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Web-based Automatic Sector Data / Map pdf Generator

Color I can look into. Perhaps I'll try with the red zone line.

Update: Just integrated color! The colors seem the right tints, for greyscale printing. What do folks think?

TravDarkerBlue.jpg


Tell me more about what you mean by expansion. The descriptions break out each character of the UPP. Do you mean the Book 3 stuff? What kinds of other information would you want to include? Perhaps we can incorporate a custom content section, for people who want to paste in their own text.

Pdf makes sense to me for this application. It's print-sharp (a core goal - there are lots of bitmap hex maps out there), and multi-platform. It's easy to export any page of a pdf as a jpg or gif, so if people want jpgs, gifs I'd think one pdf with the entire sector data would be better than 16 jpg downloads. In addition, you can simply use your pdf program's 'search' function to find any system by name. File size is around 600k for a sector file without descriptions, around 800k with the descriptions. I vote we stay with pdf as the output format and the standing format.

I found borders to be interesting, but sometimes overdone. There are programs to generate borders based on world detail, and I'm exploring ways to export and import the files those software programs generate in order to calculate borders. Then, I would need to modify the existing SW4 software (which I've not yet done) to calculate borders.

Note: Traveller referees will Adobe Illustrator or other pdf editing tools can open the pdf subsector maps in Illustrator, and using the selection tool, click on the hex borders they wish to darken and widen the stroke setting from .5 points to 1.5 or wider.

Can you show me an example of those? I don't have 'The Claw' as far as I know. Is it in any of the FFE reprints?

What I'm most interested in getting accomplished is:

1. hosting of a live generator that's hardened against multiple requests, etc.
2. Customizing the cover to include each sector's name.
3. Customizing the introduction section to include a user-submitted block of text.
4. Page Numbers
5. Trade route generation and display. I'm almost done with the generation part - then I'll need to modify the software to draw thick (6-8 point) lines connecting worlds with trade routes as defined in the generated or a user-supplied file.

How does that sound?

Also: just found a planet whose name is a 'four-letter-word'! Totally random and kinda funny but also maybe a concern? List of prohibited system/sector names?
 
Sounds like the dream come true!

"The Claw" refers to the Great Rift in the FFE reprint of Supplement 8, on pgs 24-25 is a Map. Where "Corridor" is Mapped is what I mean. How would you express the abstract border of the Rift's outline. On this map, both astropolitical and astrophysical stuff seem interchangeable.

By Expansion, I mean inclusion of System Data, ala Book 6. I have been using "Heaven and Earth" which outputs I think jpegs, bmp, ang gif and .txt files of data for each world and satellite in the system... I guess what I ask what do you suggest to segway into something like that? is there a way to tag an entry with a prompt of some kind to go to that REf added expansion, or other system notes.

I know in practice we are talking of a huge amount of data, but what I mean is trying to find a way to go from the "skeleton" provided to add "musculature" of specific detail.
 
Just read my Book 6 and Supplement 8 books. Love them LBBs.


Currently, the way the sectors' systems are generated, the placement is largely random (there is an x% chance per hex of a system), and so there are few spontaneous large-scale astrophysical features. When you combine the subsectors into a sector map, the distribution is roughly 'noise-like'. Being able to 'weigh' the placement of systems to create 'rifts' or to reflect placement on the edge of spiral arms, etc., would be fun, and could probably be done with some clever math. Right now since you can post your own .sec or .uwp (i think) files, you can run it once, change the distribution, and run it again in order to redistribute systems. As far as marking 'em is concerned, I think I'd leave that to the ref for now (although there are possiblities like patterns for the hex background, etc.).

Also, as far as going down to the system level, current Scout Service Remote Survey technology doesn't yet allow us to provide system data for anything more than the most prominent world in that system. There has been great controversy, of course, about exactly what qualifies a world in the system for such status. I can tell you that there appears to be some correlation with where the best downport red light districts are.

However, there is a piece of Excel programming I did that might help me get motivated.

TravSysDiagram.jpg
 
Mickazoid,

I must say that your programming skillz are simply amazing.

Keep Up The Good Work,
Flynn
 
Thank you Flynn - that's really kind of you to say, and please let me know if I can ever help you with your great fanzine (I'm heading to download 3 & 4 now!)
 
Color I can look into. Perhaps I'll try with the red zone line.

Update: Just integrated color! The colors seem the right tints, for greyscale printing. What do folks think?
Click to expand...
I'd prefer using the same visual taxonomy for zones - in a grayscale rendition: Red zones as a black circle, Amber zones as a gray circle. This keeps the meaning "border of a circle around a world = travel zone".

I know early sources used a gray disc as the amber zone (as your example shows) but IMHO this is confusing. For example, I recently picked up GURPS Traveller: Rim of Fire and it uses black circles for both Amber and Red, and shows capitals as a "target" symbol (thin gray circle, thick black circle, small gray disc).


