LBB6 system generation questions

[Fritz_Brown]

Three questions to start off:

1) On pages 34-35, it talks about "Planetoids". It mentions that size 0 is a belt in LBB3, then it goes on to talk about placing belts in the from-scratch-extended-system generation. Nowhere does it mention generating the rest of the info as you would do for a regular world. Are you supposed to do that? Does getting a belt in a certain orbit simply mean that you start with a size of 0?

2) Can you get a gas giant as a captured planet? It isn't dealt with, but it would matter in an automated system.

3) Related: can a captured planet have moons? That is also not discussed.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

1) Yes.

2) Yes. Neptune is a "captured planet" in the LBB6 depiction of the Solar System.

3) Yes.

 

[RandyT0001]

Originally posted by Black Globe Generator:
1) Yes.

Agreed.

2) Yes.

IMO, a captured gas giant would be highly improbable. One out of a thousand captured planets might be a gas giant, most are going to be small rock/ice balls.

Neptune is a "captured planet" in the LBB6 depiction of the Solar System.

I looked in my CT reprint and found no reference to this. BGG, would you be so kind as to cite the page and passage?

3) Yes.

IMO, the captured planet could have captured small moons (like Mars and Phobos) but the process of capturing the planet probably stripped any natural moons it had when it got captured.

YMMV

 

[KenHR]

Originally posted by Randy Tyler:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Neptune is a "captured planet" in the LBB6 depiction of the Solar System.

I looked in my CT reprint and found no reference to this. BGG, would you be so kind as to cite the page and passage?</font>[/QUOTE]Neptune's orbit is 8.5, which indicates that it is a captured planet. See LBB6, page 34.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by KenHR:
Neptune's orbit is 8.5, which indicates that it is a captured planet. See LBB6, page 34.

I'm BGG, and I approve this message.

"Captured planet" as used in LBB6 seems to include a planet not in an orbit governed by the Titius-Bode "law," rather than a planet of exogenous origin to the star system.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

So, When I get a "Belt" result, I need to go ahead and generate Pop, Gov, LL, and TL? OK, I can make my spreadsheet do that.

Hmmm, how would I allow for a GG to be a "captured" planet? That's gonna take some doing.

Of course, to combine those two thoughts, I guess I ought to allow for a captured planet to be a "belt", as well. Poor rogue planet gets snagged by the star, only to be blasted into rubble by some force....

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Hmmm, how would I allow for a GG to be a "captured" planet? That's gonna take some doing.

Create all of the orbits, then assign the chance of a gas giant or belt to a non-standard orbit?

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Poor rogue planet gets snagged by the star, only to be blasted into rubble by some force....

Done this a few times.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Originally posted by Black Globe Generator:
Create all of the orbits, then assign the chance of a gas giant or belt to a non-standard orbit?

That's fine, but how do I do that within LBB6?
(Hey, I'll deviate - I just don't want to....)

 

[Icosahedron]

I posted a reply to the other copy of this question in the 'IMTU' section. Since this thread seems more popular, perhaps some kind moderator would transfer my reply here?
Thanks.

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Posted this in the CT forum and got zip. It might do better here.

Originally posted by Fritz88:
[qb] Three questions to start off:

1) On pages 34-35, it talks about "Planetoids". It mentions that size 0 is a belt in LBB3, then it goes on to talk about placing belts in the from-scratch-extended-system generation. Nowhere does it mention generating the rest of the info as you would do for a regular world. Are you supposed to do that? Does getting a belt in a certain orbit simply mean that you start with a size of 0?

The sentence that passes over p35/36 suggests to me that yes, it is a size 0. Presumably, you would then generate its stats in the same way as any other world.

2) Can you get a gas giant as a captured planet? It isn't dealt with, but it would matter in an automated system.

3) Related: can a captured planet have moons? That is also not discussed.

The answer to these questions would depend on where the captured planet came from. Obviously the rule-writers were thinking about Pluto. I would think a captured Oort Cloud object would be unlikely to be a Gas Giant - however I would also have thought it unlikely that such an object would have a moon, yet Pluto does!

If I were making an automated system, I'd allow them - on the basis that it's easier to delete unwanted items than create wanted ones manually.

Just my 2p.

PS. I'd really, really love an automated Book 6. especially if it's a spreadsheet format that I can tweak with houserules.

[ December 17, 2006, 04:31 AM: Message edited by: Sigg Oddra ]

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Well, if I knew how to get out a 48MB file easily, I would offer it. Yes, it's 48MB. Of course, that's generating an entire subsector, along with a subsector map, quadrant map, a sector list of all the systems generated, etc....
I really don't know how much I can weed out, even to make it only a single system - everything is connected (well, most everything).

 

[Plankowner]

Originally posted by Black Globe Generator:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by KenHR:
Neptune's orbit is 8.5, which indicates that it is a captured planet. See LBB6, page 34.

I'm BGG, and I approve this message.



"Captured planet" as used in LBB6 seems to include a planet not in an orbit governed by the Titius-Bode "law," rather than a planet of exogenous origin to the star system. </font>[/QUOTE]BGG, you are correct. The term "Captured" was used to describe any planet not found in the normal orbital position. This lets the various planetary systems vary from each other at least a bit and also helps create our known Solar System.

 

[Plankowner]

Any chance you could just have the file create a single Solar System???? Should greatly reduce the file size.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Originally posted by Plankowner:
BGG, you are correct. The term "Captured" was used to describe any planet not found in the normal orbital position. This lets the various planetary systems vary from each other at least a bit and also helps create our known Solar System.

Except that LBB6 never has you drop any planets in orbits near the "captured" planet! So, you can have a planet in Orbit 4 and one in Orbit 4.1, also. That could provide for some very interesting tidal effects!

Originally posted by Plankowner:
Any chance you could just have the file create a single Solar System???? Should greatly reduce the file size.

I am working on getting it nice and tight, right now. When I get it workable, I will let you know and try to get you a 1-system version. It shouldn't take too much work to untie it from the sector data and the star charts. (With only the calcs for two systems, the sector data tab, and all the star charts, it's still almost 6MB!)

 

[Fritz_Brown]

OK, new question.

So a "Belt" result gives you a world size of 0, then you generate everything else appropriately. But, if you roll a 0*, it becomes a "S". Is that right?

*After determining the orbit doesn't contain a "GG", "Belt", and isn't "Empty".

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Yes.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Plankowner, I have finished the rework on the spreadsheet. I also created one that will only generate a single system (you will have to run another copy to get any planets around a second or third star). Where would you like it? Or, should it be put in the f-library?

 

[Mickazoid]

Fritz: I'm really looking forward to seeing your work on the spreadsheet!

Huzzah for taking it on!
Micki

 

[KenHR]

Hi, Fritz,

I'd love to take a look at your spreadsheet, too. I ran into some problems making one of my own a long time back, and I haven't revisited it after getting some more experience with Excel. Would love to see how others tackle the system.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

The single system version of the spreadsheet only runs 1MB. It has no map sheets, no star chart, no sector data roll-up.

Anybody who would like to see it, drop me a PM, or let me know how to get it into the f-library....

(Just for reference, the one that calculates a single system, but has the hex maps (subsector, sector and quadrant), MTU star chart, sector roll-up data, etc. runs 5.9MB. The one that calculates a whole subsector (up to 50 systems) only runs 44.5MB now.... )

 

[RandyT0001]

Fritz, did you get my PM?