Trade off: Mneme Definitions has to be simple enough for me

 Sadly I cannot simplify enough that its accurate to how professional scientists can use it, while being something I can follow. Reminds me of trying to understand Accounting during our EPRnext migration, and always breaking it down to concepts I can grasp. 

Mneme Definitions of Planet > Dwarf Planet > Minor Planet > Asteroid > Meteor (Still a work in Progress)

When the GM or the Player arrives in a Solar System (another term that needs to be defined in a world builder) they can typically detect a number of Significant Bodies. 

I'm playing with Jump Points being in the L2 of the Second Largest Body (which can be a Companion Star) in a Solar System. And when they Jump into a System they are in the relative stand still in the L2. 

Most of the "Capitals" of a System are Terrestrial Worlds comparable to Earth - what in Mneme defines as a Planet. But some can be dwarf worlds the size of Earth's Moon Luna (because Moon is a category and relationship, defining natural satellites). Its possible to be a Capital on a Asteroid comparable to Ceres. 

When rolling Super-Earths (planets greater than Earth in mass) this triggers a roll on a table that is limited to Asteroid, Dwarf planet, and Planet.  

The Star Determines the Planetary System Roll (how many significant planets can be detected).

Scales are fucked up - When a classification (like Planet, Dwarf Planet, Asteroid etc.) has magnitudes of 1000x different from the next class my brain get confused and cannot process differences of 1000x. So I tried to round off to the closest steps.  

I had to make IN-GAME terms for the sizes because I've simplified it by MASS because mass is the main driver for all of this. By this - how a Solar System is Formed and what determines planets in the Inner and Outer regions. Why Outer regions are exponentially farther out than Inner Planets. 

Note that MASS is the main metric of Ships, Trade, and Delta-V. I am simplifying it in a way that I can follow the science and since I do this part-time - I have to make it easy for me and people I will have to explain to by distilling it to the main factor. 

I'm considering using Heka (hundreds, E+2), Kilo (thousands, E+3), Mega (millions, E+6), Giga (Billions E+9), to scale the mass and transactions. Particularly in measuring Ships, Asteroids, Habitat, Bases and Stations. A helpful metric is remembering 1 ton of water fits in 1 cubic meter of volume, and that as densities go - it has a 1 ton/ m^3. And that scales as 1L of water is 1kg, or 1 ml of water is 1 gram. I love how metric scales easily and makes conversions easy. Especially when we scale up and scale down. Kg of micro meteors damaging kilotons of ship.  Like how cargo vessels are off in the Hundred Kilo Ton scale or Orbiters and shuttles are in the Heka to Kilo ton scale. 

Then consider distances, which are in the Astronomical units, and delta V which are in the m/s. These all scaling properly to avoid miscalculations. 

Condensing what I've learned about Solar System Formation

 On the table of Worlds: 

1) Terrestiral Worlds (0.1 to +7 Earth masses) is a 30% Chance

2) Dwarf Planets (0.1 to 7 Moon Masses) is a 24% Chance

3) Asteroids (01.1 to 7 Ceres Masses ) is a 16% Chance. 

When ever rolling a Giant (Ice Giants like Neptune or Uranus, Gas Planets, Hot saturns, Hot Jupiters etc...) this triggers a second roll for Terrestrial, Dwarf, or Asteroid. 

Habitat is Simplified in a Table for Dwarf and Terrestrial. the 2D6 table just gives types of words in these Category by their "habitability" Starting with their Position in the Solar System* to their 

*If rolling a Ice or Gas Planet which cannot be closer than the Freezing Line/Snow Line this alters the Host Planet - making it a Hot Saturn/Giant. 

Its fun to imagine the birth of a Solar System: Lighter Volatiles flying farther out Creating Gas and Ice Giants 40AU*Stellar Magnitude , while Heavier Elements and Metals staying Closer. Condensing into their respective planets the way a prospector uses the different masses to filter for gold on a river. 

Then random stuff happens - from Collisions, Captures, Ejections (accidental Gravity Slingshots) - Browning Motion scaled up to the size of Planets and the Time scales of Millenia to Millions, and  Billions of Years!   As well the Stellar Systems Passing Through Clouds cosmic Dust and Gaining mass, elements, and variances to their Relationships.   

Then imagining the TL6-TL9.0 Civilizations from TL7 (2000AD) Earth Economies Sizes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_world_product?wprov=sfti1 (0.01 to 100,000x 80Trillion USD GDP)

Ship Building Update - World Builder outline.

 progress update for an ORBITAL shipbuilding system: there needs to have some WORLDS to launch from and land into. Ill make this a Small paid booklet for Feb or March 2022. It will come with Blender Files for the Planet Building and Spreadsheets for speedy creation. 

Once the World Builder is set up - I can go back to the ships because the Star Ports and the Infra will depend on the Worlds. From TL6 Ports to TL8 Ports that's about probably 200 years of human tech development. I'll just throw in the world builder free with the Ship Builder Book. 

Tentative Outline

1. Step 1- Roll World Type 2d6 (Column) and Mass 2d6 (Row)

1. Around 7-8 different types worlds.

1. Gas Giant

2. Asteroid Group

3. Ice Planet

4. Terrestrial Planet. Assumes 0.1 earth masses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega-Earth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-Earth 

1. Ocean Planet

2. Dense Atmosphere Planet 

3. Terrestrial Planet

4. Note that Radius and Gravity will be determined after. The Planet Types (Density) + Mass determine a range of Radius and thus Gravity.

