TL listing

[sideranautae]

I am filling in the TL chart to make it more "robust". I fleshed out the lower TL's because I'm going to have those type of worlds to explore too. The higher levels take more work and have always been kinda thin in Trav. Any other high tech, neat stuff for flavor? I'd like to differentiate the upper TL's a bit more from the viewpoint of the PC's. Or, the person entering a space port.

Technology Levels

Technology Levels measure the scientific capacity of a world and the complexity and effectiveness of a piece of equipment and, where it can be manufactured.

TL 0: (Primitive) From no technology up through simple agriculture, fire, pottery wheel, proto-writing, numeric counting and copper for jewelry.

TL 1: (Primitive) Bronze age through the end of the Medieval age. Early gun powder weapons. Wind and water mills. Mechanical clocks, spectacles, sawmills, 3 crop rotation and advanced architecture. Advanced shipbuilding and open ocean navigation. Dry docks.

TL 2: (Primitive) Renaissance technology. Muskets and advances in metallurgy like the blast furnace and finery forge. Machinery; printing press, crank & connected rod and the flywheel. Floating docks invented. Parachute invented.

TL 3: (Primitive) The advances of TL 2 are now applied, bringing the germ of industrial revolution and steam power. Discovery of the nature of electricity. Early batteries. Early steam, railroad locomotives. Modern science is born in the form of basic chemistry and the discovery & codification of physical laws. The Age of Reason & Enlightenment. Breach loading firearms & cannon. Telegraph for long distance communication. Hot air balloons commonly used by military. Steel is being mass produced. Mass produced machined metal parts.

TL 4: (Industrial) The transition to industrialization is complete. Powered flight invented. Electric lighting common in large cities. Radio and telephone in use. Internal combustion engines. Automatic weapons. Advanced artillery. Large dreadnought type warships.

TL 5: (Industrial) TL 5 brings widespread electrification, telecommunications, early jet engines, and radar. Increasing automation in manufacturing.

TL 6: (Industrial) TL 6 brings the development of fission power and transistors invented bringing more advanced computing. Nuclear weapons. Intercontinental missiles. Advanced jet aircraft.

TL 7: (Pre-Stellar) A pre-stellar society can reach orbit reliably and has telecommunications satellites. Electronics & computer revolution. Fission power plants provide most electricity, except in odd cases. Plentiful, cheap power due to fission makes widespread desalinization possible. Greatly increasing land available for cultivation. Standards of living takes another leap.

TL 8: (Pre-Stellar) At TL 8, it is possible to reach other worlds in the same system, although terraforming or full colonization are not within the culture’s capacity. Cheap, reliable fusion power drastically changes society due to unlimited extremely inexpensive power.

TL 9: (Pre-Stellar) The defining element of TL 9 is the development of gravity manipulation, which makes space travel vastly safer and faster. Ship mounted Pulse lasers developed. Proton-proton Cold Fusion developed and first used as a power plant on spacecraft. The first Grav vehicles and then, spaceships developed at the end of this Tech Level. Modern Vacc Suits developed. Genetically tailored anti-viral & bacterial treatments developed. Colonization of in system worlds starts.

TL 10: (Early Stellar) With the advent of Jump, nearby systems are opened up. Jump 1. Manipulation of the strong nuclear force makes possible extremely tough and strong spacecraft hulls and the like. Ship mounted Beam lasers. Vehicle sized fusion PP's in use. Personal grav vehicles still only for the rich. Advanced Combat Armor developed. Human genetic language fully mapped & understood. Evolutionary theories have to be completely rewritten. Super batteries make man-portable energy weapons possible.

TL 11: (Early Stellar) The first true artificial intelligent computers become possible though not self aware. Jump 2 developed. Personal grav vehicles compete with ground vehicles for market share. Cloned organ replacement now a standard part of medicine. Cancer is now completely treatable with 100% success.

