[TML] Traveller Software: common file formats?

[Richard Aiken]

On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 1:01 AM, Timothy Little <tim at little-possums.net> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 21, 2008 at 11:47:03PM -0500, Catherine Ramen wrote:
> > ObTrav: Just how much *do* engineers and mechanics do in the Far Future? How
> > much of it is simply interpreting the computer readings of the test
> > equipment, and then replacing the right module?
>
> We're pretty close to that *right now*.
>
> Last time I took a work car in for repairs, the mechanic got out a
> largish hand-held computer that communicated with the ECU via some
> cable under the dashboard.  He drove the car a short distance.  It
> explicitly displayed its diagnosis of what the problem was, and what
> needed fixing.  It was correct.

On the other hand, my 2001 Nissan Frontier has had the "Service Engine
Light" stuck on since I bought it (used, from a dealer) three years
ago.  I quit worrying about it after the third mechanic shrugged and
said, 'I haven't got a clue."  I've never had a serious maintenance
issue with it (except for that fender bender I was in . . . and even
then it drove just fine afterward, the only non-functional part being
the windshield washer fluid pump).

As for ObTrav, I like how GT:Sword Worlds handles it.  Sword Worlder
equipment is deliberately designed to be serviced in the field, but a
guy with a toolbox; Swordy mechanics actually *fix* things.  Although
it isn't explicitly stated this way, the implication is that Imperial
equipment is designed to be serviced at the factory, with Impie
"mechanics" simply pulling a bad part and putting in a replacement,
sending the bad one (if it's big enough and still under warranty) back
up the chain for repairs.

I should note that this has little to do with tech level and more to
do with the applicable situational/institutional economy.  The "Impie"
approach was the one my Dad used as a gunner's mate on a WWII
destroyer tender.  The concern was to return destroyers to duty as
quickly as possible.  So in most cases, the bad part (up to and
including entire gun emplacements) was detached, dropped overboard and
a replacement slotted in.  Only if they were running low on
replacement parts were repairs actually attempted.

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident." Robert A. Heinlein