How to best use this fun setting.

[Astromancer]

I feel this setting has been done in by Hard Sci-Fi mavens gatekeeping. Sure it's a great hang spot for them but it's a public playground.

What do we need to get this setting some more attention?

A) A new addition?

B) Alternate takes on the idea?

c) Detailing some of the exotic subcultures?

What do we need to do?

[AlexanderHowl]

An updated technological progression would help, since our progress has been much slower than THS. Less focus on microsocieties of space libertarians and more focus on a realistic development of the Main Belt would be appreciated.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

An updated technological progression would help, since our progress has been much slower than THS. Less focus on microsocieties of space libertarians and more focus on a realistic development of the Main Belt would be appreciated.

Updating the technological progression would result in a lot of changes to the historical timeline (which is not a criticism of the idea, just pointing out a complication). Of course, just stretching out the existing timeline could work (though that might involve changing a few names), if the hypothetical writer doesn't just to restart the timeline largely ignore the current version. I mean, the 2010 to 2020 timeline on page 8 of the core book from 3e is already way off, which throus off everything else. Either way, I'd say that the tech baseline THS has in 2100 should probably be moved up to 2150 or later, which likely gives more time for laws to adapt to technological changes.

A few milestones from THS Corebook that I would really need be later, in the updated progression, however much of the existing timeline is kept: China has a manned moon landing in or before 2010. Reliable laser-launch systems (for microsats, admittedly) in the USA in 2014. US-Russian space service station at Earth-Luna L4 point in 2020. Manned Mars missions launched in 2024 and 2025 (Elon Musk is planning this, but I think he's being optimistic with the date; NASA's plan seems to be for around 2030 or so, which is more likely).

[AlexanderHowl]

A lot of the predictions were based on an accelerated progression of technology, allowing TL9 by 2020. Right now, I would say that a medium progression is more likely, meaning that 2050 would allow for TL10. There is some indication that biotechnology could actually be fast though, as bio factories seem to be right around the corner.

In that case, a new 2150 THS may be TL10 (TL11 biotechnology). It would actually make sense for the low development for The Deep Beyond, as TL10 technology would have only existed for a maximum of 30 years, meaning that the first colonies for The Deep Beyond would have been done with TL9 technology. In that case, the Duncanites would have implemented the Ares Conspiracy in 2075, using bleeding edge TL10 biotechnology to force the terraforming of Mars, and they would have been relatively isolated for 45 years, allowing them to develop their own culture with minimal interference.

[Astromancer]

I'm for resetting Transhuman Space in 2150. An extra thirty years will help in smoothing out some issues.

I say thirty rather than fifty because we've moved far closer to 2100.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

A few milestones from THS Corebook that I would really need be later, in the updated progression, however much of the existing timeline is kept

Ehhhh... I think it's probably easier to future proof the setting by slimming down the timeline before 2050 as much as possible. i.e.
2020s: Zarubayev becomes dictator of Kazakstan, Cihina and Korea Reunify, First Landing on Mars
2030s: Canada Disintegrates, Australia-Korea-Japan Alliance, Infosocialism
2040s: Ares Conspiracy, Custom Genetic Upgrades, Saudi Caliphate

Heck, you could probably leave the date for Korean Unification, Taiwan-China Unification, and Mars ambiguous, and the setting would still work. Pegging (even vague) dates for Genetic Upgrades is probably necessary, as that feeds character creation.

Originally Posted by Astromancer

I feel this setting has been done in by Hard Sci-Fi mavens gatekeeping.

What do you mean by this?

Originally Posted by Astromancer

What do we need to get this setting some more attention?

It lacks a strong default campaign. Take some other settings for example:
1) Defaultspace: Free-trader travelogue
2) Reign of Steel: Anti-robot insurgents
3) Autoduel: Motorized hooligans in the post-post-apocalypse
4) Banestorm: Mercenary travelogue
5) Infinite Worlds: Join the I-Cops, see the Multiverse!

