Update: I'm feeling much better now.

So My Dear Readers (and it turns out I do have them, not just Spambots),

I have been decidedly non-productive this month. First I got a nice wet, phlemy respitory infection. While I was ill I found a new D&D game I just had to have over at GOG.com, a module I had heard of since the days of yesteryear, The Temple of Elemental Evil. Is fun and unlike Baldur's Gate (good old THAC0 AD&D of my youth) the ToEE is 3.5 cheeserific! Damn if it isn't fun to drop 3rd Level Spells in one round. And "Crafting Magical Shit For Your Party" Feats. Sure I am a mid-10th Level Wizard and the Bard, Pali, Cleric and Rogue are all 12th moving on to 13th, so my spells aren't as impressive (though I do have my Spell Pen with Greater coming next), but damn my party busts shit in its ass like it owes us money! 

That is the fun parts of the month. Bad part is that after some 22 standard years of being pretty healthy the Ship's Cat has an infected tooth and a hole in his face from where the guk blew it out. Not cool, so off to go deeper into debt and the St. Paul Vetrinarian Clinic to find out I am going to have put together several hundred CrImps to get him up to snuff. Good news is that till then he is on antibiotics and has a cone collar for when I am not around or asleep to keep him from opening the hole more. 

And in gaming news I am considering having an Imperial Legion like the French Foreign Legion that like the FFL is used outside the Imperium proper. Yet while it seems sort of cool as my good friend Rustin (H. Wright) is always reminding is that the French are pretty shitty at Empire. Though as Vietnam pointed out they are good at leaving some else to clean up their mess. In fairness to the French I will point out we Yanks should have told the Frogs to take a long hike off on a short pier after Dein Ben Phu (yeah, to lazy to look up the correct spelling, it is late and hey, I am a "lazy American" :)). Still not sure why after that most righteous ass whooping and display of sheer unadulterated hard core soldiering we even put advisors there much less combat troops. No lie, I still think my armed forces are some of the baddest in the world and sometimes The Baddest Asses in the World, but anybody who humps that much arty over mountains on their fanarnking backs is not just not someone to be screwed with. Especially when they then employ it properly too. Got to love those pre-registered targets. :D

Hmm. Maybe no Legion after all? Comments? 

Till next time, 

Laterness,

Craig.

Imperial Scout Vessel Something Cool.

Not much to say, winter is here snow and all, been sick, did some OT at non-gaming job.

In gaming life, well, as I said been sort of busy. On the other hand, nice thing about being sick I'd you can still be productive even I'll as shit. In this case a starship project that started as the ship for some players on my CotI (Citizens of the Imperium) Play by Post which the Detached Scout Ranger had possession of, the ISV Something Cool. At first it was just an answer to a quick question that made me realize I need to male up versions of the standard starships that Players can get as Muster Out Benefits. The ISV Something Cool is the first of them. 

It is you basic TL-G Imperial Scout Service starship, the old 100-ton, Type-S, Scout/Courier that in the OTU of the Third Imperium is that much loved funky wedge, but here is a slick lifting body airframe with cool gull wings because Ian Stead is all cool like that. 

I suspect I will end up with a bunch of them one day and then comes a Starships of the Permatic Imperium: Common Starships. Till then check out the styles.

Got deckplans and some nice black and white pics as well. :D 

Well, off to figure out what I am doing for the couple hours till sleep. Enjoy.

Laterness, 

Craig.

PS: Players can email me for a copy of the deckplans, but no posting them. You know just in case any of them are around and curious.

The Vision Thing.

So gentle readers,

Yes, I live still even though not posting a lot. And while not posting I have been working. Bought and paid for one ship, M/V Screaming Penny artwork and blueprints, also have another one in the works. Also, I have put some time into the Traveller5 SophontMaker and now have one Minor Human Race, the Bibickians (a heavy worlder race) and two different Native Intelligent Lifeforms of the Far Stars, both the previously featured Voodgi and the Edendextu of Permatic [FS 1725]. 

Yet more things done, starting work on taking all the stuff here and in the DropBox and notebooks and putting together a Setting Book for the Permatic Imperium. And here I hit the real work. The fine Don McKinney has looked over my initial Far Stars sector data and suggested that I "leave room for the Death Star" and not over detail the sector. I fear he may be right, even though my love of detail rails against the idea. Turns out though that I may have an out, those lovely new Hop Drives (10 parsecs per trip) and some interesting thoughts on TL-G+ (16+) by my Patron at Court, Robert Lord Eaglestone which suggests that once the Fantastic Drives hit the standard Traveller sectors might not be so important. Since I have had such drives in my Traveller Universe since I first saw them in Beta I think I shall do up the Far Stars as Don suggests and then figure out what the rest of the Riftborne Domains look like under the new exploration and settlement model.

