Yeah, Ed, that's how we pictured them too. Primarily because that's what
we found out many of our players thought about HEPlaR when TNE first came
out!
Yep, magic tech, whose performance was derived from the amount of energy
required to move around on a starship combat hex grid scaled from
published CT and MT laser range figures, and then projected from
"reasonable" imaginary design approaches.
But hopefully you'll forgive us that one bit of magic, because everything
else in Traveller is real! ;-)
> I've pictured the fusion rocket as essentially a fusion bottle, open at
> one end. The fusion exhaust won't necessarily have a lot of radioactive
> particles, but is putting out high-energy radiation directly.
> Essentially, you're riding a powerful particle accelerator and hitting
> anything behind you with cosmic rays.
>
> HEPlaR is a something of a magic tech, to give us more of a hard SF
> feel, without completely doing away with what's come before.
>
>
we found out many of our players thought about HEPlaR when TNE first came
out!
Yep, magic tech, whose performance was derived from the amount of energy
required to move around on a starship combat hex grid scaled from
published CT and MT laser range figures, and then projected from
"reasonable" imaginary design approaches.
But hopefully you'll forgive us that one bit of magic, because everything
else in Traveller is real! ;-)
> I've pictured the fusion rocket as essentially a fusion bottle, open at
> one end. The fusion exhaust won't necessarily have a lot of radioactive
> particles, but is putting out high-energy radiation directly.
> Essentially, you're riding a powerful particle accelerator and hitting
> anything behind you with cosmic rays.
>
> HEPlaR is a something of a magic tech, to give us more of a hard SF
> feel, without completely doing away with what's come before.
>
>