Transhuman Space has... Erm, maybe spies? If the campaign starts focus on the Duncanites, it's hard to bring them over to Singapore. Likewise if you started with focus in the mid-west, bringing the party to the main-belt isn't easy.

Why is the problematic? If I'm running defaultspace, I can grab any space atlas and toss in systems as needed. I can trivially turn Read the Sky into an adventure for insurgents, even though it specifies SAS. Autoduel literally had road atlases to give the motorized hooligans more destinations. Infinite Worlds provides a good framework to mix radically different settings while still keeping a common background (though the enemy accents might change from French to German.)

What use is Singapore Sling if the campaign is in Saturn? What use are the solar system gazetteers if the campaign is on Earth? It's easier for a gang of mercenaries on Yrth to end up in Abydos than it is to justify sending an agent with no space experience to Saturn or a Duncanite to trade negotiations in Singapore.

[AlexanderHowl]

The first landing on Mars is likely not going to be in the 2020s though. It would likely require 0.1% of global GDP each year over 13 years, the equivalent level of investment (in % of global GDP) as the Apollo Program, and I do not see anyone spending $75 billion a year on it anytime soon. You cannot do Mars on the cheap, the delta-v and life support requirements are too great, and we are effectively trying to do it with chemical rockets.

Now, the 2030s would be fine, as a moderate technological progression would allow for experimental TL9 space sails and nuclear rockets by the mid-2030s, especially if people are spending serious money. I do not think that there would be enough people on Mars to do much of anything beyond basic research until the 2060s though, which means the Ares Conspiracy would have to wait until then at least. You would also need enough spare transport capacity for the USA to allow them to 'steal' one of their spacecraft, otherwise the USA will hunt them down to take it back and kill them all if they refuse to come back to face trial (the USA can afford to spend $100 billion making an example of the worst space terrorists at that time).

[lordabdul]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

What do we need to get this setting some more attention?

1. A quick-start set (a one shot scenario with pre-gen characters)
2. A book where the first third of it describes a small location (city, station, asteroid, etc), and the other two thirds are a couple of scenarios in that location.
3. Then, more scenarios books. And then more.

Seriously, a refresh of the timeline or of the setting would be nice, but NOTHING comes close to a quick-start set when it comes to making something accessible to new gamers.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by lordabdul

1. A quick-start set (a one shot scenario with pre-gen characters)
2. A book where the first third of it describes a small location (city, station, asteroid, etc), and the other two thirds are a couple of scenarios in that location.
3. Then, more scenarios books. And then more.

Adventures are absolutely key, and Transhuman Space Adventures are right there on the Warehouse 23 GURPS Wishlist. Action, disaster, and mystery adventures would fit in pretty well with existing books, like Wings of the Rising Sun and Transhuman Mysteries. Creating good adventures requires some skill and is time consuming work, which might explain why published adventures are things gamers buy (I think I'm not making that up). I've heard the argument that there are so many things to do in Transhuman Space that published adventures might not match with people's expectations. To that, I'll just say that when I'm hungry, I'm happy to have half a loaf of bread rather than no loaf at all.

The timeline doesn't bother me in the least. But anyone who finds that it interferes with their fun can just push things 50 years without the need for anything official.

[AlexanderHowl]

The problem with THS is that it often tries to blend into a utopian setting, which is not ideal for adventuring (which is also why most adventures end up in space). In many ways, I find Shadowrun more plausible as a setting than THS because the characters' reactions are more realistic and the consequences of bad behavior are much more realistic. For example, if the Ares Conspiracy had occurred in Shadowrun, the megacorporations would have hunted down the Duncanites and killed them all with extreme prejudice for having the audacity of interfering with their plans for Mars.

Given the events of the last 20 years, I also find myself unwilling to believe that it is possible to avoid major disasters. Global climate change is accelerating, pandemics are spreading and getting worse, the Internet is a source of misinformation more than a source of information, the EU is disintegrating, and China and the USA will likely go to war in the next twenty years. The saccharine sentiments of THS are more fitting for the world of 2001 instead of 2021, and I think that a new THS should be darker and grimmer to reflect the changes in perspective that we have experienced.