I've always been a fan of the TNE era. Virus was, a tool nothing more nothing less, it was the way GDW decided to do away with it all because they couldn't figure out a better way to restart things. The nice thing about TNE and Hardtimes for that matter was that the players could be big fish in a small pond, their decisions mattered and could change the course of history. In CT and MT the players were very much insignificant fish in an ocean, NOTHING they did short of assassinating one of the major players would ever amount to anything more than the ripples of a pebble tossed into an ocean.
I like the way a lot of the Hardtimes material found it's way into TNE, it was a nice carry over and it felt both good and slightly sad to encounter things or people that you remembered from that era in TNE.
----- Original Message -----
From: Matt <>
Date: Friday, October 21, 2011 7:52 am
Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Hi...question/favor (Virus)
To:
>
>
> --- In , "James"
> <gypsycomet@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hard Times is a great setting except for its placement in a
> continuing downward spiral. While the New Era allows for
> PCs to be significant just doing what PCs do, to have a major
> effect during HT you had to be a superhero.
> >
>
> Actually I liked Hard Times because I felt the PC's could be
> much more significant players than in the Rebellion or in the CT
> eras. There was just so much crashing down in Hard Times
> that you really had to do some brutal picking and choosing about
> where you made a difference.
>
> TNE fell so far that there was just about no other way but
> up. Hard Times could and was still a ways from the bottom.
>
> > >
> > > I don't think the virus was the main reason for the
> upheaval. Remember TNE was GDW's best selling game. The main
> reason for the upheaval was the end of the empire. had you ended
> it in any other way with more or less the same result it would
> still be flame wars.
> >
> > Yes and no. I was witness to the TML's screaming fits.
> The TNE specific fits were almost entirely about the technical
> impossibility of Virus. Without it, whatever other cause
> or result GDW used to bring the Rebellion to a close would have
> seen complaints, but would probably not have been anywhere near
> as loud, angry, or divisive as Virus proved to be.
> >
>
> My understanding was people utterly refused to suspend disbelief
> about Virus and it went downhill from there.
>
> Matt
>
>