Salutations from New Citizen

[The Pakkrat]

Salutations!

This is the Pakkrat coming to you live and in the original flesh, not that gene-engineered stuff called a clone. All the news from space, this is Net-7 News.

Readers, this reporter has been diverted to you by user jpmiii. Mr. Jim referred me to the Citizens of the Imperium forum in order to seek advice on underdeveloped sectors.

A few weeks ago, this reporter began playing Mongoose Traveller, but it was not my first experience with Traveller. In the mid-1990s, I had my hands on MegaTraveller but suffered a lack of interested players. Today, the Internet has changed the availability of players and put me in touch with forums that show concerted interest in Traveller. I decided to come to the Citizens of the Imperium.

A quick bio on your reporter, the Pakkrat. With 31 years since age 12 of being the kid that the other players shoved the rule books and said, "Read it and teach us to play," the Pakkrat went through many different games as a cheap mode of entertainment. Being a referee, GM, DM, etc. ad infinitum, for 31 years taught me some very interesting lessons in human behavior. Today, I come full circle to Traveller via the Roll20 gaming websites and a mercenary campaign I am cycled into as a referee.

In 1991, I taught myself to draw anthropomorphics as the Vargr race and the Aslan race caught my attention.

I began writing fan fiction in 2011 and have a fantasy, a science fiction trilogy and a few short stories to show for practice in writing.

Today, I am a mission writer for the Earth & Beyond Emulator and am the Anchor-rat for Net-7 News in-game. www.net-7.org for details

With such user-friendly websites such as TravellerMap, the Imperial Encyclopedia, and Far Future Enterprises, this Pakkrat found a plethora of content with which to utilize to make our weekly game fun.

When I say I was diverted, it was because I love maps. I went to TravellerMap and had a look around. Still in love with the Vargr race even after such a very long hiatus from MegaTraveller, I took a look at the only fan-written game content, the Gvurrdon Sourcebook. Renewing my interest in such an underdeveloped game race, I took a second look at TravellerMap. What I found there urged me to draw and write again. But I knew I would need help.

I scrolled around on TravellerMap for a while until I found Khoellighz Sector, Coreward of Gvurrdon Sector. What I found there spoke to me. Such story potential was already present in this "Underdeveloped Sector". Upon further scrutiny, I found ~124 duplicate worlds in Khoellighz. A world might have one or up to three duplicate Universal World Profiles. This was either a user error or just a plain lack of interest in the sector.

I emailed the owner of TravellerMap and asked what would it would take to further develop Khoellighz Sector. Again I was diverted to this forum. In the past two weeks (July 17, 2015 on), I have been using Mongoose Traveller to determine and augment the duplicate worlds to something less repetitive. While generating the UWP for the duplicates, (I wanted to let whomever generated the first scores stand as original work), the polities in that sector began to tell me their tale.

I was encouraged to further develop the sector in hopes that my work might go upon the TravellerMap, but of course remain non-canon. I have no ego, but I cannot abide an inaccurate map. So, I come to Citizens of the Imperium forum for advice on how to best proceed in presenting one artist, writer, referee, cartographer, journalist, game developer (insert other occupation)'s version of Khoellighz Sector to and for the greater Traveller community.

Only two sectors Coreward of the Spinward Marches and occupied mainly by Zhodani and Vargr polities, Khoellighz Sector is indicated for development. I tap the Citizens of the Imperium for advice on bringing this frontier sector to life for characters, be they frontier corsair Vargr, marginalized Zhodani, deep Imperial Surveyors or any other sophont that cares to delve into Khoellighz Sector. I intend to cover the time line zones of 1105, the Fifth Frontier War, Rebellion, and detail the encroachment of Virus into Khoellighz. I need advice, especially in the realm of Has This Been Already Covered by Someone Else?

I did manage after such a long hiatus from Traveller to generate a Traveller Code for myself, so my readers will better understand how I view the Third Imperium:

OTU Code
3i an+ au br- cpu+- dt+ f+ ge- ih- inf+- j+- jf+ jm+ jt+ ls- n= nc+ pi+ pp+ tp+ tr+ tv+ uwp+ vi+ xb+

IMTU Code
tc+ tm++ tne tg-- t20- t4 mgt+ ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt au+ ls pi+ ta he+ kk++ hi as+ va+ dr ith? vr? ne? so zh- vi da+- sy+-

Readers, now that this reporter has laid it all on the line, the question of efficiency arises. Has Khoellighz Sector been already developed? If so, then I can stop right here and read what is available on such an interesting frontier sector.

If there has not been an intrepid surveyor, please advise.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

For Net-7 News, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[aramis]

Step 1: make certain you grok what's already written. The best sources on the Zhodani are the MT Rebellion Sourcebook (which is mostly a precis from the CT AM Zhodani), and the CT AM Zhodani, followed by the GTAR that covers them.

Step 2: realize that all that really matters is good content.

 

[inexorabletash]

In particular, Mongoose's AM4 Zhodani details the Ziafrplians sector, another Zho/Vargr frontier, and may prove inspirational but hopefully not limiting.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Snag In Khoellighz Sector

From 61 Cygni to Deneb to the Antares Frontier....(Oh wait. This is Traveller, not Earth & Beyond).....this is Net-7 News. I am your Anchor-rat, the Pakkrat.

So, I've hit a simple snag in my attempt to develop Khoellighz Sector. On TravellerMap.com I see at spinward and trailing ends of the Vargr Extents two Oppositions Alliance and two Antares Pact. Wracking my brain, I came up with 3 outcomes:

1. Each is the same polity with territories on either end of the Vargr Extents, spinward and trailing. I am of the mind that since Vo Opposition Alliance in Meshan Sector has no repeat world hexes that it came to being before Vo Opposition Alliance in Khoellighz Sector. The same goes for Vx Antares Pact in Meshan & Mendan Sectors.

2. Each is its own polity following the same governmental tenets.

3. TravellerMap error.

Options to choose:

1. Keep the names. Not very believable.
2. Make up new names for Khoellighz Sector's repeat polities.
3. Someone fixes/corrects the TravellerMap.

Help? I'd really like to continue developing Khoellighz Sector. It shows great frontier potential and I have an Ancients idea or three to draw archaeologists to the region. There is great potential in Democracy of Greats for an eighth Great to join the other seven. The Infinity League's involvement with the Zhodani across the Bridge of Destiny is repulsing the other polities on the Bridge. Corsair piracy is at an all-time low depravity in the number of world systems they have exploited. Marginalized Zhodani are seeking upward mobility on the broken frontier and by defecting to Vargr corporations whether they are gifted with psionics or not. This is alarming to the Sector's Council. The Quiet Wars between the polities are only sparked by the occasional tribute pot-shots across each others' bows; the real battle being between Hunters' Bawn privateers (Letter of Marque-d corsairs) who scramble to attack enemy polity trade lanes on and away from the Bridge of Destiny. A secret is being kept from citizens of the Democracy of Greats that only the Greats themselves know. Will the future eighth be the one to let the cat out of the bag and into the DoG yard?

How will the region fare during the Fifth Frontier War, the Rebellion, the Collapse. What lows will the sector go to to survive becoming the Wilds?

This and more. For Net-7 News, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[robject]

Dear Mr. Rat,

I am having trouble seeing these multiple polities... it appears that the Opposition's title appears twice, but inside the single Opposition space, thus this does not appear to be anything more than a metadata error.

Meanwhile, I can only find one Antares Pact.

At any rate, I suggest that the "stuttering stars" effect indicates that there are many errors in this map, permitting you a certain degree of creative freedom.

 

[inexorabletash]

The source of the TM data for most of the Extents is John Woods "Underdeveloped Sectors" which is a reconstruction from the dotmaps in DGP's "Vilani & Vargr". Looking at that reference (pp. 49) the Vx and Vo allegiances are re-used in both Knoellighz (Knoe for short so I don't typo it) and Meshan/Mendan.

Given that, 3 interpretations come to mind:

1. Error on the part of the designers; they used up nearly every V* code and the duplicates may just have been unnoticed.

2. Identical polity names, but unrelated. "Opposition Alliance" could simply mean "worlds allied against common threats".

3. Highly distributed political entities - far-flung colonies, adherents to the same core tenets, splintered factions, etc.

Personally, I lean towards #1 for Vx Antares Pact (since it makes sense over by Antares sector) and mildly #2 for Opposition Alliance.

...

Now, the interesting thing about both of these in Knoe is that both polities actually extend (in the V&V map) into Gvurrdon. On the TM there appear to two sets of two polities split at the sector border: Pact of Gaerr (VPGa)/Antares Pact (Vx) and a short distance away Pact of Gaerr (VPGa)/Opposition Alliance (Vo). In V&V it's just Vx and Vo.

So the newer Gvur already disagrees with V&V about what's going on in Knoe, and Gvur is radically different from how it's depicted in V&V (although one could argue it's 1105 data vs. 1120 data etc.) Therefore the V&V data can be taken with a grain of salt.

Reviewing the latest published data for Gvur (i.e. Mongoose Alien Module 2: Vargr) to speculate on how many worlds exist as part of the Pact of Gaerr outside of Gvurrdon could indicate if e.g. the Opposition Alliance worlds should be part of the Pact of Gaerr and the Antares Pact should be a completely independent polity or vice versa.

