10 janvier 2008
And one from TRU (The Real Universe)
A real company, from the the real world, but this one is too good to pass on.
IMTU, this company based on Flammarion (SM0930) is owned for the biggest part by the Marquise de Flammarion. While active in many sectors of the Flammarion (small) market (including notably real estate, where it enjoys monopoly) the group is only marginally known outside Flammarion as one of the only provider of real paper books (a luxury item more meant to be exposed than read in the nearly paperless Traveller universe).
Brand names from MTU
- The Azzamiin Group was born as a part of a character background
written for one of CDR Fransen campaign. The whole thing being heavily
inspired by the X-Wing Alliance computer game background. IMTU, the
Azzamiin family lives in Glisten (altough they're from Geonee ancestry)
and runs a small corporate empire called the Azzamiin Group (first
logo) operating mainly in rimward part of the Marches. The group is
devided in two major branches:
- The first one including the Azzamiin Resorts, Azzamiin Hotels and Azzamiin Lines subsidiaries (all sharing the first logo) targets the upper sergment of travellers and offers exclusive resorts in exotic locations, luxury business hotels near major starports nexi and matching passengers transport (i.e. First Class only).
- The second one based around Twin Suns Motels, Twin Suns Diners and Twin Suns Lines (all sharing the second logo) targets the opposite end of the travellers spectrum and offers low cost and no frill accommodations and dining in most starports of some importance together with matching passengers transport (i.e. Economy Class only).
- The Spinward Superstore (third logo) and sister company Real Imperial Superstore (fourth logo) are major groceries chains respectively operating spinward and trailward of the Claw. Inspired by the Atlantic Superstore I shop to every other day in Halifax, NS (there is Traveller everywhere!) and its sister brand Real Canadian Superstore.
- The last one (inspired by a major dislexyc american bank) is a
major bank of MTU with a branch in virtually any major system (sector
and subsector capitals, high population worlds, class A starports...)
of the Imperium.
15 octobre 2007
Travel classes
IMTU, the three canon classes (low, middle, high) are replaced by a (slightly) more developed system:
Staterooms come in three flavors:
First Class costs 3500 Cr per jump (regardless of jump number) and gets you 8 dTon of living space (about 4 of those are your actual stateroom, the rest being used for lounge, gangways...) This is a luxurious way of traveling, with matching service, used by noble, managers and wealthy people, roughly comparable to real world airplanes First Class.
Business Class costs 1750 Cr per jump and gets you 4 dTon of living space (2dTon actual stateroom). It's the equivalent of a OTU stateroom and the way most people travel (e.g. businessmen, public servants and military people on a mission, tourists). It's roughly equivalent to real world airplanes Economy Class.
Economy Class costs 875 Cr per jump and gets you 2 dTon of living space (1dTon actual stateroom). It gets really cramped and service is minimal (think disposable sheets and towels, reheated food and drinks in extra). This class (used by students, families on paid holidays and other people with just enough money to avoid cold sleep) is the equivalent of real world low cost carriers.
Note that all staterooms can be shared (effectively reducing the per person price by half) either with someone you know and travel with or with another random passenger (not all lines allow for the later).
Better staterooms are sometimes offered. This is usually only seen on large liners proposing a couple of prestigious suites in addition to their First Class staterooms. The exact size and configuration (and price) of those suites vary a lot from line to line (even a given ship can have several suites of various size and prices). One thing common to most of those suits is a private lounge (although the guests of a suite usually retain access to the First Class lounge should they enjoy a bit of social interaction).
Unlike in the OTU, staterooms are build for a certain class and cannot be upgraded by providing better food and bigger smiles... Upgrading (or downgrading) a stateroom is possible but require removing (adding) bulkhead and refurnishing the newly made space. Most small starships only have one type of stateroom, lacking the space needed to provide the different level of service matching each class. Larger starships generally have either both First and Business or Economy only, only a few line have experimented with three classes ships, with very moderate success.
Actual class designation vary a great deal between lines: Standard, Basic, Essential, Ivory, Silver, Gold, Noble, Premium, Elite, Prestige are some of the designations encountered. Note that a single designation can be used for different class depending on the line: a given line could provide Business and First under the names Silver and Gold while an other provide exactly the same under the names Gold and Platinum. To add to the confusion, low cost lines providing Economy only often give them impressing designation trying to avoid a low comfort reputation. In the same logic, cold sleep passages are often given idyllic names (e.g. Dream Class), trying to make the prospect of being shipped in a freezer a bit less gritty.
07 octobre 2007
Ranks & Insignia - Merchant Marine - Twin Suns Shipping, LIC
Ranks for the various department of Twin Suns Shipping,
a merchant company inspired from the Azzameen family (spelled Azzamiin IMTU) from the Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance computer game... The purple and white of the ranks borders, for the engineering and purser's department, where those worn by those specialties when I was still at school (Antwerp Maritime Academy), however I'm not sure what tradition lies behind them, nor how international they may be. If anyone as references on the topic, he's most welcome...
