Learning through Play is normal

I struggle with some guilt being able to afford to learn through TRPGs and tinkering with IT. Learning through the structure of schools and classic or traditional education: Lectures, Route-memorization, Drills, and Exams I believe is the Outlier, despite the propagation of the method. 

Game in the Brain reflecting on the 12+ years of its existence and how I developed as a professional, as well as the community of Gamers, and tutoring my son gave me the conclusion of the following conflicts. 

• Learning through Play is normal and not a recreational luxury. In fact I propose that it is an equally valid way to learn.  
• That everyone will do many different things and different ways to learn something or exercise their thinking. Many gamers build worlds, programs, write or tell stories, immerse in worlds and stories. They happen to learn a valuable or technically relevant skill here. 
• That our motivations cannot be dictated! You cannot tell a person to like X or Y. You cannot force them or one's self to like or love something. Why or How we like things is a complex and irrational but natural part of being human. 

So as I write this, I always find myself reflecting on Systems and Processes. That an Engaging System is really just a GAME. That as I try to mentally diagram these processes I learn that everyone will approach learning differently and what developed from them is closer to what holds their interest - what they understand of themselves. That the engaging system, the GAME, is their understanding of themselves and pursuing their likes, adjusting and compromising their behavior, and comprehending the information and feedback they experience. 

That people cannot just be expected to act on "science" or "reason", and that their development happens as outcome of being engaged. That everyone is engaged and not engaged in life at any moment. That that's all not bad or good, but the nature of things and people. 

So much that luck and chance play a part - that I only need to push my memory and look at the times I feel disengaged that I can understand the time and place of things. 

Quick Combat Update - Fixed the Load Out Generator

200413 Quick Combat - Weapons and Armor

1. Added Quantities. I completely forgot to Make the Quantities column. So there was no way to put Multiple days of Rations. Fixed
2. Reorganized the naming Convention. Name + Grade. Grade coming from PMBOK which better describes how much better or worse is the item. Because Qualities are better in describing specifications and other elements of an item. Its easier to expend since I can use formulas for the Grades + Name and make various adjustments. 
3. Weapons Master Sheet (Using Query). 
4. Created Adaptive Tables for Ranged and Shields. So that when I add more Grades and make rule changes Its easier to apply them to the whole table since it uses formulas. 
5. ARMOR02 is now Loadout because what was just a Armor Piece Checkbox Sheet evolved to be the Checkbox sheet for the total Loadout. 

I should really finish the Sample Characters. I'm just going to go through with the system as is. Then review the characters. 

A common practice here in the Philippines and probably in previous times was that Employers would Equip personnel but deduct it from the Salary. I remember one of the books mentioned it long ago. So Auxiliary would be equipped with 100 silvers of equipment and it would be taken out of pay and people just accepted that, unlike now where there are laws and it can be subject to abuse. I'm sure it was subject to abuse. There was some debt slavery with the capital given out to lower classes. 

Status Stat	Mod	Wealth Multiplier	Salary Cap (monthly, 25 days a month)	Assets
0 to 1	-5	0.10	$2.50	$50.00	Marginalized
2 to 3	-4	0.20	$5.00	$100.00
4 to 5	-3	0.30	$7.50	$150.00
6 to 7	-2	0.40	$10.00	$200.00
8 to 9	-1	0.70	$17.50	$350.00	Raider/Auxiliary
10 to 11	0	1.00	$25.00	$500.00	Mercenary
12 to 13	1	1.50	$37.50	$750.00
14 to 15	2	2.30	$57.50	$1,150.00	Legionnaire
16 to 17	3	3.40	$85.00	$1,700.00	Guardsman
18 to 19	4	5.10	$127.50	$2,550.00	Sergeant
20 to 21	5	7.60	$190.00	$3,800.00
22 to 23	6	11.40	$285.00	$5,700.00
24 to 25	7	17.10	$427.50	$8,550.00
26 to 27	8	25.60	$640.00	$12,800.00	Esquire
28 to 29	9	38.40	$960.00	$19,200.00
30 to 31	10	57.70	$1,442.50	$28,850.00	Knight
32 to 33	11	86.50	$2,162.50	$43,250.00
34 to 35	12	129.70	$3,242.50	$64,850.00	Banneret

Computer Gaming Post. Insurgency and getting back to fitness and games.

