Captain Untouchable
Jan 22nd, 2014, 05:19:17 AM
Since I got back from the States, I've been working on a Fans version of the Essential Atlas galaxy map.
We already have this map (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php/Galaxy_Map) as a rough guide, but the online supplements for the Essential Atlas give sector maps for big chunks of the galaxy, and I wanted to take those into account. Also, I wanted to make sure that planets important to us were relatively easy to find.
Work In Progress (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/Fans/Galaxy%20Map/Preview6_zps207dd359.jpg~original) (v 2.0)
This is what I have so far. It should be able to zoom in so that it is bigger than your screen (the font size on the planet names is 14), so if you're having trouble viewing that because of Photobucket shenanigans you might need to go here (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/Fans/Galaxy%20Map/Preview6_zps207dd359.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0) and click the magnifying glass in the bottom right to get the pop-up preview... and then click it again to see the original file.
This is still a work in progress - I have planets to add, and prettification to do, but I wanted to get some input before I put any more work in.
First off, what the blazes is all this crap?
Galactic Empire - blue + teal
Blue sectors are the Galactic Empire, with different shades distinguishing between the different Oversectors. Regions of light blue / teal are to catch your attention and draw your eye to sectors / regions that are important. For example, the Greater Javin (~K18) is bright blue because of all the roleplaying plans for Cloud City. The Doldur Sector (~P15) is bright blue because it's one of the key sectors on the Imperial-Alliance border.
Alliance of Free Planets -red + gold
Red sectors are the Alliance of Free Planets, with different shades distinguishing the Area of Operation of the main Alliance Fleets. The gold sectors are regions with either plot or RP significance - for example, the cool question mark shaped blob near Sullust (~M17-M19) has a whole bunch of alien homeworlds (Sullustan, Sluissi, Bith, H'Nemthe, Xamster, Orto, Omwati, etc) and almost completely surrounds Eriadu, which is where the Tarkin family hails from. The Lambda Sector (~P16) is dominated by the Aqualish, who are anti-Empire but not pro-Alliance: a lot of diplomacy is going to go on there.
Hutt Space - green
Green represents Hutt Space, with darker green representing regions that the Hutts think they own, and there's no one around to disagree with them. Much of the dark green region was historically Hutt Space before the Empire, and it includes planets like Gamorr that the Hutts have traditionally drawn slaves from. There's nothing stopping the Alliance (or anyone else) going into these regions, but there's likely to be a lot of Hutt and/or pirate activity when they get there.
Other Regions - grey + orange
Grey sectors are not affiliated with any one particular galactic power. These are sectors that the Treaty demanded the Galactic Empire withdraw from, but the Alliance hasn't got enough political sway with the local planets to say "this is ours": effectively a no man's land between major powers. Orange sectors are plot significant: neutral sectors, disputed sectors, and independent space powers like the Centrality or the Gree Enclave. The Arion Sector (~O10) contains the Stenness Node (Ambria, Stenness, etc) and Zeltros, and borders onto the Onderon-Hapes region of uber-plots. The Arkanis Sector (~R16) is important for the Space Western roleplays, as it contains the Space West (Tatooine) and Space Mexico (Geonosis).
As far as input, there are a bunch of ways you can help.
Are you happy with the borders as I have drawn them?
I did my best to honour the map (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php/Galaxy_Map) we all agreed on, but there were times when the sector borders zigged instead of zagged, and there are a few dashes of artistic licence (disputed territories mainly) I took to better fit with the past roleplays and planned roleplays that I am aware of.
Are there any errors?
For the record, I reserve the right to pretend that all difficult-to-fix mistakes were made intentionally, and come up with some sort of dazzling excuse to justify it. ;)
Are there any planets that definitely need to be there?
Rather than put every single planet possible on there (which would be chaos), I've tried to focus on planets that are a) important politically (ie. alien homeworlds, Alliance Senate worlds, important Imperial worlds), b) important to plot events, or c) important geographically (major hyperspace junctions, planets on the border, etc). I would love to make sure that we have as many planets where roleplays have happened, where characters hail from, etc marked on there as well. I don't yet, for example, have the Lupine homeworld on there because I don't know what it's called, let alone where it is! If there's something you want to make sure is definitely on there, let me know and I'll squeeze it in as best I can.
What planets should I include for the Hapes and Carshoulis Clusters?
I'd like to have more than just the one blob in those clusters if I can, but I am not familiar enough with the politics of them as far as Fans is concerned to pick the top two or three. Are there any super massive important worlds that I absolutely should include, or should I stick to the worlds that have Senators and leave it at that?
Are there alternate versions of the map that would be useful?
I'm already planning to do a simpler version of the map that shows the Imperial Oversectors, and the regions defended/patrolled by the Alliance fleets. I will try and do a smaller version of the map as well that just has sector names without necessarily having planets marked. I'm working on a version of the map that will emphasise all of the Force hotspots in the galaxy, to help with Salem / Darksider / Jedi / etc plots. The Essential Atlas includes a map that shows population density: would you like to see a Fans version of that? Would you like to see a version of the map from before/during the Clone Wars, to see where the Separatists/etc were? Would you like to see a simplified version of the map that charts the Dan/s'Il crisis, tracks the route of the Jedi from Vortex to the various planets the Wheel visited, and on to Ossus? A map of the ongoing missions of the Novgorod?
