Maker/meta

Discussion around Makers

Digital modeling and fabrication is a design and production process that combines 3D modeling or computing-aided design (CAD) with additive and subtractive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is also known as 3D printing, while subtractive manufacturing may also be referred to as machining, and many other technologies can be exploited to physically produce the designed objects.

Most of what the Makers do falls below the resolution of rules. If the players decide if they need a framit to fix the ship, there are no "framit" items in the rules. Describing what a Maker does and why it is useful within the context of the rules can be an interesting challenge.

The Traveller Technology levels are flatter and more linear than the exponential growth curve we've become accustomed to. Traveller has never told stories about the disruptive nature of technology. Technology is either something invented hundreds of years ago, has gone through a dozen generations to work out the kinks, and just works. Or is the (mad?) science not ready for the mass of humanitii. So rather than asking how does the Maker tech disrupt the established order, these rules assume maker tech has always been there and this shows how it fits into the existing TL history.

Rules for Makers

These rules rely upon the QREBS rules (T5 book 1, p173-179) and the Tech Level Stage Effects (T5 book 2, p.251).

A Maker can manufacture an item (or part) that is 2 to 4 TLs below the TL of the Maker itself.

There are three levels of maker quality:

• Advanced / Military Specification (mil-spec) which can manufacture 2 TLs behind
• Common / average which can manufacture 3 TLs behind
• Cheap / economy which are 4 TLs behind.

You can apply the Tech Level Stage effects (Chart book 2, p.251 and many other places) to get more up to date items.

For example, An advanced TL10 Maker has a base manufacturing of TL8. If you want to make TL9 goods they are "Early", take 2x the feedstock material, and are not quite as good as normal TL9 goods. Making a TL10 item is considered a "prototype", requires 5x the feedstock material and is less capable than the normal TL10 items.

Part of this limitation of Makers is the use of advanced materials. Crystaliron at TL9, Superdense at TL12, and so on. As a hard limit Makers are limited to the TL scale for using these materials. E.g. it requires a TL12 maker to construct an item using Crystaliron. Manufacturer's with access to these materials begin to incorporate them into devices and structures before the Makers can work with them. Having a general purpose maker tool deal with that material requires a few advancements of the understanding of how to manipulate it.

And this applies to other tech advances. Building synaptic processor component (TL10 invention) requires a TL13 or TL14 Maker.

The TL8 to TL12 Makers are the -2/-3/-4 kinds of Makers. At TL13, other manufacturing advances (e.g. Nanotechnology) allow the the Makers to become -1/-2/-3 (TLs for advanced/average/poor makers), and at TL17 the makers become 0/-1/-2. The whole idea of the maker begins to vanish with the development of smart matter technologies around TL20.

The sizes for the Makers follow the rules for the Toolkits (T5 Book 3, p195) where you have portable kits (size 3, 2kg, Cr150), Standard Toolkit (Size 4, 10kg, Cr1500), Toolchest (Size 5, 50kg, Cr10,000), and Workbench (Size 6, 2000kg, Cr100,000).

Makers can be specialized. Each of the existing tool kits have a corresponding Maker which is equipped to make (or replace) the tools and spare parts within the kit. E.g. an Electronic tool kit is for the repair of electronic devices, and Electronics Maker can manufacture tools and items for the same.

The larger Makers (Roup and Ton sized) can be less specialized. So you can have a "Starship Repair Maker", capable of handling anything on the whole ship. There is a "Luxury goods Maker" to include creation of clothing (and some armor) and jewelry and other like things. Further specializations are left to the imagination of the Referee and players.

There are feedstock generators, which manufacture the feedstock for the makers. Each generator is a specialized machine generating only one kind of feedstock. These will accept most materials, usually in small parts, separate out their specific kind of material, and reject the rest into a disposal bin.

Ships going out into rough territory but expecting to make it back to civilization on a regular basis (e.g. for annual maintenance) would have a Maker or two with a Feedstock collection for emergency use. Ships going on extended journeys may include a few small feedstock generators (titanium, aluminum, silica glass, and a high density plastic are the favorites).