(hypothetical) What would you ask Dave Nilsen?

[LKW]

Here's one I can field:

"One thing I wondered about; (apologies if someone asked about this already) Did GDW have any plans for the future of the Islands Clusters in Reft Sector?"

No.


I realize my answers are not as lengthy or as entertaining as Dave's can sometimes be, but there you are.

 

[Border Reiver]

Short, succinct and to the point.

So what was behind Armor 21 and the rest. Just names drawn out a hat or was there real meat to these projects?

 

[LKW]

Originally posted by Border Reiver:
Short, succinct and to the point.

So what was behind Armor 21 and the rest. Just names drawn out a hat or was there real meat to these projects?

Didn't Dave deal with this one earlier?

Armor 21 came out of Dave's interest in the US Army project by that name, and was to be a serious miniatures game of the next generation of warfare. Had GDW stayed in business, the game would have come out, since this was (and is) an interest of Frank Chadwick and myself as well.

What do you mean by "the rest"?

 

[Border Reiver]

Names of other products abound....Planetstrike, Iron Dream, Regency Fighting Ships, Aliens of the Rim volume 2.....?

Were there other GDW projects on the go...other First Battle games, Europa, resurrection of the 2300 franchise for house rules?

I'd better stop or I'll start to sound like a fanboy at a con. But there's probably a good list of questions about your GDW and SJG days which everyone would love to hear.

I'll just add how much I'm looking forward to Interstellar Wars, even though I don't play GURP's, after managing to co-run a TNE campaign set in that era back in 93 (the summer I went civvie) and had a great time using Brilliant Lances to play out fleet actions.

 

[LKW]

Originally posted by Border Reiver:
Names of other products abound....Planetstrike, Iron Dream, Regency Fighting Ships, Aliens of the Rim volume 2.....?

Nothing written down on any of these, as far as I know. Dave and Frank probably had thoughts in the back of their mind about what they wanted to go into them, but after nearly a decade, I'm sure nothing substantial can be reconstructed.

Were there other GDW projects on the go...other First Battle games, Europa, resurrection of the 2300 franchise for house rules?

Frank was no doubt thinking about other First Battle projects, but board games were in the process of dying at that time, and I doubt GDW would have done too many more for a while. There has been a rejuvenation lately, but nothing like their former glory.

Europa had been sold to GRD long since, and was no longer a GDW concern.

There were thoughts about reworking 2300 AD, Dark Conspiracy, Space: 1889 and other RPGs into the GDW house system. I don't believe anything was ever put onto paper beyond a bare outline for any of them.

A comment on the way Frank worked: He was like Mozart in the movie Amadeus. He would just start writing, like he was taking dictation on something already completely written. His outlines were seldom written down. For someone like me (I have a permanent case of writer's block), it was infuriating and awe-inspiring at the same time.

It often needed revision and editing, and always needed spell-checking, but his first draft was pretty substantially the final draft.

 

[kafka47]

LKW, thanks for taking up the gauntlet. Just a few that have nagging away...

I was rather hoping to get his impressions on 1248 and ask him about how the two visions jive.

Also, I was wondering the fate of Star Vikings in the plan that he set out in his universe.

Could he elabourate more on his view of psionics, as I am not entirely clear by his distinctions about point identity.

If DGP is/was viewed as forbidden canon, then why is the Regency sourcebook littered with references to DGP products, are we to take it those references as having being official, as in the OTU.

What other expansion products were in the works, in terms of expanding beyond just the Regency & RC campaigns.

Just who was the Empress of Solee and what are her origins.

Did he plan to jump ahead to a different timeline or plod along 1200-1210? eg. when you would have got MJD's manuscript would you have said...yikes! we need to go 1248.

Clearly, Marc knew that there had to be a fourth imperium before we ever knew about it...was there any plans in the GDW timeline for a 4th Imperium.

How ommipresent was the Virus going to be once the Star Vikings had their friendly virus and highjacked the highway by making contact with Oasis?

Could the Regency have survived the onset of the Empress Wave intact, and if so, would it then lay claim to the Wilds.

What of the results of those Pocket Empires from Beyond and Vanguard Reaches.

