06-21-2022, 03:31 PM | #11 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
It becomes substantially harder, but no plausibly habitable world is going to be worse than Mars
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06-22-2022, 08:50 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Oct 2008
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Quote:
But Late TL 8/early TL9 like we are now, do require computers everywhere and powerful ones. Once you have those then NOT simulating fluid movements by computer becomes very unlikely. And such simulations would clearly show how to make efficient wings. Of course there might then be a delay between theory and mass adaptation as it might be labeled "Dangerous experimental technology" and only used by the world militaries in the first few years. As for rocketry: That is even more unlikely, as much as people liked playing with rockets early on.. but modern intercontinental missiles/space rockets might have not been built if there was not the heavy militarization of rocketry from the 1950s onward. Developing them was extremely expensive. But smaller things like battlefield rockets and such would be extremly likely. |
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06-23-2022, 10:31 AM | #13 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Is there a clear RAW position that defines TL thresholds? Is it knowledge of the principles of the tech, is it existence of samples of the tech, is it pervasive use of the tech, or something else?
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06-23-2022, 11:21 AM | #14 |
Join Date: Sep 2014
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Basic Set says:
“Tech level” (TL) is a general rating of a society’s highest achievement in technology (or a certain type of technology). […] Each TL describes a set of technologies that become available after a certain point in time. So it really comes down to what “highest achievement” and “become available” mean. Given that the major purpose of TLs is to find out what gear is available, it seems logical that it refers to the point at which it should be in sufficient production to be purchasable (whether by individuals, corporations, militaries, or whatever). Last edited by the-red-scare; 06-23-2022 at 11:22 AM. Reason: Typo |
06-23-2022, 12:19 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Quote:
Turning that to the OP, then, it would seem that fairly wide divergences are possible between categories of technology within a society, based on non-technical constraints. For example, in the Dune universe, advanced computers are perfectly possible, but outlawed. |
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06-23-2022, 12:46 PM | #16 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
It must be something that is actually put into practice on more than an experimental basis, and something the culture can build for themselves if they have to.
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06-23-2022, 01:10 PM | #17 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Quote:
GURPS Classic Low-Tech came up with a number of examples of divergent TL from world history before the 19th century. After reading a few books on the Soviet space program, Ken Hite has the impression that Soviet aerospace technology was seriously hindered by their lack of good electronic computers.
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature Last edited by Polydamas; 06-23-2022 at 01:16 PM. |
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06-23-2022, 03:33 PM | #18 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
In GURPS Low-Tech, we specified that the TL was based on what could commonly be made or purchased. It doesn't count if you've just come up with the idea, or if you've made the prototype, or even if you've debugged it. Once you start selling them, or once the knowhow is dispersed through your society, it's part of the TL.
There's also room for some give in when the boundaries are. Something that came on the market in 1978 could fairly be called "TL8": TL7 people pretty much wouldn't have it, but TL8 people could. Though this has to be a GM judgment call.
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06-23-2022, 03:45 PM | #19 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Quote:
If humans came to live in wildly different environments, or separated by distances which are hard to cross with mater or information, it seems likely that we would see technology diverge again.
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature |
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06-23-2022, 04:12 PM | #20 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Different TLs in different fields
Quote:
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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