AndrewW
Emperor Mongoose
Don't forget the one covering when Americans where getting out into space and contacting alien life (Independence Day Resurgence),
Yanks in Space...
- Thread starter Spartan159
- Start date
actionman
Emperor Mongoose
My favorite is 'Yarpie'.
I read a few of the responses in this thread, and as a so called "Yank" - I find it perhaps amusing that the whole point of the phrase was essentially "short hand" for describing a given mindset. Yes, "Yanks" who run their campaigns at home in "Yankland" will tend to ascribe to the culture they were born in - and take it from there. Others may well say "well, prior to the entrance in two world wars, the industrialization and military vigor helped to turn the tide against certain foes. Others more cynical may well suggest that any enemy force that is over extended is doomed to defeat - that the Yanks who arrived just made that collapse all the quicker. As one show writer wrote "there is his story, her story, and then there is the Truth". I'm sure the truth lies midway between opposing mindsets and stories no?
In the end? I'm more interested in the fact that the rules as depicted in the Third Imperium and the background written for it, along with AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM (in which the Iridium Throne orders the execution or annihilation of an entire world - without any resort to legal means - suggests that Marc Miller understands one of the reasons why the the Imperium as written can not exist.
Point the first: No human political power has ever been able to avoid the issue of "self-interest" for any ruling agency within a government. The Rich will always maneuver to insure that they remain wealthy and powerful, while the lesser mortals are kept in their place. It doesn't matter if you call the lesser mortals the plebeians, the proletariat, or tax payers. Those who rule make certain they continue to rule.
Point the second: culture is how individuals within a group of people bound together in society - educate the next generation on how to live. Culture dictates what is right, wrong, or morally ambivalent. It is also about how to prepare food that won't kill your family (hence local cuisine) or is relatively cheap to produce etc. In it also how the people are told what to expect where it comes to romance and formation of families or relationships. If you don't understand this point - listen to the music of the 1950's and contrast compare them against the popular music of say, the 2020's. Roles are defined culturally (what is a man's role, what is a woman's role, etc). You can NOT have enclaves of Imperial culture on a world that unites entire worlds together unless one of two things is happening - A) the rulers impose their culture on the lesser people or B) The Imperials have MORE people engaging in Imperial Cultural practices and hold dominance due to numbers. If Chinese History tells us anything (as did Gaelic history in France) - small groups of "elites" eventually vanish into the more populous culture than imposing their culture on the larger population. Early French cultures were conquered - but the victors vanished into the local culture and life moved on. So - how does the Third Imperium spread its culture? With slogans? With coercion? By granting Imperials certain superior rights over the non-Imperials? **Shrug**
Combine points 1 and 2 together, and you have the final problem that "each world is equal of any other in theory - each world's government is sovereign...
Either the Third Imperium has the ability to force its will on others or it doesn't. Marc Miller's AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM shows that it not only does have that ability, but actively uses it. If you sterilize a world, and the rest of the Imperium finds out about it - what do you think that would do to their relationship with the Iridium Throne? If the Iridium Thone is willing to do that, one might suspect that it has sufficient military force to put down those who might riot against it.
So - shorthand wise? Yanks In Space? Sure. Russians in Space? Just as valid as Yanks in Space. How about Romans in Space? That works - as short hand - provided both you as the speaker and you as the reader know what each terminology means. Google "7 blind men and an elephant" and then apply that parable to the description of the Third Imperium by 7 different writes all throughout a period of 40 years.
Now I literally wrote about five more paragraphs, pointing out actual historical events in places like South Africa, Ancient Gaul, Rome, China, and of all Place - Poland. Ultimately - when a nation continues to grow - it expands. When a nation begins to stagnate, it holds a stable population. When a Nation or culture is dying, its birth rate begins to plummet. The average number of children born in the United States per adult woman now lies at 1.66 children. In other nations, that number is even lower. Some nations, the number is decidedly HIGHER - but those nations tend to be less industrialized. Net result is this:
Either your middle and lower class can have sufficient children for the next generation, or they do not. Tax them too heavily, and their birth rates drop. Lighten the tax burdens and the family sizes increase. Kill them off in constant warfare, and either the women must bear more children per lifetime of a woman, or the nation's population decline is all but assured. If the burden of raising children suffers from the lack of available husbands and such - the population rebounds slowly (witness European population numbers immediately after World War I and World War II).
