Hey, folks.

Mongoose's Traveller 2e, published in 2016, is my favorite iteration of Traveller (which, in turn, is in my top 10 list of favorite RPGs).

A few weeks ago I found out that Mongoose had released an "Updated Version" in 2022.

So I'm wondering if there are any significant differences in the newest version. Is the Update a new edition, or just 2e with added errata or rewritten text? Can anyone provide a quick breakdown of the most important changes?

Thanks in advance,

GW

Mostly what they did was reformat it but they also added some optional rules from other books, did a little error corrections (and added some others), rewrote some parts to remove gender specific language, and added a lot more art.  If you already own the core book, Traveller's Companion, and High Guard, they you don't need this book.  There are no changes to the rules.  IMO, the first printing is a better book, even with an errata that's almost as big as it is.

Thanks for the answer, BadApple. I'll stick to my older books, then.

Quote from: BadApple on August 20, 2023, 10:35:45 AM
rewrote some parts to remove gender specific language...

Wait, what?  Would you care to elaborate?

Quote from: Greywolf76 on August 21, 2023, 07:49:03 AM
Thanks for the answer, BadApple. I'll stick to my older books, then.

Quote from: BadApple on August 20, 2023, 10:35:45 AM
rewrote some parts to remove gender specific language...

Wait, what?  Would you care to elaborate?

There are some rewrites of some sentences that eliminate gendered words.  Mongoose Publishing had a public announcement not too long ago that they were doing this.

Mongoose Publishing is on the DEI program now.  One of their other products currently is Shield Maidens, a very woke feminist game.

When the original Mongoose Traveller 2e (2016) was being playtested, the vast majority of useful suggestions were ignored by the designated lead playtester for questionable reasons (like, "I don't create starships in my home games - so we shouldn't include simple construction rules for them" kind of shit). The Mongoose Traveller 2e 2022 Update is what the core rules would have looked like in 2016 if the playtesters suggestions had been payed attention to.

Quote from: Greywolf76 on August 20, 2023, 09:46:21 AM
Hey, folks.

Mongoose's Traveller 2e, published in 2016, is my favorite iteration of Traveller (which, in turn, is in my top 10 list of favorite RPGs).

A few weeks ago I found out that Mongoose had released an "Updated Version" in 2022.

So I'm wondering if there are any significant differences in the newest version. Is the Update a new edition, or just 2e with added errata or rewritten text? Can anyone provide a quick breakdown of the most important changes?

Thanks in advance,

GW

I don't have the 2016 edition. Just got the 2023 version. 266 pages. The layout is orange highlights on a gray background. It's clean and clear, and it works well enough, but I miss the minimalist B&W layout of CT. Artwork is good, especially the guns and the ships.

Quote from: Aglondir on August 22, 2023, 01:02:23 AM

Quote from: Greywolf76 on August 20, 2023, 09:46:21 AM
Hey, folks.

Mongoose's Traveller 2e, published in 2016, is my favorite iteration of Traveller (which, in turn, is in my top 10 list of favorite RPGs).

A few weeks ago I found out that Mongoose had released an "Updated Version" in 2022.

So I'm wondering if there are any significant differences in the newest version. Is the Update a new edition, or just 2e with added errata or rewritten text? Can anyone provide a quick breakdown of the most important changes?

Thanks in advance,

GW

I don't have the 2016 edition. Just got the 2023 version. 266 pages. The layout is orange highlights on a gray background. It's clean and clear, and it works well enough, but I miss the minimalist B&W layout of CT. Artwork is good, especially the guns and the ships.

I miss the CT minimal art too. But it seems the shiny and pretty sell, since people line up to pay for $30+ PDFs. Not blaming Mongoose - no sense turning away extra money. (Not associated with Stellagama, but I always shill for Stellagama's 2d6 stuff - good organization, three different levels of crunch, and you can buy almost all their products for the cost of a couple of Mongoose PDFs.)

Hey everyone, just to chip in with a few things...

The main drive towards the 'Update' books came about because we were getting to the end of a print run of the Core Rulebook and the graphic artists here wanted to update both the design and (especially) the art. We had greatly increased the quality of art in Traveller over the previous couple of years or so, and they wanted the Core Rulebook to benefit as well. The end of a print run was the obvious time to do it.

While we were at it, it made sense to make some other tweaks here and there, just little things that had been bugging us (such as weapon masses, they were a tad too high before). It also gave us the opportunity to put in the core of the High Guard ship design system and, given that we had noticed a rise in the number of female players in Traveller over the previous few years, we felt neutral pronouns would make things a bit more welcoming.

One thing we stressed upon the release of the Update books though (which now also include High Guard and Central Supply Catalogue, both getting tweaks, a few additions, and improved design/art) was that we considered none of them necessary. In a nutshell, if you have the older Core Rulebook, you will be good to use it for all future books of this edition. Likewise, the Update books remain compatible with all the current books in the edition.

Think of the Update books as a little course correction here and there, spruced up to look much, much nicer!

Oh, and if you have bought the Companion on Drivethru or our website, re-download it - you will get the Update 2024 PDF for it for free

Quote from: MongooseMatt on August 22, 2023, 09:53:57 AM
Oh, and if you have bought the Companion on Drivethru or our website, re-download it - you will get the Update 2024 PDF for it for free

I noticed that for one of your other books and appreciate the free update in this crazy world of subscription models and paying for every version!

I also really like that the table of contents and the index are both linked!

Quote from: Tod13 on August 22, 2023, 10:19:34 AM

I noticed that for one of your other books and appreciate the free update in this crazy world of subscription models and paying for every version!

You are welcome. We are trying to do this more often, and have a Feedback section on our forums for exactly this. Not saying we will be super speedy every time, but we steadily work through all comments and make corrections to the PDFs where possible (even if they are of OOP books, as with a recent update we did to the first edition Sword Worlds book).