Spacelane Generation for Subsector Maps

[ShapeShifter]

I'm idly generating a subsector map to pass the time and was wondering if there was a canon rule for determining whether or not a world is connected via spacelanes to other systems. I houseruled my own system where a d6 roll first answers the binary question of whether or not a world has any spacelane(s), and then another roll is keyed to the sides of a hex to determine in which direction a spacelane emanates. However my results were odd and less than satisfying. Is there an already official method that I cannot remember?

 

[fusor]

Of course they were odd, you were generating them randomly! A far more sensible approach would be to simply look at the map and figure out the routes based on what is actually there! This is even suggested in CT Book 6, page 32.

Most communication routes will connect A and B starports, and any world that is important politically or culturally. Book 6 suggests that the routes would be J2 or J3 usually, with X-boat routes at J4.

If you want to figure out trade routes rather than communication routes, I would suggest that you look at the rules in Gurps Traveller: Far Trader (or GT:Interstellar Wars for a simplified version).

 

[rancke]

OMost communication routes will connect A and B starports, and any world that is important politically or culturally. Book 6 suggests that the routes would be J2 or J3 usually, with X-boat routes at J4.

Logic suggests that there will be high-performance passenger routes between any high-population worlds. I would start by connecting all sector capitals by routes that reduce the number of jumps to a minimum. That is, no need to use jump-6 to connect two worlds 8 parsecs apart, because two jump-4 will get you there just as fast and much cheaper. But two worlds 12 parsecs apart would probably have both a 2*jump-6 route, a 3*jump-4 route, and a 4*jump-3 route (possibly even a 6*jump-2 route, though that's more iffy). Astrography will play an important part.


Hans

 

[mike wightman]

Original CT had a route determining table in LBB3 - it was dropped from revised and later editions.

 

[ShapeShifter]

*facepalm* (yet again)

I totally forgot that I had that page in pdf.
However, that system is based on a prior knowledge of starport types, and in my case, I had merely the locations of the systems to work with.

 

[Jeffr0]

Original CT had a route determining table in LBB3 - it was dropped from revised and later additions.

Did. Not. Know. That.

 

[mike wightman]

There are quite lot of differences between original and revised, some of them have fairly major effects.