For a somber reality: It takes 2.1 children in modern times, to maintain a zero percent population growth. Anything below that means the population is shrinking. South Korea's fertility rate is .78 children per woman. Think about that for a moment. How long will it take for South Korea's population to halve when its replacement rate is only 1/3rd that required to maintain a zero percent growth rate? More importantly, how long can South Korea hold its current national boundaries should a nearby neighbor covet their land because their population is expanding?
As I've mentioned in the past threads - what is the difference between an Imperial Citizen vs an Imperial Subject? A citizen's rights are guaranteed by the Imperium's Government directly, and can not be violated by a lesser government. A Subject on the other hand, is nominally granted a set of rights by the Imperium, but whose rights can be modified or violated by the local government in contradiction to those enumerated rights enjoyed by Citizens.
In the end? I hope that the originator of this thread can agree that there is nothing insulting about "Yanks in Space" any more than someone from England would think there is anything wrong with "Brits in Space". The fun comes in to play when a Yank portrays a Brit incorrectly (or vice versa) out of - well, ignorance of that which the other is not intimately aware of. If someone says that the Third Imperium is "Romans in Space" then that' shorthand for "take a look at Roman society and try to extrapolate what it would be like if Roman culture had had space travel.
In the end? I'm more interested in the fact that the rules as depicted in the Third Imperium and the background written for it, along with AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM (in which the Iridium Throne orders the execution or annihilation of an entire world - without any resort to legal means - suggests that Marc Miller understands one of the reasons why the the Imperium as written can not exist.
Point the first: No human political power has ever been able to avoid the issue of "self-interest" for any ruling agency within a government. The Rich will always maneuver to insure that they remain wealthy and powerful, while the lesser mortals are kept in their place. It doesn't matter if you call the lesser mortals the plebeians, the proletariat, or tax payers. Those who rule make certain they continue to rule.
Point the second: culture is how individuals within a group of people bound together in society - educate the next generation on how to live. Culture dictates what is right, wrong, or morally ambivalent. It is also about how to prepare food that won't kill your family (hence local cuisine) or is relatively cheap to produce etc. In it also how the people are told what to expect where it comes to romance and formation of families or relationships. If you don't understand this point - listen to the music of the 1950's and contrast compare them against the popular music of say, the 2020's. Roles are defined culturally (what is a man's role, what is a woman's role, etc). You can NOT have enclaves of Imperial culture on a world that unites entire worlds together unless one of two things is happening - A) the rulers impose their culture on the lesser people or B) The Imperials have MORE people engaging in Imperial Cultural practices and hold dominance due to numbers. If Chinese History tells us anything (as did Gaelic history in France) - small groups of "elites" eventually vanish into the more populous culture than imposing their culture on the larger population. Early French cultures were conquered - but the victors vanished into the local culture and life moved on. So - how does the Third Imperium spread its culture? With slogans? With coercion? By granting Imperials certain superior rights over the non-Imperials? **Shrug**
Combine points 1 and 2 together, and you have the final problem that "each world is equal of any other in theory - each world's government is sovereign...
Either the Third Imperium has the ability to force its will on others or it doesn't. Marc Miller's AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM shows that it not only does have that ability, but actively uses it. If you sterilize a world, and the rest of the Imperium finds out about it - what do you think that would do to their relationship with the Iridium Throne? If the Iridium Thone is willing to do that, one might suspect that it has sufficient military force to put down those who might riot against it.
So - shorthand wise? Yanks In Space? Sure. Russians in Space? Just as valid as Yanks in Space. How about Romans in Space? That works - as short hand - provided both you as the speaker and you as the reader know what each terminology means. Google "7 blind men and an elephant" and then apply that parable to the description of the Third Imperium by 7 different writes all throughout a period of 40 years.
Now I literally wrote about five more paragraphs, pointing out actual historical events in places like South Africa, Ancient Gaul, Rome, China, and of all Place - Poland. Ultimately - when a nation continues to grow - it expands. When a nation begins to stagnate, it holds a stable population. When a Nation or culture is dying, its birth rate begins to plummet. The average number of children born in the United States per adult woman now lies at 1.66 children. In other nations, that number is even lower. Some nations, the number is decidedly HIGHER - but those nations tend to be less industrialized. Net result is this:
Either your middle and lower class can have sufficient children for the next generation, or they do not. Tax them too heavily, and their birth rates drop. Lighten the tax burdens and the family sizes increase. Kill them off in constant warfare, and either the women must bear more children per lifetime of a woman, or the nation's population decline is all but assured. If the burden of raising children suffers from the lack of available husbands and such - the population rebounds slowly (witness European population numbers immediately after World War I and World War II).