2. Step 3- Roll Habitability relative to humans.

1. roll 2d6 but check a table for habitability; gas giants are not included in this roll. 

2. World Types - a table of the habitable planets

3. Rows indicate level of habitability. 

1. First is the Habitable Zone. 0-5 is outlier of the habitable zone. 5+ is In the Habitable Zone. Some planets like Iceworlds cannot be in the habitable zone. 

2. This really measures the biosphere and will determine the Placement.

4. These can be 2-4 pages, each holding 2-3 columns.

3. Step 4 (2 rolls) - Roll for Stars. Classification 4d6-4 (0-20). Roll for Magnitude (Brightness). 

1. Type,  Stellar classification - Wikipedia spectral type (OB-AFGK-M). 0 for OB, and 20 for KM. 1-19 is spread out proportionally equally. 

2. Mass

3. and Absolute magnitude - Wikipedia

4. Tables of Outcomes. Class, Mass,

5. For Calculation: Magnitude (Energy Output determining the Habitable Zone, Snow Line).

4. Step 5 - Roll for additional Major Points of Interest.

1. the Mass of the Star determines how many points key points. With dwarf planets and planetoids barely being detected. Basically what TL7 and TL8 Sensors can detect jumping into this system. 

2. The closer to the median the more points of interest. 

5. Step 6. Rolling the other Worlds based on Point of Interest.  

1. You get a different table for World Type because this is not focused on habitability and being within the goldilocks zone. Circumstellar habitable zone - Wikipedia 

6. Step 7:  People Universal World Profile - Traveller 

1. Special infra Like Outposts, HQ, etc... (adds a TL 9 outpost)

2. Roll Technology Level. TL5+ (TL 5.1-9.2)

1. TL6 + (5d6/7 rounded) 

3. Roll Starport. 

4. Roll Population

5. Roll Gov’t and Law level.

6. Roll Economic Factors: Resources and Condition (Developing, Emerging, and Developed Status).

Drawbacks and Problems that will hopefully be Tackled in the Future.

1. More Accurate Planetary Description.
1. Planet's Age, History, and Notable aspects.
2.  
2. Sector and Subsector TABLE. Stars are the common population of a Sector or Subsector, the Promiximty of a Sector to a Dark-matter, Giant/Hyperstar, Black hole, etc... all influence a sector and would be great world-building - but unnecessary.
3. City/Community Builder is needed. Additional Details.
4. Ideally, a Blender Workflow to make Planets Procedurally

Spreadsheets and Blender files is a weird add on to TRPG books. It assumes the GM can use it or knows someone (freelancer or player) who can use it to make more detailed materials. The spreadsheet though if it can make the process faster is always good. If the GM just opens the sheet and can start making Content with it, that's great for the GM and the Game.

Working on a QUick Chapter 12 update for a Ship Building

Challenges is I dont need to improve the World Generation by Much. Chapter 12 of CE improvements I need to make are the following:

1) World Types - roll for the World Type  (2D6-2)

Terrestrial (Silica/Rock worlds), Ocean/Ice (Not to be confused with Ocean covered, where liquids make up the mantle), Gass Dwarves/Giants,  and Rare world on a 1/36 (not representative of rare worlds). 

In billions of years gravity makes stuff into a sphere, the densest elements sink to the center, 

The basic Write up for each world type and its role in the Economy and what it would be like on the surface - a if this is the PRIMARY world then it tends to be for X purpose. Gas Giants as a primary world is for its gas mining, Ice worlds are for the frozen volatiles it keeps, Desert worlds its relative habitability if its atmosphere is near 1atm, etc.... 

IMPACT on ORBITAL launches and landings. ICE worlds, Gas Giants/Dwarves, Terrestrial Worlds, etc... 

 

2) Roll for the Size of the World - this determines the radius, gravity, and significance in the system. That MASS is the major driver for a system. Mass determines how much of the orbit is clear of asteroids, how massive the planet has become, the complexity of planets composition, the  asteroids it intercepts, etc... gravity reminds me of Like-to-Like magic. 

3) Human Habitability determiens how much infra exists in the World already if the world is naturally inhospitable or how far from earth like it is if there is within the same terrestrial category. 

Write up for Habitability per World Type as well as the provisions and infra needed. 

no more hydrography, nor atmospherics, type and mass kinda determines these early on. 

Stuff I couldnt fit in: 

1) Stellar Mass and Type. this determines the orbits, goldilox zones, the distance of Gas giants, total mass of asteroid zones. 

2) More detailed world building beyond Mass, Type, and Habitability. I'm making this for the ORBITAL aspect of the Shipbuilding booklet. Its necessary that all the planets that are DIFFERENT are different. 

SCOPE AKA WORK

1) the write up of the planets 20 hours. key details being "What do PCs encounter in this world" not just the Mono Climate zones of earth. 

2) A spreadsheet that calculates the Radius based on the Density of a Planet type. Earth is pretty dense at 5.5 metric tons per cubic meter = 5.5g/cm^3 (benchmarks are <1 for gasses, water is 1, 2-4 for rocks/silica, 7 for iron, T/mT) . estimate is 20 hours.

On hiatus because of the many end of the year work wrap up. Hope to resume after Jan 8 2022. 

2-3 hour games: Players help each other and the GM

This is a part of an ongoing reflection of running games when you have very little time left because of real life. 

