What does TL mean?

[actionman]

Just to clarify... Isn't that the same as saying that TL is defined as "what goods can be produced locally"?

It's more than that. It describes a large network of production facilities, resources extraction industries, physical infrastructure, service industries, and so on, instead of a single factory that can produce a good.

 

[MarcusIII]

It's more than that. It describes a large network of production facilities, resources extraction industries, physical infrastructure, service industries, and so on, instead of a single factory that can produce a good.

Bingo

 

[J. L. Brown]

It's more than that. It describes a large network of production facilities, resources extraction industries, physical infrastructure, service industries, and so on, instead of a single factory that can produce a good.

Absolutely. I suspect that real-life Technology Level is inextricably entwined with Population.

Higher TL means more areas of specialization -- 200 years ago Terra had Physicists, but none specialized in Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity, or Loop Quantum Gravity. There were also no television repairmen, Java coders, network administrators, or etc. So, the higher the TL goes, the more specialties that laborers and theoreticians must be divided into. To be able to maintain a competent workforce, the workforce (and their trainers, and their support) has to be larger.

Automation throws a goodly portion of this out the window of course; but some of it is just shifting the required population from living beings to robots. Being able to support local TL requires a certain Population, but the game does not tie the two together in any way -- which is just yet one more way that Traveller does not simulate the real world.

 

[Ol'Weedy]

Keep in mind that in 1977 when the UPP was thought up, the 3rd Imperium didn't exist, and even the sci-fi writers of the day couldn't dream up something as useful as a modern cell phone, never mind an magic automated super factory.
Low TL worlds also make a lot more sense in a post-super power universe, or one were the SP is very far away.
As the gentleman who lives in Honduras pointed out, they get everything the rest of the western world gets...as long as international shipping continues to be a thing.

 

[ross]

I sometimes think it's easier to think of a world's TL as a measure of its wealth. Granted you have to explain all the poor worlds who can't afford stuff instead.

That’s actually a pretty elegant solution.

 

[ross]

Keep in mind that in 1977 when the UPP was thought up, the 3rd Imperium didn't exist, and even the sci-fi writers of the day couldn't dream up something as useful as a modern cell phone, never mind an magic automated super factory.
Low TL worlds also make a lot more sense in a post-super power universe, or one were the SP is very far away.
As the gentleman who lives in Honduras pointed out, they get everything the rest of the western world gets...as long as international shipping continues to be a thing.

The larger issue is that the technology systems both foundational and those added over time in Traveller are broken. We are generally just spackling the Titanic. I think that newer games using the mechanics, like the forthcoming Pioneer, will have much more reasonable technology system.