Do you plan ever to come back and write for Traveller in any of the companies?

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by kafka47:
If DGP is/was viewed as forbidden canon, then why is the Regency sourcebook littered with references to DGP products, are we to take it those references as having being official, as in the OTU.

DGP only became "forbidden canon" after Mr. Sanger became involved. Consequently, at the time of the Regency Sourcebook, there was nothing forbidden about DGP material.

As a result, any DGP item that has been repeated in GDW product is completely fair game. It is only DGP items that only appeared under DGP copyright that is "forbidden".

This means that all items in the Regency Sourcebook (and, for that matter, MTJ#3, which has the 1117 UWPs for the entire Domain of Deneb) are all fair game and can be used, as they were published under GDW copyright.

Could the Regency have survived the onset of the Empress Wave intact, and if so, would it then lay claim to the Wilds.

Earlier in the thread Dave indicated that his intention was for the Regency to be stressed to the limits, but that it would survive and succeed. Unless he came up with a better idea.

 

[kafka47]

Daryen, I was hoping to tweak out of him, what that better idea might be. Whether, this knowledge was lurking in the back of his mind or just now has been flushed out.

Additional questions, with the merging of RPGs in GDW under the House Rule and crossover things like Twilight Nightmares being produced was there any idea to crossover Traveller with another gaming system?

Would there have been room for the Traveller Rennaisance Campaign that can be downloaded off this T20 website. Did he recieve the manuscript?

What other versions of Traveller were being dreamed about and what were the products that you would have liked to see produced that never seemed possible.

Why not any adventures for TNE in the order of something like the Traveller Adventure to wet the appetite of newbies and orient them better to the milieus?

In his universe, what did become of Lucan?

If Paul Brunette could be approached to write the backwards mask, could he issue a formal apology so that both sides of the fence can be fixed and maybe someone could then get the wretched (this taken to mean wretched in the most positive of ways) novel published.

 

[LKW]

Originally posted by kafka47:
Daryen, I was hoping to tweak out of him, what that better idea might be.

I'm pretty sure he had no specific notion. You'll want to have him say that, of course . . . : )

Additional questions, with the merging of RPGs in GDW under the House Rule and crossover things like Twilight Nightmares being produced was there any idea to crossover Traveller with another gaming system?

I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean did we intend to convert all the GDW IPs over to the GDW House System? If so, the answer is yes, eventually.

If you mean did we intend to do one-off Traveller/Horror books, there were no plans for such a thing.

If I've totally messed up the question, perhaps you could be so kind as to rephrase it?

Would there have been room for the Traveller Rennaisance Campaign that can be downloaded off this T20 website.

Not sure I know what you are referring to. Is that the "Proto-Traveller" notion I've been reading about?

Did he recieve the manuscript?

Do you mean to ask did he download it? I'm pretty sure he did not. If anyone sent it to him, he hasn't mentioned it to me.

What other versions of Traveller were being dreamed about and what were the products that you would have liked to see produced that never seemed possible.

I had several backgrounds that never saw publication, but which I would have pitched (or re-pitched, in some cases) had GDW continued. I'm sure Dave and everyone else at GDW did too.

Don't ask what mine are . . . It's still possible I might be able to to sell them elsewhere, and revealing them in a public forum might spoil a potentially lucrative (to me) deal.

In his universe, what did become of Lucan?

Wasn't Lucan eaten by a berserk (i.e., virus-controlled) robot agricultural machine in TNE?

If Paul Brunette could be approached to write the backwards mask, could he issue a formal apology so that both sides of the fence can be fixed and maybe someone could then get the wretched (this taken to mean wretched in the most positive of ways) novel published.

Please tell me what fence(s) need to be mended. I don't follow internet rumors, so I may be unfamiliar with this specific one.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by LKW:
Not sure I know what you are referring to. Is that the "Proto-Traveller" notion I've been reading about?

Sir,

The Rennaisance(sic) Campaign Kafka is referring to is a post-Rebellion setting. A document detailing it and its timeline can be found in the Moot.