Games are primarily a conversation, particularly the player narrating something that engages them strongly. Placing their character in a situation they are strongly conflicted about: it is not just something they like but something where their character has stakes and but their character's personality (人物性格）and history/background (来历). 

This means that in a 2 hour session, the GM has to set up something that will get the Player to engage and narrate. 

If you've tried to control meetings and realize topics tend to be uncontrollable in scope. Meetings with substance that cannot fit in an email are 1.5-2 hours long.  We talk about concepts as dense as world-building and character history and motivation in most Biz Analysis meetings. 

So how do we prepare for such games? Again the principle of a PLAN tells us if we are need to change what we are doing means we write down the inputs, actions/processes, and outcomes we intend.  So we write down our plan for each player and ideally arrange that in a MAP or Diagram. 

On the diagram we map the 3 phases of the adventure (expectations/set up, the conflict/violation of expectation, and the outcomes that pay-off the players). 

A box/process (in chinese process can be translated as 经验，经过，to go through is easily confused with the concept of experience) we name this our PCs/Players and place them working backwards from their outcome to conflict and what input or expectations will trigger a particular experience in the player. 

 Keeping it Simple. 

Just write the Hook or the Outcomes for the Players and their Characters. Someone wants to feel heroic and tough, someone who wants to feel smart, someone who wants to feel charming, etc... know what each player wants to feel to get them into the adventure. 

Then helping them get there. This doesnt have to JUST be the GM - get the players to psycho-analyze each other, this also helps the GM by making the players already know some of the plan to get another players pay-off and helping it along. The Players all help each other get to their character's pay off, not just the GM. 

GMing with a strong improvisation and trying to buy in a PLAYER is a lot of emotional labor, the GM has to arrange it that other Players help in the emotional labor. It is incredibly wasteful (inefficient) when the GM buys in each player - like he or she is performing some service - its the group and all the other players playing along and getting everyones characters into position AS well as helping the GM pivot or improvise when the conditions change.   

Lets not just have fun, lets help each other figure out how to have fun. 

Specific Actions: 

1. Give the GM feedback on their observations what would make another Player enjoy the game. 
2. Give the GM options how a scene will play out and its consequences that push the story towards the GMs intent. 
3. Perform Actions that help other Characters enjoy the game more: ask them for aid, give the Character a reason to help or participate. 
4. Tailor a scene or situation (framing) it favorably to the target player. 
5. its ok to be transparent that the GM is trying to get them to THIS conflict or scene, how we get there. 
6. Hangout just preparing for the game, earlier or after session to help make the future games better. 

reiterating Admin Skills in games no. 8

Basically I have Admin that grants an Advantage to other peoples rolls by using Quality Management and various Logic principles. Its funny when in Games people dont know how Management is supposed to work - they see it as someone to ORDER other people around - they doesnt grant bonuses to rolls. 

Duude Admin is kick ass, support character like a BARD but in real life. Also jack of all trades, any task can be better organized even if the task is entirely unfamiliar. Have uncertanity - then you will have trial and error, but can trial and error be optimized: HELL YEAH! admin

A lot of IT is trial and error, especially in Developing World conditions. Trial and Error have best practices found in PRoject Management (PMBOK). PMBOK is under Admin. Heck the simplest HACK Admin performs is REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT (under Quality Management) - ensuring what is the minimum requirement and optimizing resources (Resource Optimization and Critical Path/Chain are under PMBOK and QM and under engineering). 

DO X, and Requirements Management negotiates what is the mininum cost to quality of X, to perform more tasks or free up more resources. There is always scarcity and QM/Admin optimizes this. Who'd thunk that a Skill in Organization is great in a world of constant Entropy? 

How does it affect me in the real world: example would be the Data Protection Act, the equivalent of the EU's Data protection act here in the Philippines. I have to scrounge for resources and propose a business case: business case how this makes us Better Off in a tangble manner. SO MUCH of business is making an action's utility higher as to break even or even thrive. right now I'm determining budget and business case, relying on data to get stakeholders to grant me resources. ideally using the forces of self interest. 

In Game its not supposed to be "Game Breaking" Admin is near useless without Resources, the other PCs with special skills. even PCs without useful skills COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE prevents bottlenecking - when one PC is devided between many critical tasks (using the skill you discover what is still the optimal arrangement despite not being able to allocate that most skilled PC as well as map what skills are needed to avoid this bottleneck). 

NICHE PROTECTION is not needed in a Game that considers Admin - characters with overlapping skills can not only be used as redundancy but to INCREASE the yield or outcome of a particular Competency area. A GROUP of hackers, thieves, fighters etc... will be optimized to do more than ONE skilled person can do until we hit diminishing returns. 

Does a GM need to be an MBA or Engineer to do this? HELL NO! every minmaxing munchkin is already studied in the basic principles of Resource Otpimizaton and Management Sciences. Being a gamer is already a start as we can measure and monitor, and it is just applying fundamentals in a higher level do we start using these at higher levels. 

Reflection on Arcane and Notes on Storytelling

After getting out the Arcane Haze, how do I make a scene as emotionally involved without violence or a fight? 

scene: 

Kessler Syndrom - a cascading debris field in Low earth Orbit. This can happen when too much material is destroyed and enters LEO. 

the Crew is scrambling to survive this and the cast of heroes are making sacrifices and rolling the dice. 

foreshadowed flaws and complications are payed off in this scene where our PCs are going to decide what they are going to do. 

its where the Saints falter, and the sinners have a change of heart. The thing is when we look at a story board analysis - we decide if this is a story with mary sues or with mortal flawed characters. Here it would be awesome if the GM was a great speaker or narrator, BUT since its just a bunch of friends playing it doesn't require a mat mercer - it just need a bunch of friends telling a great story.  

the sub-scenes play out, PC to PC as they play out each major decision. Each scene setting up the next character and complicates the payout/payoff. GM wise this is really hard in a technical game - because the stakes are tied to an understanding of the world. 

