THE MARTIAN HOPPER AND THE TITAN EXPLOSIVE
by Hazed
I've been adding new toys to the Solar System planets, giving players something to play with when they get tired of working for a living. In truth, these new items have been put in to demonstrate how various bits of the Fed event system work, so that when Technocrats are given access to the tools, they have some practical examples to follow. I have found it's a lot easier to write a lesson teaching you how to do something, if there's a real version of it to use as a demonstration!
The Martian Hopper
The first new thing is a means of transport: a hopper that provides a shortcut between Marsport and Chez Diesel. This has absolutely nothing to do with me disliking the long walk, honest! Given how infrequently I leave the comfort of my favorite bar, it would be an act of sheer wastefulness to insist that an alternative means of transport be laid on when I personally intend to avail myself of it as little as possible.
No, there is a very good reason for the hopper to exist: it works like the Venus shuttle, but since it only has two stops on its route, it's much better suited as an example of how that rather complex system works. Yes, you will be able to put something similar on your own planets!
The hopper moves backwards and forwards automatically, plying its route on a regular schedule. Just wait until it shows up, get in, be moved, then get out. And try not to throw up on the seats!
The Titan Explosive
Announcing the return of everybody's favorite explosive: the TDX. Yes, those of you who remember classic Fed will be delighted to hear that you can now take your life in your hands (or equivalent) by handling high explosives. You will find it in a new location, a secure dome, north of the storage dome on Titan.
So what principle of event-writing does the TDX use? Actually, none - the TDX isn't important at all. The significant thing is the door that leads to the secure dome. That's what I needed to demonstrate for one of the lessons in my forthcoming opus, the Advanced Workbench Manual (available soon from all good bookstores throughout the Galaxy, and most bad ones too). I won't go into the technical details about why those doors are special, because I have a horror of boring my readers; but having put in the security door, I needed something inside the dome, and what better than high explosive?
Just remember: you can juggle it, or throw it, or even replace it in the box from whence it came, but whatever you do - don't drop it!
|
