Thanks for this handy summary/reminder of what you'd like and so on. I've put in my diary as a 'to do' reminder. Although, of course, I only have to read it through to have a dozen ideas of things I'd like to tackle but just won't be able to fit in. Or worse, a dozen reminders of things I've previously started or sketched out but not yet finished!
However, I'm on the case of at least two things and will get them to you asap. Although I'm aware that the games I'm currently running are demaning some attention at present so as ever I'm trying to prioritize.
... for the next issue of Freelance Traveller.
Pretty much any department that you'd like to see more of is of interest -
I'm _really_ scraping bottom, and if contributions fall off, I'm going to
have to _cut the size_ of each issue - and I _don't_ want to do that
(having to do so is really a horrible thought...).
well, yes, but temper that with the thought we'd rather see *something* than nothing... ;-)
One department that _really_ could use some love is "Traveller by the
Byte". That's where you talk about a Traveller program you've written, and
provide the source code for it, for folks to cut-and-paste from the issue
into their favorite editor/IDE, and save and run it. (You can also post it
publicly for download, e.g., at GitHub [or your own site, or wherever], but
we'll be doing that, too, when a particular issue's articles go up on the
web.)
Just to be clear, this is one department that I really don't think I can contribute much to.
Other departments that are a little thin are Kurishdam (all sections) and
The Lab Ship; I'd also like to see some new fiction for Raconteurs' Rest.
Critics' Corner and Less Dangerous Game
ah, speaking of which, I think I've persuaded someone to contribute to that last, I just need to help them look up some details...
sort of look like they're becoming
the 'private playground' of a few authors; that was never my intent, and
I'd like to see what other people think of various Traveller products,
past, present, and future. My own list of items to review is getting so
long - and doing so faster than I can write - that I know I will _never_
catch up...
You think your list is long... The Traveller Bibliography is essentially *my* list of all things I'd like to have tackled... ;-)
Critics' Corner has two subsections that don't receive a lot of love: Other
People's Toys, where a non-Traveller gaming product that you've mined for
use with Traveller can be reviewed;
I'm often a bit shy of this because I'd rather focus on actual Traveller things, but it does remind me I took something to TravCon which would fit into this.
and Off the Table, where fiction you've
read that 'has a Traveller vibe' can be reviewed.
Hmmm, I think I sent a note on Splintered Suns to TML but hadn't really thought of developing it more fully for FT. Or, more strictly, I probably did think of it but knew it would so far down a list of priorities that I'd never get to it. If you want to pinch the little I sent to TML, feel free.
But I'm guessing I'd either have a hard time relating my most recent reading to Traveller, or if I did, it would be of such marginal interest you'd get complaints! Camilla Lackberg's _The Drowning_ anyone? Tim Keller _King's Cross_? There might be some mileage in Laurie King's _Locked Rooms_ but we did Sherlock Holmes last time. On the other hand _The Flora of Middle Earth_ by Judd & Judd I am reading (and absolutely loving) *because* I thought it would help feed into my desire to do plants better in Traveller world building. Something I feel has been much neglected in 40 years of the game. Which then feeds into both another d66 list I'm 1/3 of the way through writing for you as well some adventure detail that might eventually see light of day.
(A favourite bit of Judd & Judd was the paragraph on 'plant blindness' - which I have. Seeing just "vague green blobs". What's great about the entire book is that most of Tolkien's plants are real world things so I'm actually learning something useful - not to mention they start with some basic plant morphology which I've found helpful - but they're also not afeared of detailing the professor's made up plants.)
Off the Table can also
potentially be for audio and video media with the 'Traveller vibe', too!
That reminds me, I got started on Dark Matter but got waylaid despite the fact I was enjoying it and it felt like a Traveller adventure on screen. If only I had a bunch of other lives...
Adventures are _always_ good - and if you're running a campaign,
"serializing" it into a collection of adventures would be great, too. If
you're into "one-shots", ideal for conventions or just the occasional
irregularly-scheduled get-together, those are useful as well. Got a
favorite adventure novel or series of novels? Feel free to file the serial
numbers off and turn it into an adventure or campaign.
Argh... another project I should really get back to... I was reluctant to send you early bits for fear of not being able to 'finish' and now I've no idea what I've done with my notes. If only I knew a librarian...
Thanks for the chivvy, I was gearing up to spending my day off this week on some of this stuff. The weather's turning chill again so just the perfect time to stay tucked up inside in the warm and dream of far off places and times.
cheers
tc