For example the debris field of a gigaton structure can shred and destroy everything in LEO. the audience needs to know the options of escape and what else is at stake - habitats, travellers being caught up, etc... Same goes for a Solar Storm, or Radiation Storm. 

The GM and Players this would be hard - it would be easier in a writing team to iterate given a time budget and storyboard. Although the GM and Players can PRESS PAUSE and ask them how would this look as a Cool scene? Its having to give an answer immediately that makes things not work as well.

Arcane Season 1 (Spoilers)

I really like the detail and animation, I can notice that Jinx nose is painted on the 3d model as compared to Ekko. I wish my set up could play it higher resolutions - some youtube videos are playing it higher than my firefox browser. 

the powder vs ekko scene is strangely my favorite. I know there was more exchanges in the other fights. but watching the Enemy music video where ekko and powder always playing together being very close seems to make it the most emotionally heavy fight. 

I like the formula in the Analysis - setup-pay-off but the pay-off is also another setup by complicating it. You can plot that tension curve as part of an outline and iterate over and over to get the emotional elements right and consistent. 

I like in the last third they were doing more "slow" to emphasize the speeding up (check out the Studio Mihoyo Henkai cinematics  videos youtube: Honkai Impact 3rd Animation - Final Lesson '; you can find a lot of the videos in their channel) 

I found the earlier fights too fast. 

The closest to making something like this at one individual level is storyboarding. The analysis and the planning that goes in the scene typically is broken down backwards with the key emotional notes identified then the GM working back - it can be asking the player what is this character about and whats at stake and the dice outcomes. 

I just remember when I used to story board back when I was an artist. Its here were you make the "every frame a painting" kind of decision. Some scenes don't translate well, some do. The team doesn't have time to go back - because it may need to go back and edit everything. Note this is a Mixed Media 2d + 3d - they cannot redo a shot at a different angle. Continuity means having to reshoot a LOT if an idea doesn't work out. 

Being patient - slow progress

 With the Expanse ending I really should hurry up. The Cepheus ship generation system that makes harder scifi ship got side tracked -  I realized I cannot emphasize the differences between Orbital (surface to orbit) if I didn't make Worlds that emphasized these. So ships designed to carry a payload to orbit vs ships that travel intrastellar space.   Given my age, another barrier for entry is that this complexity needed to be simpler through a simple Google appscript that generated the world on click (main world vs other worlds)  People pay not just for the inspiration but the tools to make it accessible. A regular traveller gamer with the same tools need to take only FUN hour or less to learn the difference and the transition (a youtube video that walks through the entire toolset will come later on).   The actions that make the person aware of the assumptions of the different system need to defined. Reminds me of migrating our accounting system to periodic to perpetual - and a new software - a different world where things work differently but is much easier After the learning curve.

 

My main barriers these days 

1) are my week nights being reduced as we prepare for easing of lockdown - getting new Gov't ID, fixing stuff in the house, things for the kids. My son's filipino studies have been interrupting my work, as it takes me an hour to build him an Anki deck.

2) work has picked up as we are now transitioning TO erpnext. This is a project that I'm documenting so that small business can adopt it. I'm now juggling students, ojts, and laying the ground work that we migrate some systems by end of year And by next year at Feb we have OJTS I can train. 

I need to study google cloud, cloud sigma, and Alicloud on Feb -  and this is making me anxious.

 

nicco is pretty much building all the 3d assets for all the art. Enough to get the idea across but I will hand over the other tasks to him when I get too busy.

I have on the drawing board the outline of the world building appscript. I didn't realize that I have to plan out every script and where I'm going to get the other scripts (from learn Google spreadsheets channel and which videos). 

I need the plan because when I get into the weeds I end up going in circles. Also it is to process my anxiety and uncertainty. I always am optimistic only to realize I forgot some key things.

This past week's I've been busy with family matters. When I work on this I'm conflicted when I don't spend more time with the kids. I want the book out but I don't want it at the expense of hanging out with my kids.

Bankrolling all this with my own money -  instead of buying any other thing for recreation I just invest more on this. It helps that it's self funded. I'm lucky I can afford to set aside funds for this. 

 

 

 

Javascript Appscript for my Stellar System generator

 Sword and Cepheus Character Sheet that Links to DISCORD REDDIT.

PorterPirate sheet is the biggest progress I've had with Javascript Studies. 

Basically right now I'm trying to make Stellar System Generator because I need to populate the Sytems where ROCKETS are going to take cargo and passengers to ORBIT. 

One of my Problems is my Exploding Dice requirement which is 1D6!/2 

I need to be able to RUN it. I need to Automate the Stellar System Creation even if it could be a TAD more realistic like GURPS Space. 

My policy would be: Don't make a system as Complicated as GURPS Spaces system generator if your not going to Automate it. Automate it and ideally Comment the shit out of it to help people Modify it. Comment it like I'm trying to explain it to me when I was 11. 

Below is using the Browser's Console to execute the Dice roller I learned from Programming with Mosh. 

