T5 star system generation

[tonieee]

I'm looking at generating a sub-sector for a campaign I'm hoping to run. I'm currently playing around with CT book 6 and Grand Survey/Census and may add bits from First In.

But I've been wondering about the T5 system generation? How does it compare to book 6/GS/GC/FI? Is it worth buying T5 just for the system generation? Though if I did buy it I might use other bits (I'm currently planning on using mainly Mongoose Traveller but may use parts of CT).

Also, is there an option for buying it as a PDF download? It's available in print form a game shop here but it's very expensive and rather hefty! The far future website only seems to have CD and print verions for sale and I don't really want to pay to post a piece of plastic over to the UK.

 

[robject]

Presumably First In has worldbuilding formulas built into it? If so, then stick with what you know.

If you were only using Book 6, then Traveller5 has that covered, plus some nice templates for world-mapping, and tools for terrain-mapping at the regional and local levels.

 

[agorski]

If you have access to a Mac you can download my SectorMaker app and use that to custom build a subsector. It only generates the system details to the level needed for the T5 Second Survey Format for star systems, so no details on planets other than the main world.

 

[tonieee]

Presumably First In has worldbuilding formulas built into it? If so, then stick with what you know.

I'm not very familiar with First In even though I've owned it since it came out. My next task I want to do is to go through it and see how it compares to book 6/GC//GS.

If you were only using Book 6, then Traveller5 has that covered, plus some nice templates for world-mapping, and tools for terrain-mapping at the regional and local levels.

Oooh world/terrain mapping tools sounds good. Do you know how they compare to the ones in Grand Survey?

 

[tonieee]

If you have access to a Mac you can download my SectorMaker app and use that to custom build a subsector. It only generates the system details to the level needed for the T5 Second Survey Format for star systems, so no details on planets other than the main world.

Thank you but I don't have a Mac and I do want full details on all planets/satellites.

 

[Draconian]

No one mentioned it yet? You can generate a sector according to Traveller 5th-edition rules on Thalassogen's site. One of his utilities is called SectorMaker:

http://heldenhaufen.de/T5/

It generates a datafile (about 1 megabyte!) that can be fed into a spreadsheet program, edited, then uploaded back into the page (takes about a minute). I posted an essay on his site about how to do that. Systems initially have Vilani names, randomly generated. Generate a Sector Map, click one of 16 letters for sub-sector maps (note: in the T5 book there is not actually any I or O subsector because those letters are omitted, but it should not create any confusion about subsector position), click any hex to get a pop-up with the extended Universal World Profile (UWP) which resembles Classic Traveller but with extensions, click the name of a system in the table below to get the full Orbit Table buried in the datafile for that system.

It is well-done and incorporates the latest-known T5 errata. You can download a .pdf of a sector, it will have a large 40x32 sector map, 16 subsector maps, a table of the mainworld names and their UWP. But it will not include Orbit Tables for subsidiary worlds in a system because there are way too many. You can either get the info from the raw datafile or upload the datafile from the Web-page, touch the name of a mainworld in the table and screen-capture the Orbit Table when it appears.

In a 40x32 Sector, the number of hexes with stars in an average part of the Galaxy may come out to about half the hexes, or 640, like in Classic Traveller. Each system with a star (or multiple stars are possible in T5) may give an average of 9 and 5/6ths worlds (including planets, satellites, asteroid belts).

Mainworlds and physically different co-worlds in each system are generated, but the "extensions" representing economic and cultural factors are absolutely the same for all planets and asteroids in the system, since interplanetary travel is considered so easy as to even out any differences.

 

[tonieee]

No one mentioned it yet? You can generate a sector according to Traveller 5th-edition rules on Thalassogen's site. One of his utilities is called SectorMaker:

http://heldenhaufen.de/T5/

It generates a datafile (about 1 megabyte!) that can be fed into a spreadsheet program, edited, then uploaded back into the page (takes about a minute). I posted an essay on his site about how to do that. Systems initially have Vilani names, randomly generated. Generate a Sector Map, click one of 16 letters for sub-sector maps (note: in the T5 book there is not actually any I or O subsector because those letters are omitted, but it should not create any confusion about subsector position), click any hex to get a pop-up with the extended Universal World Profile (UWP) which resembles Classic Traveller but with extensions, click the name of a system in the table below to get the full Orbit Table buried in the datafile for that system.

