The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Is it just me, or is there something ironic about a company, calling themselves Far Future Enterprises, releasing a reprinted version of a slightly anachronistic, venerably old science fiction game for the purposes of nostalgia? Maybe I am being a little harsh here as, to be sure, this has been one of the most interesting role-playing books I have purchased over the last 3 years or so. You can call it a blast from the past if you like, but there are moments of clarity within this book that, in some ways at least, belies the notion that gaming has come all that far since.

If you weren't aware of it, Traveller was the first ever science fiction game, originally released in 1977 specifically to act as a mature, generic science fiction alternative to the seminal Dungeons and Dragons game. I say this, and it may be of note to all marketers out there, with reference to the fact that as a role-player of some 12 years or so, I had barely even heard of Traveller until its owner company Game Designers Workshop went belly-up about 20 years after its inception. There was no major advertising, nor any eye-catching reviews that I noticed - Traveller it seems was already seen as an anachronism within the gaming community. The release of a fourth edition shortly after did, I feel provide some inspiration towards the glut of science fiction games released over the last few years, perhaps as much as anything to fill the void left by its departure. Traveller 4th Edition failed, as did the previous edition. I hope to address some reasons as to why in this review.

One attribution put forth towards Traveller's decline is that, nowadays as opposed to the past, it is background that sells games rather than systems. I am not so sure. I believe that it is presentation that sells books, background that sell more books, and systems that sell games. Classic Traveller is arguably the most innovative set of rules and systems ever to see print within the role-playing industry. You may, of course, wish to argue with this but before you do be prepared to burn any game that includes a skill system, technology levels, a single dice-type mechanic with calculated probabilities, star-ship template design, star-ship combat and manoeuvring using vectors, world template design, animal design based on their ecological niche, robot design, career-based character design, a computer system and an economics system. Traveller did it first. There is also a system for psionics too, although I myself question the validity of them within the context of real science. Overall this book oozes with, what would have been at the time, completely fresh ideas, breathtaking innovation, and elegant style.

To cap this off, we get an introduction chapter that, in my view, provides an introduction to role-playing and refereeing that is so well done that the RPGA ought to be issuing it to all households in the known world. All terms are neutral, there is no excessive use of jargon and a glossary; all aspects are written and explained from the perspective of someone who has never heard of role-playing before. It even gives effective advice on how and where a neophyte player can get involved in the game, and most importantly reasons as to why people actually want to play role-playing games, which means that we are not left fighting against the image that we game because we are social outcasts.

The rules themselves are interesting, as the core mechanic is surprisingly loose. Rather than providing a set system of task determination it explains dice rolling conventions and provides a table of probabilities for rolling target scores on various numbers of six-sided dice. The impression is that referees are simply invited to determine appropriate probability scores for any given situation. Specific systems, however, are given specific target scores as do the individual skills listed after character generation. It is also of note that difficulty modifiers (abbreviated like practically everything else to DM) which adjust the target numbers are not standardised outside of specific systems. I do not necessarily see any major flaw in this approach (flexibility can be a virtue after all) although a standardised task resolution (with a related nominal scale) and standardised DM's for characteristics in particular, does aid gaming by allowing the system to become intuitive. (I believe that this issue was addressed in later editions). The importance of having calculated probabilities and realistic simulations also seems to come to the forefront in this game, in a similar vein to that of GURPS. It seems to me that for every gamer who looked at the bell-curve distribution table of 3d6 in the Dungeons Masters Guide and thought "why the hell did they put that in!" there must have been another who thought "ooh, this is really cool!". This approach certainly aids the feel of it being scientific (calculators are encouraged within the book). However, if you are a gamer who is used to modern "storytelling" game systems you might find the whole approach exhausting.

The character generation establishes the pattern of the task resolution system, being the first specific system detailed. Firstly, characters are required to randomly generate (using 2d6) six characteristic scores (strength, dexterity, endurance, intelligence, education, social standing), and then proceed to take the character step by step through a career process, using dice rolls to determine success at getting employed, to determine if they get promoted and what skills are learned along the way. Some might find this randomised approach off-putting although I found it to be fun. I did need to read through the text, several times first, however. The careers are largely centred on military professions, although merchants are also detailed. More advanced systems for character generation, specific to these careers, are given in the supplementary chapters in the back. I noted with amusement that all other professions are listed together as "Other" and described as following "unproductive careers". I guess that includes doctors, lawyers, teachers and social workers too! What this does emphasise, in my mind is that Traveller, as in much sci-fi writing does seem to have a vaguely military-centric outlook, which provides something of a contrast to the vaguely left of centre outlook in other games I could mention. Not that I feel that this is a bad thing for a game, but it would be nice to have a few more character options. Again this was an issue that was addressed to an extent in later editions.

