New Astro Synsythesis Out

[BetterThanLife]

OK version 2.0 of Astrosysnthesis is now available. Apparently it is capable of scripting. (So we could generate a 3D Travelleresque universe.) Any one have it yet?

Is there any real interest in running Traveller Campaigns in a 3d Universe? Has anyone done it and how does it affect things like communications within the 3I?

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Yes, I bought it the day it came out. It's like butter!

Seriously, it allows data input and output via XML It also takes Star Data via .csv files. I took the 2300 Near Stars List and imported it, no problem. It has plugin features so if you write something in VB, it goes in nicely. Pity my training does not include VB...

 

[TheEngineer]

Yep.
The import/export feature is just great.

I will send them just a few enhancement requests regarding the system view feature.
IMHO this could need a kind of grid in order to give a hint on actual distances. And a vector format output would be really great.

 

[BetterThanLife]

YOu guys do any 3D Traveller? How would that effect things like Jump Drive? Is the OTU History viable? Or should I start from scratch with a whole new universe?

 

[parmasson]

^Imagine the ability create choke points that can create a nexus of power and plot.

In AS the stars are packed much closer in a way because Jump 2 only takes you 2 parsecs and that doesn’t really go very far. It makes the “region” more compact while at the same time increases the number of worlds in a subsector so that you would never have to leave. It does change the entire setting of the game. Players will adjust quickly (I hope) but even a computer dummy like me can plop stars into a universe and go. The Windowsesque menus and navigation can be picked up your first time out.

 

[tjoneslo]

Originally posted by BetterThanLife:
YOu guys do any 3D Traveller? How would that effect things like Jump Drive? Is the OTU History viable? Or should I start from scratch with a whole new universe?

The biggest problem is the average seperation of stars in a normal 3D universe. Using the standard drive ratings, J1 drives are completely useless, J2's are mostly useless, and the higher Drive numbers reach many times as many stars. You can deal with this by either redesigning all the ships or by redefining how far each Jump Drive number reaches.

The second biggest problem is the size of the empires. They are much more compact. It no longer takes a year for a ship to reach the frontier from the capital. So no, the OTU history no longer works.

 

[JAFARR]

Originally posted by BetterThanLife:
YOu guys do any 3D Traveller? How would that effect things like Jump Drive? Is the OTU History viable? Or should I start from scratch with a whole new universe?

Is there any way to merge this with the wery similar thread in the Lone Star forum?

 

[TheEngineer]

Hi BTL !

I go with the compromise to use a real world mapped Traveller Universe (thus at least 3D) with the mapping weirdnesses packed into jumpspace.
So IMTU a jump 1 is just one parsec in jumpspace, but may be much much more in real space. But anyway, the real distances rarely matter in players affairs...only upon a navigation glitch, when a players ships might be 100+ real lightyears away from anything else.

The OTU history is tied to the astrography as world history is tied to earths geography. Its just a different universe, so the OTU history would be hard to keep.

To create a new universe is perhaps a pretty clean method, but surely a tough piece of work.

It always a good thing to ask whats worth afford

regards,

Mert

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
^Imagine the ability create choke points that can create a nexus of power and plot.

In AS the stars are packed much closer in a way because Jump 2 only takes you 2 parsecs and that doesn’t really go very far. It makes the “region” more compact while at the same time increases the number of worlds in a subsector so that you would never have to leave. It does change the entire setting of the game. Players will adjust quickly (I hope) but even a computer dummy like me can plop stars into a universe and go. The Windowsesque menus and navigation can be picked up your first time out.

Actually that would depend on your settings in AS and whether you use all the stars or just the habitated ones. And there is already a script that will get you a similar to Traveller Spread.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by tjoneslo:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by BetterThanLife:
YOu guys do any 3D Traveller? How would that effect things like Jump Drive? Is the OTU History viable? Or should I start from scratch with a whole new universe?

The biggest problem is the average seperation of stars in a normal 3D universe. Using the standard drive ratings, J1 drives are completely useless, J2's are mostly useless, and the higher Drive numbers reach many times as many stars. You can deal with this by either redesigning all the ships or by redefining how far each Jump Drive number reaches.

The second biggest problem is the size of the empires. They are much more compact. It no longer takes a year for a ship to reach the frontier from the capital. So no, the OTU history no longer works. </font>[/QUOTE]I've thought about the size of the Empires and the compactness of the Emipres being a really limiting factor. Or the explosion of the number of systems when going 3D. However Thrash's Jump number=range formula looks like it might mitigate this. (Jn+2*.6 = distance that you can travel in Parsecs per jump.)

If that works, (I will be testing the script and this jump formula, etc.), then while you might not recognize the Spinward Marches or Gateway Domain from looking at it, the overall history, major worlds, general feel of the different regions, would all work. For example the Sword Worlds would, likely look more like a cluster than a wall bracket with a Plasma TV on it but it would still work.