It is well-done and incorporates the latest-known T5 errata. You can download a .pdf of a sector, it will have a large 40x32 sector map, 16 subsector maps, a table of the mainworld names and their UWP. But it will not include Orbit Tables for subsidiary worlds in a system because there are way too many. You can either get the info from the raw datafile or upload the datafile from the Web-page, touch the name of a mainworld in the table and screen-capture the Orbit Table when it appears.

In a 40x32 Sector, the number of hexes with stars in an average part of the Galaxy may come out to about half the hexes, or 640, like in Classic Traveller. Each system with a star (or multiple stars are possible in T5) may give an average of 9 and 5/6ths worlds (including planets, satellites, asteroid belts).

That's really great. I'm having a play round with it now. Thanks for pointing it out.

Mainworlds and physically different co-worlds in each system are generated, but the "extensions" representing economic and cultural factors are absolutely the same for all planets and asteroids in the system, since interplanetary travel is considered so easy as to even out any differences.

Well I am after having each planet in a system being potentially different government/cultures and also possibly even have multiple per world (I'm only planning on doing a single sub-sector but it'll feel like a big sub-sector) but it might be a good starting point.

 

[thalassogen]

Sorry, I am not reading here much as of lately, but as I just read this thread I updated the web site with the current working state of the SectorMaker; maybe the LBB-like PDF file (the work in progress) is of use to you.

 

[MorituriMax]

Did your apps die? All I get at the link for the T5 stuff is a little text blurb about Heroes with nothing at all there as far as files.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Also, is there an option for buying it as a PDF download? It's available in print form a game shop here but it's very expensive and rather hefty! The far future website only seems to have CD and print verions for sale and I don't really want to pay to post a piece of plastic over to the UK.

drivethrurpg.com is the website for the Traveller 5.09 rules. Half the price of the book. They take PayPal and credit/debit cards. Your mileage may vary as I am American. But if Mongoose takes takes PayPal at their site in the UK...

In terms of quality (and detail=quality!)
Megatraveller World Builder's Handbook/GURPS First In (tie)
Traveller 5
Grand Survey/Grand Census (I guess, I only have Grand Census)
GURPS IW
CT Book 6
CT Book 3/TNE

 

[Wol]

Worth noting that T5 completely changes world mapping by having hexes of the same size and worlds made up of different numbers of hexagons rather than the other way around. It means that transferring all the old hex row temperature stuff etc across is very messy. No idea why Marc did that.

regards

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Worth noting that T5 completely changes world mapping by having hexes of the same size and worlds made up of different numbers of hexagons rather than the other way around. It means that transferring all the old hex row temperature stuff etc across is very messy. No idea why Marc did that.

regards

I like his new way. Counting the edges instead of the centers. Allows for a cleaner starting point when mapping a world size of 1.

 

[The Pakkrat]

I had an easy time mapping both Roethoeegaeaegz and Dzuerongvoe in Knoellighz and Gvurrdon while using T5. I enjoyed the system and the flow chart. When a world map was generated in front of me, I got a sense of completion and satisfaction.

From Cartography, this the Pakkrat for NET-7 News.

 

[Draconian]

SectorMaker site is down

I noticed that Thalassogen's T5 SectorMaker site link (was: http://www.heldenhaufen.de/T5 ) no longer works. Neither does Eaglestone's site of T5 utilities. Any information on whether they are hosted on new sites would be appreciated.

If the T5 rules posit hexagons of a fixed size, and a varying number of hexagons in every triangular section of planet, the consequence is that for smaller and smaller planets, a greater proportion of hexes on the planet maps are really pentagons (at the points of triangles, five triangular segments form a pentagon!) So that causes more distortion and more hand-waving if you blow up that hex to a larger scale.

 

[OjnoTheRed]

... and at Size 1, the world actually consists of no hexagons at all, but 12 pents! Shameless plugs, but have you checked out my T5 World Map generator yet (link in my signature).