This is the Grasshopper.app I use to test it out. My problem with the Android version is that I cannot type stuff in. It prevents me from tying up Math in Android.  I tried studying this with my Son but he got board and I need Exercises that really made me apply it to GAMES immediately. 

my google Doc of Notes on Javascript Studies

My Milestone here is to make my Stellar System Generator - a modified version of CE's World generation. Enough that I can higher a freelancer to make a more elaborate version and people can learn to code with it. 

Now that I've learned how these Editors Work I can hopefully have an easier time learning Python as well in the future. 

1. Stellar System Generator Sheet (First it has to be Sound enough that it can be implemented as a Software, this is my experience as the IT head and Quality management System head of the company - It sounds reasonable until implemented and this is how I check if it is reasonable)
1. Worse case scenario i can hire a freelancer to help me with the Sheet but I think I can do it all. 
2. Write it out in GDOC
3. Make a Ship Generator Sheet.
4. Write it out in GDOC 
5. Then Generate the Common Ships. 
1. Included are basic ship assets. 
6. Then Blender Model the 3D Assets.
7. Nicco can polish the art and the text. 
1. While I finally scratch that ITCH of a CE (MNEME variant) character generator I always wanted to make.  

I imagine a Simple Browser Tab open for the GM to Randomly Roll of the Many Procedural Tables in CE. 
"Oh crap I need an NPC" 

"Oh crap I need a Patron"

"Oh crap I need a Complication in Orbit" 

"Oh crap they just killed the BBG, I need another one" 

"Oh crap the side job was too easy." 
"Oh crap I have nothing prepared."

One of the things I realized is that make it EASY but have a Procedural Generator for a Complication to generate. 

Update: Suit and ship mostly finished.

 

1. The ship is 50% Finished
1. Needs to be Rigged and Shader optimized 
2. The suit as well, 50% the remaining is the rigging for animation and posing. 
1. Still needs to be shader optimized. 
3. I finished a Planet Generator that allows for Cthonian and Gas Giants or Dwarfs etc... using the Planetary Types and Size in Wikipedia. My material is going to be designed to compliment Near Space. 
1. Planet generator is one component of the WORLD GENERATOR. which needs me to randomly determine also the Habitability (Atmosphere and Hydrographics), Population, Resources, Tech Level: and other derived stats like Final Population, Law etc... Dont worry you will get a Spreadsheet that outputs to a table you can easily cut and paste to a Document for your players. I don't consider it PLAYABLE if I cant play GOD! (by building worlds in less than 2 minutes with the spreadsheets. 
2. Near Space would be a Perfect Procedural game where Solese discover another civilization they cannot detect as they discover FTL and arrive. The gm can run scenarios like Interstellar Wars of early Traveller, Horror, Mystery, Intrigue, etc... Players can ask the GM to roll up a plot. 
4. Remaining is the rest of the World Builder 
5. I have to Invest in various Shaders to TRY THEM OUT. Shaders are the paid add ons that indies make. Genishin Impact shader is https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/9nrrR/genshin-impact-character-shader-for-eevee Until i make my own shader from scratch I cannot share the genshin impact shader. Its possible though that I can commission a shader to be made in Fiverr if I sell enough and that shader will be open-sourced. I have to try Lightning Boy Shader https://lightningboystudio.gumroad.com/#aYbiH but that's 30usd which is 3 days minimum wage here in the Philippines. the Genshin Impact one is a Fastfood meal to Try. And I got intimidated with the Lightning boy Shader - what more non 3d background people who will get these as part of the book. 
6. After the World Builder (spreadsheet and written rules) which may take 2-3 more weeks I can proceed to the fucking ship builder because I've pretty much figured it mostly out but no play to Play the Ship. 
1. Wow the end users have a TL6-TL8 Ship generator where can they take it? they can slap it on to their game and pirates or primitives. They need a place to use the ships. A way to adventure in INTRAstellar space. Thus world builder. 

left is newer version, right is first draft

playing with Evee and Freestyle

Funny thing - what did i expect?

bought a CE skill list. on the file it had 24 MB and I was like, wow  a different skill list for pay what you want. Ok I might as well give this person 1usd (a meal here in the Philippines) and it really is a Skill list... as in just like the one in the CESRD...

looking at the positive I charged almost 1/50th at copper level (50 sales) how much it took me to make my stuff. I'm just learning so I hope I'm 20% of even if I can make a product I believe will get Gold 500 sales and Profit at Adamantine. I think what we produce will save GM/Referees 20% of their prep time relative to their play time for the details they want to take on. 

its funny that I'm an IT head with an Arts background with a passion for Hard Scifi - who wants to run Case Studies - PCs trying to make money - and applying my 3rd World biz Experience in all the special insight practices someone whose family biz deals with the Gov't. I hope the tools make it that people will go "Hey why not - some guys all the way in the Philippines made it cheap". 

I believe the more Open Source tools - anyone can commission any artist or technical to make material for their games - maybe a Solar System Builder in GODOT or character generator or ship builder.  Taking the tools others made and building it up to greater and greater heights. The BASE of more assets will create a virtuous cycle. 

I can imagine people using Freelance Services to Animate and produce their Games into Shows! or just preserving an awesome Game Scene - and that one of these scenes will become its own show - but 99% of everyone else will have something they can share when they played their game. 

Problem and Opportunity: Why less Efficient and Cheaper Boosters First?