Basically... it's already broken, so you're welcome to suggest ways to fix it.

 

[inexorabletash]

I am having trouble seeing these multiple polities... it appears that the Opposition's title appears twice, but inside the single Opposition space, thus this does not appear to be anything more than a metadata error.

Not an error - polity labels are generated automagically for each border, and a polity split across sectors has borders in each. I can go in and tweak the position (etc) of the label (or suppress it entirely), but haven't done that for the Extents, pending T5SS rework.

Meanwhile, I can only find one Antares Pact.

Because links are helpful:

Opposition Alliance:
#1: http://travellermap.com/?options=41975&dimunofficial=1&x=-85.582&y=121.317&scale=64
#2: http://travellermap.com/?options=41975&dimunofficial=1&x=12.856&y=94.364&scale=64

Antares Pact:
#1: http://travellermap.com/?options=41975&dimunofficial=1&x=-96.639&y=127.233&scale=64
#2: http://travellermap.com/?options=41975&dimunofficial=1&x=26.58&y=86.208&scale=64

(Being able to search for a polity is on the TODO list, but not done yet obviously - sorry!)

 

[The Pakkrat]

Moving Forward

"Basically... it's already broken, so you're welcome to suggest ways to fix it."

Thank you for your feedback. That line is very encouraging and enabling.

1. I'd like to assume that the world positions are correct from all previous sources. If not, then some of my work can be shaved off once we learn if the duplicate hexes are still occupied by worlds or not.

2. I'd like to keep the 'rolls' that are not duplicates on the TravellerMap as original work. This seems respectful to those who came before me.

3. The borders for each polity are listed as circa 1105 on TravellerMap. I'll stick to that gun and like The Gvurrdon Sector Sourcebook, I might show changes to the borders in each following chapter, (e.g. Fifth Frontier War, Rebellion, Collapse, Wilds).

4. Is the sector named Khoellighz or Knoellighz as I see the former on TravellerMap and wiki.travellerrpg.com and don't want to contradict proper nomenclature by looking stupid.

5. As for the polity names, Infinity League can stay as can Democracy of Greats. These two polities have the most story to tell in the sector. Since Antares Pact (Rimward version, Meshan sector) seems to have no duplicate worlds and is closer to the Third Imperium, I am inclined to believe that it came into being first and is more valid. The "Antares Pact" in the sector I am trying to develop should be re-named and given a new life of its own.

6. Opposition Alliance is a bit strange. On the TravellerMap, the label "Opposition Alliance" is just outside the polity it labels (Vo), a large polity with far more worlds and no duplicates. This also leads me to believe that this Opposition Alliance was develped first and is the more valid polity. Thus, the "Opposition Alliance" of the sector I hope to develop should be re-named and characterized. If Vo is taken, how about something like V?, V! or perhaps something with more than two letters in the designation.

? Would this forum like updates on my work, or would it be less tiring and more of a treat to receive the finalized draft in its entirety? It's like receiving a periodical versus receiving a finished and thick novel. Pick your poison. On one hand, it might be easier to make changes to the TravellerMap and the wiki in small doses than to have a dump-truck full of changes and updates that must then be transcribed to the map and the wiki.

I appreciate the backup and sounding board for this endeavor. Please keep it up and prod me.

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[inexorabletash]

1. I'd like to assume that the world positions are correct from all previous sources.

The only previous published source I'm aware of is the dotmap w/ allegiances in DGP's V&V. Even for a canonical revisit of the sector that isn't something that needs to be adhered to, but I agree - doesn't hurt. Also, the stellar density is known to be somewhat consistent that way. (A few unofficial sectors have glaring density differences with neighbors)

4. Is the sector named Khoellighz or Knoellighz as I see the former on TravellerMap and wiki.travellerrpg.com and don't want to contradict proper nomenclature by looking stupid.

GDW's AM2:Vargr and DGP's V&V use Knoellighz (with an N).

From my notes, looks like Khoellighz (with an H) came from Steve Bonneville's Consolidated Traveller Region Name List http://www.mu.org/~joe/traveller/archive/General/Sector.List.txt
and may be a transcription error that has propagated through various other online sources that didn't check the original source material.

I'll tweak TM to use 'N'. (Will probably be fixed before you read this.)

If Vo is taken, how about something like V?, V! or perhaps something with more than two letters in the designation.

Two-letter codes are not required to be unique across charted space (or time). Each sector can have its own definitions. T5SS four-letter codes are unique, but those are assigned by T5SS. So... use whatever two-letter codes you want and with your sector metadata you can include a table identifying them.

