Scope and format of world data sheets in SF

[Peter Knutsen]

The green text is quite readable, but why do you actually use it, instead of black? Currently I have a B&W laser printer, but I expect to buy a colour inkjet next year, or next year again, and one with separate cartridges for each colour.

I were to print out some of your planets, I'd be mildly annoyed at the use of green ink instead of cheaper black ink. Even if the green ink isn't more expensive than the black ink, I'd be much more likely to have a spare black cartridge lying around, than a reserve green one.

Also, have you checked paper readability? Your green colour is quite readable on a TFT screen, and you say you've tested it on your tablet too, but what about paper printout. That nice green text may suddenly turn out to be downright evilly difficult to read (and that wasn't orginally meant as a pun, at least not consciously).

Originally Posted by Agemegos

TI have always thought that Traveller's UPPs were a singularly bad way of presenting data: arcane and opaque. Which variable is which? What do the values mean?. Their sole virtue was saving paper and ink, which is hardly an issue any more. World Information Sheets presented here to be what UPPs ought to have been: a succinct but accessible summary of the essential minimum information about a world. The fact that I have 128 items to Traveller's six ought to give you the hint that I think as poorly of UPPs' content as of their presentation.

They cannot stand alone, true, but might well be a nice tool to have, to use when appropriate, where you have a 3- or maybe 4-block Dense Profile that summarizes the most important 15-35 items.

And it'd also be of use when indicating Earth-relative values, e.g. Gravity 0.6g (2), where the "2" denotes that 0.6g is 1 step below Earth gravity on the Gravity Scale. It just requires you to know that it is 3 that means average, in every case. Which you'd know if you were a Sagatafl GM. Or that 7 is average, which you'd know if you were a Traveller GM.

If you're not going to allow for a compact format, you can just use 1 as average, on a zero-to-infinite scale.

Personally, I might end up leaving out the 0.6g part entirely, for my (eventual) project, and just say "Gravity 2". Then if you need to know how many gs 2 means (which may be relevant in rare cases), you look it up in a table.