For a somber reality: It takes 2.1 children in modern times, to maintain a zero percent population growth. Anything below that means the population is shrinking. South Korea's fertility rate is .78 children per woman. Think about that for a moment. How long will it take for South Korea's population to halve when its replacement rate is only 1/3rd that required to maintain a zero percent growth rate? More importantly, how long can South Korea hold its current national boundaries should a nearby neighbor covet their land because their population is expanding?
As I've mentioned in the past threads - what is the difference between an Imperial Citizen vs an Imperial Subject? A citizen's rights are guaranteed by the Imperium's Government directly, and can not be violated by a lesser government. A Subject on the other hand, is nominally granted a set of rights by the Imperium, but whose rights can be modified or violated by the local government in contradiction to those enumerated rights enjoyed by Citizens.
In the end? I hope that the originator of this thread can agree that there is nothing insulting about "Yanks in Space" any more than someone from England would think there is anything wrong with "Brits in Space". The fun comes in to play when a Yank portrays a Brit incorrectly (or vice versa) out of - well, ignorance of that which the other is not intimately aware of. If someone says that the Third Imperium is "Romans in Space" then that' shorthand for "take a look at Roman society and try to extrapolate what it would be like if Roman culture had had space travel.
Yenaldlooshi
Cosmic Mongoose
... indeed, NO. The collapse was not something that was happening at all nor likely to happen before the Yanks entered these conflicts. Winston knew. The Japanese gave him what he wanted on a silver platter with the attack on Pearl. Don't forget, it was not just blood and treasure that the American's brought but also a huge navy of merchant ships to keep England propped up and alive till they could give even more. It was a very near run thing. The enemy force only became over extended by the fact that America joined in. Had America kept to its isolationist pre-Pearl leaning, then Germany would have been extended juuuust fine and the "doomed to defeat" arrow would be pointed at the UK. Seriously, have zero doubts about that. Don't fall for a "middle ground" fallacy about that truth.
The real irony that has not been mentioned in this thread is that the Imperium was never meant to look like "Yanks in Space", but rather it was meant to be "Brits in Space", specifically the British Empire as seen through, admittedly, through the eyes of a Yank known as Marc Miller.
Marc wanted to give his "Brits in Space" all the same military power that the real Brits had during the age of "The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire" aka the Victorian era. So he gave it a vast and competent navy and vast and competent army(marines).
Sadly, since modern Europe is so against all things military in their sensibilities, this appears to many as typical "Yank" glorification of their own military. In other words, they cannot see Marc's tribute and homage to their Victorian Age (not even after Space:1889 by his same company), and nor would they likely appreciate it if they could see it.
I mean think about it... Emperors? Royal courts? Dukes etc? These are not things Yanks have but they are things Yanks love about ol' Blighty!
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Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
According to most interviews it was the roman empire they had in mind - hence emperor, senators, dukes (dux) - from wikipedia
"In the Roman army, a dux would be a general in charge of two or more legions. While the title of dux could refer to a consul or imperator, it usually refers to the Roman governor of the provinces." sound familiar?
the history of decline and fall of the roman empire as it influenced Foundation also influenced the Imperium
"In the Roman army, a dux would be a general in charge of two or more legions. While the title of dux could refer to a consul or imperator, it usually refers to the Roman governor of the provinces." sound familiar?
the history of decline and fall of the roman empire as it influenced Foundation also influenced the Imperium
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
If it was the British Empire, the aesthetics would be a powerful navy, mercenaries, and a constitutional monarchy.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
He'd either be a Scot or a German.
Or Welsh, for that matter.
Technically, French.
Or Welsh, for that matter.
Technically, French.
Yenaldlooshi
Cosmic Mongoose
I stand corrected. Roman actually does make more sense. Wouldn't that make the Spinward Marches the British Isles though? And the Great Rift is the English Channel? OMG and Sword Worlds are literally just exactly what they are! (except more Rimward to Regina than Norway is to Britain).
Even Regina's name fits this!
And since the Spinward Marches consumed most of the geographic attention of Traveller, far more so than Core Sector, I can safely say we are back to "Brits... in.... Spaaaaaaaace...."! (I just had the wrong era. Instead of Victorian, Roman, like Sigtrygg said)
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The British isles were the end of the world, for the Romans.
On the other hand, the right one, anyway, Picts and barbarians.
On the other hand, the right one, anyway, Picts and barbarians.
