Kelly,

My tuppence. I’ve worked in technology most of my adult life. I have continued to “evolve” my descriptions of the tech being used in-game so that has helped to keep the feel somewhat current. I’m also more of a space opera mentality who has no issue using handwavium to move the story forward or just make it fun for the players. That being said, I can freely acknowledge that there are “hard scifi” types who want an ultra-realistic game so handwavium is anathema to them and they desire more complexity to satisfy the needs of their game(s) or personalities. Finally, it is important to factor in the simple economic fact that a publisher has to make sales.

All of the above sort of sums up the “why” with regard to the ever-increasing levels of complexity. On the flip side, I’m not constrained to embrace anything that doesn’t work with my Traveller universe. I generally eschew the debates of what is / is not “canon” because my game has it’s own “canon”.

if you need a break, take one. If you’re done, you’re done. Life is too short to be unhappy but I think that taking a break would be a good first step and then do some self-reflection after a few months to see if your interest is still there.

Regardless of your decision, I’ve always enjoyed your posts.

Clear skies!

Chuck