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From: elt@astrovax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Flaws in Traveller (2D space)
Message-ID: <102@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Nov-83 10:29:11 EST
Article-I.D.: astrovax.102
Posted: Thu Nov  3 10:29:11 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Nov-83 13:26:37 EST
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 40

Most of the responses to my article about flaws in Traveller have 
appeared on the net, and those that were mailed to me did not vary 
much from those posted.  Thus the remarks below mostly refer to my own 
ideas: 
 
Apparently almost no one other than me is bothered by the two 
dimensionality of space in Traveller, eventhough *almost* everyone 
seems to realize that real space is three dimensional!  I am not too 
surprised since the Traveller players I know share this indifference.  
I suspect that the reason it bothers me so much is that I am a 
professional astronomer, and one of the major problems in astronomy is 
to restore (determine) the third dimension to the Universe we see in 
two dimensions on the sky, in other words to measure the distances to 
objects in the sky. 
 
My personal biases aside, it is worth noting that there are at least 
two important (in game terms) differences between 2 and 3 dimensional 
spaces.  First, the number of objects (star systems) which can be 
reached in a trip of a given distance (=duration=fuel supply=etc.) 
scales differently in the two cases; 2D space gives a distance squared 
law while 3D gives the familiar distance cubed relation.  This means 
that no matter what mean density of objects is used, a 2D space 
underestimates the number of objects within some range in a 3D space 
by a factor of the square root of the number of objects in range in 
2D.  (Thus, a Traveller voyage long enough to potentially visit 100 
worlds should have allowed you to reach 1000.)  Thus, as big as the
Traveller universe is, it is far smaller than the real one!  The second
important difference has to do with differences between the possible
topologies (=connectedness) in 2D and 3D spaces.  It influences the number
of different nonintersecting routes between two places and has strong
implications for military maneuvering.  For example, in 2D one is either
in direct contact with friendly forces or one is surrounded by the enemy;
in 3D, one can have (in a sense) both at the same time. :-) See "Wrath of
Kahn" for the dangers of 2D thinking in 3D combat.

Is there a *playable* solution for the 2D problem?  I have a scheme which
I have not tried but which might work and which is in the "spirit" of the
Traveller game system.  It is probably not of sufficiently general interest
to warrant posting, but I would be glad to Email anyone interested a
description of the idea.