Traveller MMORPG on iPhone

[kendo]

Traveller AR

blast from the past!
just applied to join the beta team.

[Tommy The Great]

looks decent.. shame i dont have an iphone or id give it a go with you

[kendo]

Hi Tommy. I doubt it will look as epic as EVE. or even be as much fun as playing it with friends on a tabletop (cos we won't be able to exit ship on planets, and be totally freeform). but i really like the traveller rule mechanics, and the way the game universe is laid out. glad to see that they haven't vanished into the mists of time. haven't heard anything from them at all yet. but fingers crossed..

[kendo]

ohdearohdearohdear.

the most excellent D6 character generation system at the heart of the P&P game has been ripped out.
now you can only be 1 of 3 classes. "Scout", "Spacer", or "Trader".
"Spacer" is the closest thing to the old character classes, so I opted for that.

so far, the only thing i recognise is the galaxy map. with it's familiar, much loved hexagons and notation.

my main problem with the game, is that the iPhone is just too small. or my fingers are too big. one of the two. then, you are forced to look out of your cockpit window perpetually, when every science fiction fan knows thats what computers are for. They steer the ship, while you get on with other, more important things. Like playing chess, eating Cheetos, and/or picking your toenails. You only have to look out of the big window when there is an imminent risk of a collision, or you are being fired upon. It's the law.

so i've got my million creds, and my super JUMP-1 capable ship... and i've jumped to an adjacent system. "Egypt". I am then plonked in the middle of nowhere, and my onboard computer is not smart enough to tell me where the nearest starport with fuel is located. or any habital planets. in fact, nothing at all. because there is no onboard computer. I am flying by the seat of my pants, tilting and swivelling my viewing device, boosters at full throttle.. and there is no feedback, or information at all. even if i did find somewhere, i don't know how to land the ship. that's why computer engineers wrote "landing and docking programs". but i don't seem to have any.

my main beef with this, is that not every character is capable of piloting a ship. if for instance, i was a turret gunner, on an imperial battleship during my career, or a PGMP-13 grunt marine from the rimward clusters, i wouldn't have a 'kin clue. everybody can USE a ship. punch the buttons, and off you go. but piloting one takes years of experience. this isn't reflected, and the game framework insists upon everybody piloting their own vessel. so i can't (for instance) transport other players as passengers.

a great shame. and a complete RPG fail, for me.

going to persevere, try and land somewhere, and see what is under the hood.
i don't know what i was expecting. entered with an open mind. but i think it
would be best to start new players on a planet, and not out in space, orbiting
some unknown sun. (unless that is part of the storyline, which it isn't). I just
got the feeling "WTF am i doing out here? in the middle of space?!".

it looks like the devs are trying to bolt the 'idea' of Traveller, onto an illconceived space action game.
which is quite sad, if it is the case.