Good, Good...Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel
H;0)
Good, Good...
H;0)
Place holder, for now...
Gentlemen, I hope that this will suffice for the nonce; I just got in from work - it's just 0100 hours, here - and I have to be back in for an awards ceremony at 0830; I am getting some sort of award for something. I need to get to bed, so I will have longer answers for everyone tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a graphic I did some thirty years ago on tubeway cars for Phil; I don't have this scanned yet, so I just photographed the poster for all of you. The top one is the usual tubeway car station with the usual car. The lower is more on the plan of the usual car.
Amusingly, that means my design was pretty close. Well, apart from the fact that I made them rectangular, I guess, but my inspiration was the metro/underground railways.
I sure hope you'd share!
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward." - Rocky
More on tubeways
This is the cover art from "Flamesong": I can't get the troop carrier to upload, so I'll try tomorrow...
Congratulations!!! Also thank you for the glimpse into your extraordinary archives!!!
Very nice.
H:0)
I know that in the early days of our hobby, almost everybody started as (and I suspect continued to be) wargamers. I know you, the Glorious General, and the Good Professor were and I think you mentioned that pretty much all the other group at least played Diplomacy (most misleading name for a game ever. no game starts more fights than Diplo) but it seems like there was a wider mix in your group. How did the Professor round them up? Students of his? Also, what did the non-military characters do when the game shifted to military engagements? Did the non-wargamers have problems (become unhappy) when the game tilted that way? Did you guys run big battles on "off" days? Did the groups that played later, after you guys left, lose or ever have that war game connection?
Some military questions. In the Army book 1, Missum is listed as leading the Storm of Fire and not the Red Devastation. When did he switch? Was it a reward of some type? I know the book came out in 78 and was reprinted in 81 (and later).
It also lists that the Glorious General's Legion is "good not outstanding." Was this before or after Third Mar?
You mention that your Legion is Engsvanyali. How does that work? I know they are your personal troops but how did you get a "dead" Legion? Was there a body of troops carrying on old traditions, unpaid and uncontrolled by Imperial command? Did you get some dormant "charter" to start your own legion?
Which also reminds me- you mentioned earlier that you have the invoice/bill of sale for the terraforming of Tekumel for the Hokun. Is that something the Professor made that you have in your Great Archive or was it something you found in game? If it was in game, where did you find it and how did anyone read it?
Congratulations on the award!
Those drawings are great. Looks like the "Flamesong" tubeway car is about 25' in diameter or so; that kind of jives with what I pictured. Judging by the seats the interior of the cabin seems to be about 10' or so. They are pretty darn big inside. I didn't realize that so little of the car protruded from the shaft. That troop transport is massive from what I can see from the picture. Thanks for the posts.
Shemek
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
Ah! Thank you for looking in at my little blog!
I have tried a great many dungeon systems over the years, and I've finally settled on flat tiles; however, having the doors in three dimensions is much more satisfying - and players have a habit of pulling the doors off their hinges and using them in all sorts of ways that one did not expect.
These doors stand up nicely without being glued into the thresholds, and I really like the fact that they are etched on both sides. At fifty cents each, I don't think one can go wrong...
The 'bateau' kits are a treat. They make up into smaller barges for 25mm, but this is fine - we have to move them by wind or muscle, and we also have to keep them small enough so that they won't get caught in narrow canals. I really like the planked look on the visible surfaces - the added detail of the internal bracing hides the blank inner sides quite well.
I like doing games on the water; it adds a lot to the fun, I've found!
troop carrier
Before I try to catch up on all the messages, I'll try to upload the troop carrier version of the tubeway cars...
From Shemek hiTankolel:
I was working on this month's adventure and the next thing you know I got it in my head to have a tubeway car worked in to the adventure, as I can't for the life of me think how to get them back to civilisation. Did a Google search and not much luck there.
So, how big are tubeway cars? What would the diameter of say a typical one used for personal transportation be? I know they hold about 8 people, so would 20' be about right? Are there internal compartments or is it a large sitting area with motors and what not underneath?
Which is the purpose of them in the first place; Tekumel is a big world, and you need to have something to get the players around quickly. Same thing with the Nexus points, for that matter.
About 20 to 25 feet across; we actually never had the chance to measure one. The majority of them have the seating in the upper half of the sphere, as I've shown, with the machinery in the lower half. This lower space is accessed by a sliding panel, and is pretty cramped. There is also often a 'baggage compartment' in the rear of the seating area, and this also had a sliding door; not all cars have this feature, though. There are also some variants where the door / hatch is on the lower portion of the sphere, and there is normally a little ramp that folds out to allow easier access to the door. Unfortunately, sometimes this is not entirely working, and you use it at your own risk. It's a very, very long way down...
I believe that you mentioned in a previous post that there are also military ones shaped like tubes or cigars. How big are these ones? How many men would they hold? Would they be multi level? Do they have cargo room? Are they armed?
See also the illustration. These do not go to the usual stations; they only go to the military bases or the interchanges. They normally use bi-level 'platforms', where the passengers use the upper level and the cargo handlers the lower. The fore and aft ends are where the machinery is located. I think these are about 150' long, and will carry maybe 50 to 75 passengers - depending on seating configuration. They are not armed; we never saw a tubeway car that was.
Would you have any drawings that you would be willing to share with us?
Done for you...
Many of the stories talk about destination disks. About how big are they; would 3-4" be about right? I want to make some props for the game and a disk would be nice.
About the size of a CD. Get one of the clear blanks you get in one of those spinde packs, paint bright gold, and Bob's your uncle.
Also, about how big would an Eye be? Are they all the same size, or do they vary?
Eyes are all about the size of a Ping-pong ball, and are spherical with the 'lens' on one side and the 'button' on the opposite side. I've made some as props, for a guy doing a LARP; I hollowed out a wooden sphere of the right size, added an LED, battery, and switch, and there it was.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks