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==Reception== In Issue 36 of ''[[Casus Belli (magazine)|Casus Belli]]'', Pierre Lejoyeux reviewed the 1st edition ''Traveller: 2300'' game, and was completely mystified as to why GDW would publish two unrelated games with similar titles, fearing that GDW was trying to replace the old game with the new game. "Will they consign ''Traveller'' to oblivion by releasing a new game of the same inspiration?" he asked. "Why make the two games incompatible, condemning the many ''Traveller'' supplements published to date to dust?"<ref>{{cite magazine | last =Lejoyeux| first =Pierre| title =Têtes d'Affiches | magazine = Casus Belli | issue =36| pages =24 | date =February 1987 | language =fr }}</ref> In the March 1987 edition of ''Adventurer'', James Chapple called ''Traveller 2300'' a better introduction to science fiction role-playing than its predecessor ''Traveller'' because the setting was closer to modern-day Earth. He thought the equipment and weapons included in the rules were "well thought out and reflect the beginnings of a high-tech civilisation." However, he found that the "Referee's Book" "is where the complications set in." He called the overarching Task Resolution system "probably the most generic rule I have ever seen" and said the simplicity of the rules suggested this game was aimed at a younger audience who found the rules to ''Traveller'' too complicated. He also found three major errors in the rules that he felt should have been caught through better playtesting and editing. He concluded "Overall the game is well-produced and set out [...] Apart from the apparent errors I have found, the game seems well-balanced."<ref name=adv>{{cite magazine|last=Chapple|first=James| date=March 1987 |title=Shop Window |magazine=Adventurer| issue=8|pages=21}}</ref> In Issue 4 of ''Third Imperium'', Mike Jackson thought that the game had potential, "but that may be all it has." He found the rules "confusing and difficult to understand on the first read", and found the game overall "poorly balanced and very incomplete." He pointed out that a quarter of the book is taken up by historical background, "while so much is left out." He also questioned the priorities of the authors, who only included 30 pieces of equipment but spent a lot of that space on four types of satellites and organic contact lenses. He also noted that although several alien species are mentioned, they are not described. He concluded, "if you like detailed background and don't mind filling in major gaps in rules, ''Traveller: 2300'' is the game for you."<ref name="te">{{cite magazine|last=Jackson|first=Mike| date=November 1987 |title=Traveller 2300 Review|magazine=Third Imperium|issue=4|pages=5}}</ref> In Issue 7 of ''[[The Games Machine]]'' John Woods briefly reviewed the original ''Traveller 2300'' game and was impressed by the "strikingly simple rules system", concluding "My first impressions are favourable."<ref name="tgm7">{{cite magazine|last=Woods|first=John | date=June 1988 |title=Never Cross the Beams|magazine=[[The Games Machine]]|publisher=[[Newsfield]]|issue=7|pages=115}}</ref> Four issues later, in a full-length review, Woods was still impressed by the setting and detail, but felt that after an in-depth examination, the game was badly let down by the rules system. He was especially disappointed in the Task resolution system, which he felt was overly simplistic, pointing out that if the players decide to try something that falls outside of the few examples given, "it is up to the referee to determine an appropriate Task, or set of Tasks, and to choose the difficulty numbers and so on for them [...] which makes life difficult until the referee has had a fair amount of practice with the system." He concluded with ambivalence, saying, "GDW have produced an excellent and entertaining universe for near-future star-hopping adventure. With the various supplements available, the ''Traveller 2300'' world is as well-detailed and as much fun as any you can play. But its rules system is something of a let-down."<ref name="tgm11">{{cite magazine|last=Woods|first=John | date=October 1988 |title=Mankind Discovers the Stars|magazine=[[The Games Machine]]|publisher=[[Newsfield]]|issue=11|pages=104}}</ref> In the May 1987 edition of ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' (Issue #89), [[Jim Bambra]] reviewed the original ''Traveller 2300'' game, and found the rules "somewhat tedious reading". Having slogged through the rules, he found much to recommend the game, including the character generation system, the skill system, and combat — although he found combat slow compared to the skill system. Bambra felt the starship combat system was "not as good as it could have been... Space combat does not flow very well and is potentially very fiddly once the missiles are flying." Bambra also noted the lack of scenarios, saying, "There is very little information about adventures", pointing out that even in the provided adventure, "vast chunks are left for the GM to develop — a daunting task for most." Bambra concluded, "I would prefer simpler mechanics and a more exciting background."<ref name="wd">{{cite journal|last=Bambra|first=Jim |author-link=Jim Bambra |date=May 1987 |title=Open Box|journal=[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]|publisher=[[Games Workshop]]|issue=89|pages=3}}</ref> Bambra also reviewed ''Traveller 2300'' in the March 1988 edition of ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' (Issue 131), and to the points he had made in ''White Dwarf'', Bambra also criticized the lack of an experience point system — unlike ''AD&D'', where characters advance in skills and powers through their experiences, "A character can survive for years in this game, but he does not improve with age or experience; he stays the same forever. Sure, the PC can get more hardware, more influence, and so on, but he never gets any better at solving tasks." Bambra again emphasized the lack of scenarios, and also the lack of examples in the rules to provide clarity, concluding, "Experienced GMs will have few problems with the game's less-than-satisfactory handling of adventure staging and description, but novices should look elsewhere for their first science-fiction RPG."