Question:  Should Referees require players to calculate how many and how big the Boosters do they need to Escape a 1G world? 
Answer: No. The Referee only needs to know the Price of the Services to get them out to orbit, if their Ship is not Full-Escape Velocity Capable. its basically the Mass Tons of the Ship and the factor of the Gravity. 

Questions: Ships Cannot just land and Escape 1G Worlds? 
Answer: Yes. Some TL9 and everything below cannot simply escape 1G. In fact the Types of Starports and Economics will change a bit. Mathematically its just adding a couple of Zeros in the Population and the Size of the Economy of Worlds with Down Ports that Expect Interstellar/Intrastellar Trade. 

TL9 is special, the way metal is special in DarkSun, or Gunpowder is special, or Magic is Special. 

Questions: What are the Implications. 

1. I have to use the UWP of the world to determine the Administration Cost to Orbit. Notes in the World Codes to help the GM price the Admin fees. 
2. Orbit Capable Downports in 0.6G+ worlds will have a huge Economy around it. Worldbuilding wise this is as important as a Space Elevator. (Space Elevators are TL8). Just adding 000 or 00,000 zeroes to the Populations and the economics of the worlds. 
3. Remaking all the "Common Ships" using the Spreadsheet in the new Shipbuilding Rules for TL6 to TL8 ships. The spreadsheet has gone through 4 Versions already, niccos MGT2, my MGT2, my CE, and my Current mass-based Shipbuilding which will be called Mneme Ship Design Variant for Cepheus Engine.  
4. Adding the Space Infra of Heka KTon and Mega Ton Habitats, Networks of Tethers, etc... 
1. How to use the Ship Building Rules for this. 
5. Changing Combat Doctrine with Auto-Cannons, Gyroc EM Cannons, TL7 and TL8 Lasers, ECM, Mass Launchers and Receivers, Point defense Missiles and Cannons, Grapeshot Missiles and Missile clusters (100mm missiles bundled in a 400mm case). I did something like this before basically I took Ultra Tech and Examine all the Optimal Strategies and their costs and Mapped out every increase of potency and effectiveness one can squeeze out of a TL. Probably 4 pages of equipment and 6 pages of Doctrine Notes - a table of all the options so the GM and the players are not Blind Sided by Best Industry Practices (this takes out of immersion if the Doctrine or the Best practices and where they breakdown is not known by the designer; its hard to prepare a Military campaign when the unknowns and knowns are not clearly laid out).   
6. The hardest parts the Change in Operations 
1. Launching into Orbit are the Nailbiter rolls.
2. Pushing the Limits of the Ship are the Nailbiter rolls. 
1. Gravity Slingshots and Skidding on the atmosphere
2. This would be maxing out the KM/s of the ship and using AIR BRAKES to slow down! 
3. Entering Rad belts to Cut corners. 
3.  Making the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Ship a spreadsheet that takes less than a Minute to Fill up or a Written process that takes 5 minutes to do the quick math (back of the envelope math)
4. I'm making sure Trade and Operations Notes are in one place and all the Tables are there. 
7. All the 3d Assets are available for GM and instructions how to render it into scenes for your game. 
1. Includes a Crew Suit I made (TL8) free and Creative Commons for people to use for their games - it comes fully rigged for posing. 
2. The ship is Rigged for Posing also, from opening bay doors, and landing gear. (Nicco will do commissions for custom ships and animations for games). 

Kickstarter Milestone. Number of sales is for bonus material. I'll see if I can do this model where I use the number of sales to fund future improvements. All old and future versions will be sold to people who already bought it - i will just keep adding more files to download - (the price might increase though so those who got in early get the best deal  - like mount and blade when it came out in Beta and i was able to participate). I can do this because I have a day job as an IT head and Plant head so (Not much i earn less than working class in the US, but comfy enough to afford services to make this better, my project management skills are what makes this RPG project different). 

Current Challenges

1. Why is the Less Efficient Thruster used to Boost? I don't understand the logic? I don't know how to model it in a Cost Efficiency method - controlling for the factors of Fuel Costs why is it better to use a less Efficient Booster and save the more efficient boosters for 50-100km up? I know the players don't need to be bothered by that but its distracting not to know. 
2. recovering from a flu, I tested negative in an RNA-TPCR test. Still feeling unuaully sleepy earlier in the night. 
3. the Anxiety on my Art investment - It seems Im doing the art first because I need to see a "200dton" or a 1400m3 ship really does fit 10 cabins and enough fuel, engine, and cargo to reach orbit and transit. 
1.  a 1400m3 Ship Docks to its 200mT spinhab powerplant, radiator, and ion drives, and Nuclear Thermal Rockets it all has to make sense on paper and on the 3d. One of the mistakes made was not fully visualizing the process and the assets would be awesome to animate using Lightning Boy's Cell Shader if I can get it to work. I need the Books Ready to play not just Ready to build worlds. 
2. Fortunately, Nicco can help me write once he's done with the art. But I'm tempted to start counting my chickens before it hatches by funding his Lightnin Boy Cell Shader studies so we can do it for all the assets. 

Learned the rocket equation. Been sick.

Yesterday I learned the Rocket Equation, instead of simply calculating burn Time and adjusting the mass for every second in s spreadsheet because the Rocket gets lighter as it burns through fuel.  Scott Manely had an old Video about it. 