'Proto-Traveller' is a project exploring the 'downsizing' of the OTU. In it the 3I is reduced in size from ~23 sectors to ~6. The other Majors are shrunk too. 'Proto-Traveller' is also loosely linked to CT 'upgrade' project.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by LKW:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by kafka47:
Daryen, I was hoping to tweak out of him, what that better idea might be.

I'm pretty sure he had no specific notion. You'll want to have him say that, of course . . . : )</font>[/QUOTE]Dave did say that. Earlier in the thread, he said that those (the ideas he wrote in the thread) were his plans, unless something better occurred to him later. Obviously, nothing occurred to him later, or he would have written it.

Now, if you are looking for him to come up with a better idea now, I doubt you would get that. He has more important (to him) things to think and worry about, and he would probably defer to MJD at this point.

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />
In his universe, what did become of Lucan?

Wasn't Lucan eaten by a berserk (i.e., virus-controlled) robot agricultural machine in TNE? </font>[/QUOTE]Nah, that was Dulinor the Usurper.

Dave did talk briefly about what was behind the Black Curtain. I think he made some kind of reference to Lucan, too.

 

[LKW]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by LKW:
[qb]Not sure I know what you are referring to. Is that the "Proto-Traveller" notion I've been reading about?

Sir,

The Rennaisance(sic) Campaign Kafka is referring to is a post-Rebellion setting. A document detailing it and its timeline can be found in the Moot.

'Proto-Traveller' is a project exploring the 'downsizing' of the OTU. In it the 3I is reduced in size from ~23 sectors to ~6. The other Majors are shrunk too. 'Proto-Traveller' is also loosely linked to CT 'upgrade' project.
</font>[/QUOTE]Ah. I am reminded of the TDR (Traveller Done Right) fan discussions of many years ago. They almost managed to settle on the shape of the table they were going to sit down at to discuss the agenda.

The Proto-T discussions at least seem to be progressing better than that.

 

[Jame]

Woo hoo, Proto-Traveller. We don't even have a map!

I wonder what Mr. Nilsen thinks of P-T?

 

[LKW]

Originally posted by Jame:
Woo hoo, Proto-Traveller. We don't even have a map!

I wonder what Mr. Nilsen thinks of P-T?

I'd be surprised if he's heard of it. He doesn't read much on-line outside of his business needs.

 

[Jame]

Originally posted by LKW:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jame:
Woo hoo, Proto-Traveller. We don't even have a map!

I wonder what Mr. Nilsen thinks of P-T?

I'd be surprised if he's heard of it. He doesn't read much on-line outside of his business needs. </font>[/QUOTE]Eh, if he has a chance to come back here it can be one of the many questions we have. In the meantime, business must.

 

[parmasson]

By LKW

Ah. I am reminded of the TDR (Traveller Done Right) fan discussions of many years ago. They almost managed to settle on the shape of the table they were going to sit down at to discuss the agenda.
The Proto-T discussions at least seem to be progressing better than that.

We are gonna have to talk about that table sometime.

 

[Jame]

It has to be round and square! No, no, I mean red and blue!

 

[LKW]

Spoke with Dave, and he regrets not being able to find the time to post here. Don't expect him any time soon . . .

In the meantime, any questions for me?

 

[JavaApp]

Originally posted by LKW:
In the meantime, any questions for me?

Airspeed of of a laden swallow?

How do I get out of this chicken**** outfit?

OK, seriously. Here's a entirely personal question:

If you had never GM'ed a Traveller campaign before, and had the entire spread of material, canon or otherwise, what sort of campaign would you run, and what scenarios, campaign books, supplements and rules would you use?

JavaApp

 

[Border Reiver]

In the meantime, any questions for me?

Yes..Yes...YES!

ok

damn.

I've gone blank.


Wait ok,

Could there ever be a metric English language version of GURPS Traveller? It really is the only thing that puts me off.

Where are they now? If anyone can, you must be the one that can update what the GDW emeritus are up to now. Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, Timothy Brown, Charles Gannon (an English lit. professor?), Dave Nilsen (actually we kinda know), anyone else you can think of?

Qua iam peregrinus? Without giving anything away, what would you like to see published for Traveller (any version, any era)?