[TML] [Website Review] Crucible Highport

[hemdian]

Long serving members of the TML will know of the very  occasional
Website Review.  Its purpose was to spotlight Traveller  websites
(usually the lesser known websites) and  also  provide  a  little
feedback to the website author.  Here, then, is the latest.



The Traveller Website Review
----------------------------

2008 starts with Ed Messina's ...

    Crucible Highport
    (http://crucible.cc/traveller/index.htm)

Here's a site of possible interest to fans of Classic  Traveller.
The home page has a very short introduction, side navigation  bar
to other pages, the obligatory web ring links and  stat  counter,
and the standard FFE disclaimer  (its  nice  to  see  someone  is
following the  rules).  There  are  also  links  to  three  other
"Crucible" sites: Seven Kingdoms, Watchstar Universe,  and  Hawke
Foundation.  Its hard to  tell  how  active  this  site  is,  the
disclaimer suggests it was last updated  in  2006  but  the  non-
Traveller Seven Kingdoms section was last updated 20-Dec-2007.

The Traveller content is organised into five sections.

Traveller Plus - This contains three sets of house rules, each as
a downloadable PDF styled after the LBBs:

    "Book 9 - Traveller Plus" contains  a  point-based  character
    generation system designed with PBeM games in mind.  There is
    also an alternative personal combat system.

    "Book 10 - Armory and Ordnance" is a set of design  sequences
    and  supporting  tables  for  guns,  lasers,  melee  weapons,
    grenades, weapon accessories, and body armour.

    "Online Supplement 1 - Traveller MUSH" is a  quick  reference
    guide to the PennMUSH.

Traveller Software - This  contains  five  MS Excel  spreadsheets
that support either CT or Traveller Plus, a  CHM  help  file  for
Traveller MUSH, and links to two  freeware  (formerly  shareware)
MUSH clients.

Corvus Cluster - This is a campaign setting.  This is  a  non-OTU
based  setting  that  seems  to  draw  slight  inspiration   from
Farscape.  There is a downloadable LBB-style PDF sourcebook, some
character write-ups, a "movie poster", a world write-up, and  two
image galleries (one general, one for ships) with basic CGI.

Phoenix Throne - This is a  place  holder  for  another  campaign
setting.

Conflict Zone - This is  a  place  holder  for  another  campaign
setting.

Summary: The Traveller Plus content needs further  study  to  see
how well it works but has the potential to be very useful for  CT
referees.  The Corvus Cluster setting could be retrofitted in its
entirety into an OTU-based TU (just beyond the Imperial  border),
or simply mined for ideas.

The HTML looks a little dated, as does the CGI work.  It would be
nice to have a what's new block added to the  home  page.  That's
pretty much it.



Regards PLST
(http://sol.trisen.com)