TL 12: (Average Stellar) Weather control revolutionizes terraforming and agriculture. Jump 3. Grav vehicles the norm for personal transportation. The Auto-Doc becomes widely available. Truly lifelike, 3D Holo-projectors invented. Molecule makers developed, leading to artificial food creation. Auto-chefs. These get more sophisticated every TL hereafter. Eliminates NEED for traditional agriculture.

TL 13: (Average Stellar) Powered battle dress appears on the battlefield. Atomic Stasis field invented. Jump 4 Nuclear Dampers developed. Median life span reaches 150 years. Auto-chefs now ubiquitous in middle class homes and starships.

TL 14: (High Stellar) Super capacitors developed. True hand held energy weapons now available. Man-portable Grav transportation available. Fusion weapons become man-portable. Floating cities commonplace. Jump 5

TL 15: (High Stellar) The development of highly advanced genetic therapy means that the human lifespan is now vastly increased (for those who can afford it). Man portable Cold Fusion PP's available. Jump 6.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Treat Traveller as an alternate future from ours, with its own tech scale. Otherwise, you are going down the path of your Mythology of the Future.

 

[sideranautae]

Treat Traveller as an alternate future from ours, with its own tech scale. Otherwise, you are going down the path of your Mythology of the Future.

Sorry, my setting doesn't even include this galaxy. (hence no dates included) So no worries 'bout that.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Some official Traveller settings (2300 for example) are already different from this.

 

[sideranautae]

Some official Traveller settings (2300 for example) are already different from this.

And? Every version of Trav has a different take on it. 2300 is one of the more minor Traveller off shoot games.

 

[Anonymous]

What's a major Traveller "off shoot"?

 

[sideranautae]

What's a major Traveller "off shoot"?

GURPS edition

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Some official Traveller settings (2300 for example) are already different from this.

And? Every version of Trav has a different take on it. 2300 is one of the more minor Traveller off shoot games.

Round here the 3rd Imperium is a minor off-shoot, with 2300 more popular (although most people play their own settings).

 

[sideranautae]

Round here the 3rd Imperium is a minor off-shoot, with 2300 more popular (although most people play their own settings).

And? Obviously you aren't reading the thread. Also, you are incorrect. But, as you are just trolling, I'll ignore future inanity from yourself. I'm glad Mongoose included a board function to deal with inveterate bridge dwellers.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I would suggest that at TL-7 you talk about the end of reliance on fossil fuels and the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE).

At TL-7, solar power (ground based) is possible and becomes more economically viable towards the end of this TL. By TL-8, solar panels compete directly with fission and only the advent of cheap fusion power sees the end of its usefulness in most situations.

The ICE is replaced by Fuel Cells, Hydrogen-Oxygen converted to Water. Much more efficient and plentiful. By TL-8, ICEs are almost completely gone.

At TL-12, the development of Micro-Gravity control allows for a much more efficient fusion process (that is the TL break for "Fusion +). It also starts the trend towards personal gravitics and the "Grav Harness". In my mind, this is also why Meson technology takes off at this Tech Level. When you start thinking about being able to manipulate gravity using very small devices, some interesting possibilities open up... a house where you can live on all 6 flat surfaces... personal flying harnesses (grav harness), gravity focussed lasers (much smaller, more powerful and longer range). Also Micro-Gravity Control may be the breakthrough for super-batteries and hand-held energy weapons.

Hope these help.

 

[sideranautae]

I would suggest that at TL-7 you talk about the end of reliance on fossil fuels and the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE).

I talk about fission taking over at TL 7. Solar isn't a viable base load technology and won't in any near (50 years) foreseeable future.

At TL-12, the development of Micro-Gravity control allows for a much more efficient fusion process (that is the TL break for "Fusion +).

I already have that at end TL 9. (cold fusion) I should push it to higher TL though. Thanks for the tip.

It also starts the trend towards personal gravitics and the "Grav Harness".

Yes indeed. I have that at TL 15 when man portable fusion comes in. Grav tech in my game is very power intensive. Requiring much higher density power than solar or battery. I'll back that down to 14.