Yenaldlooshi
Cosmic Mongoose
Exactly! As the Spinward Marches is the end of the world for the 3rd Imperium.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
At the risk of upsetting you the Spinward Marches are akin to the american colonies not wanting to pay their taxes for the war that just fought back the french and indians in order to protect those colonies from french dominion.
(go and read about George Washington's service in the colonial army, the seven years war against the french and indians and then the subsequent stamp act 1765 - it appears the american colonies were happy for britain to pay for its troops to defend the colonies out of the british tax payers pocket but didn't want to pay anything themselves... ok, that is a bit tongue in cheek, the british system was totally corrupt, the "rights of an englishman" being completely ignored now, mind you the working class of britain had it just as bad, but we never got our revolution)
The Ine Givar like to toss tea into jump space...
The Ine Givar are colonial revolutionaries...
which makes the Zhodani the french...
now it all makes so much sense.
<here's the wikipedia on the stamp act
en.wikipedia.org
(go and read about George Washington's service in the colonial army, the seven years war against the french and indians and then the subsequent stamp act 1765 - it appears the american colonies were happy for britain to pay for its troops to defend the colonies out of the british tax payers pocket but didn't want to pay anything themselves... ok, that is a bit tongue in cheek, the british system was totally corrupt, the "rights of an englishman" being completely ignored now, mind you the working class of britain had it just as bad, but we never got our revolution)
The Ine Givar like to toss tea into jump space...
The Ine Givar are colonial revolutionaries...
which makes the Zhodani the french...
now it all makes so much sense.
<here's the wikipedia on the stamp act
Stamp Act 1765 - Wikipedia
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Continuing on a theme, regarding "shorthand for..."
Do not go the route of assuming I mean to trivialize the United States roles during the War to End all wars (World War 1) and World War 2. The saying that history is written by the victors is very real, and everyone's history emphasizes their view of events. That being said, if you really want analogies - Japan's industrial might along with its more modern technological edge, plus a strongly motivated military - would be like a TL 15 powerhouse battling TL 11-12 forces. Population wise, its ability to maintain a war without access to resources and a war of attrition was unsustainable. The US was not a low tech low population enemy, to which it could engage the Japanese military on more equal terms - that plus an ongoing rage over the events of Pearl Harbor countered to an extent, the fanatical strength of the military. Meanwhile, on the Western front, England's Tenacity and resistance bought the US time to enter the war there, and pour relief into the British war of survival. As noted, it was a curst near thing we almost didn't show up in time. Had Britain fallen, the US would not have been able to enact any kind of D-day build up as it did, but from its own shores. My point still stands, the truth of the matter does not rest with one portrayal of history, but winds its way between his story and her story as told by individual viewpoints, and is found somewhat between the various narratives and viewpoints. It is a well known fact that fresh troops in a battle with battle weary forces - have an effect out of proportion of their numbers. The US had both fresh morale, as well as a large enough population base to wage a HUGE double front war, and a major transportation force to fight a war with extended supply lines.
There is more that can be added to this analysis, such as the resistance forces of those nations who were overrun early on, who forced both Japan and Germany to need beefing up garrison strengths desperately needed for front line battles. There were those subjugated factory workers who sabotaged the military supplies such that incendiary rounds fired by German forces failed to ignite, sparing lives of bomber crews.
Now extrapolate how an Interstellar war might need to be fought! Imagine entire Corp level units being rendered out of supply and unable to fight because they lack munitions or food or medical supplies - versus a local enemy whose military has supplies. If bombing your enemy back to stone age is not an option, then hindering their ability to supply their own forces will become a necessity.
In the end, the realities glossed over by broad brushstrokes of authors writing about Third Imperium history covers up a lot of details - some by design, and some through ignorance. As written, the Third Imperium ignores political reality, human nature and logistics. It is after all, a game.
Don't let some of us ruin your game stories because we like history or a more gritty approach that will by necessity - also contain inaccuracies! Those inaccuracies will be of a different bias is all.
Me? I tend to favor ROMANS IN SPACE. Imperial Enclaves exist where Imperial noble live - with those living on the soil of the enclave granted Imperial citizenship. Those born outside the enclaves are subjects - in effect, governed by the local power structure. On worlds without a moot presence, they fall under the control of various Ministries until such a time as those worlds qualify as Moot members. Said worlds are protectorates. But that's just my take on what it takes to make things work as hinted from 40+ Years of evolution for TRAVELLER.