It was funny last night in Insurgency - some really loud (Probably drunk, you can never be sure who people claim to be) Brazilian named GUSTO joined us. He was singing and using Counter Strike Global Offensive Tactics in Insurgency. He insisted on a bolt action sniper rifle, the M40, in a game where the Bots use swarm tactics, and there is no range as it is street to street fighting. It was very difficult to use such tactics. Even when I was already using a FAL 7.62x51 AP rounds and it still takes 2 shots to down (200ms tends to make me miss head shots more difficult). 3000J shots as compared to 5.56 at 1500J shots. 

I realize that I end up using the M16 because the reload time is faster which matters a lot on a bot swarm. I I've stopped using Autofire, A rhythm of adjusting for recoil and shooting again is a good habit.  

I started using a script that used the Long Distance Models (1/10 to 1/5 the polys/faces of the models used in the game; that made things look almost like CS:Source so that I can play with the guys. If my PC is not doing the "server" role i notice it had FPS of 70s. But if I run a game locally, so my PC handles the bots and more of the graphics, then my FPS is 40s. 

The wife was giving my son a pep talk about how he should act more mature when playing with his Titos (uncles, my Airsoft Team). Wilz was "baby sitting" my son during the game which I was really grateful for. I had to log out to let my son play because he was throwing a tantrum - so much like me at his age. 

Still I'm spotting bad habits of overextending, and having no displacement strategy. Having a 2-3 stage retreat strategy (extending to the threat area to shoot, and knowing when to pull back in redoubts). Bad habits... wish I could teach my son! lolz.. gen 2 of CTO. 

Also bad habit of no Ally Awareness, I think that is as bad if not worse as bad habits go. Getting too "kill focused" over being aware of my allies and their objectives is bad.  If you ask me at any given time: where are my allies and I cannot answer with enough information to join up or aid them then I failed. 

Its funny learning to deal with the 90° vision arc and the 30° to 15° calmly is hard. A lot of mindfulness comes into play. 

I hope with the treadmill being there I can return to some of the Conditioning levels I had prior to the pandemic. Working towards the 10lbs weight belt and then hope to get back to 14lb Weight vest. 

Updates to Quick Combat and Alternative Cepheus

200413 Quick Combat - Weapons and Armor; 200425 GITB Quick Combat - Combat Mechanics, 200419 GITB Quick Combat - Combat Mechanics, 200419 GITB Quick Combat - Test Characters, 200424 GITB Quick Combat - Basics and Characters

updated the following

• made the fighter equivalent of the rules modification: no-interrupting turns, one throw per turn, GM doesn't roll, etc... 
• updated the Fighting Styles: (google docs indexing)
•  Defense Fighting Style to Defensive Fighting - better Fail Threshold at Damage disadvantage or Advantage to Defense Roll
• Updated Protection
• Noted how the mechanics Work for NPCs (since GM doesn't Roll)
• Updates the GRADES. poor, regular, good, and fine. 
• Set up the Average Pay and Starting wealth. I have to mention that most "Employers" in Low Tech settings "Lease" equipment to warriors deducting it from their Pay and paying them subsistence (food shelter and kind) and some allowance. Its a practice that exists even today. 

Updates regarding to  200529  GITB ACE Notes 200616  GITB TL9 Ship Creation Notes 200510 Cepheus Engine Variant Rules 200607 Scout Creation

• Propulsion + Fuel + Life Support, Controls, and Workshop are the key to any TL9 Ship. See Lessons from Delta-V Daniel Suarez
• Mechanics for Workshops is going to be fun. Basically, it determines how much of the Ship can fully replicate itself and its LIFE (machine life) is the machine life of the ship. 
• This is from the realization that Asteroid Mining needs 3d Manufacturing in order to be profitable. This is because what it is really doing is reducing the Cost of bringing Material to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Instead of Mega or Kilo Tons of material from earth or any celestial body - its material from Space. 
• Once you arrive at an Asteroid - the material in the Asteroid will PAY for the cost of it being brought to the manufacturing hub.  

