Cyberzombie
Explorer
Howdy. I have been working on a project that requires some form of technology levels to compare different races and cultures. But most such systems are designed for sci-fi games. In a game like that, there's not much practical difference between, say, a bronze age culture and knights in shining armour. If you have a plasma rifle, either one is dead wet meat on a stick.
So I've been tinkering with a set of tech levels that has more detail on the low end of technology. If you're, say, from a Renaissance level culture, the differences between bronze age enemies and knights is pretty huge and important.
What I'm looking for here is some opinions on my tech levels, especially on the lower end. How do they look? Should I have more detail? Or less?
Some notes on the high end: since it seems, in the real world, that space travel is developed some time before actual space colonization happens, I'm assuming the same pattern will occur with star travel, too. Tech Level 12 is the first TL where significant computers appear. TL 13 is our tech level -- the era of personal computers and the internet. I'm being somewhat optimistic in assuming that the next TL will involve actual solar system colonization.
The first column lists equivalent Traveller tech levels -- since they have the original standard. The next column is my "new" tech levels, followed by a rough description. Early stone age would be like our very ancient ancestors. Bronze age would be like ancient Mesopotamia -- or the Aztecs; they didn't have bronze, but they had more sophisticated tools than the stone age. Iron age would be early Romans. Early iron age would be dark ages/early medieval. Late iron age would be the knight in shining armor. Renaissance would feature early guns, printing presses, and the beginning of truly global interaction.
So I've been tinkering with a set of tech levels that has more detail on the low end of technology. If you're, say, from a Renaissance level culture, the differences between bronze age enemies and knights is pretty huge and important.
What I'm looking for here is some opinions on my tech levels, especially on the lower end. How do they look? Should I have more detail? Or less?
Some notes on the high end: since it seems, in the real world, that space travel is developed some time before actual space colonization happens, I'm assuming the same pattern will occur with star travel, too. Tech Level 12 is the first TL where significant computers appear. TL 13 is our tech level -- the era of personal computers and the internet. I'm being somewhat optimistic in assuming that the next TL will involve actual solar system colonization.
The first column lists equivalent Traveller tech levels -- since they have the original standard. The next column is my "new" tech levels, followed by a rough description. Early stone age would be like our very ancient ancestors. Bronze age would be like ancient Mesopotamia -- or the Aztecs; they didn't have bronze, but they had more sophisticated tools than the stone age. Iron age would be early Romans. Early iron age would be dark ages/early medieval. Late iron age would be the knight in shining armor. Renaissance would feature early guns, printing presses, and the beginning of truly global interaction.
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