A superb book that bridges the gaps between the Golden Era, the Rebellion, and the New Era of the Traveller universe--then goes 50 years' further as well.
Re: [RPG]: 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness, reviewed by ShannonA (3/5)
I don't find it so much so any more.
<i>GURPS Traveller</i> has been largely neglected since GURPS4, while T20 has been largely neglected since 2004 (and with MJD no longer working with Quicklink, they'd need new talent to go forward). Comstar no longer has a license to publish 1248, so it doesn't exist any more, except for the two print publications still in some retail channels (and without any system supporting them). I don't feel like <i>MegaTraveller</i>, TNE, or T4 ever had much loyal fan support once the lines went under. I also never heard a lot of talk about the short-lived <i>Traveller Hero</i>, which I'd guess came unlicensed at the same time 1248 did, though I don't know that for a fact.
So that pretty much leaves Classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller. Though some grognards hate MongT with a passion, I'm pretty sure it's already become the dominant version of the game by far, and that's only going to increase with time, if Mongoose keeps it an active line through its entire 10-year contract. That's helped a lot by the fact that it seems largely compatible with CT; I'll write about any quirks in my AP once I try to run <i>Research Station Gamma</i>, probably in September, but I think I just need to keep a careful eye for any skill tests, and it'll otherwise run cleanly.
I suppose things could balkanize again if Marc Miller ever gets T5 out, but without a publishing & distribution house behind him, I'm not sure that's going to have much of an impact, except on the grognards who insist that CT is still the best RPG ever.
So, sure it was terribly balkanized in 2006 when 1248 was released, but I really think a lot less so just 3 years later, when this review came out.
Re: [RPG]: 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness, reviewed by ShannonA (3/5)
I'm one of the few (perhaps only) people who liked TNE more than regular Traveller, so 1248 made me very happy.
I think my thoughts on it are largely the same as yours, and I loved the massive amounts of explanation, history, detail, and interestingly well-defined ministates in this book.
What made me less than pleased, though, was the sudden, almost whiplash-inducing shift in the apparent technical base. In TNE, even the most advanced political entities like the RC just had small single ships venturing out among the virus-filled wastes to laboriously rebuild even a small interstellar empire from the ashes of boneyard worlds and TED-controlled planets. And yet the 1248 book is filled with colossal fleet clashes like epic Babylon 5 battles...and not just once, but repeatedly, as fleets get wiped out and rebuilt almost as an afterthought.
It just bugged me...
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Re: [RPG]: 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness, reviewed by ShannonA (3/5)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ANT Pogo
What made me less than pleased, though, was the sudden, almost whiplash-inducing shift in the apparent technical base. In TNE, even the most advanced political entities like the RC just had small single ships venturing out among the virus-filled wastes to laboriously rebuild even a small interstellar empire from the ashes of boneyard worlds and TED-controlled planets. And yet the 1248 book is filled with colossal fleet clashes like epic Babylon 5 battles...and not just once, but repeatedly, as fleets get wiped out and rebuilt almost as an afterthought.
I don't think that 1248 goes against what was actually seen in TNE, as I think that the continuity of the Regency (which *did* have a lot of ships) and the RCES (which didn't) is solid. However, I do think it went against the implications of TNE, which largely suggested that everything else was Wilds.
I'm willing to accept that, as I don't think the implications of TNE allowed for much interesting future history for a long, long time.
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