The characteristics are derived from the Dungeons & Dragons abilities scores, but with Wisdom and Charisma replaced by the suitably modern Education and Social Standing ratings. Constitution is also replaced by Endurance subtly allowing for use as a measure of willpower also. The choice of characteristics is good, balanced and comprehensive in their applications. They are measured on a hexadecimal scale (ranging 0-9 then A-F for numbers 10-15 )and presented in a defined order as a string of six digits called the Universal Personality Profile (UPP). For example, an average person would be listed as 777777, with a high intelligence they would be 777A77, etc. It is a pattern that is utilised throughout the game whether it is Universal Planetary Profiles (UPP again), Universal Ship Profiles (USP), Universal Robot Profiles (UBP), and so on. This approach is elegant as it allows a lot of information to be stored in a neat way without taking up a lot of room in its presentation. The personality profile is however, something of a misnomer, as there is no personality in it. I see no reason why a four digit personality scale (simply convert a Myers-Briggs system to hexadecimal ratings) cannot be bolted on to the end, thus: 777777-7777, whereby the last four digits would be personality scales of introvert/extrovert, sensation/intuition, etc. This I think, along with the skills obtained would be all that would be needed to flesh out the character to a level as good as any other, whilst retaining the charm of the presentation. It must be noted that there is a sense of repetitiveness within the chapters at the back as they provide more detailed character generation; these require more careful reading to understand and it can be frustrating for first timers.

For those of you hoping to get a comprehensive guide to Traveller's much admired extensive background will be disappointed with this book; there is barely any here (although it doesn't stop them from casually referring to aspects of it in the later chapters without defining what they are talking about). There may very well be another re-release book to catalogue this supplemental material, however. What you get in this book is fundamentally rules and systems, and yet because of this its use goes beyond just the narrow focus of simulating the one game. Each system mentioned above still works, and they are written with an approach that makes them suitably versatile. Traveller is Hard science fiction. It is not Hard because of the background it presents, the style of play or even the stories that can be told with it. Its Hard because it written with a genuine appreciation and understanding of scientific principles and procedures. It is the type of game with which you can utilise scientific journals and magazines for inspiration. It makes you feel like a scientist, and because of this it differs from games such as Star Trek and Star Wars, which I would classify as Hardly Hard science fiction (no doubt to howls of protest in the case of some trekkers). The material may, however, work well with game worlds such as Blue Planet, perhaps.

The presentation of the game comes across almost as if it is a technical manual, and in many ways it is. The original version, we are told, was organised into separate little black books and stored in a box. Indeed the last chapters books included in this book were merely supplements. I would have preferred them to retain this design feature in the reprints, although I recognise there may have been practical reasons as to why it couldn't. You will not find within this book extensive numbers of illustrations and artwork - I counted three drawings in all which are well done but basically irrelevant towards the layout of the text. You will not find an index. The text is however, very cleanly presented and well written (unlike 4th edition), there are numerous tables/charts presented and a good map. The boldness in the execution of this simple layout is a source of inspiration for any new game company, as well as any science fiction fan. Simple can be beautiful as well as inexpensive.

And yet I am filled with apprehension at the possibilities of a Traveller 5th edition, hinted at within the book. You see, I am of the opinion that Traveller did not fail because of any issues of meta-plot, complexity or any specific rule changes that occurred throughout newer editions. I believe it failed because it ceased to be seen as being innovative ; the new editions ceased to want to be bold, different and new . In the light of this view, I fail to see the point of releasing yet another version of the same game with a few bits tidied up here and there. By the end of this year we will have on the market no less than 3 Star Trek games, Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear and (underrated) Jovian Chronicles, Dune, Fading Suns, Trinity, re-releases for Star Wars, Blue Planet and SLA Industries (for cyberpunk fans; ostensibly Bladerunner meets A Clockwork Orange) There will also be a GURPS Traveller for those with a fixation on its background, as well as the superlative GURPS Space (for real Hard Sci-fi fans). Perhaps this is Traveller's legacy but somewhere amongst all of these will be a game to satisfy most Sci-fi tastes.

If Traveller wants to serve a purpose beyond nostalgia, it has got to be innovative again. There has been some talk of games being presented in a disk format in the future, along with links to on-line games on the Internet . Traveller is positively crying out for this, for aesthetic reasons as much as anything else. In a game which is discernibly not a "storytelling" book, there is no reason why 90% of the game couldn't presented in this format, leaving just an introduction and background booklet to go along with it. Indeed, I would suggest that the major bulk of people who would fit the targeted market of the game would have access to a computer. Also, by directly immersing people into game systems for character generation and the like, it will avoid the difficulties of attempting to communicate them with abstract

