Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.gurps (More info?)
I was asked a question this morning regarding traveller deck plans and I
don't know the answer. Perhaps some of you have a viewpoint.
It was noted that the Free Trader (published in a very small scale in
GPD3e) is a handy ship for an adventure group. It can be run by as few
as six people and can carry over a hundred. It has the full range of
starship abilities (tractors, transporters, labs, phasers). It has gobs
of cargo space which can be converted into a lot of other uses such as
sleeping are for uncomplaining passengers.
The individual who asked the question thought we should take the deck
plans from GPD and print them in a larger scale for use in gaming.
The problem is that the ship is 50x68 meters. Printed in the "normal"
G-T scale, it would be nearly six feet long and over four feet wide for
each of three decks. Retail price would be over $50 and nobody has
enough room to set the thing up.
The individual in question thought that if printed in a smaller scale
(each hex would be 3/8 of an inch) it would be "just barely playable,
sort of" and would have the advantage of being the biggest ship for
which deck plans had ever been published. This would fit on ten 11x17
sheets (four for the top and bottom decks, two for the mid deck, maybe
two more for the variant arrangements of the cargo hold).
G-T players would never have seen such a thing, and I'm not sure (not
convinced) that it would be something they would be happy with on two
grounds: the ship is bigger than they need and the hexes are too small
for anything other than "point of reference" work.
If done "for mail order only" then using the really big laser engine we
have, we could print it ourselves and wouldn't care how may we sold, but
the market would be very limited. If done for sale in stores we'd have
to sink over a thousand bucks into it to print the cover and pay the
artist to do the crew art. I don't know that we'd make a thousand bucks
in sales.
My first instinct is to say "pity it won't work" and just move on but if
somebody else has a viewpoint I would be honored to hear it.
I was asked a question this morning regarding traveller deck plans and I
don't know the answer. Perhaps some of you have a viewpoint.
It was noted that the Free Trader (published in a very small scale in
GPD3e) is a handy ship for an adventure group. It can be run by as few
as six people and can carry over a hundred. It has the full range of
starship abilities (tractors, transporters, labs, phasers). It has gobs
of cargo space which can be converted into a lot of other uses such as
sleeping are for uncomplaining passengers.
The individual who asked the question thought we should take the deck
plans from GPD and print them in a larger scale for use in gaming.
The problem is that the ship is 50x68 meters. Printed in the "normal"
G-T scale, it would be nearly six feet long and over four feet wide for
each of three decks. Retail price would be over $50 and nobody has
enough room to set the thing up.
The individual in question thought that if printed in a smaller scale
(each hex would be 3/8 of an inch) it would be "just barely playable,
sort of" and would have the advantage of being the biggest ship for
which deck plans had ever been published. This would fit on ten 11x17
sheets (four for the top and bottom decks, two for the mid deck, maybe
two more for the variant arrangements of the cargo hold).
G-T players would never have seen such a thing, and I'm not sure (not
convinced) that it would be something they would be happy with on two
grounds: the ship is bigger than they need and the hexes are too small
for anything other than "point of reference" work.
If done "for mail order only" then using the really big laser engine we
have, we could print it ourselves and wouldn't care how may we sold, but
the market would be very limited. If done for sale in stores we'd have
to sink over a thousand bucks into it to print the cover and pay the
artist to do the crew art. I don't know that we'd make a thousand bucks
in sales.
My first instinct is to say "pity it won't work" and just move on but if
somebody else has a viewpoint I would be honored to hear it.
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