Jarac Rassen
Banded Mongoose
Only reason why I've held off on acquiring the VHB, is because the new edition was coming down the pipeline. I'm eager to see it.
Traveller Release Schedule 2026
- Thread starter MongooseMatt
- Start date
Because it is getting a rewrite doesn’t mean it was defective. It’s normal rules evolution over the last 9 years. Rather than scrapping everything and starting over with a new version of the game (cough cough White Wolf), Mongoose is keeping within the same edition and refining the rules.
I don’t buy the claim that outcomes need to match exactly for the older rules to be “valid.” Traveller isn’t a simulation. Different abstractions can produce different tonnage or numbers and still be perfectly playable, as long as each set is internally consistent. The original Vehicle Handbook is serviceable as written, full stop.
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Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
For hot air ballon racing:
Once airborne, balloons generally move smoothly with the wind, but wind layers aloft can be much faster than surface winds. For instance, as the LTA aircraft soars to 500-2,000 feet above ground level, winds can often reach 15 to 25 knots (17.3 to 28.8 mph)—this expected increase in speed is considered normal and manageable.
Hot Air Balloon Wind Speed Limits Explained
Discover how wind speed impacts hot air balloon flights, safety limits, and ideal conditions for a smooth, enjoyable ride every time.rainbowryders.com
Apparently, my technological level six default zeppelin can zip along at about to two hundred klix per hour.
I have always viewed this as an in-universe thing as well as being rules based. For example, look at the floating cargo holds of the Type-S over the years. I would happily use any of those in Charted Space because the Type-S is going to be built in so many different ways.
(Incidentally, I also think this is a 'fault' with High Guard construction systems in that every ship of a certain spec will be the same - even at the same TL, technologies and construction methods should be resulting in recognisable differences. But that might be a step too far...)
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
Every Ford Focus of a particular model is identical to every other, they are mass produced that way.
The Imperium insists on worlds building to Imperial standards, and the scout ship goes beyond that in having a "standard hull" naval architect plan which has been used for over a thousand years.
That doesn't mean there are other jump 2 scout ships built using different plans, nor does it mean every ship will be the same one interior walls are moved around, various hull adornments are added and the like.
I would welcome some customisation options.
The Imperium insists on worlds building to Imperial standards, and the scout ship goes beyond that in having a "standard hull" naval architect plan which has been used for over a thousand years.
That doesn't mean there are other jump 2 scout ships built using different plans, nor does it mean every ship will be the same one interior walls are moved around, various hull adornments are added and the like.
I would welcome some customisation options.
Any given model of Ford Focus (of which there are many) changed every three years on average. Furthermore, even in a given year, the Focuses that were built in Vsevolozhsk were very different from those assembled in Wayne, Michigan, and end users were able to order very different versions of the exact same model with different options for windows, trim, aircon, seat covering etc etc. If you got such variance with a single model of car built in the same short span of years on a single planet with a fairly uniform supply chain, @MongooseMatt is surely right: just imagine what the variance would be between models built 200 parsecs and a thousand years apart!
I suspect that if it was the Vilani Empire then it might just have remained constant. But it breaks my suspension of disbelief to imagine that there are High Priests of Suleiman enforcing the One True Holy Aircon Spec down through the millenia. For one thing, we have examples (eg the Belter) of exactly such variation. Smaller changes will be wildly common.
“Imperial standards” doesn’t imply every Scout/Courier is physically identical down to the last ton. It implies standardized performance targets and standardized interfaces (docking collars, fuel systems, jump grid tolerances, avionics compatibility, safety certification, etc.). That’s how you get reliability across the Imperium without pretending a thousand years of shipbuilding produces one sacred blueprint.
Even in modern mass production, “same model” still means multiple factories, multiple option packages, mid-cycle revisions, and refits. Traveller has more reasons for divergence: different shipyards, different TL availability, different supply chains, different maintenance doctrines, and centuries of incremental changes.
So yes, you can absolutely have an LSP-built Scout that allocates 10 tons to bridge/command spaces and a Glisten Yards build that comes in tighter at 6, while still being the “same ship” in everyday terms: same mission profile, same core systems, same operating envelope. Likewise, black-yard or frontier builds can trade comfort/space margins for cargo, maintenance access, or cost.
And RAW already supports this kind of flexibility: deck plans are explicitly allowed a 10–15% variance, which easily absorbs most of the “but the book says X tons” discrepancies people get worked up about. The design sequences are abstractions for play, not sacred geometry.
Even in modern mass production, “same model” still means multiple factories, multiple option packages, mid-cycle revisions, and refits. Traveller has more reasons for divergence: different shipyards, different TL availability, different supply chains, different maintenance doctrines, and centuries of incremental changes.
So yes, you can absolutely have an LSP-built Scout that allocates 10 tons to bridge/command spaces and a Glisten Yards build that comes in tighter at 6, while still being the “same ship” in everyday terms: same mission profile, same core systems, same operating envelope. Likewise, black-yard or frontier builds can trade comfort/space margins for cargo, maintenance access, or cost.
And RAW already supports this kind of flexibility: deck plans are explicitly allowed a 10–15% variance, which easily absorbs most of the “but the book says X tons” discrepancies people get worked up about. The design sequences are abstractions for play, not sacred geometry.
Sageryne
Emperor Mongoose
I have always assumed that a Type S (or any standardized type) that are built in different shipyards will have variations by default. I use the example of the WWII Sherman tank. You can tell which factory a tank was built in by the data plaque, but also by small variations. There are also many different models that use different engines, different suspensions, different guns, etc. That being said, the standardization of the Sherman was excellent. You could remove one item and the equivalent item from another make and model would fit in the same place with the same bolt pattern and do the same job. This was of HUGE value to Allied mechanics, who would often take the transmission from a tank with its turret blown off, and put it on another Sherman and they would FIT. Standardization is awesome, but equivalent does not mean identical.
I have drawn up many different variants of ships. They might all have EXACTLY the same spec sheet, same speed, jump range, every spec is the same, but each is just a little bit different. Their builders met all the specs, but did it with their own particular methods.
I have drawn up many different variants of ships. They might all have EXACTLY the same spec sheet, same speed, jump range, every spec is the same, but each is just a little bit different. Their builders met all the specs, but did it with their own particular methods.
Ugh how I hate the “aha gotcha the rules say this would be 100.75 tons I will now rebuild it with the same cookie cutter choices I use for every other ship” posts.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
That is a pain.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The Scout/Courier was designed by and for, the lowest common denominator, being triple A grade engineering.