1. I hit a problem as I cannot reach 15,000m/s with just Raptors without making the Entire ship 90% Fuel. 
2. I tried simply adding boosters and I hit the Tyranny of the Rockets Equation: "there is a limit to the amount of payload that the rocket can carry, as higher amounts of propellant increment the overall weight, and thus also increase the fuel consumption.^[7] ". 
3. I started googling which lead me back to Delta-V budget, which references the Rocket Equation... which I didn't understand until I tried to design a rocket on paper that would reach 15,000m/s. This lead to discovering the Awesome Delta-V Map https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Solar_system_delta_v_map.svg  which lead me to review how much I really needed. I didn't need 15,000m/s - that's if I'm straight from the surface to leaving the planet - which we take for granted in Traveller - I just needed 9.6 or 10.6 km/s 
1. Just Enough to get a Ride from a Space Tether... one of my favorite Scifi Concepts. 
4. Travellers with a 1000 Mass Ton ship with Antiquated TL7 Boosters will need to pay the cost of  Booster Rental (which is about 500,000usd x 4 for 2M) to get about 5km/s and then blast the rest of the way with their high Impulse (Specific) aka Efficient Rockets to Low Orbit (Not saying earth because this is not only about earth). 
1. The boosters will fall away and begin their Automated descent 
   as the Travellers climb they see other such services being conducted, scattered in the horizon 2-3 other ships being launched to Low orbit the way Planes in the sky are common occurrence. 
5. As the Traveller reaches Low orbit exhausting much of the 1000 MT ship's fuel, they pay for the Services of a Tether to travel either to Geosyncronous Orbit or Lunar Transit for Refueling. the Ship will be paying for fuel twice because of the gravity well. They feel the skyhook catch the ships anchor and begin to hurl them forward accelerating. the Sound they hear is conducted through their suit into their vacc suits. the Ship master having booked some passengers and cargo on the moon a week earlier is hurled that direction. 
   
   
6.  The Tether hurls the ship another 2Km/s (used to change orbit) and the ship begins another 1Kms burn to reach Lunar orbit and be caught by another Inertia Tether to slow down when they arrive. The Travellers take 4 days to arrive on the moon along the way shedding KMs as they encounter tethers that will slow them down where they will refuel and link up with their Habitat Ring, Radiators, and Fission Power. 

So my tests came back and its not Covid. still the wife and I are quarantined to protect the kids. Hope to be able to focus more by next week, the 25th. 

Missiles and Scale. Checking the numbers.

 Imagine a 400mm diameter missile made up of a ring 8 60mm solid x 3000mm rockets. Inside its core is a barrel for a 60mm x 500mm APDS round, HE, or smaller shotgun/grapeshot rounds of tungsten and depleted uranium.

It is launched with a burn time of 10 minutes. Being able to reach 36Kms at 6Gs and firing the 60mm round at 3kms

Fired and with its tiny computer, it will fire based on the predictive algorithm the gunner encoded. It will fire where it will predict the target would be within 1 second (as everything is traveling kms per second) factoring all the factors and vectors affecting it.

A magnetically assisted launcher hurling 8, one of these every second as the ship burns and flips, the missiles sending a spiraling tail at a pursuing Raider. a hundred Kilos ejecting pushes the ship the opposite direction. 

The raiders turrets activating near the speed of light seeing the signatures - firing 35 of a similar ringed missile - a missile ringed with smaller missiles that explode with directional fragments as point defense. And the smaller missiles ringing it ignites as it exists the turret - separating in the spreading out to explode close to the missile it seeks to intercept.

Crew feel themselves against their seat belts as the ship spins to point more turrets at the incoming missiles. Their trajectory altering from the Reaction mass.

9000m3 (ton) ship being chased flips to burn several time to confuse the predict models of its future position.

The pursuing raider unleashes Emp head 7 600mm x 7000mm missiles as the preprogrammed engagement range kicks in. Missiles with 80Kms burns are launched throwing the ship back.

This all happens in 2-3 seconds as both systems are preprogrammed based on each of their crews estimates.

In 6-8 minutes everything will happen, and they will know if they're dead or alive only after making the system checks if they are able to be conscious. 

A second before they black out from the centrifugal force of a spin - they can feel the heavy vibrations of point defense cannons hurling 3 hundred kgs of 20mm rounds. Human brains blacking out, and distorting the sense of time.

Hard Scifi - Why would you want to Play with Rockets in a TRPG?

 Do you remember the number of rolls you make as you leave the Star-port and Roll for Jump. The Risk of a Misjump? A game designer who wants to make ROCKETS and hard Scifi fun needs to be able to tell an engaging story and challenges of a Crew and Ship - escaping from a Gravity Well. 

Escaping a Gravity Well. This is one of the scariest things in a Cepheus Engine TL6-8 Setting. Second to that is the Radiation Belts and the Flyby and Slingshot. The Players need to roll for supplies and maintenance, making sure the ship is ready - and then the Players roll if they have Problems when the Launch, or Boost towards their destination. 

I guess this is why I'm taking so long - my strengths is not in storytelling but in Logistics and Planning. I'm the guy who gives the Plan for Executive approval - the executive in this case being the Players and Referee. Do you like my work and research and think you can use it for your game - Do you think these challenges are exciting for the Players? 

As we move towards TL8 TL7 Commercial Space Flight will mean wearing more HATS. your logistics expert, your crew, may have to do more work with regards to the Preparation of a Ship to Launch not just to Operate the Ship as it travels 14kms escaping earth gravity. 

I have to give you, the referee and players, problems in a way you can solve and feel good solving or juggling. It has to feel like a real space project and program but not too complicated that you throw the book I wrote.  