Books 0-8 The Classic Books - Traveller: Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future
Author: Marc Miller, Loren K. Wiseman et al Category: Company/Publisher: Far Future Enterprises Line: Classic Traveller Reprint Cost: $28.00 Page count: 256 ISBN: 1- 55878200-6 SKU: FFE 001 Capsule Review by Rory Hughes on 06/04/00. Genre tags: Science fiction Far Future Space Generic	Is it just me, or is there something ironic about a company, calling themselves Far Future Enterprises, releasing a reprinted version of a slightly anachronistic, venerably old science fiction game for the purposes of nostalgia? Maybe I am being a little harsh here as, to be sure, this has been one of the most interesting role-playing books I have purchased over the last 3 years or so. You can call it a blast from the past if you like, but there are moments of clarity within this book that, in some ways at least, belies the notion that gaming has come all that far since. If you weren't aware of it, Traveller was the first ever science fiction game, originally released in 1977 specifically to act as a mature, generic science fiction alternative to the seminal Dungeons and Dragons game. I say this, and it may be of note to all marketers out there, with reference to the fact that as a role-player of some 12 years or so, I had barely even heard of Traveller until its owner company Game Designers Workshop went belly-up about 20 years after its inception. There was no major advertising, nor any eye-catching reviews that I noticed - Traveller it seems was already seen as an anachronism within the gaming community. The release of a fourth edition shortly after did, I feel provide some inspiration towards the glut of science fiction games released over the last few years, perhaps as much as anything to fill the void left by its departure. Traveller 4th Edition failed, as did the previous edition. I hope to address some reasons as to why in this review. One attribution put forth towards Traveller's decline is that, nowadays as opposed to the past, it is background that sells games rather than systems. I am not so sure. I believe that it is presentation that sells books, background that sell more books, and systems that sell games. Classic Traveller is arguably the most innovative set of rules and systems ever to see print within the role-playing industry. You may, of course, wish to argue with this but before you do be prepared to burn any game that includes a skill system, technology levels, a single dice-type mechanic with calculated probabilities, star-ship template design, star-ship combat and manoeuvring using vectors, world template design, animal design based on their ecological niche, robot design, career-based character design, a computer system and an economics system. Traveller did it first. There is also a system for psionics too, although I myself question the validity of them within the context of real science. Overall this book oozes with, what would have been at the time, completely fresh ideas, breathtaking innovation, and elegant style. To cap this off, we get an introduction chapter that, in my view, provides an introduction to role-playing and refereeing that is so well done that the RPGA ought to be issuing it to all households in the known world. All terms are neutral, there is no excessive use of jargon and a glossary; all aspects are written and explained from the perspective of someone who has never heard of role-playing before. It even gives effective advice on how and where a neophyte player can get involved in the game, and most importantly reasons as to why people actually want to play role-playing games, which means that we are not left fighting against the image that we game because we are social outcasts. The rules themselves are interesting, as the core mechanic is surprisingly loose. Rather than providing a set system of task determination it explains dice rolling conventions and provides a table of probabilities for rolling target scores on various numbers of six-sided dice. The impression is that referees are simply invited to determine appropriate probability scores for any given situation. Specific systems, however, are given specific target scores as do the individual skills listed after character generation. It is also of note that difficulty modifiers (abbreviated like practically everything else to DM) which adjust the target numbers are not standardised outside of specific systems. I do not necessarily see any major flaw in this approach (flexibility can be a virtue after all) although a standardised task resolution (with a related nominal scale) and standardised DM's for characteristics in particular, does aid gaming by allowing the system to become intuitive. (I believe that this issue was addressed in later editions). The importance of having calculated probabilities and realistic simulations also seems to come to the forefront in this game, in a similar vein to that of GURPS. It seems to me that for every gamer who looked at the bell-curve distribution table of 3d6 in the Dungeons Masters Guide and thought "why the hell did they put that in!" there must have been another who thought "ooh, this is really cool!". This approach certainly aids the feel of it being scientific (calculators are encouraged within the book). However, if you are a gamer who is used to modern "storytelling" game systems you might find the whole approach exhausting. The character generation establishes the pattern of the task resolution system, being the first specific system detailed. Firstly, characters are required to randomly generate (using 2d6) six characteristic scores (strength, dexterity, endurance, intelligence, education, social standing), and then proceed to take the character step by step through a career process, using dice rolls to determine success at getting employed, to determine if they get promoted and what skills are learned along the way. Some might find this randomised approach off-putting although I found it to be fun. I did need to read through the text, several times first, however. The careers are largely centred on military professions, although merchants are also detailed. More advanced systems for character generation, specific to these careers, are given in the supplementary chapters in the back. I noted with amusement that all other professions are listed together as "Other" and described as following "unproductive careers". I guess that includes doctors, lawyers, teachers and social workers too! What this does emphasise, in my mind is that Traveller, as