Hey all,
I need a good way to make a starmap for my sci-fi setting.
A 2D "sector map" type deal is perfectly okay, the game is pretty loose and low in the realism dept.
So I need either a program I can use or just advice on making an attractive map the players can use.
Thanks!
I use SPI's Universe RPG to make my dice-generated worlds. See the UNIVERSE PLUS link (second in the download list) at http://members.iinet.net.au/~avalon11/Universe/Universe.htm
One Random Subsector Generator. (http://zho.berka.com/data/random/)
Also, the Zhodani Base (http://zho.berka.com/)website really is a treat to cruise around in. Check it out, there is plenty in here to love. Here's a whole section on starmaps! (http://zho.berka.com/maps/)
I should have posted Heaven & Earth in this thread. One may add descriptive text, as discussed in the other thread, to the worlds created with Heaven & Earth. They would end up similar to write-ups in the old space atlases for GURPS.
Heaven & Earth (http://www.downport.com/wbd/HEAVEN_&_EARTH.htm)
Here is another world generator that is specific to GURPS 4th Space. This one is Excel or similar spreadsheet application based.
GURPS Star System Generator (http://wabcag.wikidot.com/gurps-ss-generator)
To map your own, I'd recommend Hexographer (http://www.hexographer.com/). It has icons for mapping subsectors (http://www.hexographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cosmic.png) as well as the fantasy stuff.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;546443I use SPI's Universe RPG to make my dice-generated worlds. See the UNIVERSE PLUS link (second in the download list) at http://members.iinet.net.au/~avalon11/Universe/Universe.htm
To this day, I still think the Universe planet maps are the best!
I use
Inkscape, though I respect the learning curve may be steeper than you're looking for. I did this in about a day.
Spoiler
(http://i.imgur.com/g6VHc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/g6VHc)
Quote from: Insufficient Metal;546594I use Inkscape, though I respect the learning curve may be steeper than you're looking for. I did this in about a day.
Spoiler
(http://i.imgur.com/g6VHc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/g6VHc)
Beautiful IM :) Hexographer is easier, but your work is definitely prettier :D
Quote from: Sigmund;546616Beautiful IM :) Hexographer is easier, but your work is definitely prettier :D
Thanks very much! One of the players had this blown up to poster size and printed it out to put on the wall. Looked gorgeous.
Quote from: Insufficient Metal;546594I use Inkscape, though I respect the learning curve may be steeper than you're looking for. I did this in about a day.
Spoiler
(http://i.imgur.com/g6VHc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/g6VHc)
That's gorgeous. May I ask which game it is for? Looks vaguely Traveller-esque.
Quote from: eskatonic;546637That's gorgeous. May I ask which game it is for? Looks vaguely Traveller-esque.
Thank you. It's for Starblazer Adventures.
This is very cool Insufficient Metal! Well done
I fucking hate 2D star maps. Star maps should be 3D, with gravitational data and, ideally, annotations for calculating positional variance due to galactic drift.
However, Insufficient Metal's map looks pretty sweet. For. 2D star map. ;)
The Astrogator's Handbook is a useful star map in 3 dimensions. It covers a 50 light year cube with the Sun at the center. It is pretty well done, and it is not written with a specific system in mind. It was created for science fiction authors in general.
Direct Link to The Astrogator's Handbook (http://members.iinet.net.au/~avalon11/Universe/Universe/Universe%20Downloads/Astrogators%20Handbook.zip)
Quote from: Kuroth;546717The Astrogator's Handbook is a useful star map in 3 dimensions. It covers a 50 light year cube with the Sun at the center. It is pretty well done, and it is not written with a specific system in mind. It was created for science fiction authors in general.
Direct Link to The Astrogator's Handbook (http://members.iinet.net.au/~avalon11/Universe/Universe/Universe%20Downloads/Astrogators%20Handbook.zip)
Cool stuff! Thanks for the link. :)
Quote from: Drohem;546813Cool stuff! Thanks for the link. :)
The is a more recent edition, the deluxe edition, that includes stars in a 150 light year cube. It isn't free, but it has a more recent layout, with the increased content. It is an even better resource than the free one, and it has the same easy to use format. It is an ok educational tool too.
The Astrogator's Handbook Deluxe Edition (http://www.scifi-az.com/astro2.htm)
Quote from: Kuroth;546717The Astrogator's Handbook is a useful star map in 3 dimensions. It covers a 50 light year cube with the Sun at the center. It is pretty well done, and it is not written with a specific system in mind. It was created for science fiction authors in general.
Direct Link to The Astrogator's Handbook (http://members.iinet.net.au/~avalon11/Universe/Universe/Universe%20Downloads/Astrogators%20Handbook.zip)
THANK YOU. I have been looking for something like this for a while now. The closest I got was Exosolar (http://www.exosolar.net) which is beautiful, but kind of hard to work with at the game table.
Now one day (ha!) I'll plot this on hex paper, and run the hard SF, Earth-centric Traveller or SWN campaign I've always wanted.
Also, from this other thread (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=23025) (I'm pretty sure you've read it):
Quote from: SineNomine;546534I'll point to N. Harrison Ripp's beautifully convenient sector generator (http://www.emichron.com/swn/) for Stars Without Number. Just click on the Worlds tab and you've got a list of setups. If you want more detail with the tags, you can just grab the free SWN rulebook; all the world generation is system-neutral.
Quote from: Dodger;546709I fucking hate 2D star maps. Star maps should be 3D, with gravitational data and, ideally, annotations for calculating positional variance due to galactic drift.
However, Insufficient Metal's map looks pretty sweet. For. 2D star map. ;)
Thanks? :D
I agree, they should be all those things, but I'm lazy and there are only so many hours in a day.
Quote from: The Butcher;546853THANK YOU. I have been looking for something like this for a while now. The closest I got was Exosolar (http://www.exosolar.net) which is beautiful, but kind of hard to work with at the game table.
Now one day (ha!) I'll plot this on hex paper, and run the hard SF, Earth-centric Traveller or SWN campaign I've always wanted.
Also, from this other thread (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=23025) (I'm pretty sure you've read it):
I thought they were pretty well done too. It's easy to go down a black hole of complexity for something like star charts for space travel, but this manages to be accurate enough for role-play games and precise within its set of goals. A win.
If you use Traveller with these, it is easy to find travel routes. A jump is equivalent to 1 parsec or 3.26 light years. One may define a jump by the setting, since it is really just a place holder term for an unknown method to defy present limits. So, instead of jump one may call it hyperspace, warp, spindizzy, etcetera. Stars Without Number would be a perfectly cool option too. I was plus-minus on it for some time, but it is really pretty cool.
I just used a paint program for the map I did for StarCluster 2E (http://www.flyingmice.com/StarCluster-Map.pdf).
StarCluster 3 has no defined setting. You create your own cluster.
-clash
That one map posted here is very impressive!
RPGPundit
Quote from: Insufficient Metal;546594I use Inkscape, though I respect the learning curve may be steeper than you're looking for. I did this in about a day.
Spoiler
(http://i.imgur.com/g6VHc.jpg) (http://imgur.com/g6VHc)
Beautiful. How did you generate the numbered hexes, something in inkscape?
Quote from: The Traveller;547834Beautiful. How did you generate the numbered hexes, something in inkscape?
Thanks! Actually no, I used a little hexmap generation app called mkhexgrid:
http://www.nomic.net/~uckelman/mkhexgrid/
About 45 minutes of farting around with it got me the results I wanted. And once I had the grid set up, I could repurpose it to other maps.