Tech books are cumulative

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Ah, no. High-Tech starts around 1715 or so. By the time the revolution starts it's been in progress for more than half a century.

Originally Posted by Gigermann

Sure, but a lot of the stuff from Low-Tech is still around and in some degree of use—specifically some of the guns described.

This excerpt from the American Revolution thread reminded me of an area about GURPS equipment that has always troubled me. Is it not the case that much of the equipment developed in the tech levels covered by Low-Tech continues to be used through the tech levels covered by High-Tech, and likewise, High-Tech lasting through Ultra-Tech?

Do you find yourself needing not only the book for the current tech level, but also the previous one? Is this generally true? If not, how do you prefer to deal with gaps that would be filled in with the previous book? Improvise? Stick to the Basic Set equipment list?