We already have this map (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php/Galaxy_Map) as a rough guide, but the online supplements for the Essential Atlas give sector maps for big chunks of the galaxy, and I wanted to take those into account. Also, I wanted to make sure that planets important to us were relatively easy to find.
Work In Progress (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/Fans/Galaxy%20Map/Preview6_zps207dd359.jpg~original) (v 2.0)
This is what I have so far. It should be able to zoom in so that it is bigger than your screen (the font size on the planet names is 14), so if you're having trouble viewing that because of Photobucket shenanigans you might need to go here (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/Fans/Galaxy%20Map/Preview6_zps207dd359.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0) and click the magnifying glass in the bottom right to get the pop-up preview... and then click it again to see the original file.
This is still a work in progress - I have planets to add, and prettification to do, but I wanted to get some input before I put any more work in.
First off, what the blazes is all this crap?
Galactic Empire - blue + teal
Blue sectors are the Galactic Empire, with different shades distinguishing between the different Oversectors. Regions of light blue / teal are to catch your attention and draw your eye to sectors / regions that are important. For example, the Greater Javin (~K18) is bright blue because of all the roleplaying plans for Cloud City. The Doldur Sector (~P15) is bright blue because it's one of the key sectors on the Imperial-Alliance border.
Alliance of Free Planets -red + gold
Red sectors are the Alliance of Free Planets, with different shades distinguishing the Area of Operation of the main Alliance Fleets. The gold sectors are regions with either plot or RP significance - for example, the cool question mark shaped blob near Sullust (~M17-M19) has a whole bunch of alien homeworlds (Sullustan, Sluissi, Bith, H'Nemthe, Xamster, Orto, Omwati, etc) and almost completely surrounds Eriadu, which is where the Tarkin family hails from. The Lambda Sector (~P16) is dominated by the Aqualish, who are anti-Empire but not pro-Alliance: a lot of diplomacy is going to go on there.
Hutt Space - green
Green represents Hutt Space, with darker green representing regions that the Hutts think they own, and there's no one around to disagree with them. Much of the dark green region was historically Hutt Space before the Empire, and it includes planets like Gamorr that the Hutts have traditionally drawn slaves from. There's nothing stopping the Alliance (or anyone else) going into these regions, but there's likely to be a lot of Hutt and/or pirate activity when they get there.
Other Regions - grey + orange
Grey sectors are not affiliated with any one particular galactic power. These are sectors that the Treaty demanded the Galactic Empire withdraw from, but the Alliance hasn't got enough political sway with the local planets to say "this is ours": effectively a no man's land between major powers. Orange sectors are plot significant: neutral sectors, disputed sectors, and independent space powers like the Centrality or the Gree Enclave. The Arion Sector (~O10) contains the Stenness Node (Ambria, Stenness, etc) and Zeltros, and borders onto the Onderon-Hapes region of uber-plots. The Arkanis Sector (~R16) is important for the Space Western roleplays, as it contains the Space West (Tatooine) and Space Mexico (Geonosis).
As far as input, there are a bunch of ways you can help.
Are you happy with the borders as I have drawn them?
I did my best to honour the map (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php/Galaxy_Map) we all agreed on, but there were times when the sector borders zigged instead of zagged, and there are a few dashes of artistic licence (disputed territories mainly) I took to better fit with the past roleplays and planned roleplays that I am aware of.
Are there any errors?
For the record, I reserve the right to pretend that all difficult-to-fix mistakes were made intentionally, and come up with some sort of dazzling excuse to justify it. ;)
Are there any planets that definitely need to be there?
Rather than put every single planet possible on there (which would be chaos), I've tried to focus on planets that are a) important politically (ie. alien homeworlds, Alliance Senate worlds, important Imperial worlds), b) important to plot events, or c) important geographically (major hyperspace junctions, planets on the border, etc). I would love to make sure that we have as many planets where roleplays have happened, where characters hail from, etc marked on there as well. I don't yet, for example, have the Lupine homeworld on there because I don't know what it's called, let alone where it is! If there's something you want to make sure is definitely on there, let me know and I'll squeeze it in as best I can.
What planets should I include for the Hapes and Carshoulis Clusters?
I'd like to have more than just the one blob in those clusters if I can, but I am not familiar enough with the politics of them as far as Fans is concerned to pick the top two or three. Are there any super massive important worlds that I absolutely should include, or should I stick to the worlds that have Senators and leave it at that?
Are there alternate versions of the map that would be useful?
I'm already planning to do a simpler version of the map that shows the Imperial Oversectors, and the regions defended/patrolled by the Alliance fleets. I will try and do a smaller version of the map as well that just has sector names without necessarily having planets marked. I'm working on a version of the map that will emphasise all of the Force hotspots in the galaxy, to help with Salem / Darksider / Jedi / etc plots. The Essential Atlas includes a map that shows population density: would you like to see a Fans version of that? Would you like to see a version of the map from before/during the Clone Wars, to see where the Separatists/etc were? Would you like to see a simplified version of the map that charts the Dan/s'Il crisis, tracks the route of the Jedi from Vortex to the various planets the Wheel visited, and on to Ossus? A map of the ongoing missions of the Novgorod?