Remember that the FAILED launch, the hardware problems IS the adventure. A rocket launch that doesn't involve a TPK means this is one of the monsters the players have to beat. 

The RULES we study and create for the GAME signify what matters. I will write the following: 

1. A way for you to roll a rocket launch or begin your month long trip.  
2. Listing the Problems and Challenges and giving CONTEXT to these - they can be thorny troubles or serious crises. 
3. CONTROLS - options for the Referee and Players in how to solve problems. 
4. World Building and Doctrine - impact of the technology and practice, and economy. World building helps build stakes - because it gives PCs their Place in the world and what can be reasonably expected. Expectations set up stakes - from the payoff, benchmarks, risks and opportunities the players will encounter. 

Sizing Ships - Part 1

 

My process is so cumbersome and slow. 

Here I am comparing visually the scale of a 8:1 cuboid and cylinder. 

They tend to the 8-7:1 ratio used for Maritime ships because of the Thrust potential. 

1. It cant be too long because it does "Flips" where it will burn to re-orient. 
2. It can't be too thick, because of the way engines are pushing on it. You can't have an Engine Push on a smaller point of the square or thick cylinder - you would need side structural strength to be higher. You want it always spread out because of the Thrust. Thrust makes them cuboid or cylinders. 

Below is a 1000 volume Ton or vT and a 3000 vT shape. It looks like 3000 dtons is the sweet spot and I may be making the ships around 7.2m cross section or 3.9m radius at a Long endurance Scale. 

Ships are designed to travel for Weeks up to a Year. Anything unable to hold enough supplies for such are "vehicles" or "small craft". 

I cannot Use the regular Encounter 2D roll because its tapers off at the ends. I need a Randomizer that gives me the Common FIRST then the rarer occurrences later. I typically use 1d6!/2 round down. Which gives a distribution making the higher numbers rarer and the lower numbers more common. Since its a Roll20 formula  is easy to automate this. Its going to be a simple table where there is a Base probability and the higher the Traffic the Rarer events become more possible. Took a while to research this probability curve for both its simplicity and doing whats its supposed to do. 

What you see is 1000m3 (60DT), 3000m3 (200DT) and 10,000m3 (600DT). 

What am I doing?
1) Doing the math is one thing, TOO OFTEN, I check in 3d and REALIZE that I got the math wrong because the proportions are out of whack! So I always Check the 3d to make sure these numbers make sense - One thing to know 2.8m radius and 50m length, another is seeing it and having a person there for scale. 

2) I am going to Throw out the 100dton per Turret Rule. Sensors, Comms, Drones, etc... so many things depend on Turrets. And Airframes require Pop-up turrets

3) SKETCH model is modeling something to be close enough like a 747-100 and a AIrbus a380, the Apolo and Dragon Command Capsul within a margin of Error. Like how much more Surface area does a X-33 or a Boeing have. Double checking in this way is Tedious but it helps prevent embarrassing mistakes and this is my Unique Value proposition given my skillset.  

When to Roll for Information and Senses.

 JUST a simple breakdown or decomposition technique in providing information. 

When to Roll for Information and Senses. 

Narratively. Does the story encounter problems if the PCs fail to sense or detect the object, threat, clue? 

If Yes - then provide the information, otherwise, let the dice fall where it does.   

How much Information to Give? Ask “What is the minimum amount of information does the PC’s need to move to the next part of the story?” 

If Too Little - repeat the question and add a little more

If Too much, what is the next challenge the PCs will encounter through their actions (acting on the information). 

----

Since I'm a process writer in our company -  sometimes i find myself Breaking Down Assumptions and in breaking them down get to how Intuition works and see how to Better intuition. 

Its this Intuition where I realize that one I mastered it i start doing multiple steps of it without thinking, but when I perform the steps too quickly I cannot Troubleshoot why it went wrong. Like opening the Computer Logs or Rewatching a CCTV video of an incident I have to play it back slower to understand the disconnect. 

Most GM's I encounter have a Problem when the PCs think to QUICKLY and move on to bounds and other clues. THE GM DOESN'T NEED TO THINK FASTER THAN THE PCS. He just needs to ask the PCs what Kind of problem will they encounter. 

Just ask the PCs "How can this go wrong?" You can say it the most Naive and Humble way, or you can shift your tone to a Knowing Question. Always ask the Players who can this go wrong and this buys the Referee/GM Time to both think and work on the story. 

If the PC cannot imagine where it will go wrong, the Referee can "Scrub the timeline" like in youtube as you fast forward or rewind in the slider and slow down the speed. You don't need to be a genius, you never needed to - Patient yes, Thoughtful yes, and keen listening or motivated to Listen - Yes. 

Like in the Problem Statement where the Solution seems to appear simultaneously or teasingly once uttered - the Next Challenge that will excite the PCs will come from their understanding of the uncertainty and risks of their actions. 

Key Assumptions

1. Knowing your players, even a clueless GM can use Session 0 as a way to navigate what the players will find interesting and challenging. 
2. Knowing some basic storytelling techniques - like presenting a problem or identifying uncertainty or assumptions. 
3. Learning from Experience - if a newb, then make the mistakes you've never made. if experienced then apply ones experience in working with the techniques you know and testing the techniques you believe you need to master for everyone's enjoyment. 
4. Lets go back to basics, if we didn't master it thoroughly as to be able to do it reliably and automatically then we are taking more risks and uncertainty with techniques that are more complex applications of basic techniques.