PS - this is written using Kindle 10, its autocorrect may introduce spellings not intended by myself...
Do not go the route of assuming I mean to trivialize the United States roles during the War to End all wars (World War 1) and World War 2. The saying that history is written by the victors is very real, and everyone's history emphasizes their view of events. That being said, if you really want analogies - Japan's industrial might along with its more modern technological edge, plus a strongly motivated military - would be like a TL 15 powerhouse battling TL 11-12 forces. Population wise, its ability to maintain a war without access to resources and a war of attrition was unsustainable. The US was not a low tech low population enemy, to which it could engage the Japanese military on more equal terms - that plus an ongoing rage over the events of Pearl Harbor countered to an extent, the fanatical strength of the military. Meanwhile, on the Western front, England's Tenacity and resistance bought the US time to enter the war there, and pour relief into the British war of survival. As noted, it was a curst near thing we almost didn't show up in time. Had Britain fallen, the US would not have been able to enact any kind of D-day build up as it did, but from its own shores. My point still stands, the truth of the matter does not rest with one portrayal of history, but winds its way between his story and her story as told by individual viewpoints, and is found somewhat between the various narratives and viewpoints. It is a well known fact that fresh troops in a battle with battle weary forces - have an effect out of proportion of their numbers. The US had both fresh morale, as well as a large enough population base to wage a HUGE double front war, and a major transportation force to fight a war with extended supply lines.
There is more that can be added to this analysis, such as the resistance forces of those nations who were overrun early on, who forced both Japan and Germany to need beefing up garrison strengths desperately needed for front line battles. There were those subjugated factory workers who sabotaged the military supplies such that incendiary rounds fired by German forces failed to ignite, sparing lives of bomber crews.
Now extrapolate how an Interstellar war might need to be fought! Imagine entire Corp level units being rendered out of supply and unable to fight because they lack munitions or food or medical supplies - versus a local enemy whose military has supplies. If bombing your enemy back to stone age is not an option, then hindering their ability to supply their own forces will become a necessity.
In the end, the realities glossed over by broad brushstrokes of authors writing about Third Imperium history covers up a lot of details - some by design, and some through ignorance. As written, the Third Imperium ignores political reality, human nature and logistics. It is after all, a game.
Don't let some of us ruin your game stories because we like history or a more gritty approach that will by necessity - also contain inaccuracies! Those inaccuracies will be of a different bias is all.
Me? I tend to favor ROMANS IN SPACE. Imperial Enclaves exist where Imperial noble live - with those living on the soil of the enclave granted Imperial citizenship. Those born outside the enclaves are subjects - in effect, governed by the local power structure. On worlds without a moot presence, they fall under the control of various Ministries until such a time as those worlds qualify as Moot members. Said worlds are protectorates. But that's just my take on what it takes to make things work as hinted from 40+ Years of evolution for TRAVELLER.
PS - this is written using Kindle 10, its autocorrect may introduce spellings not intended by myself...
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
1. If you want to get mystical, the Spinward Marches are the Spice Islands, and the Consulate is India.
2. The British were unlucky, in that they didn't clearly clarify their red lines, didn't manage to bribe the continentals to fight on their behalf, and hadn't enough time between conflicts to recover and rearm adequately.
3. Ironically, not tooled up for total war, at least, not a continental one.
2. The British were unlucky, in that they didn't clearly clarify their red lines, didn't manage to bribe the continentals to fight on their behalf, and hadn't enough time between conflicts to recover and rearm adequately.
