User talk:Urschel

The X-Boat system,and the problem with it.The way its mapped out shows a full blown tech 13 "super highway" of sorts (J-4), the thing is you should be be able trace the old "two lane" highway-the route with the starports and the bases(and the populations)the system had when it was first set up back in year 60-75 or shortly thereafter, when Mora and Regina were settled (to use the Spinward Marches as an example we are all probably familiar with)when the IISS was still using jump 2-3 ships(tech 11-12).I might use an example from the highway system in the U.S.,Route 66,old and somewhat disused,with the towns(ports) it passes through fading(you might say if it was a "B" before its now a "C"or "D") but you can clearly see the old pattern of settlement/development along it.The "old" route of the X-Boat system-which had to have lasted hundreds of years-would have been the path along which most of the heavy settlement should be.It takes long and intense efforts to move billions of people(I'm assuming here) and most of them would not be travelling in high-end tech ships(yes,the glories of random placement)).The X-Boat system could have been set up much later,but since communication speed is a central concept in the game I really doubt that,you also might have to assume most those billions came in after jump 4 was invented.The Spinward Main should have "old asphalt" all along it,and all those worlds,the really sweet looking ones along the Main(i.e Tureded,La'Belle,Sharrip,Carse,Capon,Quiru,etc.) that everyone bypassed(and where most of the boneheads on Rethe and Louzy should have stopped),should have much higher populations and somewhat better quality starports.The reasons why each and every one of these has some incurable block to settlement become rather forced and illogical( sort of like finding Chirpers added to a planet's population almost as an afterthought).I do agree that the old route would have decayed-but you run into that moving the billions thing again-everyone could not have just picked up left for Louzy(as much as I love that particular dump).I still use the Marches,nearly all time,I have had an LBB Supplement 3 for 35 years,and in one very scribbled on copy I have re-drawn what my take on what the old route looked like,but nostalgia keeps me using the unmarked copy also.