

Please deposit 2 cents...

 

[EDG]

It's the 'usable as such' that could be a problem. As huge corporations - ok; as Traveller merchant lines - in the context of Traveller material - "Megacorporations" might be skirting a fine line - unless a unique definition was explicitly applied.

For instance, if I use Imperial Merchant Company - and my setting has an Imperial government - this would seem ok, but in the context of Traveller OGL where I did not setup my own Imperial setting (and make it unique), I think there would be an issue.

The first I really heard of Megacorps was from Cyberpunk, not Traveller. It's just a SF name for a big corporation that dominates a market, usually made up by the absorption of smaller ones.

The webster dictionary online has definitions for all these terms - so they are not in and of themselves Traveller specific. If I google megacorporation most of my hits are Traveller related - the ones that aren't have alternate spellings (and Wikipedia has a comment about the article not citing any references or sources). So without an explicit reference in the SRDs, I would stay clear of using the term (in the context of an OGL work).

Please deposit 2 cents...

It just means that you can't use Naasirka, or Ling Standard Products, or any existing megacorp described or mentioned in the OTU within a commercial non-OTU setting because they are unique to the OTU IP. If you do mention them, then it'd have to be done under the Foreven license as part of the OTU (if commercial) or via the FUP (if non-commercial). But as far as I can see, there is nothing whatsoever stopping anybody from making up their own megacorps and putting them in their own non-OTU setting and releasing that commercially via the OGL.

 

[Vile]

EDG is right, 'megacorporation' is generally seen as popularised through Cyberpunk (although it's older than that):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megacorporation

I believe this is what the OP was talking about. It is perfectly possible to create 3rd-party generic Traveller material which will easily slot into the OTU. Just exercise a little care to avoid any uniquely OTU terms, and you'll be fine. If in doubt, you can always run it past Mongoose to see if they're okay with it - from what I've seen they're not about to jump down anyone's throat, in fact they've gone out of their way to make Traveller accessible to 3rd party publishers.

If it still bothers you, I'm sure there are other terms you can come up with which fit the bill. Gigacorp, anyone?

 

[BP]

The first I really heard of Megacorps was from Cyberpunk, not Traveller. ...

The first I heard of megacorporations was Traveller (which predated Cyberpunk by several years I believe)!

Since I haven't read or played any Cyberpunk I'll take your word for it (though I liked Johnny Mnemonic - if that's a proper cyberpunk style)!

Till I have something official, I'll still stay away from naming multi-system star lines 'Koolies Megacorporation' and the like for OGL based works!

 

[Corvus]

the OP ... is simply asking whether we (as customers) would prefer generic-but-OTU-flavoured supplements, or an entirely new setting with none of the assumptions of the OTU.

I understand that. I am saying the question is biased, like asking whether I would prefer wealth or health, as if they are in some kind of conflict when the two actually promote each other.

I prefer having entirely new settings with all the assumptions of the OTU. Make up anything you want, just make sure it doesn't explicitly contradict the OTU. The OTU has so many worlds, technologies, and settings available this is easy if you only make the effort. Too many writers do not make the effort.

Let's not drive the thread off the rails into a pro/anti-OTU flame war

This was not my intention; it is irrelevant anyway. There are things I like and things I dislike about the OTU; I include the things I like and exclude the things I dislike. What I do not do is say the things I dislike do not exist and cannot be used.

 

[Vile]

I prefer having entirely new settings with all the assumptions of the OTU. This is easy; make up anything you want just make sure it doesn't explicitly contradict the OTU. That's it!

From what I can see, that's exactly the 'generic' option in the original question. Something which uses the normal OTU assumptions (although none of the unique 'named' elements) and could therefore be slotted into the OTU with no additional work. I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the question related to possible 3rd-party publications, so you would have to avoid any explicitly OTU material, but you can easily create something unique which does not contradict canon o) in any way.

I think we're just disagreeing on our phrasing, here, not the content!

 

[Ishmael]

It would seem to me that an OTU canon writer's guide that catalogues exactly what canon is might be nice to have. Even if its just on-line like the trav wiki.
It'd help writers who are writing OTU materials for publication by helping to prevent continuity errors.
It'd help writers of a generic TU by showing them what they CAN'T use in their work.

given how much work and how much material that might be, I doubt it will ever happen, though.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Megacorporations" aren't a concept unique to Traveller, so they're perfectly usable as such. What you can't do is given megacorps the same names as the ones in the OTU.

It's the 'usable as such' that could be a problem. As huge corporations - ok; as Traveller merchant lines - in the context of Traveller material - "Megacorporations" might be skirting a fine line - unless a unique definition was explicitly applied.

For instance, if I use Imperial Merchant Company - and my setting has an Imperial government - this would seem ok, but in the context of Traveller OGL where I did not setup my own Imperial setting (and make it unique), I think there would be an issue.

The webster dictionary online has definitions for all these terms - so they are not in and of themselves Traveller specific. If I google megacorporation most of my hits are Traveller related - the ones that aren't have alternate spellings (and Wikipedia has a comment about the article not citing any references or sources). So without an explicit reference in the SRDs, I would stay clear of using the term (in the context of an OGL work).

Please deposit 2 cents...

I think using the generic term Imperial or Empire is perfectly fine under the OGL. In the TMB, the term Imperium and Empire are used a lot without specifically meaning the OTU.

So Imperial Merchant Corporation should be perfectly fine and calling it a Megacorporation should also be fine.

Just don't talk about how many shares Tukera has in the company or what facilities that IMC has on Glisten...

 

[rust]

From the Merriam-Webster:

megacorporation

Main Entry: mega·cor·po·ra·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌme-gə-ˌkȯr-pə-ˈrā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 1971
: a huge and powerful corporation

Since the word is in a common dictionary and the entry date is before the
publishing date of Traveller, there can not be any problem with its use.

 

[GMSkarka]

To clarify and confirm: When I say "generic", I mean primarily usable within the OTU, but conforming to the license (which prevents mentions of OTU intellectual property -- outside of setting in the Foreven Sector, which I'm not really interested in).

When I say "original", I mean a completely new setting for Traveller -- something bearing no resemblance to the existing material. For example, a steampunk SF universe, etc.

 

[kristof65]

I was thinking about this even before everyone else replied, and while I beleive that you should be able to use the term megacorporation in a Traveller OGL product, I think to be on the safe side, you should be careful in how you use it if you aren't using the Foreven license or FUP.

For example, I think you might run into headaches if you actually titled a book "MegaCorporations for Traveller", and you almost definitely would if you went with something like "Book A: Megacorporations".

But I don't think you'd run afoul of things if you named it something like "Star Corporations" and then inside the book used the term in a generic sense.

 

[EDG]

For example, I think you might run into headaches if you actually titled a book "MegaCorporations for Traveller", and you almost definitely would if you went with something like "Book A: Megacorporations".

I think the headache you'd run into there would actually be because you mentioned Traveller in the book title. AFAIK you're only supposed to mention Traveller in the specific context of the "Traveller compatible product" label.

But if you just called it "Megacorporations" and had that little black and red "Traveller compatible product" label on there somewhere and released it as an OGL product with no OTU material in it, you wouldn't have any problems at all.