What does one call a J-2 jump "main"?

[atpollard]

*** Has anyone done any further thinking about nomenclature for astrographic trade routes? What terminology do you prefer, use, have created, etc.? ***

Yes, I am fishing.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Main = J1
Route = J2 (or higher)

As in "the J2 route from World A to World B" or the "the J3 route from World A to World B" where World A and World B are usually two high population Anchor Worlds that drive trade along the Route.

Looking at the Traveller Map, where do you have extensive J2 'mains'?
I see lots and lots of J1 mains with short gaps between them.

 

[GypsyComet]

Looking at the Traveller Map, where do you have extensive J2 'mains'?
I see lots and lots of J1 mains with short gaps between them.

I see Groups and Clusters, for the most part. A "Main", based on the original Traveller usage in the Marches, is sprawling and less interconnected.

The massive Vilani Main is one of the largest in Charted Space. Capital also sits at one end of a spidery, reaching Main. Dlan and Ilelish sit on smaller Mains, but they do still share the sprawling characteristics of the other two.

By comparison, the Ten Suns Group in Massilia is too small to be a "Main", as just one example (of my opinion).

 

[atpollard]

I see Groups and Clusters, for the most part. A "Main", based on the original Traveller usage in the Marches, is sprawling and less interconnected.

The massive Vilani Main is one of the largest in Charted Space. Capital also sits at one end of a spidery, reaching Main. Dlan and Ilelish sit on smaller Mains, but they do still share the sprawling characteristics of the other two.

By comparison, the Ten Suns Group in Massilia is too small to be a "Main", as just one example (of my opinion).

Thanks.

I can accept that "Groups/Clusters" vs "Mains" distinction.
The point still stands whether random generation is likely to create a distinctive J2 'main' with J3+ gaps to the sides that would make it visible as a main as compared to a simple J2 path through a random cluster of stars many of which would only be J1 apart.

Are we looking for a term for something that doesn't actually exist?

 

[dalthor]

I use the following in MTU, for my Varan sector:

J-1 = Main
J-2 = Trunk
J-3+ = Express

J-1 tail, ie. dead-end off a main is a Tail or Line

I also tend to give custom names to some of my routes, for example

The Jorene - Xeranda Main (Jorene to Yara to Drood to Blayk to Sarg to Xeranda using J-1) is also called the Dendril Main

The Jorene - Petto Trunk (Jorene to Skal to Petto Glif using J-2) has no custom name, the trunk is defined by the start and end points

The Jorene - Methrandir Express (Jorane to Methrandir using J3) is also known as the Flander Run

Ed

 

[maksimsmelchak]

I use the following in MTU, for my Varan sector:

J-1 = Main
J-2 = Trunk
J-3+ = Express

J-1 tail, ie. dead-end off a main is a Tail or Line

Ed

Ed,

Interesting. Thank you for sharing.

*** Are those runs off the sector you designed for the OTU? Or completely IMTU? ***

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[Timerover51]

In the Piper Sector, which I am presently putting together, with the Sword Subsector map completed and most planets tentatively located, with more subsectors coming, most of the worlds are Jump-2 or more apart, as there are only 20 worlds in the subsector, as it is much farther to the Rimward of the Solomani Sphere. The number of planets per subsector is going to be between 18 and 22, so there will not really be any Jump-1 route covering a large number of planets, but there will be small clusters of Jump-1 trading planets.

I will be calling the Jump-2 route just that, a "J2 Route". I need to do some number crunching, but my hunch is that the standard Free Trader is going to go about 400 dTons, built under the 1977 Book 2 system.

 

[GypsyComet]

The point still stands whether random generation is likely to create a distinctive J2 'main' with J3+ gaps to the sides that would make it visible as a main as compared to a simple J2 path through a random cluster of stars many of which would only be J1 apart.

Are we looking for a term for something that doesn't actually exist?

Like the Spinward Main, such a thing might look too convenient, but a coherent J2 region bounded by "mere" J3 boundaries is going to be harder to see without some help. The rifts of Charted Space serve much the same purpose, but are obviously much wider than J3 and thus much easier to see.

One thing I've done for a couple past campaign areas is to make a strongly visual J2 routes map by mapping the J3 gaps. The impression I've gotten from these is that every sector has a different answer to your last question, and that it correlates to stellar density. The best way to get a J2 region with J3 boundaries is to fiddle with the stellar densities on a subsector basis instead of a sector basis.

