1978 version Staterooms vs 2019 version - what would you put in?

hal · 04-16-2019, 09:08 PM

Sorry for the long title, but it says largely what I wanted to get across...

1978 was the year we saw the first Traveller hit the shelves. At that time, personal computers were not really envisioned to become what they have. Cell phone technology was undreamed of. So - let's find out with the use of today's technology, what you think the newly revised mental image of staterooms (or any other module for that matter) should be in the Traveller Universe.

For instance - we already know just how compact a bathroom can be in an RV or in space ships of today. But how would you change things in a stateroom using today's technology? For instance, grav plates - could be used to create a zero G environment. Simply set them all for say, .1 G fields, then place them opposite of each other, to the extent that the plates can negate each other. It would be a variant of the "Grav pong" approach to deterring would-be hijackers.

Virtual Reality could be used to make any given room seem to be bigger than it is, or decorated precisely as its inhabitants would like for it to be. An entire wall dedicated to a video interface permits a soothing beach scene to be present, or as a huge Video Game interface in which built in cameras link to watching the player's movements and interacting "controller free" with the user/game. Think the Wii or Kinect technology taken to extremes. Using GURPS ULTRATECH - we have simple glasses or even contact lenses that can give a HUD interface, which would negate Junior needing the entire wall for his video game.

Want to feel like you're in a jungle? How about an Aroma dispenser to get the room to smell like that jungle? Perhaps increase the humidity of the room as part of the ability to customize the settings for various races, and star ships can make it easier for the passengers to acclimate to the world they're heading to.

So - what did the original authors not guess was possible, that would make a stateroom of 2019 technological knowledge different than what was imagined initially in 1978?

04-16-2019, 09:08 PM	#1
hal Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York	1978 version Staterooms vs 2019 version - what would you put in? Sorry for the long title, but it says largely what I wanted to get across... 1978 was the year we saw the first Traveller hit the shelves. At that time, personal computers were not really envisioned to become what they have. Cell phone technology was undreamed of. So - let's find out with the use of today's technology, what you think the newly revised mental image of staterooms (or any other module for that matter) should be in the Traveller Universe. For instance - we already know just how compact a bathroom can be in an RV or in space ships of today. But how would you change things in a stateroom using today's technology? For instance, grav plates - could be used to create a zero G environment. Simply set them all for say, .1 G fields, then place them opposite of each other, to the extent that the plates can negate each other. It would be a variant of the "Grav pong" approach to deterring would-be hijackers. Virtual Reality could be used to make any given room seem to be bigger than it is, or decorated precisely as its inhabitants would like for it to be. An entire wall dedicated to a video interface permits a soothing beach scene to be present, or as a huge Video Game interface in which built in cameras link to watching the player's movements and interacting "controller free" with the user/game. Think the Wii or Kinect technology taken to extremes. Using GURPS ULTRATECH - we have simple glasses or even contact lenses that can give a HUD interface, which would negate Junior needing the entire wall for his video game. Want to feel like you're in a jungle? How about an Aroma dispenser to get the room to smell like that jungle? Perhaps increase the humidity of the room as part of the ability to customize the settings for various races, and star ships can make it easier for the passengers to acclimate to the world they're heading to. So - what did the original authors not guess was possible, that would make a stateroom of 2019 technological knowledge different than what was imagined initially in 1978?