 

[maksimsmelchak]

Hi Packrat,

Why don't you start working your notes at the Traveller Wiki: [http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Main_Page ]

There are lots of cool things to do there. I'd be happy to help get you started.

Positive vibes to you!

Shalom,
M.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Wiki Redirect

On the wiki, "Knoellighz" redirects to "Khoellighz", which I acknowledge is wrong. If I begin writing what I have here, can it be corrected later?

Thanks for the invite to edit the Traveller Wiki. I will do my very best to bring what I have on paper thus far to the community.

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[aramis]

On the wiki, "Knoellighz" redirects to "Khoellighz", which I acknowledge is wrong. If I begin writing what I have here, can it be corrected later?

Thanks for the invite to edit the Traveller Wiki. I will do my very best to bring what I have on paper thus far to the community.

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat.

[m;]Lead Admin Approves!!![/m;]
You're more than welcome to work on it here, get commentary, and then post to the Wiki, or post to the wiki, link from here, and take the feedback here and edit on the wiki. The wiki is hosted by FFE, just as is the BBS.

Note that only trusted posters get to go back and edit posts later. There's a long history which would be off topic here.

 

[The Pakkrat]

First Entry: Infinity League

Developing by polity, my first entry to the wiki is the Infinity League.

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Infinity_League

When proofreading or perusing my work, please keep in mind this disclaimer: I have never edited a wiki before and am not directly transcribing what I have written. Open to further editing, please let me have feedback to the developing Knoellighz Sector.

For Net-7 News, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Alternate Polity Name Suggestion

As we have found, the polity names Antares Pact and Opposition Alliance are duplicated in Knoellighz Sector. May I suggest alternates? Intuition told me to keep at least their initials in the names:

Ascendency Pact (Vx) "Ascending together."

Oculus Alignment (Vo) "Our worlds see eye-to-eye."

When you aren't the big dog in the yard, (like Democracy of Greats for example), you have to market your polity a little better.

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[maksimsmelchak]

Developing by polity, my first entry to the wiki is the Infinity League.

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Infinity_League

When proofreading or perusing my work, please keep in mind this disclaimer: I have never edited a wiki before and am not directly transcribing what I have written. Open to further editing, please let me have feedback to the developing Knoellighz Sector.

For Net-7 News, this is the Pakkrat.

Looks good! Keep up the good work!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Travel Codes on TravellerMap

Before I endure a dTon of work for myself, a question please:

If I have generated the Universal World Profile for the duplicate worlds of Knoellighz Sector, will the TravellerMap automatically determine its Travel Codes? Or do they have to be manually input?

I have all the UWP scores, pending #of Gas Giants, #Belts, for the duplicates determined. Combing through each would be tedious and overly-exploratory, bogging me down in details. Pretty-please confirm that TravellerMap can come up with Travel Codes.

Tomorrow's news today, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[robject]

Before I endure a dTon of work for myself, a question please:

If I have generated the Universal World Profile for the duplicate worlds of Knoellighz Sector, will the TravellerMap automatically determine its Travel Codes? Or do they have to be manually input?

I have all the UWP scores, pending #of Gas Giants, #Belts, for the duplicates determined. Combing through each would be tedious and overly-exploratory, bogging me down in details. Pretty-please confirm that TravellerMap can come up with Travel Codes.

Tomorrow's news today, this is the Pakkrat.

Pakkrat, I don't have a tool that calculates trade codes for a pile of UWPs. At least, I don't currently have one.

But it shouldn't be hard to gen one up...


Okay, here's a beta test. It'll probably get you most of the way there, but let me know where it stops short and we'll take it the rest of the way.

http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/survey/t5-prog/codes.pl

 

[inexorabletash]

If I have generated the Universal World Profile for the duplicate worlds of Knoellighz Sector, will the TravellerMap automatically determine its Travel Codes? Or do they have to be manually input?

Sorry, nope - it doesn't do that, it just renders the data. Rob may have you covered. If not we can whip up a page utility like http://travellermap.com/tools/lintsec.html that:

* Validates/parses the input
* Adds any missing trade codes based on UWP

 

[The Pakkrat]

Oculus Alignment

Tonight on Net-7 News...

Live from Knoellighz Sector, your Anchor-rat covers, the Oculus Alignment. Tune in here:

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Oculus_Alignment

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Ascendancy Pact

On the scene everywhere, this is Net-7 News!

Live from Knoellighz Sector, this reporter brings a spotlight on:

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Ascendancy_Pact

Secrets and politics, served up fresh by your most trusted news service. This is the Pakkrat for Net-7 News.