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Have you ever created your own setting?

The larger hexagons would solve some 3D problems with things like star clusters.

Globular clusters would still be pretty hard to represent as the distances average only about 1LY (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster). You could solve that by changing the scale on the hexes to be .2 parsecs each and figure the center of the cluster is going to have several stars per hex and be a navigation hazard.
600px-A_Swarm_of_Ancient_Stars_-_GPN-2000-000930.jpg
 
Globular clusters would still be pretty hard to represent as the distances average only about 1LY (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster). You could solve that by changing the scale on the hexes to be .2 parsecs each and figure the center of the cluster is going to have several stars per hex and be a navigation hazard.

Snipped photo as its near my follow up.

I think zooming down to 0.1 parsec would be better, but maybe not.

My star cluster is using 1 parsec per hexagon. A number of stars are next to each other, less than a parsec away. Its 7 layers, only layers 5 through 7 are completely mapped, with the middle layer having the most stars. Some layers have concentrations where the middle layer doesn't.

I thought about adding more detail, but I want to get done in this lifetime.
 
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I like it, nice work.
Do you have a template that can be filled easily or is a subsector done like this a time sink?

That took me about 2 hours using paint.net (it has nice graphics layers system) and some dice. I'm all about low prep. At the 10x10x10 parsec scale I just choose spectral classes, name significant planets and just hook up some xboat lines and trade/comms routes. I have a separate bunch of graphic files with icons to cut and paste in.

:coffeegulp:

My low prep article is about designing large scale campaigns while reducing the level of detail you need to prepare in advance.

For the purists, yes, I know that spectral class F is not actually green but is white.
 
I am sitting here trying to build my own seting right now.....stealing heavily from multiple sources and using a vargr variant culture as the main 'bad guys'. so far i've got the races, i've got the 'first contact' point......and not much else other then a list of Terran military units going to the contact point to free the planet from the vargr 'Authority'....i think i may give up on it though or try and work the time line forward until the Vargr authority is shattered and earth and her ally can breath a little.
 
Hmm, things have changed since I last posted...

Not quite the latest map, but here is the "sector" I have created:

K9wI9eOAgL2_jSOs1LNOcNQKMlpIMFbILtuhcqZ-DRhprDCCaWNrycGwmuGA_-GyIWnVrN1yKDdAITT-Ybxqt-NceY8MBko8yx71kiPq02T82DuxFLZNCrl65rqRb4njSZ4fyKHvvtsTgMiiHTHZUJ0oHSncfBfbj8QvVkaqXvOdbzkYSsJfgLD1d2dCOeo-jauZpcfOZ0sCJVdlEsGIWnHzZK_5tVrpAa8oXKr_XEg9jEm1d3YsbeTN_fH6vPTt_Oe0Xe5XhVqrhNcQSD3OZNNJDoomNaZz0L6ZFgLQfUAXeXHePCbg6Qj12x5WV9rcXGAXxi0_6Z6TSkA7qi45Gx8stgTU2YWeY_8wJ8-nWBacQ28N7kdxLJGSZzg7NCiX02Ztq9oxYgB33D7G-aruYT8nuMIu4UHV6W8HAGszcbcpTWa9Dtpq82tkuOD4RR0nm3zf6nlaT2JgZooQFmpYI1r23k9qW5U4d0RlqziA9qjO7_LoTs1TRca1Fp6l7zOyGmsUAqr6EF_-OunCv_PjMdZu8PsQlkq7nhPa-wjiLV6J6vXd2bUuclrjEbB_QM4Lch_zFQh6e7KB4Ntz1H4fW4iqIbE8fk0TmzQ9AFEen5WAERAL=w1214-h938-no


Most of the changes I have made are reflected in this closeup of the "Imperium" portion:

winedark.imperium.smaller.jpg


The genesis of this was inspired by Christopher Kubasik's (creativehum) exploration of The Five Sisters subsector and my subsequent looking at District-268 and a few hexes beyond also, combined with a couple desires:

1. Disassociate from "The Third Imperium" OTU setting.

2. Have my Imperium be at the bottom of the map instead of to the right.

So I took a suitable sized hex map, blocked out the "rift" and rolled up stars outside the rift, then filled in a few to maintain a J-1 route around the rift. Then I hand placed some stars inside the rift keeping the requirement of J-3 to shortcut across. Then I rolled up 1977 Space Lanes (with a few hand tweaks). I also tweaked a few worlds. I reserve the right to change a few more.