<ref name=dragon131>{{cite journal|last=Bambra|first=Jim|authorlink=Jim Bambra| date=March 1988 |title=Roleplaying reviews: Tickets to the Stars|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]] |issue=131|pages=71–74}}</ref> A year later, in the May 1989 edition of ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' (Issue 145), Jim Bambra had a chance to revisit the game with the publication of the updated ''2300 AD'', successor to ''Traveller 2300''. Bambra found much to like in the new version of the game, including the upgrade from 96 pages of rules and background in the original setting to 208 pages in the revised setting. Bambra found the new rules for ''2300 AD'' were better organized and had a much more professional layout than the previous version. He also found the sections demonstrating the game to new [[gamemasters]] to be very helpful. Bambra concluded with a positive recommendation: "The 2300 AD game is a greatly welcomed development. With its new and improved presentation, revised and expanded rules and background, more dynamic feel, and extensive range of support products, the 2300 AD game can truly be called a state-of-the-art science-fiction role-playing game. I recommend it highly to anyone looking for a game of hard science-fiction that pulls no punches and delivers the goods in a highly satisfying manner. In bringing out the 2300 AD game, GDW has come up trumps and made a good game into a great one."<ref name=dragon145>{{cite journal|last=Bambra|first=Jim|authorlink=Jim Bambra| date=May 1989 |title=The Kafers are coming!|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]] |issue=145|pages=68–69}}</ref> [[Rick Swan]] reviewed the original ''Traveller: 2300'' in ''[[The Space Gamer|Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer]]'' No. 79.<ref name="SG">{{cite journal|last=Swan |first=Rick |authorlink=Rick Swan |date=August–September 1987 |title=Traveller: 2300|journal=[[The Space Gamer|Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer]]|publisher=[[Diverse Talents, Incorporated]]|issue=79|pages=20–21}}</ref> Swan commented that "''Traveller: 2300'' is not as good as ''Twilight: 2000'' and is a distant third behind the original ''Traveller'', although admittedly those games are tough acts to follow."<ref name="SG"/> [[Steve Wieck]] reviewed ''2300 AD'' in ''[[White Wolf (magazine)|White Wolf]]'' #13 (December 1988), rating it a 3 out of 5 and stated that "Overall, 2300AD is game for true sci-fi fans who are looking for role-playing in a realistic human civilization of the future."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wieck|first=Steve|authorlink=Steve Wieck |date=December 1988 |title= Review: 2300AD |magazine= [[White Wolf Magazine]] |number=13 |page= 20 |url=https://imgur.com/a/RvOEBsu}}</ref> Three years later, in his 1990 book ''[[The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games]]'', Swan found that ''Traveller:2300'' came a distant third behind other notable post-apocalyptic role-playing games published by GDW, ''[[Twilight: 2000]]'' and ''[[MegaTraveller]]''. Although Swan found the character creation rules "elegant", he found the task-resolution system "both awkward and ambiguous" and combat "likewise complicated." Swan concluded by giving this game a rating of 2.5 out of 4, saying, "''Traveller: 2300'' isn't a bad game, it's just an unnecessary one."<ref name=swan>{{cite book | last =Swan | first =Rick | author-link=Rick Swan |title =[[The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games]] | publisher =St. Martin's Press | date =1990 | location =New York | pages =224–228}}</ref> In the same book, Swan reviewed the revised game ''2300 AD'' and pegged its rating at a solid 3 out of 4, saying, "Helpful sections on running and designing adventures ... and the improved organization makes ''2300 AD'' a lot easier to learn than ''Traveller: 2300''. [The designers] turned a fair game into a great one, an impressive accomplishment."<ref name=swan /> In a retrospective review in ''[[Shadis]]'' #28 (October 1996), Matt Staroscik remembered ''2300 AD'' favorably because of its cultural ties to present-day Earth. He also recalled that "All of the weapons and starships have a realistic feel, and the uses they project for biotechnology especially are fantastic." Overall, he thought the game provided an "atmosphere of gritty realism, and that's what I, at least, am after in SF."<ref>{{cite magazine | last =Staroscik | first =Matt | title =Lost | magazine=[[Shadis]] | issue =28 | pages =84 | publisher = Alderac Entertainment Group | date =October 1996}}</ref> In a 1996 reader pool conducted by the British games magazine ''Arcane'' to determine the top 50 role-playing games, ''2300 AD'' was ranked 50th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "The realistic science and technology leads to a gritty, realistic feel. Perhaps one of the best alien species ever created for an RPG, the Kafers are truly alien, with a unique physiology, psychology and society."<ref name="Arcane14">{{cite journal|last= Pettengale|first=Paul|date= December 1996 |title=Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=14|pages=25–35}}</ref> James Davis Nicoll in 2020 for ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'' said "''T2300'' had many interesting features: alien aliens, an attempt to provide a hard SF RPG, and most notably the Near Star map, which did its best to provide a three dimensional map of the stars within 50 light years of the Solar System. It also had... issues, from the confusing product name to playtest/proofreading issues that meant that as ''written'', nine in ten characters were permanently comatose. Thus the 1988 second edition, renamed, polished, and expanded. As I recall, GDW even allowed people with the first edition to swap the original box set for the second edition rather than making them pay for the same game twice."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2020/06/10/stormbringer-stargates-and-fighting-sail-ten-classic-unplayed-rpgs/ | title=Stormbringer, Stargates, and Fighting Sail: Ten Classic Unplayed RPGS – Black Gate | date=10 June 2020 }}</ref>
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