I found borders to be interesting, but sometimes overdone. There are programs to generate borders based on world detail, and I'm exploring ways to export and import the files those software programs generate in order to calculate borders.
Click to expand...
If you find anything good, let me know. I was looking into algorithms for these but then my spare time budget dropped dramatically. Google on "alpha shapes" for something promising.


5. Trade route generation and display. I'm almost done with the generation part - then I'll need to modify the software to draw thick (6-8 point) lines connecting worlds with trade routes as defined in the generated or a user-supplied file.
Click to expand...
Let me know if you want trade routes from the DGP sources for existing sectors. There's a discussion on the T5 board about future data formats for storing not just UWP data but all the metadata that goes along with it. As usual, the discussion is having a hard time getting everyone to agree on what the purpose is.
 
Hey there Baron - cat got your tongue?
What's stunning you?


What about the difficulty of distinguishing the TAS zones' black and grey lines? I like black lines for red zones, and grey fills for amber zones but I appreciate both looks... 'black lines for both' was used on a few reprint books as well.

Maybe I like the grey fills for amber just cause it's so deliciously old school
 
Very, very impressive, Mickazoid! You've inspired me to get off my rear and code up some of the ideas that have been bouncing around my head the last few years.

Keep up the good work!!!!

 
I think it should be a dashed line for amber, and a solid for red if were talking B&W. Dashed suggests a spotty nature. For color, I think a Red line and amber dashed line.

The gray fill could be confusing, but it always has a nostaligic value.
 
An update - here at the Remote Survey branch of the Scout Service (a Terra-based probabilistic astrocartography research project), we're modifying James Parkins' awesome 'gensec' script to become a 'genworlds' program.

It is our hope that with the proper modifications, the 'continuation' rules from Book 6 Scouts will be implemented so that any system's mainworld data can be pumped into a web-based tool that, instead of generating a subsector, will instead generate a planetary system for that mainworld.

We have chosen to use the 'continuation' system described in 'Book 6' at first, in order to reduce the compexity of the coding effort (which costs valuable tax credits). If there is a compelling reason to rewrite the whole engine to use the 'expanded' system, we will explore it.

PlanetaryDataBook.jpg


The output will consist of a two-page display, containing a planetary systems' diagram and table of data. An option will exist to generate such a planetary system for each world in a generated sector (6-bis computing processor cycles permitting)

It is our hope that this new, updated planetary-level Survey Guidebook will be portable enough to fit in any captain's or pilot's locker, and describe a wealth of data on each sector's primary and backwater worlds alike.

Thank you - and please continue to support your local Remote Survey office.
 
Greetings Citizens!

As we prepare for algorithmic recombination, the Remote Survey's 'Planetary Systems Analysis Group' has come up against an interesting, even ideological dilemma.

Have any of the detached duty Scouts or interstellar astroologists in this forum familiarized themselves with the Revised Stellar Generation System, by Constantine Thomas?

You can download the pdf binary here:
http://www.evildrganymede.net/rpg/traveller/revstargenstats.pdf

It appears to provide more realistic distribution and characteristics in the generated systems. Any interested parties are welcome to provide their recommendations as to whether, and to what degree, the online Planetary Systems Generator will be amended to reflect this revision of the Stellar Generation rules.
 
Yes, it's a well-thought out system. His overarching premise is that stellar distribution ought to be based on hard science.

Thus, his system won't produce non-main-sequence stars for habitable worlds. Systems with habitable worlds won't contain dwarf stars nearby, and in fact I believe they won't contain near or close companions of any kind.

Anomalies, in other words, are not part of his generation process. You'd have to add them yourself, as a referee. If you prefer Traveller worlds to have any element of stellar fiction, it may not be what you're looking for.

Finally, make sure you get his permission to use the system. He's sometimes on COTI, under the handle 'tempmal'.
 
Unfortunately, Hard Science is about as popular as Kid's Hand Grenades, new player wise. If there was a way to boil down all the decimals into easy to bit chunks, or perhaps have a "Normal" to "Super Science" mode.

(more later, will elaborate)
 
Baron, have you seen his system? The procedure is no more complex than Book 6. His tables simply match what we know of star systems.
 
I have looked at his system and it is very sound scientifically. But, as was previously posted, there would be no anomalies, such as might be created by the Ancients.

Would your scripting program allow for "anomoly" mode to create something truely bizarre and interesting? Is it worth it?
 
Originally posted by Plankowner:

Would your scripting program allow for "anomoly" mode to create something truely bizarre and interesting? Is it worth it?
Click to expand...
I'm sure she could.

My opinion is to use whatever's easiest, and to revisit the issue later if need be.
 
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