But there you have it...
 
I generally make up my own universe. I like looking at settings for inspiration but I am just not comfortable running in someone else's universe.

Right now I am working on a setting in a very dense cluster of stars. It is the core of a former open cluster that has lost most of its members over the two billion years since it formed.

Since my players can be somewhat this system not that when it comes to rules I am working on the general at the moment and will do specifics when I know or decide to force the issue.
 
Hmm...on the original question, I'm not sure I've ever played in a straight 3I game...We'd often use the map but the worlds were ours to create.
 
I have managed to find time since I last posted about this to partially add level 4 to my star cluster.

I have been looking to add rotating glodes from Fractal Terrains 3 to some of my planet pages. Its an export of at least 12 images that can be strung together in html.

Only problem... I didn't include enough info in my spreadsheet so I could go back and get the same map. I have now included columns for that needed info in my spreadsheet. So I'll be trying this out, and see if I can go back and export the globe pics. They default to 128 pixels, but I can increase that. I was thinking 256 pixels would be enough. Having a 1200 pixel wide planet map, and planet survey png is enough without making a large rotating globe to further slow down page loading.
 
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First was a 3D map that was just layers below/above the tiles (with reduced chance to have a star, otherwise connectivity was too easy). Once we got a J3 ship we could reach far more destinations.

Later I created a small 3D map, just a subsector or so worth. Each star system has a connectivity matrix that shows relationships to all neighboring stars up to a certain distance. Easy enough to do with Apple II. Mapping out multi-jump routes wasn't easy without a nifty image generator.

Jump wasn't fixed distance or time. J1 could go out to 1.5pc or so, and time was related to ln of 1+distance with an offset, 2ish days for an in-system jump, 3ish days for jump to companion star hundreds or thousands of AU away, to 9ish days for 1.5pc. Jumping farther than 1pc tended to wear things out.

Higher jump ratings didn't cut time by much in-system or to companion stars. Jump number extended the maximum distance to J+0.5 (maybe J+1 at the upper end) and cut the differential time out to the maximum (nonlinear, maximum J6 almost 3 weeks).

Never actually got to play it...
 
I'm starting to add some more detail to my planets.

Added an extra page for two solar systems; downport and a modified planet map showing cities and downports. Currently only new downports. Both are frontier worlds. One has gone back to Middle Ages Europe, so to speak.

First one: Bahler | Second one: Jak-Hill

As I do these, the planet survey, downports, and citiy maps will be on Part 2 of each planet's pages. Right now the original planet map and the planet survey are on the same page.
 
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I've started to put together my own little game- the Cerberus Cluster; a small globular cluster 30k ly outside the galaxy. Domain sized for "completeness", although I'll probably only ever use 2-3 sub-sectors of it. It gives me something to tinker with.

By the way, after printing out maps from Traveller Map, can someone point me towards the color key for the planets? I'm guessing blue is significant water and purple is exotic atmosphere, but I'm not 100% on what the colors in general signify.
 
By the way, after printing out maps from Traveller Map, can someone point me towards the color key for the planets? I'm guessing blue is significant water and purple is exotic atmosphere, but I'm not 100% on what the colors in general signify.

I the upper right corner of TravellerMap is a key-shaped icon on a button. Click it for all of the Map Legend Info.
 
Thanks, but that only identifies white and blue worlds. The poster map generator also determines black, orange, purple, and green.

I figure that:

White = Water Absent
Blue = Water Present
Green = Agricultural
Purple = Exotic Atmosphere
Black = Something
Orange = Something Else
 
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