So, know that I am still alive and working, just trying to figure out how to apply my vision. Which is also leading me decide if certain types of government are going to be stricken from the Imperium and one will have to travel in the ex-Imperial worlds to find a solid Religous Dictatorship. And I use that one as an example since I am also thinking of moving my Permatic Imperium "Past Such Silly Superstitions" as religion and dictatorships in general as well. I mean I do have an empire in which all sentient species are free persons, even non-organic and created species. Now, the bad guys (and yes, my empire is a goody-goody light empire, so thus the good guys) might be tyrrants and twisty high priests because you always need a good villain so for all you lovers of might makes right and don't question the gods can still have your "fun" just do so outside the Imperium for your own safety. :)

Oh, and last a big "hello" to my spammer bot from M88 who sometimes does write things that almost look like a human wrote them and two or three that I was tempted to respond to till rational thought returned. 

And for those who read the whole thing behold an early sketch of the ISV Something Cool. Not the actual look at the moment, but it is pretty and I may design a ship to match it someday. Still, I thought it was cool and Ian Stead deserves some plugging. Also pictures are cool.

Enjoy and be well.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: Still Alive & Working.

So, just another quick note dear Readers.

It looks like the County Ories may have a new Count named and in CharGen, this makes four PC Nobles in my meta-verse: Count Jowern, Count Ories, Baron Redsm, and Baronet Pecias. Yep, the Great Game of Houses is starting to take shape.

I am doing some more professional writing (jamming on it tomorrow in fact) and have a new art project, a Ranger Warrant Card that gets issued to all Scouts who elect to take a Term in the Ranger Branch. I got a player who is one so, I thought it would be cool to do one up. Also, I really should start working up the various Patents for my Nobs. Armed Services personnel already got the second draft spiffy Medals that I thinking of asking Ian if he might do them up proper, but I don't know if he is comfortable with cloth. Well, virtual cloth anyway, for the ribbons.

Well, very long, hectic and tiring day. Sorry, no pretty pictures or long ass rambles today. Maybe later. Till then, travel safe.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: Working on paper.

This is a very, very brief post. Mostly the picture below of a CrImp 1 note in progress. Then off to see a documentary about a Dune film since I am all sorts of nerd like that.

Enjoy.

See I told you I would do more with currency in the Impermium, and behold I sort of deliver. :D

Laterness,

Craig.

UPDATE FOR THE UPDATE.

Movie was awesome and explains to me why the fanark it rains on Dune at the end of the standard by which all optical versions of Dune must live up to, the much loved and hated Lynch version.

Meanwhile some progress on the Imperial Treasury Note. (yeah, a bit late I remembered the proper mint term for a paper currency unit. Well, by modern US standards. For the coinage, I have decided to look out side the US as there are more low TL worlds in my Sector Data than I thought. I am thinking of using the database I have built originally for 200 PI, instead as the base Year 0 or 100, 150 or even -50 PI just before Vlad shows up. The Edendextu would still be ruling the roost and if there is NIL on Quelw they too have a small space empire. Comments, dear reader?

Anyway, tomorrow is a very busy day full of work and not a lot of time play with currency for the rest of the week. So, realize there is still some bits missing, but it is much better than the above.

Update: Computer Woes & Starships.

Greetings all.

As the wether becomes more habitable (by my admittedly personal tastes) things on other fronts are going not so well. First of course is that it appears that my main computer is having a major crash and that needless to say has put a crimp (not CrImp :p) in my productivity. Good thing is I ran a backup so at least I have most of my data still, bad thing is the backup app can't seem to see the target drive. Crapsticks! Still my tech guy is going to see if he can do some scuzzy voodoo to it and bring it back. Here's hoping...

On the other hand, not sure if I have mentioned it yet or not but another Daarnulud Design Bureaux starship is in the works. This one is the 600 ton, IM/V Sceaming Penny with the illustrious Mister Ian Stead (https://www.facebook.com/ian.stead.52) doing the plans and artwork (because frankly I am just not that good for this day and age, 1980s, I am looking good, 201Xs, not so much). As usual with these "I got a new project" posts this one comes with some pictures from the development stage. This is the first draft of the plans which are stellar, but then I went and suffer an attack (for which I am sorry about having now) and of course had to make requests for changes only after it had sat and cooked for a time. Yep, turns out I too am that asshole client. Ouch. Gonna have to make good on that. Anyway check it out:

I super-digging the oval bridge! On the other hand I had my quibbles later when this came in after:

Then I started making annoying changes. If you follow the passageway from the Bridge you will see a small space on the port side, that is the Ship's Locker. So? Well, if you look you will see the door is accessible from outside the Bridge passageway. Not cool in my Naval Archtecture handbook. Ship's Lockers usually contain the vessel's small arms and petty cash. Not something that shoud be accessed easily. He was pretty cool about that one, not so sure the request about the cargo hold was as well recieved. I won't say what, one must keep a few secrets, but it it will involve some work on the Draftsman's part, not so much the Naval Architect. :)

Anyway, just trying to get back to posting more often...again. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile enjoy and hope you are having a good day. (Because I am a dick like that, but really if you have indeed had 87 nice days in a row..."Have shitty day!". Look it up kids, George Carlin was fucking awesome! Also, a smidge subversive. :D) Crap, got the details wrong but the message right. Oh, and for the lazy, because I have to share the love, here check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X0MDBqyYZQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Laterness,

Craig.