In my mind, this is also why Meson technology takes off at this Tech Level. When you start thinking about being able to manipulate gravity using very small devices, some interesting possibilities open up... a house where you can live on all 6 flat surfaces... personal flying harnesses (grav harness), gravity focussed lasers (much smaller, more powerful and longer range). Also Micro-Gravity Control may be the breakthrough for super-batteries and hand-held energy weapons.

Hope these help.

Yes, good food for thought. I like meson comms but am balking at meson weapons as they tend automatically dominate due to bypassing armor.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Round here the 3rd Imperium is a minor off-shoot, with 2300 more popular (although most people play their own settings).

And? Obviously you aren't reading the thread. Also, you are incorrect. But, as you are just trolling, I'll ignore future inanity from yourself. I'm glad Mongoose included a board function to deal with inveterate bridge dwellers.

Please be polite.

Actually you make assumptions about TLs and the usage of the OTU that are not universally used, or work, with all published "official" settings.

A useful idea would be to use "tech-trees" (as have been used in past editions as a means to cover TLs in a non-dogmatic way), and/or state in the subject title that you mean "OTU".

 

[sideranautae]

Actually you make assumptions about TLs and the usage of the OTU that are not universally used, or work, with all published "official" settings.

This thread has nothing to do with the OTU. I asked a question for filler.


Also, if you really knew Trav, you'd know that the TL assumptions are different in each published setting. Thus, it isn't even possible to make a TL list that works "with all published "official" settings." Travellerrpg.com has a wiki where they line up the major versions and TL items.

 

[sideranautae]

First chart almost finished.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

Why cold fusion? What's wrong with hot fusion? Most rocket exhaust comes out hot! I think antimatter power plants should depend on the availability of antimatter as well.

 

[Condottiere]

Maybe less likely to go bang?

 

[sideranautae]

Why cold fusion? What's wrong with hot fusion? Most rocket exhaust comes out hot! I think antimatter power plants should depend on the availability of antimatter as well.

Hot fusion wouldn't be usable in a space ship without radiators the size of solar sails. Rocket exhaust is a totally different animal.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

Why cold fusion? What's wrong with hot fusion? Most rocket exhaust comes out hot! I think antimatter power plants should depend on the availability of antimatter as well.

Hot fusion wouldn't be usable in a space ship without radiators the size of solar sails. Rocket exhaust is a totally different animal.

Seems to me releasing the energy from fusion would make it hot. I believe cold fusion simply means that high temperatures aren't required to initiate the fusion reaction, but if the fusion reaction occurs, the same amount of energy is released. I'll give you an example with fission. When you split a Uranium atom, that atom starts out cold. The way you initiate a fission reaction is by putting together enough of the right sort of Uranium or Plutonium together to reach something called critical mass, when enough atoms are split the reaction becomes self-sustaining so long as critical mass is maintained. I believe most fission reactions in use today don't require heating the fuel in order to initiate the reaction, as it does for fusion, and in that sense nuclear fission could be called "cold fission", but the result of the fission reaction is used to turn water into steam which in turn drives a turbine used to generate electricity.

 

[sideranautae]

Seems to me releasing the energy from fusion would make it hot. I believe cold fusion simply means that high temperatures aren't required to initiate the fusion reaction, but if the fusion reaction occurs, the same amount of energy is released.

The total temp is less. See quantum tunneling and the data on the temp of our sun if that weren't occurring in P-P fusion.

In hot fusion you are trying to maintain an artificially high level of heat in order to overcome the nuclear force. Hence, the search for cold fusion where you aren't using heat to overcome that force.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

To give another example antimatter, which is TL 17 would require huge radiator fins, in a world without reactionless drives, antimatter would be the science fiction fuel of choice, it is very easy to get antimatter to react with matter, no heating required. I actually think if we had a source of antimatter, building a matter/antimatter reactor wouldn't be that hard. I think TL 17 should be in the production of massive quantities of antimatter. In laboratories today, we have gotten very small amounts of antimatter to react with matter without any problems, preventing that from happening until you want it to is the hard part actually. I think there should be rules for running TL 17 jump drives on antimatter instead of hydrogen.