 

[Timerover51]

Like the Spinward Main, such a thing might look too convenient, but a coherent J2 region bounded by "mere" J3 boundaries is going to be harder to see without some help. The rifts of Charted Space serve much the same purpose, but are obviously much wider than J3 and thus much easier to see.

One thing I've done for a couple past campaign areas is to make a strongly visual J2 routes map by mapping the J3 gaps. The impression I've gotten from these is that every sector has a different answer to your last question, and that it correlates to stellar density. The best way to get a J2 region with J3 boundaries is to fiddle with the stellar densities on a subsector basis instead of a sector basis.

I am using a likelihood of star systems of 33% per parsec hex, or 1-2 on a D6 roll, which gives me a J2 subsector with some planets with J3 connections.

 

[GypsyComet]

I am using a likelihood of star systems of 33% per parsec hex, or 1-2 on a D6 roll, which gives me a J2 subsector with some planets with J3 connections.

So a little lighter than Crucis Margin, and a little denser than Gateway. It certainly can produce a J2 environment, but struggles to produce J1 clusters.

 

[Timerover51]

So a little lighter than Crucis Margin, and a little denser than Gateway. It certainly can produce a J2 environment, but struggles to produce J1 clusters.

The Sword subsector has five 2-planet clusters, and one 3-planet cluster. This is one of the 4 Coreward subsectors, I am thinking of making the subsectors closest to the Rim with a die roll of 1 on a D4. That is one of the reasons for going back to the 1977 Book 2, with the smaller Power Plant requirement. I do not have to match the Jump level of the Jump Drive. That saves volume for the engineering spaces and fuel for the Power Plant, which allows for more revenue space with a Jump-3 ship.

 

[GypsyComet]

The Sword subsector has five 2-planet clusters, and one 3-planet cluster.

Gateway is similar, and manages to be almost entirely accessible via J2.

http://www.TravellerRPG.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=2178

A mere handful of worlds moved or removed would change the neighborhoods of Gateway quite a bit, though.

 

[Timerover51]

While most of the planets can be reached by Jump-2, there is one cluster that right now requires Jump-3 to reach. I am still working on the various subsectors, so that cluster may be able to be reached more easily from the New Texas subsector, but I have not generated that one yet.

 

[dalthor]

Ed,
*** Are those runs off the sector you designed for the OTU? Or completely IMTU? ***

They are runs in my Varan sector.

Mains are mains because J-1 is usable by everybody, though in the Varan sector it is generally rare to still find a J-1 ship. The archaic Varan term was Chains.

J-2 is the norm IMTU, hence J-2 runs are trunks.

 

[simonh]

Just throwing this in because I didn't see it mentioned yet, but Main comes from Mainland. The Spanish Main was the chain of Spanish colonies and territories along the mesoamerican and south american coast.

In nautical terms that's important because you didn't need an ocean going vessel to navigate along it and had the coast for reference, so didn't need open-ocean navigation skills.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Condottiere]

I like to think there's a niche for Jump Zero drives which max out at a quarter parsec.

 

[GypsyComet]

For Oort running and hopping around between rogue worlds out in the dark? Absolutely. Complicates the map a bit, though.

 

[Reynard]

Condottiere, what would be the parameters for a micro-jump drive? I assume it has to violate all the limitations for size, fuel use and time in jump.

Why 51541 astronomical units? That's out to Sol's farthest boundary of the Oort cloud (3000 to 50000 AU) or is this just making sure every place in a system is accessible by the drive? Pluto has a max orbit of 44 AU.

 

[Condottiere]

I didn't originate it, it's mentioned in GURPS ISW.

Originally I was messing around with exactly how far a jump drive carries you, the default would be factor plus forty nine percent of a parsec, which would have made a jump one drive an attractive proposition.

However, I came across the description in the forementioned book, and think it might be a viable drive at tech level eight, presumably cheap because it wouldn't require the backups and safeguards of a full jump drive, and increasingly cheaper the higher the industrial base tech.

Technically, minimums would be ten tonnes and ten percent fuel consumption, but if you mess around with whatever design compromises, you probably can keep it at ten tonnes, but make it far more efficient in fuel consumption.

Can't really give a definite answer until I see the next iteration of the rules.

 

[simonh]

presumably cheap because it wouldn't require the backups and safeguards of a full jump drive, and increasingly cheaper the higher the industrial base tech.

I think you're underestimating how far 1/4 parsec is. It's most of a lightyear. At sublight speeds, that's one heck of a long way. Using radio or comm lasers, if you misjump that far nobody will even get your distress call for 9 months.

Simon Hibbs