Playing with Sketchbook Pro: A Class E Starport at Night.

So, I am off line with an HD crash of some sort and stuck on the old mobile device (and when I use the adjective "old" I am not kidding, man is my TL behind the times, but then wealthy I am not).

Still, there are some benefits to having to work with your secondary tech and find out you can do some cool stuff. In this case while I was working on the Banner of the Imperium (seen below) I spent a bit of time doing layer transformations.

The Banner of the Permatic Imperium.

So, while I kept hitting the "Text" and "Transform" drop down choices, I didn't really think about or even notice the one labeled "Time Lapse". Then, it slowly came to me that it let me do animations. Yeah, I know, but mostly I haven't seen to much from the app on neat-o tricks or even much past "here's how to chose brushes" and that is lean too. This means that a lot of what you see here is me learning to mess with and exploit the app. 

To test this time lapse function I for some reason decided to do a Class E Starport. As you may or not know (some folks are intimidated by the sheer mass of data within the Imperial Standards, but be not daunted and you'll find neat stuff) a Class E Starport is about as basic as you can get and still be rated as a Starport. It has no repair abilities, no fuel refined or otherwise and no bases to beg help from if the dreaded Corsair of District 262, the Loin Rampant comes looking for your goods and CrImps. It does have a Beacon though, isn't that nice, so at least you know where you are...or where the port is.

Pretty much exactly what has always been described as, a flat spot of permacrete and a beacon. Lights are a bonus and may represent the presence of an Imperial representative or Peer looking to improve their holding. Look for Customs warehouses and unrefined fuel to show up in the next Term or so, also a new thing at that port, berthing fees. >:)

To begin I threw together the background and slapped a slab on top of that and placed the four Beacon Pylons, which for some obscure and arcane reason are commonly referred to by spacers of all varieties as "barber poles". No one really knows why other than "ancient Terran descended traditions". The posts are externally lit in a flashing spiral red and white alternating pattern, they stand 3 meters tall and are 30 cm or so in diameter.  The interior contains positioning software ISPA telemetry repeaters and loggers, commo gear with surface, orbital and deep space capabilities, a local meteorological instruments and transceivers connected to the local network if any, an avionics package for remote vessel operations, sensor package capable of orbital range (this range can be extended if connected to other sensor grids), and each pylon is powered by a Fusion+ unit rated for 10 standard years. These pylons and the landing pad are ruggedized and can withstand exposure to hostile environments without failure for 2 standard years from initial emplacement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDVl4eKzHSo&sns=em

This is also the very first YouTube video I have made or uploaded. Oh look, email from YouTube massaging my ego. Like I need that. I just got my name officially on the cover of Greg P. Lee's T5 Cirque Campaign book! Yes, it is official I got my name on the cover of a gaming book. That this book like the first is a Traveller book is just icing on some extremely long awaited and very, very delicious cake! 

And I know I said I would do a serious currency post and some day I will, but till then one last pretty picture and that is the latest version of the Imperial Mint's E-Currency Card, this time in the CrImp 50 denomination. Enjoy and I will catch you on the flipside.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: Still kicking and working. Also, money.

Greetings Readers,

Not much to report, rumor control is Marc is dealing with some personal stuff so things are sort of on hold here. Still we work ever more.

Good news HMS Herald is damned close to getting out the door, I am working on the IM/V Lion Rampant 2 and Mark Lucas said he is going to get me the ISS Sable deckplans soon. Once I get those I have my first three books, and since Mark is feeling a bit guilty about the tardiness of the Sable plans he said he will do some interior art. Which is awesome since we just don't have enough interior shots of starships in Traveller. 

In other ACS (Adventure Class Starships) I managed to snag another illustrious Traveller artist and the M/V Screaming Penny deckplans and art will be done by none other than the big ole Foss fanatic Mister Ian Stead. He promised to keep the Fossing to a minimum, mostly since I am actually paying him. That is right folks, I commisioned some of my very first paid art. Coming up in the world, I am. :D

Speaking of, Ian, he also is doing up a dude in TL-H BattleDress and probably a chunk of the gear illustrations. So I am going to have some pro style artwork soon, but till then I am still keeping my hand in with drawing up little bits of the setting of the Permatic Imperium. Also, I have this fascination with the Imperial Currency so, check out the cash card of my distant future.

It needs cropping, but I am stranded with only a crappy sketch app so cropping or resizing the image is out of the question. On the other hand it does let me do some neat stuff with layers and patterns as you can see. Later I will do a series of illustrations and a detailed post, however today it is just a picture and a few words.

Enjoy and I will try and write more.

Laterness,

Craig.

Disregard this post.

Just trying to identify the font I used here as like an idiot I never wrote the name down. Anyway I am now trying to ID it. So, if you do know what it is, please inform me.