Quote from: RPGPundit;809493So again, material-wise it doesn't make huge leaps from the original traveler material?

Yes and no. The errata fixes have some very interesting consequences that make the area much more playable for adventuring.

Quote from: RPGPundit;809493So again, material-wise it doesn't make huge leaps from the original traveler material?

No, one of the virtues of the various incarnation is that they avoid for the most part invalidated past lines information on the setting. If they radically alter something it is either in the past or the in future of the original. Notably the Rebellion of MegaTraveller, Virus from Traveller New Era, and the Early Imperium from Traveller 4.

In general the stats, and the Classic Traveller Library Data supplement 8 and 11 are the core of what is canon about the Third Imperium. What later editions tend to do is focus on detailing local level details like worlds or a subsector's nobility.

That may be invalidated and in some cases had.

Then there are mistakes with the stats which have to fixed with errata. That is the main reason behind the Second Survey project associated with Traveller 5.

But in general older products that detail an aspect of the Third Imperium work pretty easily with new supplement. Even supplement from SJ Games which uses a alternate timeline where the rebellion never happened works pretty well.  The method of mapping trade routes that is commonly used is from GURPS Traveller: Far Trader.

All Mongoose books are revised and updated but almost nothing in Traveller invalidates anything that went before from GDW or DGP, although some Judges Guild sectors went by the wayside.

For general Firefly type games one has to recommend Spinward Marches. Loads of sources from Mongoose or classical stuff.

For an utterly freebooting action game with a touch more aliens and the awesome Aslan, try the Trojan Reaches and the Pirates of Drinax free adventures.

For spying, intrigue, and espionage, Spinward Marches and Solomani Rim offer a lot.

Quote from: tzunder;810202For general Firefly type games one has to recommend Spinward Marches. Loads of sources from Mongoose or classical stuff.

For an utterly freebooting action game with a touch more aliens and the awesome Aslan, try the Trojan Reaches and the Pirates of Drinax free adventures.

For spying, intrigue, and espionage, Spinward Marches and Solomani Rim offer a lot.

Yeah, I have been looking into the Trojan Reaches and the Gvurrdon sectors as well. One has the Aslan and one has the Vargr. Both sound interesting and those two sectors and Spinward Marches and Deneb are all connected. It's all in the same place. Interesting. I got the Spinward Marches PDF, because that book contains most of the general Third Imperium info.

My $0.02 till now about Third Imperium: I like the canon. Not that strange, I like canon in general. I like the GM's advice and the different campaign types. Not so fond of all the rules for spaceships and the elaborate hexcrawls. That's not my cup of tea.

It's a very modular game.
You can handwave spaceship travel quickly.
I would recommend avoiding excessive hex crawling since it can overpower a ref.
Remember that the Traveller map combined with the online Traveller wiki are your friends!

Quote from: tzunder;810623It's a very modular game.

Yes, indeed. It's very broad, but also very focused. And practical. Coming from a WoD background I find this a lot more practical than the (also modular) WoD books. For example I like the campaign types they offer to me. Do you want to be a trader, mercenary or an explorer? Or maybe a spy or a diplomat? You get a clear idea what you will do when choosing a campaign type. They handle the alien races the same way. Want them to be a threat (pirates), an enemy, a loyal friend, a mercenary or the mysterious other? Again it provides clarity to what you will do with them and gives multiple options how to play them. Broad, but focused.

And it's more detailed as well. I like settings with a lot of canon and I like timelines with major events (all those wars). It makes it easier for me to come up with campaign ideas based on past events. I also like picking a spot in the universe to place my campaign in.

Quote from: tzunder;810623I would recommend avoiding excessive hex crawling since it can overpower a ref.

Yes, I find these hex crawls offering more of the same. A lot breadth, but not so much depth.

Quote from: tzunder;810623Remember that the Traveller map combined with the online Traveller wiki are your friends!

Yes, it's more organised than the books. All the info in the third imperium books is a bit spread out between them.