in much sci-fi writing does seem to have a vaguely military-centric outlook, which provides something of a contrast to the vaguely left of centre outlook in other games I could mention. Not that I feel that this is a bad thing for a game, but it would be nice to have a few more character options. Again this was an issue that was addressed to an extent in later editions. The characteristics are derived from the Dungeons & Dragons abilities scores, but with Wisdom and Charisma replaced by the suitably modern Education and Social Standing ratings. Constitution is also replaced by Endurance subtly allowing for use as a measure of willpower also. The choice of characteristics is good, balanced and comprehensive in their applications. They are measured on a hexadecimal scale (ranging 0-9 then A-F for numbers 10-15 )and presented in a defined order as a string of six digits called the Universal Personality Profile (UPP). For example, an average person would be listed as 777777, with a high intelligence they would be 777A77, etc. It is a pattern that is utilised throughout the game whether it is Universal Planetary Profiles (UPP again), Universal Ship Profiles (USP), Universal Robot Profiles (UBP), and so on. This approach is elegant as it allows a lot of information to be stored in a neat way without taking up a lot of room in its presentation. The personality profile is however, something of a misnomer, as there is no personality in it. I see no reason why a four digit personality scale (simply convert a Myers-Briggs system to hexadecimal ratings) cannot be bolted on to the end, thus: 777777-7777, whereby the last four digits would be personality scales of introvert/extrovert, sensation/intuition, etc. This I think, along with the skills obtained would be all that would be needed to flesh out the character to a level as good as any other, whilst retaining the charm of the presentation. It must be noted that there is a sense of repetitiveness within the chapters at the back as they provide more detailed character generation; these require more careful reading to understand and it can be frustrating for first timers. For those of you hoping to get a comprehensive guide to Traveller's much admired extensive background will be disappointed with this book; there is barely any here (although it doesn't stop them from casually referring to aspects of it in the later chapters without defining what they are talking about). There may very well be another re-release book to catalogue this supplemental material, however. What you get in this book is fundamentally rules and systems, and yet because of this its use goes beyond just the narrow focus of simulating the one game. Each system mentioned above still works, and they are written with an approach that makes them suitably versatile. Traveller is Hard science fiction. It is not Hard because of the background it presents, the style of play or even the stories that can be told with it. Its Hard because it written with a genuine appreciation and understanding of scientific principles and procedures. It is the type of game with which you can utilise scientific journals and magazines for inspiration. It makes you feel like a scientist, and because of this it differs from games such as Star Trek and Star Wars, which I would classify as Hardly Hard science fiction (no doubt to howls of protest in the case of some trekkers). The material may, however, work well with game worlds such as Blue Planet, perhaps. The presentation of the game comes across almost as if it is a technical manual, and in many ways it is. The original version, we are told, was organised into separate little black books and stored in a box. Indeed the last chapters books included in this book were merely supplements. I would have preferred them to retain this design feature in the reprints, although I recognise there may have been practical reasons as to why it couldn't. You will not find within this book extensive numbers of illustrations and artwork - I counted three drawings in all which are well done but basically irrelevant towards the layout of the text. You will not find an index. The text is however, very cleanly presented and well written (unlike 4th edition), there are numerous tables/charts presented and a good map. The boldness in the execution of this simple layout is a source of inspiration for any new game company, as well as any science fiction fan. Simple can be beautiful as well as inexpensive. And yet I am filled with apprehension at the possibilities of a Traveller 5th edition, hinted at within the book. You see, I am of the opinion that Traveller did not fail because of any issues of meta-plot, complexity or any specific rule changes that occurred throughout newer editions. I believe it failed because it ceased to be seen as being innovative ; the new editions ceased to want to be bold, different and new . In the light of this view, I fail to see the point of releasing yet another version of the same game with a few bits tidied up here and there. By the end of this year we will have on the market no less than 3 Star Trek games, Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear and (underrated) Jovian Chronicles, Dune, Fading Suns, Trinity, re-releases for Star Wars, Blue Planet and SLA Industries (for cyberpunk fans; ostensibly Bladerunner meets A Clockwork Orange) There will also be a GURPS Traveller for those with a fixation on its background, as well as the superlative GURPS Space (for real Hard Sci-fi fans). Perhaps this is Traveller's legacy but somewhere amongst all of these will be a game to satisfy most Sci-fi tastes. If Traveller wants to serve a purpose beyond nostalgia, it has got to be innovative again. There has been some talk of games being presented in a disk format in the future, along with links to on-line games on the Internet . Traveller is positively crying out for this, for aesthetic reasons as much as anything else. In a game which is discernibly not a "storytelling" book, there is no reason why 90% of the game couldn't presented in this format, leaving just an introduction and background booklet to go along with it. Indeed, I would suggest that the major bulk of people who would fit the targeted market of the game would have access to a computer. Also, by directly immersing people into game systems for character generation and the like, it will avoid the difficulties of attempting to communicate them with abstract

Books 0-8 The Classic Books - Traveller: Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future