3. Ironically, not tooled up for total war, at least, not a continental one.
MaxTac Transfer
Banded Mongoose
It may be that the "funny foggy Island with made in germany ruling family" and it's subjects are closer geographically than "Bubba with the 10 gallon hat and John Wayne accent" but I have always seen the 3I as "British Empire, Victoria keeps Secrets Edition" and a lot of the Zho-Imps interaction as "Great Game". With "Wind and the Lion style" USMC added for fun and violence (1)
And found both boring and done to death. Maybe thanks to a certain SciFi novel set and it's "got to big for the story" heroine that was basically Horatio Hornblower in space (But did not stop where Hornblower did)
OTOH I am a big fan of the old Kung Fu movies. Where the description of once title took longer than the opening of Dempsey and Makepeace and the baddies had more titles than her family combined. So my 3I (that does not call itself 3I) is based on those old movies and memes. With lots of long coats and ceremonie and bushy eyebrows (beards optional) and levels of hierachy. And stuff like a split between the emperor (on Vland) and the bureaucrats (on Sylea)
Now sorry, the Lesser government official fourth class for the operations of the landing area for interstellar and in system ships in the imperial enclave wants to talk with me about my extended stay
(1) If I missed any cliche please tell and I will add it
And found both boring and done to death. Maybe thanks to a certain SciFi novel set and it's "got to big for the story" heroine that was basically Horatio Hornblower in space (But did not stop where Hornblower did)
OTOH I am a big fan of the old Kung Fu movies. Where the description of once title took longer than the opening of Dempsey and Makepeace and the baddies had more titles than her family combined. So my 3I (that does not call itself 3I) is based on those old movies and memes. With lots of long coats and ceremonie and bushy eyebrows (beards optional) and levels of hierachy. And stuff like a split between the emperor (on Vland) and the bureaucrats (on Sylea)
Now sorry, the Lesser government official fourth class for the operations of the landing area for interstellar and in system ships in the imperial enclave wants to talk with me about my extended stay
(1) If I missed any cliche please tell and I will add it
Yenaldlooshi
Cosmic Mongoose
The part I love best is that Washington was probably most directly responsible for igniting that conflict... and then years later he is leading the revolution of the next war that that came after, that is happing mainly due to the one he inadvertently put a match too years before. lol!At the risk of upsetting you the Spinward Marches are akin to the american colonies not wanting to pay their taxes for the war that just fought back the french and indians in order to protect those colonies from french dominion.
(go and read about George Washington's service in the colonial army, the seven years war against the french and indians and then the subsequent stamp act 1765 - it appears the american colonies were happy for britain to pay for its troops to defend the colonies out of the british tax payers pocket but didn't want to pay anything themselves... ok, that is a bit tongue in cheek, the british system was totally corrupt, the "rights of an englishman" being completely ignored now, mind you the working class of britain had it just as bad, but we never got our revolution)
The Ine Givar like to toss tea into jump space...
The Ine Givar are colonial revolutionaries...
which makes the Zhodani the french...
now it all makes so much sense.
<here's the wikipedia on the stamp act
Stamp Act 1765 - Wikipedia
Thanks for the link, but I have actually read that article many times over the years.
Here's the thing though, if your country, which has subdivisions in it gets into a war mainly due to protecting one of the subdivisions, if after you try to hold that one division accountable for paying for the war, you have now treated them as if they are not a part of your country. If America after WW2 said "Ok, Hawaii, you have to pay for all that fighting we did to protect you in the war" and taxed them different, then you are telling Hawaii they are not really part of the United States or put another way; "Britain, if we have to pay for the French-Indian War separately, anyway, why do we need you?" At that point, your province WILL want to be treated with as a full and independent nation.
Is that fair? Well, "Deserves aint got nothing to do with it".
Jetrock
Banded Mongoose
My Traveller universe was "Yanks in Space" in that everyone acted like 1980s Americans, because I was an American in the 1980s and didn't really have any other cultural references to work from. In playing the game from adolescence to early adulthood, my campaign style shifted from the simplistic "good Imperials vs. bad Zhodani" style of the 5th Frontier War era into a reversion to the ambiguous and collapsing Imperium--while I didn't care for MegaTraveller's decision to blow up the game setting (and TNE's decision to exterminate it utterly). The Spinward Marches as a mixture of nearly 1000 year old established worlds (still considered "new colonies" by Vilani standards) and relatively-recent settled worlds, plus a ragged edge of first-contact worlds highlighted in Leviathan, ironically an adventure designed by Brits, had the flavor of another American archetype--the Old West. Worlds were connected by railroads (the jump routes and mains) and wagon trails (the backwaters off the mains), with relatively-established new cities still dependent on their economic connection to the ancient cities of the older parts of the Imperium, the plucky new towns where life revolved around the train station/starport that brought almost all the news, freight, and new arrivals, and the remote frontier towns where only the most daring, desperate, and/or greedy dared to travel. So it's no surprise that non-Americans would react to that game universe as "Yanks in Space," and whether it's considered an insult or not depends on your cultural context for "Yanks."
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Yeah, I remember that seemed conscientiously pointed out in history.
The problem that the British parliamentarians had was that they didn't understand the colonists and human nature - you collect the money before, not after.
The problem that the British parliamentarians had was that they didn't understand the colonists and human nature - you collect the money before, not after.
actionman
Emperor Mongoose
(1) If I missed any cliche please tell and I will add it
"We are not gods, we are Solomani. And that's the next best thing."
