Spreadsheets and Gaming. Cepheus Engine and MgT2.

Lessons Learned after reviewing Traveller and Cepheus Engine after my long hiatus.

1. Traveller is a game where you make a Biz Plan as part of due diligence. Unfortunately, when you make a biz plan you realize the "Standard" Passage and Freight Rates is ruinous for an Independent Biz Owner with a Mortgage (Ship /240). That's when you realize... #2
2. The prices on the book for Passage and Freight should be only applied for Commercial Liners and Gov't Monopolies. 2,000T to 1000T Liners who move goods and people normally in major trade routes. When to apply standard costs is very nuanced and has to be the GMs fiat/setting assumptions
1. 2.1 that Players and Gms really should just use Cost+Margin (Margin being Contribution Margin and Breakeven Analysis). this is Financial Literacy expected for people in r/Frugal r/Povertyfinance; this is very Working Class or getting out of Poverty basic knowledge which I hope doesn't give people stress)
1. Due Diligence (basic Research and Asking all the questions - "How would a Reasonable Person go about this). 
2. Cost-Benefit Analysis 
3. Contribution Margin
4. Breakeven Analysis
5. BATNA and  Opportunity Cost
2. 2.2. If the GM makes it Cost+Margin then Taxation becomes the next question. This is where Greek City-States Politics arise (Currently Listening to "The Last Greek" of Christian Cameron) - those capable of arming their Vessels have a tax and a duty to Serve the States. 
3. That the GM and Ref should have a sample set of Expenses as part of learning to run the Trade part. As well as assumptions other GMs have built-in and why. 
4. That shareable spreadsheets make the Job of Players and GMs easier and the that the easier to share system can ultimately have workarounds faster. 
1. 4.1 We quickly get to the part where Players and Gm both use their own business Literacy to build the WORLD. How the economics work and how some people are NOT THE SAME (corporations and their privileges and the margins they command). 
5. That Speculation is a Different Biz than Owning a Ship. Having realized #2 and subpoints and EXPLOITING that broken system speculation becomes the better option. Don't own a ship, owning a ship is for Suckers (if the GM doesn't use Cost+Margin

Fun things to do - Quick Model of Ships.

1. Making them vertical orientation like in the Expanse and Children of the Dead Earth. A lot of semi-streamlined Cylinders, Square/Hex-Tube ships. being a 3d Modeler was a farther lifetime ago.  
2. and Having a Gdrive folder sharing these models and Tutorials 
3. The 10 min one will take probably 1-2 hours in a week. the 90 min one will take a few of weeks of 1-2 hours which is beyond my attention span. The goal is to have a number of ships with sufficient lighting and Scale. 200T to 1,000T to 30,000T. There is a plugin that calculates Volume. about 15cubic meters for 1dton.