Lessons from Delta-V by Daniel Suarez

Some of my Take-Aways for the TL9 Game I'm planning to run based off of Daniel Suarez Delta-V. 

1. Asteroid Selection is based on the Fuel mass that can be used from the Asteroid. 
2. That Asteroid Mining is about bringing down the Cost of Materials in Orbit for Infra. It's not about BRINGING resources to EARTH but in Low Earth Orbit. 
3. SPACE tech that is relevant to people of 2020 are the following:
1. Improved Satelite Tech. 
1. More powerful
2. Easier to maintain
3. Easier to deploy
2. Materials formed in 0G and Vacuum. 
3. Biological experiments in micro or 0G. 
4. Materials formed with Asteroid Materials 
5. Manufacturing in 0G and with what is Rare on Earth and Plentiful in Asteroids. 
6. ECONOMICS of DEBT and running out of places to invest. Because capital hoarders take fewer risks as they accumulate more and more capital and thus the ability to create wealth diminishes over time without the frontier of SPACE. 
4. The challenges of space are the ADVENTURE, handwaving them away is just my own fears in learning the science and technical and getting them wrong. I should do something I have no Idea doing when no one wants to do it and so much to gain - my mistakes and misunderstanding will fuel the next attempt and iterations grow from there. 
1. I should plan how the Player Learn and Build Characters for this. 
2. Challenges like regolith toxicity, hazards like solar winds, radiation/rads, particle storms (from the asteroid), Investors, Competitors, 
5. Story telling for a GAME in TL9 is prep heavy because of the Time Scale. It is not Episodic like Traveller with the "World of the Week" it is a Campaign and project. 
1. It has to have clear goals. What kind of adventure do players want? How do I conform it to their TRPG expectations? 
2. Operations Schedules and Activity Details. 
3. Annualized and Total Cost of Ownership biz Plan. Novels like Delta-V and others are needed. 
6. I need to review what Metal 3d Printing they were using. 
7. List of Details that are Important, vs stuff that I can week. 

Simple Container Calculator - Bags, boxes, and Containers for your games.

Check Container Calculator Subsheet

I'm the kind of person who writes up his load out before going on a trip. 

Basically, I made a simple surface area calculator. Then I benchmarked the Weight and Carrying capacity of 511 and Aliexpress bags to create High, Middle, and Low-Grade Nylon Bags. Have a Cost to Weight Ratio, and just raised the "Thickness" of the material to use as benchmarks for the bags. 

You can easily elaborate the qualities and the Cost to the Weight of the container. 

Basically, get a container online and if it doesn't meet your Volume requirements use this calculator to extrapolate how much it will cost if it can hold more. 

SAMPLE Containers	(Volume)	Wt (Kg)	Cost	Notes
High Grade Backpack	(60L)	2.64	$264.38	https://www.511tactical.com/rush100.html
Rifle Bag 35", Middle Grade	(20L)	1.27	$31.77	https://www.511tactical.com/lv-m4.html
Rucksack, Low Grade	(100L)	3.72	$37.16	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32831182538.html

Almost every game session there seems to be some Lacking equipment in our Traveller game. I could probably make a spreadsheet of all the equipment and notes and then model them in blender and use the various cartoon shaders to be "ART" since I'm going for the Ghibli look for my games aesthetics. Growing up with a big crush on Nausicaa, Ghibli and anime has a strong influence on me. 

D6s can be very versatile as it can be a D3 and a D2. 

TL	Name	DMG	Wt
	Unarmed	1d2	0.0 kg
TL2	Brass Knuckles	2d2
TL3	Longsword	3d3/4d3 pi/sl	1.5 kg
TL3	Broadsword	3d3 pi/sl	1.0 kg
TL6	Steel pipe 0.6x0.02m	1d6 bl	0.5 kg
TL2	Shortsword	2d3 pi/sl	0.3 kg
TL2	Large Knife	2d2 pi/sl	0.2 kg
TL2	Axe	3d3 sl	1.0 kg
TL2	Battle Axe	3d3/2d6 sl	1.5 kg