Terraforming as a Trade Classification

[DaltonCalford]

How about we get back to the original subject - terraforming as a trade classification.

With the assumption that the environment is being actively being maintained, the world would require speciality imports of goods to support their infrastructure until they can maintain it themselves.

If we assume the following

1.) The world is part of a larger stellar entity
2.) The world is non-industrial, non-garden, low-tech (not condusive to life, no local infrastructure to maintain existing tech, population requires materials to maintain life)

Then we can say that the world is actively modifying the environment to maintain life but the environment is not self-sustaining.
This could be anything from totally sealed mining complexes, to space born habitats.

With these concepts in mind, what world/pop/cultural numbers would match with these numbers?

Now, given the above assumptions, any idea on how these worlds would trade with other trade types?

thanks for your input

Dalton

 

[EDG]

1.) The world is part of a larger stellar entity
2.) The world is non-industrial, non-garden, low-tech (not condusive to life, no local infrastructure to maintain existing tech, population requires materials to maintain life)

Then we can say that the world is actively modifying the environment to maintain life but the environment is not self-sustaining.
This could be anything from totally sealed mining complexes, to space born habitats.

With these concepts in mind, what world/pop/cultural numbers would match with these numbers?

Well, terraforming is not a simple thing. But let's say you're terraforming a size 5+ world with an inconvenient atmosphere. You could just be trying to make a planet warmer (either by brute force via greenhouse gas pollution or more tailored methods like seeding the icecaps with dark material to lower the planet's albedo), or you could be trying to filter/absorb a taint component from a tainted atmosphere to make it breathable. If you're really ambitious you might be trying to convert a type A into a breathable environment (the equivalent of going from anaerobic early earth to aerobic earth). If you're crazy you could be trying to thicken a trace atmosphere (like Mars) and make it breathable, or reduce a type B or C atmosphere (like Venus) into a breathable one (which probably involves the use of sunshades, artificial microbes, and a hell of lot of time).

Either way, in most cases the planet being terraformed is likely to be low population (and therefore Non-Industrial), and usually would have a Tainted or Exotic atm. Since the natural climate is by definition out of kilter with equilibrium because of the terraformers' intervention, they're likely to be unpleasant places to live in and possibly dangerous to visitors as a result - so they may well be Amber Zones.

One thing they won't be is low-tech though. Traveller puts terraforming at TL 15+, but I think we could do some basic deliberate terraforming around TL 9 or A. But I doubt that any worlds being terraformed would have TL lower than that.

Now, given the above assumptions, any idea on how these worlds would trade with other trade types?

They wouldn't export much - pretty much everyone's efforts will be toward keeping themselves going and terraforming. They may export minerals or crops if they happen to have extra. Meanwhile they'd want spare parts for the atmosphere processors and other technologies, and leisure material and info from the outside universe to keep people sane there.

 

[captainjack23]

(rationale : it's canon, but so what ? ; its functionally equiv t type A, which we want.and if the amount can't contribute to O/N breatability, its a waste of a category; yes, that means that theres a discontinuity in at the lower end for pressure of O/N atmospheres, but it has no effect whatsoever on play)

But then if you do that you've got atm 1 that is trace, exotic; then atm 2 that is very thin, exotic, and then atm which is Exotic (everything else). Its bad enough that there's two 'exotic' categories as is, do we really need a third?

Given that:

generate ATM w/. 2d6-7+siz (for all worlds)

with the following statements limiting the results:
IF siz 3-4 ATM max =2
IF siz<3, ATM =0.

One less table and its attendent mods is simpler. We can disagree if it is a significant difeference, perhaps.

But then you'll end up with a lot more atm 2s than 1s and 0s. In this system:

For size 3, a roll of 4- (17%) would be atm 0, 5 (11%) would be atm 1, and 6+ (72%) would be atm 2.

For size 4, a roll of 3- (8%) would be atm 0, 4 (8%) would be atm 1, and 5+ (83%) would be atm 2.


Compare that to the current EDG system:

In EDG for size 3: 50% would be atm 0, 33% would be atm 1 and 17% would be atm A.

In EDG for size 4: 17% would be atm 0, 33% would be atm 1 and 50% would be atm A.


The EDG results strike me as being much more realistic. The smaller worlds here should be more likely to have vacuum or trace atms than the larger ones.

Not to further derail, but rather end the subdiscussion: the first issue doesn't really bother me (mumber of exotic categories) but as to the second, yes, I see. Wasn't sure how frequently 3 & 4 should be 2 or A -seems the the answer is less than my suggestion produces. Good enough & thanks for the input.

 

[DaltonCalford]

One thing they won't be is low-tech though. Traveller puts terraforming at TL 15+, but I think we could do some basic deliberate terraforming around TL 9 or A. But I doubt that any worlds being terraformed would have TL lower than that.

They wouldn't export much - pretty much everyone's efforts will be toward keeping themselves going and terraforming. They may export minerals or crops if they happen to have extra. Meanwhile they'd want spare parts for the atmosphere processors and other technologies, and leisure material and info from the outside universe to keep people sane there.

EDG,

Where do you see TL F being the one used for terraforming? Which publication states this?

As for TL, if the planet is not interdicted, then any level of technology can be found there with the only difference being price. So a TL 1 world would be roughly equivalent to your house - you may have the giant plasma TV, the pocket computer and all the other benefits of modern tech, but, the odds are that you could not repair any of it, let alone manufacture any of it in your own home. TL is the local world manufacturing capability. They can have the latest TL F items but they paid a premium for them, and they can not repair or build them, but they can make some very nice clay pottery using the local schools kiln.......
The only exception to this is the interdicted worlds that may have no knowledge of interstellar travel (interdicted by the scouts) or may be forbidden trade and contact (interdicted by the navy).

We could possibly even come up with another trade classification, assigned by the referee called "Backwater" where higher TL items are so rare that their is no local demand for them as the locals do not have any idea of how they could be properly used (ie, electric tools when their is no electricity).

I do like your idea of the trade effects of a terraformed world, as I would see this as being fewer cargos available, of smaller sizes, but of higher value per dt due to the world exporting the best natural resources they can to generate capital to support their local needs.

I could also see them paying premiums for speculative cargo, but not demanding much regular cargo as they would be supported by the large shipping companies for these needs.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I could see Terraforming worlds having a lot of trade going IN to the world, but not so much going out.

VERY imbalanced trade on those kinds of worlds.

 

[DaltonCalford]

I could see Terraforming worlds having a lot of trade going IN to the world, but not so much going out.

VERY imbalanced trade on those kinds of worlds.

Too true, and you could see captive or corporate worlds having the rates of cargo being carried to the world being subsidized by one or more controlling worlds.